Blog: OUSU
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Wednesday 30th of May 2007
OUSU Referendum - 31/5/2007
REFERENDUM TOMORROW (Thursday)
An OUSU referendum will be held ONLINE tomorrow to give you the chance to make three important decisions about the future of your Student Union
1. Should OUSU abolish the full-time sabbatical position of Vice-President(Finance) and replace it with a professional finance manager?
2. Should OUSU abolish the full-time sabbatical position of Vice-President (Women) and replace it with an appointed professional Student Advisor and an additional part-time women's executive officer (effective from July 2008)?
3. Oxford University Students' Union should cease to be an exempt charity and become a registered charity?
You can vote online at http://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/site/central/ousu between 8am and 8pm. Manifestoes will be available on the OUSU web-site and can be found in last week's Oxford Student. Please use your vote.
E-mail questions or problems to ro@ousu.org
Monday 23rd of April 2007
Referendum on VP Women
This Friday a referendum will be brought before the OUSU Council concerning the position of Vice Presdient for Women within OUSU. The referendum aims to seek the opinion of women in Oxford about the possibility of replacing the VP Women position (currently a sabbatical position) with a professional Student Advisor.
Both sides agree that OUSU is in need of a professional Student Advisor. Most major Unions have one, some have as many as five. Both sides also agree that the opinion of the women of Oxford must be taken into consideration.
Supporters of the referendum claim that now is the most appropriate time for such a referendum and that any delay would significantly push back the potential date for hiring an adviser.
Opponents claim that the "appropriate time" argument has many flaws, and that wider consultation within OUSU is necessary before such a decision is taken to the student body. They also raise issue with the handling of the referendum, such as allegedly developing it "behind the backs" of many relevant people (including the VP Women), and targeting the VP Women position as a vulnerable target.
Note that this is NOT a referendum to remove the position of VP Women, but rather to ask for feedback from the women of Oxford on the matter, as opposed to seeking further consultation from within OUSU first.
Anyone wishing further information on this issue, or who would like to voice an opinion regarding the matter may contact me via e-mail at OUSU@chchgcr.com.
Saturday 20th of January 2007
IMPORTANT: Staying with OUSU?
Ironically enough, my first duty as OUSU representative is to determine whether my position will continue to exist. At the upcoming OGM (Thursday, 25 January, 8:30pm, GCR) we're going to be discussing the pros and cons of OUSU membership, and voting on whether or not to renew our membership or to "de-affiliate". This is a very important issue, and we really need your input - especially first year students!
In short, MCRs are charged a membership fee to access OUSU's services, which include welfare services, providing student representation within the university, and various programs such as freshers' handbooks and freshers' fair.
However, the membership fee is quite high, and the ChCh GCR has not been using many of the services offered by OUSU. The college provides most of our welfare services, in the past we haven't been active in the OUSU council - we have essentially been paying our membership fees solely for tickets to the freshers' fair. The OUSU services also tend to be more focused at the undergraduate population, and thus many MCRs feel that the services offered are not best suited to their needs.
An OUSU VP will be at our OGM to discuss the benefits of membership in OUSU and what it means to our GCR, followed by discussion and a vote. Please, pretty please, pretty pretty please with a cherry on top, attend and offer your views - we want this to be an informed, group decision.
Thank you very much, and see you Thursday!
