MINUTES OF CUSU COUNCIL - MICHAELMAS 1 Wednesday, 17th October The meeting was chaired by Craig Wilkie, aided by Ed Vainker and minuted by Clare Sandford. 1. There were no corrections to the minutes of the last council. 2. There were no matters arising from the last council. 3. Date and venue of next council: 7th November at Homerton. 4. Announcements by the executive: Craig: There are a number of elections being held tonight. Please bring nominations to the front. Bola: The elections for the Black Students' Campaign are taking place tomorrow in Trinity. Anyone who self defines as black can vote. Mika (on behalf of the societies officer): 'Show and Tell' is on tomorrow at 8.00 and 10.00. It costs £3. Alison: Apologies for Mike and Rachel, who are at GU council. Stewart: Remaining publications will be delivered to colleges tomorrow and Friday. Creation lost £25,000 last year. In total, the loss to CUSU reserves amounts to £10,000. This includes money spent on a new mini-bus and photocopiers. Every council member has a copy of the letter that Martin has written, explaining the reasons for the loss. The loss was announced to the executive at the first exec meeting of term. It was the intention to announce it tonight, however, Varsity picked up on the story beforehand. Pav: A report is due out this evening on GU/CUSU integration, following the strategic review. 5. Questions to the executive: James Cohen - Peterhouse: How many colleges have signed up with Toxic? Do you think we should do so? What steps will be taken to ensure better deals in the future? Stewart: It is in the best interests of the students not to sign up with Toxic. Student nights at Fifth Avenue and Life generate money that is then put back into the university. Toxic did not approach CUSU to discuss the deal. It is better that we act as a single institution, rather than as separate colleges. Don't think it's a good deal, but it is ultimately up to each college. Adrian Ellis - Corpus: When will we have an update on the Quality of Life survey? Why were posters for the Ministry of Sound trip only out today? Stewart: Had thought that the Quality of Life report could be done over the summer. It will take a week to do - a week has not been available to them yet, but a week has been booked out at Christmas. The report should be distributed at the beginning of the Lent term. The posters were due to arrive in time for the freshers' fair. Unfortunately the ents manager was ill, and so they were delayed. Apologies for the delay. Oli Wort - Clare: Having emailed Stewart asking whether information gathered form the Quality if Life survey could be given before the report was written, he received the reply that any information would be meaningless. If it is meaningless, why was the survey carried out? Stewart: The report won't be meaningless after the data has been sorted out. It is the data in its current form that would be meaningless. Oli Wort - Clare: To Pav - a letter was sent to Downing Street offering the condolences of Cambridge students following the attacks on America. Pav has acted unconstitutionally, as this has not been ratified at Council. Pav: This was a personal response. Following many phone calls from students, a letter was drafted, and looked at by the exec. As the event occurred outside term time, it would have been impossible to take to Council. It was very important that a response was sent straight away - it would have been insensitive to wait. The letter was referring to all those who had asked for this to be done. The correct procedures were followed - as it was out of term time. Tom Licence - Magdalene: The government's condemnation of terrorism speaks for everyone on the country. CUSU does not need to issue a separate statement. Pav: It is important for members to feed back on a local level. This is not CUSU issuing a separate stance. Joshua: CUSU has a policy against terrorism. ------/---- - Corpus: Will GU council clash with CUSU council every time? Pav: The GU have been given the dates for CUSU council. They have said that the two will not clash. 6. Objections to the order paper: Joshua: Proposal to put the elections before motions 1 and 2. It was decided that this would not be done, as there are some people that have come only for these motions, and there are some people arriving later, in time for the elections. 7. Ordinary Motions. i) Condemnation of Terrorism - Proposed by Pav Akhtar In response to the many emails and phone calls, it is felt that CUSU should have a formal policy. Must make a firm and official stance. There were no speeches against. Oli Wort - Clare: Procedural motion that this motion not be put. CUSU has an official policy on terrorism already. This motion resolves to do nothing. Sam Virtue - Christ's: Against the procedural motion - Council should ratify condolences. Vote on procedural motion. The motion fell. Alison: Proposal to move to a vote. Everyone agreed. For: 62 Against: 0 Abstentions: 11 MOTION PASSED ii) Anti-war - Proposed by David Babbs This motion is not about whether what happened on September 11th was right. It's not about the relevance to students. It is about wanting to make the world a safe place, and not justifying the killing of innocent civilians. The military intervention is unjust, ineffective, immoral, and will impinge on the quality of life of everyone. Speech against: Sam Virtue - Christ's: This motion does not embody what David has voiced. The believes offer anything but a balanced and fair point of view. It concentrates on the USA and not about Britain's involvement. The resolves are good. However, there is such a wide viewpoint in college - this has a personal resonance for so many. Alex Swallow - Emmanuel: The resolves aim to show CUSU's position through statement. David: The idea is to have a policy; it's not about running demos. Adrian Ellis - Corpus: What is the point of the resolves, if they are not to do something in particular, other than offer support? David: CUSU is a representative body. CUSU should represent the view of the students, and so we should vote on this. Stewart: It is illegal to direct funds to campaign against war - can only offer support. Alison: Must abstain, as mandated by Women's council. However, the phone has been constantly ringing, with journalists wanting to know CUSU's position. Will have the confidence to answer these requests having discussed it at council. Catriona Laing - Jesus: If the majority abstain, will the motion be passed anyway? Craig: No. Tony McConnell - Peterhouse: Proposal for a procedural motion to change resolves to only offering students support, and not opposing the current war. CUSU shouldn't take a stance. Sam Virtue - Christ's: What would happen if a student asked for support? Helen: Without policy, could only offer the usual welfare support and legal advice, if they were arrested. Sam: What is this motion resolving to do? David: To oppose the war. Sam: Is it about giving aid to students? David: No - this can't be given. Sam: Can't give financial support? Speech against procedural motion: Paul Lewis - Kings: Universities have always commented on such issues. We are in a privileged position. It is our duty, right and responsibility to stand up for them. Vote. The procedural motion falls. Summation: We should have a view on this. Please vote for or against. For: 24 Against: 9 Abstentions: 40 MOTION FALLS iii) Anti-racism - Proposed by Lola Adesioye Recent attacks have caused great concern. CUSU need to state that we condemn racial abuse. Colleges should have more control over who is invited to speak. Student media should be accountable for what they write. A recent Varsity article contained things that it should not have. The law states that the media is accountable for what they write, even if racial abuse was not intended, but was perceived as such. Amendment - Proposed by Adam Joseph: It was in public interest to publish the story. The problem here is with notes 4, claiming that the article was 'unnecessarily alarmist and exploited prejudice'. No letters of complaint were received following the article. In fact, Pav wrote a congratulatory letter. Whilst agreeing with the motion, this part of it attempts to pass a motion against Varsity on the sly. Against - Lola: These notes do not accuse Varsity of racism. If the motion is to change in any way, it should be changed as suggested. The article created alarm, and Varsity should be responsible for this. This is dealt with in believes 5 anyway. Joshua: What was the headline? Was it as misleading as the H. E. funding headline? What is the policy on headlines? Adam: The main headline was 'Fundamentalist coming to a college near you'. It must be read with the accompanying bullet points. The word 'fundamentalist' has not been made up. The article did not exploit prejudice. For the amendment - Julian Blake: This motion is not about liking Varsity or not. The editors are not racist, and don't want to be accused of being so. Against - Lola: This is not a motion about Varsity. It is about anti-racism. However, student media should be held accountable for what they write. This is not a personal criticism. Many complaints have been received. For - Tom Licence - Magdalene: The proposed amendment expresses the same sentiment. If this is a motion about anti-racism, why not accept it? Against - Lorrayne: This is a student newspaper. It has a responsibility to students, and must be aware of the impression it gives. People have been upset about the article. Summation for amendment - Adam: This is a motion about anti-racism. It should not be two motions rolled into one. AMENDMENT ACCEPTED. Main motion - speech against - Oli: Whilst agreeing with the sentiments, there is a problem with the way of going about it. CUSU shouldn’t approach senior tutors themselves. This should be done by each college, by students who know their senior tutors. ----/-----Queens’: Resolves 5 - separate from people inciting racial hatred. Lola: Didn't write this - was shown it. Shane Malik - Trinity: Isn't the 'White book' only relevant to Trinity? Lola: Wasn't aware that this was the case. David: Proposal for procedural motion to strike out resolves 5. Lola: The ‘White Book’ might be only for Trinity students, but this states university regulations. Every fresher receives something with this stated. Vote: PROCEDURAL MOTION PASSED. Speech in favour - Mika: CUSU has specific officers to campaign on cross-campus issues. Not everything can be put through JCRs. Oli: A better response would be achieved if JCR officers went to their senior tutors. Helen: Exec members do have close contact with senior tutors. Deal with them often. CUSU does work with colleges and has a responsibility to work with JCRs and MCRs. Alison: This motion was discussed at Women's council. It was thought that this would go ahead only with the approval of each JCR/MCR, and should be done in a way respecting colleges. Chris Hilton - Trinity Hall: Why are we arguing about this? CUSU already provides this welfare - has a firm position. Lola: If JCRs have a say in who speaks at their colleges, why have such speakers been asked? This motion is reaffirming CUSU’s position. Summation - Lola: This is important - it affects a number of people. For: 67 Against: 1 Abstentions: 2 MOTION PASSED iv) Higher Education Funding Policy - Proposed by Joshua Reddaway: This motion outlines what the policy is, and the intentions for this year. It is long because it says so much. The format is slightly different from usual, to make it easier to read. We are continuing with past policy. The funding system is bad, and must be improved. Against: Chris Rudd - Sidney Sussex: The motion is long and verbose. What is the point of it? We have 'reports and plans' to deal with this. Do we need a mandate from council on these resolves? Joshua: Need the flexibility to say what we want when it is needed. Alex Barden - St. John's: Must accept that the budget will be limited. Money must be targeted. Those who need help should get it. Why does this help have to be universal? A means-tested grant should be available to those that need it. Should say yes to grants and not fees, but no to this being universal. Alison: This is the policy. It is what we believe in. This motion lays out consideration for alternatives. It maintains the policy that students should be treated as individuals and their parents should not be taken into account. The shadowing scheme revealed a number of people who needed support, but, based on their parents' incomes, they could not receive it. The parents were unwilling to support them. Jo Feltham - Downing: Has the environmental impact of the gold balloon release been considered? Joshua: Yes. They are entirely biodegradable balloons. Alex Whitaker - Pembroke: Cambridge has its own means of top-up fees, in the form of KFCs. Why is this not included in the motion? Joshua: Resolves 9 includes reviewing costs. Although it is not a policy against KFCs, they are included in general rising costs. Lorrayne: How much have the balloons and ribbons cost? What is the point of them? Joshua: We do have the costings - don’t know for the moment. Gold has been used in the past for student hardship by other universities, including Oxford. Adrian Ellis - Corpus: What are we doing on these things listed in mandates 1? Joshua: This should be self-evident. Information was given out at freshers' fair. Sam Virtue - Christ's: Why has so little been made of the welcomes? This is very positive news. Well done to everyone. David: This should be notes, and not welcomes. Progress has been made due to much hard work, and not the generosity of the government. Rachel: The balloons cost £185 - this came out of a budget of £2000. Summation: This motion allows us to say yes. It is better than the current situation. It gives specifics and outlines intentions. For: 69 Against: 4 Abstentions: 0 MOTION PASSED v) Publications Working Party - Proposed by Stewart Morris: This is not a new problem. Something needs to be done about the problem with publications. The proposed working party would look into everything. It will not be a closed group - open to all suggestions. Findings will be brought back to council. Lola: Who decides which publications would be reduced in size/frequency, as stated in resolves 3? Stewart: Can't answer - working party has not yet been set up. Council will have the final say on any decisions made. Alison: The publications of separate campaigns remain in the hands of each campaign. David: This working party would give the sabbs a clear majority. Stewart: All sabbs have a role in publications. They know what's happening. It is unlikely that discussions will be particularly controversial. It is highly likely that all the sabbs will not be available to attend every meeting - need some at each meeting. Different people will be able to make different meetings. Josh Bell - Emmanuel: Has any consideration been given to the idea of joint publications with other universities? Stewart: Not specifically. The working party could look into it. For: 69 Against: 3 Abstentions: 0 MOTION PASSED It was noted that the information given during motion 2, about abstentions, may well have been wrong. The motion fell, even though more people voted for than against, however, the majority abstained from voting. If abstentions count as votes against, they should have been votes against. Abstentions should not cause a motion to fall, as they are not votes. Adrian Ellis - Corpus: Was mandated to abstain. This is not a suitable motion for council. Vladimir: Need to set up a mechanism to account for abstention. Joshua: Abstained because he didn't know what the graduates at King's, whom he was voting on behalf of, wanted him to vote. Sam Virtue - Christ's: We should find out our constitutional position, and then be offered the opportunity to change votes accordingly at the next council. vi) TCS Constitution - Proposed by Stewart Morris: Following the removal of the CUSU president from the TCS Board of Directors, there are now only 6 members - this could result in a split vote. Proposal to add an extra member. Constitutional changes outlined need to be agreed by council. There were no speeches against. For: 72 Against: 0 Abstentions: 0 8. There were no emergency motions. 9. Elections: Chair Of CUSU Council: Nominated: Vicky Elliot, Shane Malik and Tony McConnell Vicky - 31 Tony - 21 Shane - 14 Shane was eliminated 2nd round - Vicky - 38 Tony - 25 VICKY ELLIOT IS ELECTED. Anti-Racism Officer Nominated: Lola Adesioye and May Abdalla BOTH ARE ELECTED TO SHARE THE POST. HIV/Aids Officer Nominated: Tony McConnell and Rahwa Fessahaye BOTH ARE ELECTED TO SHARE THE POST. Graduate Students' Rep. Nominated - Arthur Gretton ARTHUR IS ELECTED. Funding and Access Campaign Team (6 places) Nominated: Chris Keating and Saalim Chowdhury BOTH ARE ELECTED. TCS Director Nominated: Pav Akhtar, Chris Higgs, Caroline Muspratt, Joshua Reddaway and Julian Blake. Pav - 12 Chris - 9 Joshua - 6 Caroline - 33 Julian - 4 Julian was eliminated 2nd round - Pav - 12 + 4 = 16 Chris - 9 + 1 = 10 Joshua - 6 + 1 = 7 Caroline - 33 + 3 = 36 Joshua was eliminated 3rd round: Pav - 16 + 3 = 19 Chris - 10 Caroline - 36 + 2 = 38 CAROLINE MUSPRATT AND PAV AKHTAR ARE ELECTED. Standing Committee for Ethical Policy (2 places) Nominated: Martin Hearson, Mike Lewis and Saalim Chowdhury. Martin - 14 Saalim - 12 Mike - 37 MIKE LEWIS AND MARTIN HEARSON ARE ELECTED. NUS Regional Conference Delegates (13 places) Nominated and elected: Alex Swallow David Mater Rachel Tripp Mike Bourke Ed Vainker Chris Higgs Shane Malik Paul Lewis David Snowdon Joshua Reddaway Helen Evans Catherine Hildebrand 10. Any Other Business: Thank you very much to Craig for chairing council. Tony McConnell: Students training to be teachers should receive £6000, which arrives in instalments on the 5th of every month. This hasn't happened this month. The financial department of the university are at fault. The problem is being investigated. Should support this. Vladimir: The CUSU International website should be up and running in 48 hours time. Lorrayne: Looking for volunteers to drive the mini-bus, so that the late night service can be available. Drivers need to be over 21, have had at least 3 years driving experience and have a clean licence. Please email any exec member to offer your services. Joshua: It's a shame that only 2 people have stood for FACT. Would like a contact in every college - could discuss this in JCR meetings. Stewart: Can everyone let their porters know that publications will be delivered within the next two days.