7th Week Hilary 2008 Minutes

 
Council Minutes

7th week ht08

Reports from the Executive

Claire Addison: yearbook. Please write a college article and send it to Claire by the end of term.

Rich Hardiman: OSSL, wholly owned by OUSU. If you're a CR President or an OUSU rep, you're a member of OSSL. Lots of people haven't sent replies, so we're not operating as a totally legal company.

Ingrid Frater: International Festival tomorrow at Keble 10am-4pm. Please ask me questions on my report about the meetings I attend.

Hannah Roe: safety bus needs more volunteers.

Daniel Lowe: Bags for Life with college logos. Need a minimum of 200 per college. Please talk to Daniel if you're interested.

Questions to the Executive

James Stafford: any progress on bus discounts?

Ingrid: has emailed Brookes.

Policy Lapse

Alternative Careers Fair

James (St John's): we should keep having ACFs.

Adam Marsh (Trinity): does it happen?

Claire Addison: it's out of date. We have them every year.

Policy voted against.

Fair Trade

Policy kept.

International Reps

Policy kept.

Advertising Ban on Lonely Planet

Daniel Lowe: Burma human rights crisis. Burma is opening its doors to tourism. If you go as a tourist, you are essentially supporting this regime. Lonely Planet produced a guide for Burma, encouraging tourists.

Rich Hardiman: guide still being produced?
Daniel: yes

Claire (ChCh): are Lonely Planet the only company?
Daniel: they're the only company to have an explicit guide for Burma

Adam Marsh (Trinity): why not the whole of the BBC, who now own Lonely Planet?
Daniel: since purchased.

Lewis Iwu (New): other countries
Daniel: yes

Adam Marsh (Trinity): why not start again?
Daniel: found out this morning. Will further investigate.

Hannah Roe: does it advertise as Lonely Planet?
Daniel: yes

Alexander Scribbler (CCC): been to Iran, know people who've been to N Korea, Georgia etc. You can get guides for other places. Don't focus just on Burma. Are you doing a country good by completely not helping their economy? You could be helping local economies.

Daniel: saying that we shouldn't pick on one country or one company is right, but this could be the start of more advertising bans that can be brought. There is very little package tourism in Burma. Most of the places that you're allowed to go to are run by the government. You don't need to go to Burma to understand the situation.

Ben Karlin (New): is tourism to Burma ok? Isolating the community is not very healthy perhaps. What can be achieved by an advertising ban on Lonely Planet? Students like to travel. The guides are of a good quality.

James (New): what is an objective travel guide? The idea of blocking people people is counter-productive.

Hannah Roe: There was lots of debate about South Africa. What do people in the resistance movement want? What are they asking for? Aang Sang Sui Chi doesn't want tourism – we should respect this.

Daniel: agree with what Hannah has just said. Lonely Planet is being irresponsible.

Alexander: there should be policy on Burma, but this isn't the best way. Tighten up the policy all round the board.

Policy failed.

Fees Open for International Students

Kept.

SRI

Daniel: yes, most of this has been done. But it's not 100% solidified. Colleges not addressed yet.

Joe Ammoun (St Edmund Hall):

Martin McCluskey: believes what this says, but wants policy to be relevant and current. New policy should be brought. This should look at donations as well as investment.

Stefan Baskerville (Univ): supports Martin. New, fresh policy updated next term.

Policy failed.

Concern for the Environment

Policy kept.

Green Coalition

Withdrawn.

Anti-terrorism

Hannah Roe: detention periods are high.

Elliot (PMB): this policy calls for opposition to a bill which has passed. Very specific. This policy should be updated.

Martin Nelson (LMH): this takes a lot of time. We do this once a year and keep policy relevant. This act has been passed.

Policy failed.

Emergency Motions

OUSU Accounts

Rich Hardiman: these reflect last years financial situation

Elliot: are there copies?
Rich: they were attached

Motion passed.

Complaints Board Report 1

John Maher: regulations of Complaints Board are out-of-date and needed to be sorted out.

Motion passed.

Complaints Board Report 2

John Maher: this is the report of the board on the complaint made by the Pro Life Society.

Hannah: clarification of third paragraph.

John Maher: if someone goes up and consciously asks for information, then it's legitimate.

Martin McCluskey: repeat Hannah's question

John Maher: SHIT. Offensive material should be passed by VP Women, but less prominent material should be more lenient – if it is solicited.

All material has to be agreed by the VP Women.

Hannah Roe: will the VP Women be able to have the say?

John Maher: VP Women can't strike it on the words themselves, but on the context. Words would not have an automatic ban, but context should be looked at. A bit more discretion on solicited material.

David Howell (ChCh): speech in opposition. Why are we afraid of medical facts of language? We're not happy with the ruling.

John Maher: material can transform from medical facts to something more. Students should not feel insulted on the decisions they may have made. Trying to strike a compromise.

If the report is passed, OUSU or the complainant can appeal.

Motion passed.

Complaints Board Report 3

John Maher: Martin forwarded Andy's complaint. The Board recommended motion of censure – what would have been recommended already.

Claire Addison: why should the apology be made to Council and not the complainant? 
John Maher: Council is where Hannah is accountable, having been voted for by the students of the University.

Hannah Roe: Obviously this needs to be dealt with, but doesn't think this is appropriate. The complaint was originally taken to Standing Committee first. Hannah appealed, and the appeal was never answered, and was taken to Complaints Committee. Then motion of censure. This complaint hasn't been dealt with fairly. Council jumped the gun. If someone wants to make a complaint, there should be a clear process. This is not a fair addition. If this goes through, we'll have a weird situation. Not fair.

Jonny Medland (Queen's): What is Standing Committee?
Martin: Standing C and Complaints C are the two bodies which take complaints. Education Act 1994. Standing Orders – complaints on OUSU staff should be CC; others should be SC. When we realised it shouldn't have gone to SC, we took it straight away to CC. This mistake has been put in writing, and Hannah has this.

Ben Karlin (New): what Hannah says on the process is fine, but not a reason not to accept the CC report.

Hannah: this is a contentious issue. This needs to be clarified in the future. It's messy and complicated, and this report doesn't add anything to it and complicates the situation more.

Jack Matthews (St Peter's): with respect for what Hannah says, we have done what the rules say. The issues of SC has no connection to what Hannah is saying.

John Maher: SC was inappropriate – realised this and it went to CC. Once a complaint has been received, CC has to look at it. We think it's fair, it's been investigated.

Hannah Roe: there should be a clearer process. Not a good idea to add this on.

Motion passed.

New Vice Chancellor

Martin McCluskey: this has come as an emergency motion. We now have a meeting with the nominating committee in Trinity, and so we need to have policy before the meeting takes place. Not the end of the line for this issue. We need thoughts. It was because Council passed this, that we've got a meeting with the nominating committee.

James (St John's): what is meant by the student experience?
Martin: the whole experience, it's a term the University uses.

Ian Wellby (Keble): what are these radical reforms?
Martin: the University have been keen on governance, and students were pro what was failed last year.
Ian: an example?
Martin:

Amendment

Resolves 4

Autonomous Campaigns

Motion passed.

RO report

Passed. 

Women's Right to Choose

Kat Wall: speech in proposition. Want to arrange a group of people to go down to London and march. Spread the word etc. In agreement with

Elliot: cost involved?
Kat: transport to London, individuals pay.

David Howell (ChCH): speech in opposition. There are so many groups that are opposed to these policies, we should let individuals choose and not shut out individual students.

Stefan Baskerville: we have a pro-choice policy, so while we have it we should go with it.

Rachel Cummings (Sommerville): we should support students.

Kat Wall: OUSU is not funding it, we should go with our policy.

David Howell: institutional supporting

Motion passed.

Affiliation to Abortion Rights

David Howell: lots of groups in the University who oppose abortion. We should not shut these students out. Spoke to the previous VP Women. Statistics of PCT – we can get these statistics anyway. Medical information can be got without this affiliation. We could get rid of this and be a truly representative institution.

Rich Hardiman:

Ingrid Frater: do we pay for this?

Hannah Roe: £75

(Regents Park): if we're disaffiliated, would this change welfare?

Jonny Medland: what things do we get from being affiliated?

David: statistics

Dani Quinn (Merton): other things as well

Kat Wall: also information on law and advice to student union officers.

Adam Smith (Balliol): what other campaigns or movements are we affiliated to and pay charges to?

David: Mind, Student Action for Refugees

Kat Wall (LMH): what is an unacceptable bar?

David: certain positions you have to uphold policies, even if you don't agree with them.

Stephanie Silverton (St Antonys): have you done surveys on this?

David: talked to various societies

Kat Wall: speech in opposition. Aims of Abortion Rights – calls for abortions to be available within legal timings, N Ireland in line with rest of UK. Brings information to the Student Union. Part of a broader national campaign. Non-directional welfare support. We're a democratic unit, we have a democracy – there was a referendum on this issue. The Pro-Choice voice one. We do have pro-choice policy.

Amendment (Martin Nelson)
Council Believes 3: affiliation... MAY represent an unacceptable bar
on a point of principle, Council shouldn't make this decision.

Amendment passed.

Changed form to from.

Claire Addison: separation of student union and religion. Don't think we should have policy to specific religious movements. This would start some worrying trends.

Christian Sanders (St John's): OUSU Council is highly aware of beliefs. Put yourselves in the shoes of a religious student, who see OUSU as against something they strongly believe in.

Rachel Cummings: Pro-Choice campaign is separate from other policies. We have a non-directional approach to our welfare.

Adam Marsh (Trinity): misinformation. This isn't a motion about OUSU Pro-Choice policy or welfare. All this is about is that for a number of people, this is an extremely specific thing of paying money out of the Central Student Union we all pay to.

Jonny Medland (Queen's): as Kat said earlier, there was a referendum on this issue. A majority 60-40.
Ask questions on issues like this. Representation has been taken out of context.

Kat Wall: feeling intimidated. Being affiliated to Abortion Rights doesn't exacerbate this issue. Abortion rights doesn't want to campaign for a change in times.

Hannah Roe: £75 – sabs have to act on a pro-choice campaign. In terms of the policy, being affiliated is really important.

Rich Hardiman: agrees with Hannah. £75 is barely any money. It would cost more for Hannah to do this research. If this is about a pro-choice policy, then come head on and bring a motion about the policy.

David Howell: apologies for any incorrect information. If part of being VP Women is about upholding pro-choice, then it is alienating. We could get this information in other ways without being so overtly controversial.

Hannah Roe: if this is an argument about value for money, yes it is an incredibly useful thing to be affiliated to.

Motion failed.

10 favour
46 against
5 abstentions

Still Human Still Here Sleepout

Dom Wienberg: this is an important issue. Inhumane policy currently on asylum seekers. To claim asylum is very difficult. Lots of local people are supporting it, including the mayor, MPs are supporting it.

Adam Marsh (Trinity): why doesn't notes 1 recognise that they are legally required to leave the country?

Dom: not so important. We should help people regardless.

Ian Wellby (Keble): this is coming from completely the wrong angle. Lobby the Home Office about the situation.

Joel Mullan (St Peter's): failed aslyum seekers who have been ordered to leave who are appealing? is their situation acceptable?

Dom: this is one part of a campaign. we'll be looking at others too.

Ian: there are arguments specifically for those who are appealing. This undermines British law.

Motion passed.