University of Warwick Students' Union

Warwick
Students' Union

Institution	University of Warwick
Location	Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, England
Established	1965
President	Leo Bøe
Other officers	Sean Ruston (Education Officer) George Whitworth (Union Development Officer) Izzy John (Welfare Officer) Chris Luck (Democracy Officer) Matthew Rogers (Societies Officer) Chris Sury (Sports Officer)
Members	c. 28,000
Affiliations	National Union of Students, Aldwych Group, National Postgraduate Committee, British Universities Sports Association
Website	www.warwicksu.com

University of Warwick Students' Union

Warwick Students' Union, also known as Warwick SU, is the students' union for the University of Warwick, in Coventry, England.

History

The Students' Union developed in tandem with the University and has existed since 1965. In its first few decades, it was heavily involved with the protests, rent strikes, and occupations which earned the University the nickname of 'Red Warwick.' In 1974 one Warwick student Kevin Gately was killed during the Red Lion Square disorders. More recently, in 2009, many Students' Union officers were active in the occupation of a lecture theatre in the Social Studies (S0.21) building to express solidarity with Gaza.

One of its on-campus successes was its campaign for its own building, which finally succeeded in 1975 after lengthy opposition from large parts of the University establishment. Some of its early activism was carried out in partnership with sympathetic elements of the academic staff of the university, with one incident being chronicled in the book Warwick University Ltd., edited by the eminent historian E. P. Thompson.

On a day to day basis, the Union is run by seven Sabbatical Officers elected by cross-campus ballot.

Former Presidents

Year	President		Year	President
1965–1966	Mike (Czeslaw) Kosniowski		1984–1985	Mike Moran
1965–1966	Peter Shellard		1985–1986	Tommy Webb
1966–1967	Alan Hill		1986–1987	Andrew Woodhouse
1966–1967	Tony Ward		1987–1988	Terry Durkin
1966–1967	Richard Clifton		1988–1989	Andy Shearer
1967–1968	Graham Webster-Gardiner		1989–1990	Julia Offord
1967–1968	Tony O'Rourke		1990–1991	Ian Bradley
1968–1969	Alan Phillips		1991–1992	Alan Nott
1969–1970	Michael Poulton		1992–1993	Ian R. Corfield
1969–1970	Trevor Griffiths		1993–1994	Kevin Turnbull
1970–1971	Will Fitzgerald		1994–1995	Andy Poulter
1971–1972	Kevin O'Donovan		1995–1996	Josh Wong
1972–1973	Louis Paperis		1996–1997	Jon Norburn
1973–1974	Pete Ashby		1997–1998	Jon Pycroft
1974–1975	Alistair Edwards		1998–1999	Jo Scaife
1974–1975	Kasper de Graaf		1999–2000	Martin Biggs
1975–1976	Jimmie Quinn		2000–2001	Caitlin McKenzie
1975–1976	Phil Dixon		2001–2002	John Dubber
1976–1977	M. Whyte		2002–2003	Greg Jones
1977–1978	Andrew Chalk		2003–2004	'Big' Bob Jones
1978–1979	Phil Dixon		2004–2005	Simon Lucas
1979–1980	Alan Watson		2005–2006	Kat Stark
1980–1981	Frankie Devine		2006–2007	Brian Duggan
1981–1982	Robin Edwardes		2007–2008	Joe Kirby
1982–1983	Gavin Reddin		2008–2009	Stuart 'Tommo' Thomson
1983–1984	Richard Jones		2009–2010	Andrew Bradley
			2010–2011	Daniel Stevens
			2011–2012	Leo Boe

Governance

Governance structure of the students' union

The Union's basis of existence is its Constitution, which sets out the Union's mission statement, legal basis, and democratic structures. In addition to this, there are currently 8 Appendices to the Constitution, 5 sets of regulations, and 70 policies; all of which govern specific areas of Union activity.

The Union has three main methods of policy-making:

1. Referendums - Conducted by The Elections Group
2. General Meetings - open to all full members and have a quorum of 200.
3. Union Council

These decision-making bodies form a hierarchy, with referendums at the top and Union Council at the bottom. Any decision made by one of these bodies may be over-ridden by the same body or a higher one.

Referendums

Referendums are held twice yearly and are the only method by which the Union's Constitution or affiliation to the NUS may be changed. Motions may be sent to referendum if they are submitted with a petition of 80 signatures of Union members (with amendments possible with a petition of 20 signatures); in addition to this, up to four motions may be referred to referendum by Union General Meetings or Union Council in each referendum period. Referendums are subject to a quorum of 7.5% of full Union members, but shall also be considered to have reached quorum if 5% of full Union members vote for or against. Should the referendum fail to reach quorum, the result is not binding upon the Union, and any constitutional change proposed will not take effect. If a constitutional change is passed, it is then subject to approval by the University Senate and Council.

General Meetings

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is open to all full members of the Union both to speak and vote. It approves the Union's accounts and appoints an auditor. It also takes reports from the Union's Executive Committee, Union Council, services groups, and Elections Group, of which is approves the membership. The Union must have at least one General Meeting in each year. It is sometimes necessary for there to be an Emergency General Meeting (EGM), which can be called by any member who collects a petition of 150 signatures in order to discuss a specific issue of the member's choice; in other respects, however, an EGM behaves in the same way as a UGM. If a General Meeting fails to reach the quorum of 200, it may still discuss the motions submitted, but the decisions will not be binding and the motions will be submitted to the next meeting of Union Council without any amendments which may have been made at the General Meeting.

Union Council

Union Council is a group of about 70 Councillors and Officers elected from the student population and has the power to amend Appendices to the Constitution. Council normally meets eight times per year in weeks 3, 6, and 9 of terms 1 and 2 and in weeks 3 and 9 of term 3. The meeting is run by the Chair of Council and the Deputy Chair of Council who do not normally vote (although the Chair will vote to break a tie). The quorum for Council is 50% of its current members. Council also conducts co-options for vacancies for various Union positions throughout the year (although not Sabbatical Officers).

Executive Committee

The remit of the Executive Committee, which is a standing committee with 16 members, is adherence to Union policy. It consists of the seven Sabbatical Officers, the chairs of the Union's standing committees, and the chair of the Committee. The committee has several responsibilities:

• Executive members are responsible for holding the Sabbatical Officers, as elected student representatives, to account.
• The committee has a responsibility to implement and monitor Union policy passed at Union Council, a general meeting, or a referendum. It also has the power to pass Union regulations governing subjects such as elections, sports clubs and societies, and disciplinary regulations
• The Executive Committee can also take the powers of Council in three exceptional situations: in an emergency when Council cannot meet, when the last two meetings of Council were inquorate for all of their length, or when Council or a General Meeting mandates the Executive to carry out a specific action.

Current Elected Sabbatical Union Officers

• President: Leo Bøe
• Education Officer: Sean Ruston
• Union Development Officer: George Whitworth
• Welfare Officer: Izzy John
• Democracy Officer: Chris Luck
• Sports Officer: Chris Sury
• Societies Officer: Matthew Rogers

Current Part-time Union Officers

• Chair of Council: Rory Kinane
• Deputy Chair of Council: Vacant
• Executive Committee Chair: Gareth Williams
• Academic Forum Coordinator: Iqra Musaddaq
• Campaigns Forum Coordinator: Megan Fortune
• International Forum Coordinator: Akshay Bhatia
• Democracy Committee Chair: Vicky Fowler
• Student Sports Committee Chair: Kimberley Robinson
• Societies Committee Chair: Rick Dewhurst-Lister
• Welfare Committee Chair: Sophie Allkins
• Ethics and Social Justice Officer: Fatema Karim
• Environment Campaigns Officer: Sam Tovey
• LGBTUA+ Campaigns Officer: Isobel John
• Students with Disabilities Officer: Benjamin Elvidge
• Ethnic Minorities Campaigns Officer: Kate Rhule
• Anti-Racism Campaigns Coordinator: Jehanzeb Khan
• Women's Campaigns Officer: Charli Fritzner
• Undergraduate Arts Faculty Representative: Stephanie Poole
• Undergraduate Social Sciences Representative: Erin Davies
• Undergraduate Science Representative: John Lapage
• Medical Faculty Representative: Vacant

Affiliations

The Union is a constituent member of:

• Aldwych Group
• Association for Managers in Students' Unions (AMSU)
• British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS)
• National Postgraduate Committee (NPC)
• National Union of Students (NUS)
• Skill: National Bureau for Students With Disabilities

The Union is also a shareholder in the NUS Services Ltd (NUSSL).

Students' Union building

The Union - apparently the largest in Europe - consists of Union South (largely food, drink and entertainment) and Union North (mostly administration, offices and meeting rooms).

The Students' Union got its first building, Union South, in 1975, after a long struggle with the University under Vice-Chancellor Jack Butterworth, who said to Will Fitzgerald (President of the Union in 1970-1): "the Students' Union will never have its own building." Union North was added in the 1990s and, until recently, was linked to Union South by the 'link corridor.'

Union South Rebuild

The Union South building underwent a £11 million refurbishment in Spring 2008, which was completed in January 2010. The new facilities included a club and gig venue, a pub, various food outlets, spaces for societies and a pool room.

Societies

The Union runs more clubs and societies than any other in the vicinity;^{[citation needed]} currently there are 257 societies and 76 sports clubs including a student newspaper, radio station television station, and Student Record Label.

Union Companies

The Union has four subsidiary companies:

• Student Union Services Warwick Limited (Registered company number: 02197761)
• Membership Solutions Limited (Registered company number: 05525449)
• Warwick Students Union Services Limited, (Registered company number: 01187495) (mostly dormant and retained due to contracts held in its name)
• Students' Union Warwick Events Limited (Registered company number: 06371766)

Former members

The Conservative MP David Davis stood for the position of President during his attendance at Warwick, but failed to win. He also founded Radio Warwick, the student radio station.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Official Website