Jan 26th Meeting

University of Brighton Student Union Elections

Tim met Sam Mallender (University of Brighton Student Union President) to find out more about the upcoming SU elections and the dates and deadlines of it.

• Nominations are now open
• To nominate yourself you need five backers to sign saying they will pledge their support to you*
• 9th February is the closing date for nominations
• 14th February is the deadline for publicity materials to be forwarded to the SU for your campaign.

*I think this is meant to mean that they have to actually be ready to support your campaigning efforts, and not just sign like a petition.

Although it is felt that ultimately the staff will always have the overriding powering in deciding the direction of the university, it is felt that the stop the cuts movement should make attempts at stimulating the union into being more pro-active in external and internal affairs through providing debate among the staff and students. We need people who can articulate themselves and present solid arguments that might have the potential to encourage greater political activity among the student and staff bodies. We want the UBSU to be more than just some careerist sabbaticals who fill their c.v.’s representing student apathy.

We are exploring a variety of possibilities to achieve this both as individuals and as a collective. There was a general agreement that we back Tim Huzar for what ever position he chooses to nominate himself for. Again the general agreement was that we should support Tim as an individual, and not just a “spokesperson” for the Brighton University Stop The Cuts group. This way he can make a pitch that appeals to the wider student body and potentially achieve a greater potential. We also explored the possibility of running a ‘slate’ nomination for election that would seek to campaign collectively as a group for multiple positions on the union.

This topic is very high on the agenda for next week as there will only be one more opportunity to decide on this collectively. Tim is going to gather some more information to present at the next meeting so if your interested in this, please come to the next meeting and put your point of view across.

More information is available at : http://www.ubsu.net/suelections

Brighton Source Magazine

Brighton Source Magazine wanted to do an article, on students becoming politicised through the student protests, with some comment from us but unfortunately they went to print before it was raised in the meeting. They did however mention us. It will be in the forthcoming  February  edition of source which you can find here as a PDF http://www.brightonsource.co.uk/.

It is also distributed to various university campuses, including halls of residence.

Brighton and Sussex University Joint Meeting

We decided that we will meet on the 9th of February instead of our usual meeting to discuss our common aims. Most likely it will be held on their campus and details to follow.

Coach Tickets

Brighton UCU have booked a coach for the demo on saturday, tickets are £8.40, available to staff and students.

Get in touch with either (depending on your campus)

Vicky Margree  (Pavilion Parade) – V.Margree@brighton.ac.uk

Patricia McManus (Elsewhere) – P.Mcmanus@brighton.ac.uk

“Con-Dem-Ed” Leaflets

We want to create a flyer that targets student groups in a more holistic sense. We have felt that our previous flyers have focused to much on our own issues and this gives others the impression of self-interest. Whilst it is true that a lot of what people do in general can be attributed to self-interest, we want to engage and inform key groups listed below. This list is not exhaustive but illustrates the groups we need to engage.

• International students
• Teaching students
• Health students
• Union members
• General public / apathetic students

UCU Ballot – February

The UCU are balloting for strike action in some time in February and considering the tremendous solidarity and support they have given us we are looking to flyer lecturers and students. We proposed to make a separate leaflet for lecturers to encourage them to ballot for action and one for students to encourage them to support their action. A pamphlet was also suggested. More details to follow.

It is imperative that we show them our support.