by-election fever!

So it’s finally here…nominations are open (until 12pm Tuesday 7th Oct) There are still lots of Parliament positions available in the upsu by-elections…here is a lil’ list:

1x postgraduate campaigns chair

1x international student campaigns chair

1x welfare campaigns chair

1x education campaigns chair

1x students with disabilities campaigns chair

1x LGBT campaigns chair

2x independent representative

1x halls and private accommodation representative

1x society representative

 

All of those, plus 14 NUS delegate positions. Every year UPSU have student delegates attend National and Regional NUS conferences, and this year we have a record number of 14 (15 if you include me, delegate leader) so we need to make the most of our position and get Plymouth’s students’ voices heard.

 

To nominate yourself, please pick up a nomination form from the Hive or online and either email it to me, or hand it in a the Hive reception, or the sabb office.

 

Candidate Training is on the 8th October at 6.30pm in the Hive. It will give all candidates, information on manifestos, how to campaign, where to campaign and how the voting system works.

 

Manifestos should be emailed to elections@upsu.comby 5pm Thursday 9th October, and will appear online when elections open.

 

Voting opens at 12pm 13th October and closes 12pm 17th October. Results will be announced form 6.30pm in the Students’ Union in Plymouth (Sublime bar). It’s always really exciting!

 

Of course we also have our first Parliament in October, during elections in fact, so hopefully it will be a big one, with all the candidates and elected parliamentarians attending. And the Lord Mayor is coming to open it! He is lovely and is really keen to support the union ths year. Good times!

 

So, I’ve been busy sorting out posters, organising the elcetions and candiate training etc…but there is still loads to do.

 

Right, must dash, need to sort out our constitution after a previous mess-up last year…I’ll keep you posted. Come to Parliament to find out more!

 

As always thank you for reading, and happy nominating/voting!

 

Aleshia x

on the road again…

Phew, I’m tired. This week I’ve been hitting the road discovering the wonders of partner colleges and helping with open days and inductions promoting upsu: and representing students. It’s been great but I’m knackered, I didn’t get back until midnight but luckily I quite like the A38. 

Yesterday I went to North Devon College, where I’m returning to later on today, to provide information and contact and of course upsu: freebies!! pens, highlighters, key-rings…it’s marvellous!

I’m not just driving around the South West though, I’ve been in lots of meetings, organising training for parliamentarians and also One World Week.

One World Week will be a celebration of cultural diversity, citizenship and democracy. If you want to get involved in One World Week, and help organise or volunteer, please let me know and email me at deputypresident@upsu.com.

I could talk all day about OWW, but I’ll save that for another blog!

Have fun in the (occasional) sun!

Parliament looks set for big things…

This week I’ve been pondering as to how to make our Student Parliament even better. Last year was the 1st year of Parliament, and it went pretty well, we made some big changes to the Union, such as deciding upon campaigns tosupport, and even discussing the all important UPSU Sport Club kit colours….touchy subject for some!

This year, Parliament will be a grand old age of 2, and we need more students to attend…after all the whole reason we have Student Parliament is to improve democracy and make sure the Union is run how YOU want it to be run. Ah Democracy…it’s brilliant, what would we do without it? I dread to think…

So let’s get this straight:

• Student Parliament can be attended by any member of UPSU (and as a UoP student , you are automatically a member of UPSU).
• Any student can submit a motion for discussion. Sounds scary…to help you write your motion, email Tracy Priestman at tracy.priestman@su.plymouth.ac.uk (actually one of the nicest people in the world, and a LEGEND!) and she can sit down and write it with you! Excellent.
• Course reps and Faculty reps should attend Parliament so that we can help make changes. UPSU will help you with any course/faculty related problem, so come and share what’s going on with your courses.
• There are lots of positions on Parliament which you can stand for and be voted on in the UPSU elections. Most of the Parliament positions are filled, but there are still a few vacant ones which will be voted for in the October By-elections (by-elections are called so to fill any vacant positions on any Parlaiment, although in the USA they call them Special Elections!! (according to Wikipedia…note: NEVER reference Wikipedia in your essays!))
• Members of Student Parliament are part-time officers of the Union. Sounds pretty good huh?!
• We need lots of people to attend to hear everyone’s opinions on matters, after all, we are a democratic union.
• Any student can be a member of a sub-committee on Parliament. Sub-committees are chaired and organised by elected Campaign Chair positions and have meeting to discuss issues affecting their campaigns and formulate motions for Parliament to vote on.
• To see when/where the next Parliament meeting is taking place, look at the spanking new Student Parliament notice board (outside of the Hive, main entrance to UPSU, Plymouth) or find dates on www.upsu.com. However it is worth noting that, Parliament is normally held on the 1st Tuesday of the month. 

Hopefully I’ll be able to get the dates for Parliament put on the Student Portal, but I need to talk to the whizz kids about that. I’m also looking in to getting fairy lights around the Parliament notice board…although there may be some Health and Safety issues!

We always go out for a few beverages after we’ve had a good ol’ Parliamentary sitting, so Parliament is a great way to meet new friends too. I would like to get a few more socials going this year too.

So come on down to Parliament, it’s interesting, fun, life-changing (seriously, it can be), and it helps everyone understand what is going on within our Union and most importantly, it can make changes to UPSU, the University and the local community.

Phew, Parliament is fantastic!

Looking forward to seeing you there. I’ll keep you posted on my blog with dates/venues for the 1st Parliament of the new year (probably October/November, after the by-elections).

For more info drop me an email deputypresident@upsu.com, and I can set you up on a date with Tracy to write motions etc!

Thanks for reading (I got a bit carried away with this blog!) and I’ll keep you posted.

Welcome!

Hello there!

Just thought I’d quickly introduce myself, I’m the newly elected Deputy President, Aleshia.

All of the new Sabbs are currently in the Hive organising how to make upsu even better in 2008-2009. It’s a very rainy July in Plymouth, I’m sure it’ll be fine in September though! That’s global warming for you!

To check out what we’re all up to, sneek a peek at our blogs for all the up-to-date info. Ooh, and feel free to write a comment or give us any suggestions on what you want to see next year.

Hope you’re all having a lovely summer, whatever the weather!