My name is Stephen Brown and I am a Presidential candidate in the upcoming ICU sabbatical elections. I am a final year maths student and during my four years at Imperial I have been involved with the Union on several levels. This year I have served as RAG Chair which gave me responsibility for coordinating our charitable activities. In previous years I have been a member of several societies including the Football Club, the Finance Society and have been a Pimlico Connection volunteer where I helped with teaching in a local school via one of Imperial’s outreach programmes.
However it has not been the experience of being a Union Officer or club member that has given me the greatest insight in to the workings of our Union and how it could be made better. For the past two years I have been a member of Felix’s sub-editorial team both as Sports Editor and Comment & Opinion (commonly known as “general ranting”) Editor. I have spent a great deal of time researching and reporting on the Union, what it does wrong and what it does right. Naturally I have formed extensive views of the Union during this period and now request that you give me the opportunity to make your Union better.
Below is an extended manifesto. I appreciate that it is long and hence I have broken it down into smaller chunks under various sub-headings if you want to jump to the part that is most relevant to your concerns. If you have any questions regarding my plans either email me at stephen.brown@imperial.ac.uk or come along and ask me directly at the hustings which take place on Monday evening at 7.30 in the UDH or Thursday lunchtime in the JCR. Voting opens on Friday 18th February at midnight and closes the following Tuesday. Vote “Stephen Brown for President” at www.imperialcollegeunion.org/vote.
Sunday 18 February 2007
Your Union
The problem with these elections is that I am really required to write 2 manifestos. One has to be concise enough to appear on posters, flyers and adverts but is insufficient to cover the big picture. These elections are your chance to have a big say in how your Union is run. Your Union currently does a lot of things well but during my time at Imperial the Union (and sabbatical officers in particular) has been seen as distant, aloof and unapproachable. I would like the opportunity to change this.
A lot of you are sick and tired with hearing the same promises from election candidates. For example, I would love to be able to say “As President I would cut bar prices” but having been heavily involved with the Union this year I know that it is not possible. When voters elect someone to do this they expect to see 10p off the cost of a pint across the board and will feel cheated if presented with anything else. If candidates were honest with everyone from the start then this would not be a problem. All I can do is promise to work so that bar prices remain as low as possible. It is simple economics that we cannot run a bar that sells drinks that lose us money and any candidate who tells you otherwise is either lying to you or is not being totally honest.
Union politicians need to accept that the vast majority of members have no interest in turning up to meetings, sitting on committees or filling in paperwork. As long as their clubs are well run and the bar doesn’t run dry they will be relatively happy. Time and time again I have seen sabbatical candidates promise to “reconnect” with students only to see them attempt to do it at a far too formal level. In addition to the usual “my door is always open” policy as President I would hold regular meetings with free refreshments (beer or coffee depending on the time of day!) where anyone who had a problem could come and know that my team and I would be there. The Union needs to demonstrate how we could benefit our members without them having to do anything on their part. Obviously those who contribute will gain far more than those who don’t but I am interested in the greatest good for the greatest number. Here are a few brief points that I think would be appreciated by the majority of the student body.
If elected President I would:-
1.) Negotiate discounts with local businesses so that your Imperial card will start to save you money.
2.) Sell the NUS Extra discount card for £7 instead of £10.
3.) Only send college-wide emails when I have something important to say, not regular spam that clogs up your inbox.
4.) Keep Union meetings and committees to a minimum. We will never engage with students if we continue to structure ourselves in the manner of a provincial golf club!
5.) Free beer and coffee sessions on a regular basis where you can come and voice your concerns to senior officers.
6.) Investigate how we could increase the quality and variety of food on offer in the Union. It has pretty much remained unchanged in the 4 years I have been here.
7.) Work to keep bar prices as low as possible.
8.) A greater variety in Union ents. Lets try new things but be prepared to learn from them if they don’t succeed.
9.) Negotiate with College so that more copies of popular textbooks are made available in both central and departmental libraries.
A lot of you are sick and tired with hearing the same promises from election candidates. For example, I would love to be able to say “As President I would cut bar prices” but having been heavily involved with the Union this year I know that it is not possible. When voters elect someone to do this they expect to see 10p off the cost of a pint across the board and will feel cheated if presented with anything else. If candidates were honest with everyone from the start then this would not be a problem. All I can do is promise to work so that bar prices remain as low as possible. It is simple economics that we cannot run a bar that sells drinks that lose us money and any candidate who tells you otherwise is either lying to you or is not being totally honest.
Union politicians need to accept that the vast majority of members have no interest in turning up to meetings, sitting on committees or filling in paperwork. As long as their clubs are well run and the bar doesn’t run dry they will be relatively happy. Time and time again I have seen sabbatical candidates promise to “reconnect” with students only to see them attempt to do it at a far too formal level. In addition to the usual “my door is always open” policy as President I would hold regular meetings with free refreshments (beer or coffee depending on the time of day!) where anyone who had a problem could come and know that my team and I would be there. The Union needs to demonstrate how we could benefit our members without them having to do anything on their part. Obviously those who contribute will gain far more than those who don’t but I am interested in the greatest good for the greatest number. Here are a few brief points that I think would be appreciated by the majority of the student body.
If elected President I would:-
1.) Negotiate discounts with local businesses so that your Imperial card will start to save you money.
2.) Sell the NUS Extra discount card for £7 instead of £10.
3.) Only send college-wide emails when I have something important to say, not regular spam that clogs up your inbox.
4.) Keep Union meetings and committees to a minimum. We will never engage with students if we continue to structure ourselves in the manner of a provincial golf club!
5.) Free beer and coffee sessions on a regular basis where you can come and voice your concerns to senior officers.
6.) Investigate how we could increase the quality and variety of food on offer in the Union. It has pretty much remained unchanged in the 4 years I have been here.
7.) Work to keep bar prices as low as possible.
8.) A greater variety in Union ents. Lets try new things but be prepared to learn from them if they don’t succeed.
9.) Negotiate with College so that more copies of popular textbooks are made available in both central and departmental libraries.
Clubs & Societies
Clubs are the Union’s biggest strength. Compared to other Union’s, Imperial College Union has one of the greatest number of clubs in the UK and also one of the highest participation rates. Due to the sheer number and variety of them these clubs all have different wants and needs from the Union in terms of support and training. A large, well-established club with several hundred members will have different needs from one of the smaller, quirkier ones.
The majority of the larger clubs want minimal interference from sabbatical officers but at the same time would like to know that there is someone there to support them should anything go wrong whilst smaller, newer clubs look for a bit more help. Speaking as a Club Chair I would attribute this difference to my experience that the best training I received was not at the “formal” training but was passed down to me by the previous Chair. Club officer training needs to be a bit more flexible and a bit less one-size-fits all if it is to become valued by officers rather than treated with the luke-warm reception it currently gets.
In terms of training and resources ICU could do a lot better. We have a fantastic new website that contains all the information that officers need but it could be made slightly more user-friendly to save people a bit of time and effort. Over the past few years turnout at officer training has been poor due to the feeling that a lot of it is of little use. It needs to be streamlined so that the essentials are covered in less time and the training sessions are held at times less likely to clash with students other commitments.
A scheme that I would like to see set up that would help both clubs and the Union as a whole would be a scheme that provides an incentive for clubs to volunteer in the wider community. I think it would be a good thing if the Union provided a small amount of money to reward clubs who use their sporting, cultural or artistic expertise to assist in our local communities. This would be entirely optional and the money used would come from the Union Exec and not from the budgets of clubs who are unable to take part due to other commitments.
Elect me as President and I will:-
1.) Encourage further diversity in our clubs by continuing to allow faculties to set up and run their own clubs if they so wish.
2.) Prioritise the needs of clubs over the Union’s commercial services
3.) Set up a scheme to provide incentives for clubs to take part in volunteer work.
4.) Ensure that ICU Sports continue to be student led.
5.) Look at how officer training could be further streamlined. Their time is better spent running their clubs than viewing some tedious slide shows.
The majority of the larger clubs want minimal interference from sabbatical officers but at the same time would like to know that there is someone there to support them should anything go wrong whilst smaller, newer clubs look for a bit more help. Speaking as a Club Chair I would attribute this difference to my experience that the best training I received was not at the “formal” training but was passed down to me by the previous Chair. Club officer training needs to be a bit more flexible and a bit less one-size-fits all if it is to become valued by officers rather than treated with the luke-warm reception it currently gets.
In terms of training and resources ICU could do a lot better. We have a fantastic new website that contains all the information that officers need but it could be made slightly more user-friendly to save people a bit of time and effort. Over the past few years turnout at officer training has been poor due to the feeling that a lot of it is of little use. It needs to be streamlined so that the essentials are covered in less time and the training sessions are held at times less likely to clash with students other commitments.
A scheme that I would like to see set up that would help both clubs and the Union as a whole would be a scheme that provides an incentive for clubs to volunteer in the wider community. I think it would be a good thing if the Union provided a small amount of money to reward clubs who use their sporting, cultural or artistic expertise to assist in our local communities. This would be entirely optional and the money used would come from the Union Exec and not from the budgets of clubs who are unable to take part due to other commitments.
Elect me as President and I will:-
1.) Encourage further diversity in our clubs by continuing to allow faculties to set up and run their own clubs if they so wish.
2.) Prioritise the needs of clubs over the Union’s commercial services
3.) Set up a scheme to provide incentives for clubs to take part in volunteer work.
4.) Ensure that ICU Sports continue to be student led.
5.) Look at how officer training could be further streamlined. Their time is better spent running their clubs than viewing some tedious slide shows.
Academic Representation
Representation is one of the Union’s core functions. Elect me to have a President who is aware of the issues facing you and will lobby both externally and internally to ensure that you are treated fairly. I would continue the current campaign that has brought to light the fact that there are wild disparities across departments of the proportion of first and upper second class degrees awarded. In an increasingly competitive graduate job market that demands a “good” degree it is unacceptable that there is such a difference. In addition, it is also unfair that some departments have the right to downgrade the marks of students who take courses in humanities or the business school. Why should two candidates with identical marks get different grades just because they are in different departments? It is just plain unfair and your Union has the power to make a difference.
Despite the problems with the DPGS position this year, postgraduate representation has improved. The GSA have done a wonderful job and no matter what the upcoming investigation into the DPGS position finds the GSA should still be encouraged. If it is decided that there will no longer be a postgraduate sabbatical then resourses need to be dedicated to ensure that the DPEW is fully up to speed on postgraduate issues.
Elect me as President and I will:-
1.) Campaign to ensure that students get the degree class that their workload merits.
2.) Give greater central union support to the establishment of RCSU and C&G sabbatical officers as they are currently run by volunteers who don’t have time to pursue this on their own.
3.)Not allow postgraduate students to lose out when the DPGS position is reviewed.
Despite the problems with the DPGS position this year, postgraduate representation has improved. The GSA have done a wonderful job and no matter what the upcoming investigation into the DPGS position finds the GSA should still be encouraged. If it is decided that there will no longer be a postgraduate sabbatical then resourses need to be dedicated to ensure that the DPEW is fully up to speed on postgraduate issues.
Elect me as President and I will:-
1.) Campaign to ensure that students get the degree class that their workload merits.
2.) Give greater central union support to the establishment of RCSU and C&G sabbatical officers as they are currently run by volunteers who don’t have time to pursue this on their own.
3.)Not allow postgraduate students to lose out when the DPGS position is reviewed.
Campaigns.
There are a lot of well-run campaigns run by Imperial students that should be given all the support that they ask for. We refuse to conform to your typical “student activist” stereotype and our campaigns are more effective because of it. Take Green Week for example. They have won concessions because it is an effective environmental campaign that engages with College and the Union and is targeted at specific goals, relevant to student concerns and delivered in an adult, reasonable tone. If students feel strongly enough that they put time and effort into organising a campaign then they should be able to expect full support from their sabbaticals in doing so.
Campaigns that students have cared about in the past have been betrayed by the overtly ideological fashion in which student leaders have chosen to run them. For a dwindling minority (only 10 Imperial Students went on the last fees march) it might be tremendous fun to take to the streets with placards and shout and scream but they have a negative effect on the cause they are trying to help. We lost the battle on top-up fees because instead of presenting decision makers with well-thought out, coherent arguments the student leaders of the day thought it more appropriate to take to the streets with “fuck fees” placards. That may be our sentiment but it is no way to get us taken seriously. The great minds of tomorrow really should be able to do better. Compared to other Union’s ICU is totally apolitical which puts us in an excellent position to lead pragmatic local and national campaigns that deliver results for students.
Elect me as President and I will:-
1.) Provide better logistical support for campaigns. Running a campaign is very time-consuming and full-time officers should aim to lighten the load wherever possible.
2.) Ditch the dogma. I would rather see campaigns that deliver results than ones that are ideologically “pure” that will alienate your average student and make decision makers hostile to us.
3.) Continue with the “greening” of the Union building. We’ve started it so we should finish.
4.) Lobby the College on hall rents. Some halls are becoming unaffordable for a lot of students.
5.) Lobby college so that 1st year students are still guarenteed a room. This entitlement is currently under discussion.
Campaigns that students have cared about in the past have been betrayed by the overtly ideological fashion in which student leaders have chosen to run them. For a dwindling minority (only 10 Imperial Students went on the last fees march) it might be tremendous fun to take to the streets with placards and shout and scream but they have a negative effect on the cause they are trying to help. We lost the battle on top-up fees because instead of presenting decision makers with well-thought out, coherent arguments the student leaders of the day thought it more appropriate to take to the streets with “fuck fees” placards. That may be our sentiment but it is no way to get us taken seriously. The great minds of tomorrow really should be able to do better. Compared to other Union’s ICU is totally apolitical which puts us in an excellent position to lead pragmatic local and national campaigns that deliver results for students.
Elect me as President and I will:-
1.) Provide better logistical support for campaigns. Running a campaign is very time-consuming and full-time officers should aim to lighten the load wherever possible.
2.) Ditch the dogma. I would rather see campaigns that deliver results than ones that are ideologically “pure” that will alienate your average student and make decision makers hostile to us.
3.) Continue with the “greening” of the Union building. We’ve started it so we should finish.
4.) Lobby the College on hall rents. Some halls are becoming unaffordable for a lot of students.
5.) Lobby college so that 1st year students are still guarenteed a room. This entitlement is currently under discussion.
ICU and the NUS
A lot of you may remember me from the referendum. I was strongly opposed to ICU joining the NUS and campaigned vigorously for a No vote. I did not do so because I object to the existence of a national student body but because I believe that in its current form it is ineffective, unrepresentative of your average student and hence a poor use of our resources. Despite the best efforts of A-NUS, ICU has voted narrowly affiliate to the NUS and it is now our duty to ensure that they deliver on their promises. At this point I would like to give credit to some members of the Yes campaign. Since the referendum I have been working closely with them and they agree with a lot of the criticisms we made of the NUS and we are in the process of passing Union policy to ensure that ICU’s delegation will vote as one in our interests and not be sidetracked by their own political views. You have voted to give the NUS a chance to prove themselves. There is currently a movement within NUS pushing for far reaching reforms that would leave it far less open to the ridicule that my colleagues and I heaped upon it back in November. ICU should support these reforms over the coming few years and if after that period it is clear that they are not working then we should take another look at our membership but not before.
If the NUS is to be effective I believe that the following reforms are necessary. The NUS should change the way it operates as (rightly or wrongly) it currently has a massive image problem, one which I went to great lengths to point out to you all in November. It’s current image is one of angry, young students railing against all authority outside parliament but it needs to realise that this is not an effective way to deliver results. Instead of this negative image it has brought upon itself by dedicating a lot of time and resources to organising street protests that only appeal to a handful of activists it should instead spend the money on an effective media campaign to re-brand students as the bright, young, articulate people that make up the majority of its members. They already do a lot of this "intelligent" lobbying already but all this good behind the scenes work is ruined the minute they let extreme activists take to the streets under their banner. The government gets away with walking all over students because we have lost all public sympathy as a group due to the caricature of your typical "the world owes us a living" student that the media love to portray us as time and time again. Lets stop giving them this opportunity and win some respect back. If we consider ourselves as adults then we need to campaign and lobby on adult terms. By all means, have a protest if it suits our aims but having one just for the sake of it does us no favours whatsoever.
The NUS promised a lot to us during the referendum and an idea of theirs that I would support would be the establishment of a Science and Engineering network. Provided that it was not just another talking shop then this could provide an opportunity for Imperial to lead by default. The majority of people involved with the NUS are politics hacks and we scientists, engineers and medics are under-represented. If we can change this then so much the better.
Elect me as President and I will:-
1.) Work with other Union’s who want the NUS to change.
2.) Work with my fellow sabbaticals and the NUS to make sure that ICU gets the maximum benefit from the NUS.
3.) Ensure the NUS delivers on their promise of a Science & Engineering network.
4.) Investigate the possibility of NUS elections being opened to all its members via online voting and not just a handful of delegates
If the NUS is to be effective I believe that the following reforms are necessary. The NUS should change the way it operates as (rightly or wrongly) it currently has a massive image problem, one which I went to great lengths to point out to you all in November. It’s current image is one of angry, young students railing against all authority outside parliament but it needs to realise that this is not an effective way to deliver results. Instead of this negative image it has brought upon itself by dedicating a lot of time and resources to organising street protests that only appeal to a handful of activists it should instead spend the money on an effective media campaign to re-brand students as the bright, young, articulate people that make up the majority of its members. They already do a lot of this "intelligent" lobbying already but all this good behind the scenes work is ruined the minute they let extreme activists take to the streets under their banner. The government gets away with walking all over students because we have lost all public sympathy as a group due to the caricature of your typical "the world owes us a living" student that the media love to portray us as time and time again. Lets stop giving them this opportunity and win some respect back. If we consider ourselves as adults then we need to campaign and lobby on adult terms. By all means, have a protest if it suits our aims but having one just for the sake of it does us no favours whatsoever.
The NUS promised a lot to us during the referendum and an idea of theirs that I would support would be the establishment of a Science and Engineering network. Provided that it was not just another talking shop then this could provide an opportunity for Imperial to lead by default. The majority of people involved with the NUS are politics hacks and we scientists, engineers and medics are under-represented. If we can change this then so much the better.
Elect me as President and I will:-
1.) Work with other Union’s who want the NUS to change.
2.) Work with my fellow sabbaticals and the NUS to make sure that ICU gets the maximum benefit from the NUS.
3.) Ensure the NUS delivers on their promise of a Science & Engineering network.
4.) Investigate the possibility of NUS elections being opened to all its members via online voting and not just a handful of delegates
Relations with College
Our Union has a very important decision to make in the near future. Due to a change in Charity Law all Students Unions need to decide whether they are going to be completely independent or a department of their parent institution. Basically, ICU has the choice of becoming a company with its own trustee board or becoming a department of College. The consensus amongst officers seems to be in favour of ICU going completely independent but there is still a legal wrangle going on about whether or not it is possible for ICU to be considered as a separate legal entity from Imperial College. Once this matter has been decided we as a Union need to look very carefully at these options.
Elect me as President and I will:-
1.) Safeguard our independence from College
Elect me as President and I will:-
1.) Safeguard our independence from College
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