SUSU wants us to vote for THIRTY-NINE different positions

What Union Council May Look Like

Every Spring, we have the opportunity to vote for who is going to run the Student’s Union for the following year. Normally we’ll vote for the 7 Sabbaticals, who get a paid job, and the 9 Executive Officers, who do not get paid and volunteer their time out of the goodness of their heart.

Now SUSU have proposed a motion which would more than double the current leadership team of the Union, giving us a myriad of representatives for (seemingly) everything. The current Executive structure would be replaced with a much larger committee comprised of 39 members including 26 “Student Leaders”

The title Student Leader is purposefully vague to allow for a multitude of roles to be included under its umbrella. Many new positions have been created, including one for every satellite campus, media outlet and the Performing Arts Union. The increase in representation for other university sites is to soften the blow for when the Winchester President Sabbatical position is removed.

Concerns have been raised about the election process for these new roles, especially among the media departments. The elections would be open to any student and could result in a completely inexperienced and unsuitable candidate in senior position.

Democratic participation is notoriously difficult to encourage amongst students. Introducing a huge number of new positions will unfortunately dissuade and confuse many students. It appears unclear to many as to why there is a requirement for so many new representatives; and as to what they will actually do.

Union Council will debate the issue this Monday at 5PM. The meeting is anticipated to be well attended and controversial.