Thirteen months ago I stood to be Students' Union President and 6 months in to my year in office, I thought it would be to give you an update of where I am up to in achieving my manifesto goals.
Campaign to keep the cap on tuition fees
Unfortunately the house of commons and lords have voted to increase the cap for UK Home tuition fees to £6000. At Salford we put a lot of work and effort into raising awareness on the campus on this issue and we took 400 students to London on a national demo and 100 Salford students to a demo in Manchester. Please read my email to all students, to find how we will move this campaign forward in the coming months.
Year round timetables
Delivered!
More Student Social Space
I can't take all the credit for this one, for Adelphi Students Joe Kirwin (Last Year's VP for Arts and Humanities ) and Christabel Brown (current VP for Arts and Humanities) have worked hard to get the social space in the Adelphi building modernised. In the next few months there will be some more changes in University House that will see more student social space in the building. All new buildings currently being developed by the University will all have social learning zones in them as well.
Longer Library Opening Hours Off Peak
Working with Matt Webber (Last Years President) this has also been achieved, the Clifford Wwhitworth library is currently 24/7 for the whole of this academic year, however this will be reviewed at the end of the year dependant on usage. This really is a great win for the students' union, Salford students have been asking for a 24/7 library for years and finally we have one.
2 Day Activities Fair and Fresher’s Ball
Delivered!
Promote religious diversity and interfaith groups
I still have some work to do on this manifesto point, last semester saw a very successful Black History Month working in partnership with the University to produce a month long set of events. Currently I am working with the University to have more clearly guidance for religious observance.
My full manifesto can be seen at http://salfordstudents.com/files/minisites/2996/RickyManifesto.pdf
There is still plently of things left to do in the second half of my term of office.
Students' Union Elections 2011
The Students Union annually elects 4 sabbatical officers, 4 student trustees, and 4 NUS Conference Delegates. In addition this year, you will have the opportunity to be elected to the Union's new Student Council, a body of 22 students whose role will be to direct, review and approve the representation work of the Sabbatical Officers.
We may not have been successful in stopping an increase in tuition fees, however at Salford we have to ensure that over the next few years the impact of the cuts do not impact on our education experience. We can only do this with a strong and active students’ union.
If you are interested in standing in the elections and want to find out more check out: http://www.salfordstudents.com/takecharge
I am really looking forward to the next 6 months, if you have any questions about this blog post or want to find out more about the elections phone 01613515400 or email president-ussu@salford.ac.uk
Ricky
Monday 3 January 2011
Update on the UK Home Tuition Fees and the Anti Cuts Campaign!
I wanted to take this opportunity to say how proud I am of the students at Salford. People have often said students had become apathetic, and were not interested in politics. Well, we have proved them wrong on both a local and national scale.
Over 400 students, attended the fifty thousand strong day of peaceful action in November. In addition, this week we had over 1000 students march in Manchester of which we saw 100 Salford students, and 1000s of letters sent to MPs. Thursday the day of the tuition fee vote saw the union hold a candle lit vigil outside the Old Fire Station and I was in London lobbying MPs up until the vote.
Unfortunately I am sure you have all read that the Universities in the UK, after a very close vote in the House of Commons will now be able to charge up to £9000 for UK Home Tuition Fees. This by no means is the end of the campaign in fact it is just the start.
Today the Students’ Union starts its Anti Cuts Campaign. The Campaign is about ensuring that if there are any cuts at the University, then we will ensure that they do not harm the student experience. The University is expected to lose some funding due to the comprehensive spending review, and in the coming weeks and months we will find out the full effects.
Over the coming months the University of Salford will also be setting the fee level for the University and it is vital that during those discussions the student voice is heard.
I strongly urge you all to join the mailing list at www.salfordstudents.com/anticuts. I will not be using the All Students Lists to keep you updated on this issue, so please join to keep updated on what we are doing as a Students’ Union on these issues.
I feel so honoured to be the Students’ Union President at this time. The student movement here in Salford, and nationally, has never been stronger and we must keep up the fight.
Thank you,
Ricky Chotai | President
Over 400 students, attended the fifty thousand strong day of peaceful action in November. In addition, this week we had over 1000 students march in Manchester of which we saw 100 Salford students, and 1000s of letters sent to MPs. Thursday the day of the tuition fee vote saw the union hold a candle lit vigil outside the Old Fire Station and I was in London lobbying MPs up until the vote.
Unfortunately I am sure you have all read that the Universities in the UK, after a very close vote in the House of Commons will now be able to charge up to £9000 for UK Home Tuition Fees. This by no means is the end of the campaign in fact it is just the start.
Today the Students’ Union starts its Anti Cuts Campaign. The Campaign is about ensuring that if there are any cuts at the University, then we will ensure that they do not harm the student experience. The University is expected to lose some funding due to the comprehensive spending review, and in the coming weeks and months we will find out the full effects.
Over the coming months the University of Salford will also be setting the fee level for the University and it is vital that during those discussions the student voice is heard.
I strongly urge you all to join the mailing list at www.salfordstudents.com/anticuts. I will not be using the All Students Lists to keep you updated on this issue, so please join to keep updated on what we are doing as a Students’ Union on these issues.
I feel so honoured to be the Students’ Union President at this time. The student movement here in Salford, and nationally, has never been stronger and we must keep up the fight.
Thank you,
Ricky Chotai | President
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