Democracy

Aston Students' Union is a democratic organisation that is run by its members.

So?

That means that you have a masssive say in how the Students' Union works. Aston Students' Union's Officers are Aston students, elected by other Aston students, and they lead the direction of the Union. But it's important that all students are able to contribute to the Union's success.

To ensure that every Aston student has the opportunity to influence the Union, Student Council meetings are held throughout the year, where any member can attend to raise ideas, debate policy and vote on what they want their leaders and Union to do.

Up to 200 Aston students may attend each Student Council meeting, which usually take place in the evening at Aston Students' Union. Upcoming meetings can be found below:

 

Any Aston student can submit a motion to Union Council. The documents below explain more about how you can submit a motion, and what it could look like.

Council Motion - Tips & Examples

An outline of how to submit a motion to Union Council, and what it could look like.

Blank Council Motion Template

A blank template for you to use to submit a motion.

 

Student Council Minutes & Agendas

Minutes are taken at each Student Council so that current and future students have a record of what was discussed and decided at each meeting. These minutes are always provisional until they are approved at the next council meeting. Below you will be able to access the approved minutes from the last 5 Student Council meetings.

Emergency Council 20.05.2024 - Meeting minutes here

Union Council Agenda 20.10.2022

AGM/AMM 26 April 2022

EMERGENCY UNION COUNCIL Minutes 03 February 2022

UNION COUNCIL Minutes 07 December 2021

UNION COUNCIL Minutes 28 October 2021

AGM Minutes 29 April 2021

Union Council 03 March 2021 Minutes

Union Council 28 January 2021 Minutes

Union Council 1 December 2020 Minutes

Union Council 27 October 2020 Minutes

AGM AMM Minutes 2019

Emergency Council 19 November Minutes

Emergency Council 19 November Agenda

Union Council Slides

Union Council Agenda 20th October 2022

Union Council 15th October 2019 Minutes DRAFT

 

If you have any questions about these documents, or would like to view older council minutes, then please contact the Student Voice team by emailing voice@union.aston.ac.uk.

 

Policy Manual

 

Welcome to your Unions Policy area

This area contains any motions that were passed into policy through your Students' Union Democratic process. This area does not contain any company policies of Aston Students' Union which can be found through the 'Your SU' section.

Please Note: that any motions passed that resolve to change any of the Unions other governing documents, such as the Bye-laws, will not appear in this area but rather the relevant governing documents area of the website.

Using this Area

Below you will find a list of all active democratic policies. When you click on a policy is will drop down to provide you with the following informaiton; Motion Pass Date, Lapse Date, Proposer(s) and the content of the motion itself. There will also be a link to a downloadable PDF version for each motion.

If you have any questions about any policy contained in this area then please contact the Student Voice team by emailing union.voice@aston.ac.uk.

Previously Active Policies

Aston Graduate Email Addresses 7.12.21

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Muzafar Iqbal 170092128

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Union Council Notes

  1. Currently students lose access to their Aston email address soon after graduating.
  2. Other universities (including the University Of Birmingham) offer graduate email addresses.
  3. A format similar to firstname.secondname@alumni.aston.ac.uk would allow students to stay in touch after graduation.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. The Aston Students’ Union is there to benefit Aston students and this motion would benefit Aston students and graduates.
  2. That Aston graduate email addresses would be beneficial to students and would help graduates to stay in touch.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. To mandate the sabbatical officers to lobby the university to introduce this change.
  2. To mandate the sabbatical officers to advertise this to students if it is introduced.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

COVID19 Club/Society Membership Refunds 2020/21 UC2021.03.1b

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Balraj Purewal – Vice President of Student Activities

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Union Council Notes

  1. COVID19, local tiers, national lockdown and changing measures has impacted service delivery for clubs and societies.
  2. Due to these unforeseen changes, the membership fee that was paid is not necessarily reflective of the activity level able to be provided.
  3. The Athletic Union (AU) Membership is £15 and must be purchased by all club members. The £15 membership is a small contribution towards the following costs: insurance, transport to and from training and BUCS matches, kit laundry, affiliation fees to National Governing Bodies and first aid training.
  4. Not all costs that the AU Membership contributes towards have been incurred.
  5. The minimum number of Members for clubs is 20 and for societies it is 10.
  6. A club/society needs a minimum of 3 Committee Members to exist as an affiliated club/society. Your respective committee membership role appears as an activity on your HEAR Report. If a committee member quits or has a refund part-way through the year, the role will no longer be eligible to appear on your HEAR report.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. Mental Health and Wellbeing is of paramount importance. Therefore, the minimum numbers needed for clubs and societies should be paused to help facilitate student engagement at any level.
  2. There are resource and bank fee implications for the processing of refunds. Therefore, a minimum threshold for refund payments in the amount of £2.00 is to be applied.
  3. A refund of £10 of the AU Membership should be applied to all students who purchased a club membership.
  4. If you do not have the 3 paid committee members, then your club/society will be frozen for this academic year. The club/society can then resume as usual in the summer pending the election of at least 3 committee members for the next academic year 2021-22.
  5. Club and Society committees should take into consideration the amount of money in their account and calculate refunds as a pro rata amount unless this amount falls below the basement refund amount of £2.01 in line with point 2.
  6. In respect of the club and society direct membership fees and in line with point 5, we suggest the following criteria for establishing a Refund Policy for your club/society.
    1. If lockdown and national governing body measures has limited provision for your club/society, whereby no activity could be scheduled we advise that a full refund be given.
    2. If some activity has been able to take place, (for example virtual socials) but no face-to-face physical activity has been able to take place, then we advise a partial refund, considering the costs incurred for the activities that have been delivered. This will be at the club/society’s discretion subject to confirmation from the Students’ Union.
    3. If the club/society has amended their membership fee, and delivered activities we recommend that no refund be applicable.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. To Mandate the VPSA to work with the Student Activities and Voice team to oversee the delivery of the Covid19 Refund policy.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

Decolonising the curriculum to be in line with the SU’s core values. UC2021.01.1a

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Jawad Ahmad

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Union Council Notes

  1. Due to the current climate and racial prejudice in society. Students across the nation are calling for their respective university course reading lists to be more diverse by including more black and ethnic minority writers.
  2. There is a lack of diversity in the curricula delivered by Aston University. This will stifle academic freedom, presenting to Aston students a western history and does not allow them to gain better knowledge from the many other intellectual giants of other cultures.
  3. Curricula that derive from Eurocentric material will narrow the student’s worldview to be Europe focused will not enable Aston students to broaden their view of the world.
  4. Aston University has a very diverse campus with most students coming from BAME backgrounds. However, this is not represented in the delivery of subjects and modules.
  5. BAME staff are also poorly represented in both senior academic and university leadership roles: of 19,000 employed as professors in the UK, only 400 are BAME women.
  6. Recent data shows, 80.9% of White students received a first/2:1 compared with 67.7% BAME students – this will represent a BAME attainment gap of 13.2% nationally. At Aston the attainment gap is 3-5% with the Bangladeshi students showing the largest gap of 5% compared to white students in 2018 – 2019.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. Aston University should be an inclusive teaching and learning environment. It is worth noting that inclusivity and diversity are a factor in decolonisation, but not the only factors.
  2. By decolonising the curriculum it will enable us to call for deeper thinking about the content of our courses and how we teach them.
  3. Through decolonisation, Aston University will become more open and more racially and culturally aware which will help to make the university safer for all.
  4. Academic schools and disciplines must be more inclusive and represent the student.
  5. The burden of tackling systematic changes should not solely fall on the responsibilities of the minority but by all.
  6. The University staff should be representative of the student.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. To ensure that the Students’ union updates the Byelaws so that the union will continue its work with the university to decolonise Aston.
  2. To lobby that the university must improve diversity among academic staff and representation of the minority.
  3. To lobby for the colleges to ensure that their curricula is a reflection of all.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

Disabled Students at Aston University UC2021.02.1b

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Annas Mazhar

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Preamble

The union supports disabled students to achieve full accessibility on the Aston University campus and in the wider community.

 

Union Council Notes

  1. The union acknowledges that successive Disabled Students Officers (DSOs) have worked extensively to raise awareness of ableism present in the University, and have, lobbied the University to improve accessibility.
  2. The University buildings remain architecturally inaccessible in many areas to disabled people. For example, much of the Main Building is still without automatic doors.
  3. The Union recognises that disability covers a wide range of conditions and that the existence of this diversity within the disability community means that there are a wide range of issues to be covered.
  4. The Union recognises that the Disabled Students’ Officer has the responsibility to represent all disabled students within the Aston Community.
  5. The Union recognises that there is a diverse range of disability experiences, from physical, mental, intellectual, visual and more. The creation of a Disability Committee would help the Union better understand the needs of, and represent/advocate on behalf of, all disabled students.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. That at the Union level,to advocate for people with varied and different disabilities effectively, disabled student representation must be cross-disability and self-advocating in nature.

    The Union recognises that this means the participation of people with physical, mental, and sensory disabilities who want their voices heard.
  2. That the University has a legal obligation to provide parity of experience for disabled students.
  3. That the University must do more to achieve full parity of experience for able and disabled people.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. To create a Disabilities Committee.
    1. The Disabilities Committee shall be appointed via self-nomination and ratification by Students’ Union Council so different disability experiences can raise awareness of issues from and not limited to a physical, psychological, or sensory disability perspective.
    2. The Disabilities Committee shall be chaired by the Disabled Students’ Officer.
    3. The Disabled Students’ officer shall be accountable to Students’ Union Council for the work and conduct of the Disabilities Committee.
    4. The Disabled Students’ Officer can choose to delegate chairing responsibility to another member of the committee.
    5. The Disabilities Committee shall work to promote the rights of disabled students, reasonable adjustments, and the correct ways of thinking about disability to educate and support everyone through Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion training.
    6. Together with the Disabled Students’ Officer the Disabilities Committee shall be responsible for:
      1. Internal communication with the wider Students’ Union on Union disability-related issues.
      2. Liaison with the University on disability related issues.
      3. Providing support to Students’ Union members regarding disability issues.
  2. Any full member of the Union who self identifies as disabled shall be able to nominate themselves as a member of the committee. The committee members shall be ratified by Students’ Union Council and subject to accountability via the Disabled Students’ Officer and Students’ Union Council.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

In solidarity with Disabled Students at Aston UC2021.02.1a

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Paddy Crosby, Belle Linford, Kate Ranson, Daniel Everitt, Lizzie Iles

Sponsored by the following Alumni: Rebecca Boot, Emma Dobson, Lucia Mellado, Lucie Bissierier, Lydia Harper

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Preamble

The union supports disabled students in their ongoing struggle to achieve full accessibility justice.

The union remains committed to the policy of believing victims and in keeping with this, accepts the testimonies and evidence given today.

 

Union Council Notes

  1. The union acknowledges that successive Disabled Students Officers (DSOs) have worked extensively to raise awareness of ableism present in the University, and have, over the years, lobbied the University executive body for rectification.
  2. The union notes that, despite explicit requests made repeatedly by successive DSOs, the University buildings remain architecturally hostile to disabled people. For example, despite significant efforts made by last year’s DSO, Emma Dobson, much of the Main Building is still without more than roughly two automatic doors.
  3. The Union recognises that, consequently, not one disabled student possesses the experience necessary to understand the needs of, and therefore represent or advocate on behalf of, all disabled students.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. That at the Union level, to advocate for people with varied and different disabilities effectively, disabled student representation must be cross-disability and self-advocating in nature. The Union recognises that this means the participation of people with physical, mental, and sensory disabilities who want their voices heard.
  2. That the University has a legal obligation to provide parity of experience for disabled students.
  3. That the University has so far failed to fulfil this obligation.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. At this session: To declare that the University is institutionally ableist.
  2. To commission the creation of a Disabilities Committee.
    1. The Disabilities Committee shall be the foremost advisor to the Union on issues regarding disability, including but not limited to the rights of disabled students, reasonable adjustments, and the correct ways of thinking about disability.
    2. The Disabilities Committee shall be responsible for:
      1. Liaising with the Union and University on all disability-related issues.
      2. Providing support to all members regarding disability-related issues.
    3. The Disabilities Committee shall elect committee members at a time to allow elected members to undergo a handover period during the summer term before approval at the next meeting of Union Council.
    4. The democratic nature, duties and constitution of this committee will be in keeping with other liberation committees.
  3. That the DSO shall be charged with the responsibility of carrying out this commission; however, they should enlist interested disabled students as co- founders.
  4. That an election shall be held as soon as possible to elect members of this committee including but not limited to a co-chair.
    1. The franchise for this election shall be exclusively limited to disabled students. A student will be recognised as disabled in the event of self- identification.
  5. That the current DSO shall have the opportunity to accept the position of appointed co-chair of this committee and shall have bestowed upon them the relevant duties and the power to execute these duties. If the DSO does not wish to accept the position of co-chair, the Committee shall be considered an independent advisory board, and whilst there will be no official obligation to collaborate, the DSO will be highly encouraged to work in partnership with the Committee. The DSO will be encouraged to consult the committee on any issues which a member or members of the committee have experienced or on which a member or members are likely to be more knowledgeable.
  6. The Commission shall be considered finished when the following tasks are completed:
    1. The writing of a constitution in keeping with union by-laws
      1. The adoption of said constitution through a vote of disabled students (this will need to be remote and be maximally accessible - e.g., have multiple methods of voting - on the day via message in the video call if it’s a remote meeting, voting before the meeting for those who know their view but cannot physically attend, vote by proxy (for those who wanted to attend but have flaring conditions and thus cannot on the day).
    2. The election of a committee
  7. These tasks and the conditions of their execution shall be written out in greater detail in a commission document.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

Introduction of a Mature Students’ Officer UC2021.02.1c

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Safa-Atiya Ahmed (Vice President Welfare)

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Union Council Notes

  1. A mature student is used to refer to someone aged 21+ going to university after a hiatus from full-time education. This means anyone who is over 21+ at the beginning of their undergraduate studies or over 25 years of age at the beginning of their postgraduate studies.
  2. Mature students often balance their studies alongside work, childcare, and or other caring responsibilities.
  3. We have a Mature Students’ Common room upstairs in the Students’ Union building, but no specific officer representation to represent the voices and views of mature students.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. The Mature Students’ Officer shall be a mature student.
  2. The Mature Students’ Officer will be elected in the Students’ Union elections.
  3. The Officer would communicate their work in whatever format they feel appropriate whether that is in person and/or online.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. The Officer will represent Aston mature students’ community and be their voice on the issues they face at university.
  2. The Officer will be expected to listen and address all issues and concerns surrounding their academic experience.
  3. The elected Officer shall engage with the University, Union, and other relevant organisations to achieve improvements for mature students on the issues they face as students at university.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

Changing LGBT+ Officer Title UC2021.01.1b

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Paige Dawson (LGBT+ Officer)

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Union Council Notes

  1. The current title for the Student officer representing the Aston LGBTQ+ community in the Students’ Union is “LGBT+ Students’ Officer”.
  2. A poll conducted by the LGBT+ Students’ Officer found that out of 60 Aston students, 65% were in favour of re-naming the position to LGBTQ+ Officer.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. Aston Students’ Union should be understanding of the desire for the LGBTQ+ community to be represented fairly.
  2. This inclusivity will improve wellbeing of those associated with the students’ union.
  3. Students in the students’ union should be represented by the acronym or title that is most appropriate to them.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. To mandate the change in title of the “LGBT+ Students’ Officer” to “LGBTQ+ Students’ Officer”.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

No to Sexual Harassment UC2021.01.1d

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Safa-Atiya Ahmed (Vice President Welfare)

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Union Council Notes

  1. There is currently no official procedure at Aston University for students to report incidents of sexual harassment. The University have a new Bullying and Harassment policy in place which encompasses rape, sexual harassment, violence and hate crime. In turn, as part of her yearlong anti-sexual violence campaign, Safa is working with the University to produce a Report and Support tool. This tool will allow students to report incidents in relation to sexual harassment, bullying, assault, discrimination and/or get advice.
  2. A ‘Report and Support System’ work group has been set up, co-chaired by Safa with an open invitation to key players within the campus support system to collaborate on building this report system. This is to ensure there is confidence that those involved are sufficiently well resourced, trained and coordinated to deliver appropriate and timely responses and support.
  3. That the Hidden Marks report, published in March 2010 by NUS, revealed that 68% of women students had experienced sexual harassment while attending at their current institution. Many women students reported experiencing persistent harassment in pubs, bars and at club nights including ones held by student unions.
  4. That sexual harassment is any unwanted and/or persistent behaviour of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to:
    1. Unwanted sexual comments (including comments about someone’s body and private life).
    2. Unwelcome sexual invitations, innuendos, and offensive gestures.
    3. Wolf whistling, catcalling, and offensive sexual noises.
    4. Groping, pinching, and smacking someone’s body.
    5. Tugging, pulling, and lifting someone’s clothing.
    6. Exposure of sexual organs.
    7. Stalking.
  5. Sexual harassment is not limited to in person interactions. It can occur digitally through mediums such as PCs, laptops, mobile phones to send or display emails, texts, videos, or images directly to others or publicly through social media channels.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. Awareness and training are key to battling sexual harassment on campus
  2. That all members of Aston Students’ Union, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, should be able to take part in our activities and use our services free from the fear of sexual harassment.
  3. No student at Aston University should tolerate any form of sexual harassment. Action must be taken to ensure that all students are able to enjoy their time with the University, Students’ Union, and any other Aston university institution without experiencing sexual harassment.
  4. That sexual harassment should not be tolerated by Aston Students’ Union and those who commit acts of sexual harassment should be stopped and disciplined for their actions.
  5. That everyone has a joint responsibility to make our Union and University a safe space for all students and staff.
  6. That there are several reasons why a student might not want to report their experiences to the police.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. To mandate Union Officers to take part in training around the topic of sexual violence, specifically sexual harassment, and abuse. This is so they know what to do when made aware of an incident especially when made aware by a student.
  2. To never tolerate sexual violence in any of our spaces or at any of our events.
  3. That relevant consent and by-stander trainings should be made available to student leaders if they wish to take part (programme reps, part-time officers and club and society members).
  4. To ensure that Security in the Union and University are aware of the ‘Report and Support system’ tool when it is launched later this academic year so students can be signposted should they wish to report an incident and/or seek advice.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

Non-compliance with Prevent Duty ‘Students not Suspects’ UC2021.01.1e

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Safa-Atiya Ahmed (Vice President Welfare)

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Union Council Notes

  1. The UK Government’s ‘CounterTerrorismandSecurityAct2015’ places a statutory requirement on public bodies, which includes Universities, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism” through the implementation of Prevent.
  2. According to the Prevent Strategy, potential indicators of “radicalism” or “extremism” include:
    1. “a need for identity, meaning and belonging”
    2. “a desire for political or moral change”
    3. “relevant mental health issues”
  3. The Prevent duty,as part of the government’s ‘counter-extremism’ agenda, has been used to create an expansive surveillance architecture to spy on the public and to police voiced opinions, systematically targeting Black people and Muslims. It threatens academic freedom and freedom of speech as it has been used to shut down politicised conversations within institutions notably the topic of Palestine.
  4. Under Prevent, students are reported for being ‘at risk of radicalisation’ for merely taking an interest in political affairs in class, or for observing their religion more closely.
  5. The Government’s counterterrorism/security policy is fundamentally flawed in its approach; its concepts of ‘extremism’ and ‘radicalism’ are ill-defined and open to abuse from political ends.
  6. The National Union of Students (NUS) and University and Colleges Union (UCU) have both passed motions at their conferences opposing the Act and Prevent, publicly speaking against it. At present, there are 31 Students’ Unions who have passed similar motions about Prevent with the addition of Warwick University condemning Prevent too.
  7. In January 2019, the government announced that they would be conducting an ‘independent review’ of Prevent.
  8. The terms of this review are likely to be narrow and focused mostly on building support for Prevent rather than deal with its root issues or call for its scrapping.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. Students are not suspects.
  2. Universities are places for education, not surveillance.
  3. Islamophobia is massively on the rise across Europe and legitimised by the mainstream media. We do not tolerate Islamophobia at the Union.
  4. The government-identified ‘warning signs’ of “radicalisation” are problematic and dangerously affect those with mental health difficulties.
  5. There is no legal definition for the terms used by the government such as radicalisation and extremism - they are just terms used to reflect the government’s political agenda.
  6. The implementation of the Prevent Strategy does not only isolate Muslim students but also undermines the civil liberties of other groups such as environmental, political, and humanitarian activists. This ultimately feeds into the causation of further alienation and dissatisfaction within the student body.
  7. As a Charity, we as a Union are not legally bound to engage with Prevent and should seek towards a non-compliant approach.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. To mandate the Officers of this Union to oppose, not engage with or implement any of the Prevent duty measures not only to protect its students but also in solidarity with students of all backgrounds and beliefs.
  2. To constructively challenge the university, where legally possible, on the development and implementation of the Prevent Strategy.
  3. To ensure that students are aware of their rights and what help is available should they be concerned about Prevent.
  4. To support and lead Islamophobia Awareness Month as an annual initiative.
  5. To lobby the university to be open and transparent about how they are engaging with Prevent and other similar initiatives. This involves the publication about how the policy is operating within the University and the material that is being used to train staff and/or students.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

Punjab Farmers Kisaan Protest 2021.04.1a

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Balraj Purewal

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Union Council Notes

  1. The Indian government has passed three farm laws to profit off the farmer sector, destroying livelihoods and peaceful protests have been carried out in response.
  2. Many students at our university are from the relevant agricultural background and these laws affect our identity regardless of where we are based now.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. This is an important topic to be addressed and acknowledged by the union to promote the struggles faced by those and their loved ones in this current predicament.
  2. Stand with farmers in solidarity no matter of the location, farming affects all, and this is a clear injustice against a necessary vital profession.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. To mandate the VPSA to work with all colleagues and students to push to raise awareness on behalf of the students’ union.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

UN Sustainability goals and Aston University UC2021.03.1c

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Arranjit Rangi 170123053. Chloe Smith, Liem Doan, Jacob Farely and Dillan Abraham

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Union Council Notes

  1. UN’s sustainable development goals are a universal call of action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
  2. Aston University has consistently been working towards these goals in recent years.
  3. The SDG (Sustainable development goals) accord and The Impact Ranking are two ways education institutions can review its performance and engage with other education institutions on sustainability issues.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. The university needs to continue making steps in the right direction when it comes to the UN’s SDGs.
  2. Through taking part in the SDG accord and The Impact Ranking the university will be able to better understand how it can improve
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. Aston University to sign the SDG accord as an institution.
  2. Aston University to make a submission every year for The Impact Ranking.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

The Student Union policy on freebies and giveaways. UC2021.03.1a

Policy Information

Motion Proposer(s): Arranjit Rangi 170123053, Chloe Smith, Jacob Farely, Liem Doan and Dillan Abraham

Edited by: Ryan Narewal

 

Union Council Notes

  1. The waste hierarchy states that you should always try to reduce the amount of waste material you generate in preference to reusing it or recycling it. Student feedback shows that items given away for free at events like welcome fair are not useful nor sustainable.
  2. In the last couple of years, there has been shifts towards 'ethical' freebies such as tote bags, reusable cups, and bamboo straws but these still create a lot of waste and often go unused so should be limited as well.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. The union should be taking steps to reduce waste through taking into consideration the free items they give away to students and should have a formal process to review and monitor this.
  2. Staff and officers should be encouraged to review, reduce, and or remove freebies. They should consider what type of items are being purchased if items are given away.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. External organisations are not permitted to distribute paper documents unless approved by the Student Union. This would exclude medical advice or other essential information.
  2. Freebies and giveaways are heavily discouraged but if external organisations do wish to distribute freebies, they must be ethically sourced. This means they must be made from recycled material or can be recycled.
 

Printable Version of this Policy

Support for Sexual Harassment Survivors

Policy Information

Already put in practice, no need for approval

Motion Proposer(s): Paige Dawson (ASU VPW 21-22)

 

Union Council Notes

  1. The Union recently created a sexual harassment policy which is available to access on the union website under the ARC landing page.
  2. The Union has recently trained their staff via local charity RSVP to be better supporters of those experiencing/who have experienced sexual harassment.
  3. The Union is undergoing a governance review which will address the code of conducts no tolerance policy on sexual harassment.
 

Union Council Believes

  1. We have a no tolerance policy on sexual harassment or harassment of any kind in our union.
  2. Students have the right to access appropriate care after experiencing harassment.
  3. The union should have a clear action pathway for students who have experienced sexual harassment.
 

Union Council Resolves

  1. To have a ‘you only have to tell it once’ policy when it comes to sexual harassment.
  2. To empower the survivor to make the decisions that are best for them.
  3. To fund the immediate aftercare counselling sessions via RSVP for sexual harassment cases that happen during their time at our union.
 

Printable Version of this Policy