Velida Pudic
Student apathy struck again today with the General Meeting failing to meet quorum with just 127 students in attendance.
The first item on the agenda was ‘The Fight For Democracy: No Need To Shout!’ which hoped to change constitution so that students who are too busy to attend General Meetings can vote online. For this to be debated a quorum of 1000 was needed. Naturally there was little hope of meeting quorum. Hence the first item on the Ordinary General Meeting was ‘The Fight For Democracy: Always Have a Back Up Plan!’ which proposed an online poll to be put to students on whether they wanted to pass the motion ‘Fight for Democracy: No Need to Shout!’
The other four items on agenda were ‘Increasing opportunities for accountability, transparency and participation in the union’, ‘Reclaim the Uni’, ‘RBS Funding Climate Chaos’ and finally, ‘NO2ID.’
All interesting topics, all enthusiastically campaigned about. Yet a poor turn out once more.
The speaker invited attendees to participate in an informal debate about tackling student apathy. Ironically, the hall emptied.
Naomi Brandon
On Wednesday 18th March, Manchester’s HOPE not hate campaign was launched in Manchester Cathedral.
Representatives from the various faith groups in Manchester and students from the University of Manchester joined together to sign a pledge to fight against the BNP in the forthcoming European elections.
HOPE not hate is Searchlight’s campaign against the British National Party and other racists and fascists. HOPE not hate recognises that people, communities and society as a whole face problems, but the BNP is not the answer and would only make everything worse. They work to expose the truth about the BNP and, by democratic means, to prevent it gaining electoral success. HOPE not hate’s current campaign aims to increase turnout in the European election on 4 June 2009 so that the BNP’s percentage vote falls short of that needed to win seats.
Find out more about HOPE not hate
The North West is particularly under threat from the BNP, as their leader, Nick Griffin, is standing for one of the North West’s European Parliament seats. The electoral system means that Griffin only needs a small percentage of the vote to win a seat.
Therefore, it is essential that the students turn out to vote on the 4th June to eliminate this chance. Together we can make a difference.
If you are not yet registered to vote in Manchester, please do so now by clicking the link below.
https://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/register_to_vote/electoral_registration_applica.aspx
And turn out to vote on June 4th to stop the BNP.
Jon Ridge
It was a tense night in the Students’ Union as the long days of tireless campaigning, lecture shoutouts and colourful promoting came to an end, finally, in Biko’s Café.
Not content with the palpable tension in the air, the powers that be kept everyone on their toes for an extra hour, with the first results coming in at 8:30. This ensured there were no fingernails left for any candidates and that the Union Bar was having an exceptional Thursday night of takings.
Continue reading ‘Election results night’
The results of the UMSU elections were announced on Thursday 12th March in Biko’s cafe.
Executive Elect
Academic Affairs: Kate Little
Campaigns Officer: Laura Williams
Communications Officer: Thomas Fairhurst
General Secretary: Gabriel Hassan
Student Activities: Jacques Graves
Student Direct: Jennie Agg
Welfare: Vicky Thompson
Womens Officer: Hazel Kent
Continue reading ‘Results of the UMSU Elections’
Dave Brackenbury
The University hosted two talks on the Gaza conflict last week in the Samuel Alexander building as part of the Israeli Apartheid Week event organised by the pressure group Action Palestine. As’ad Abu Khalili, a professor at California State University and visiting professor at the University of California in Berkeley and Nimer Sultany, a Palestinian living in Israel spoke to students and then took questions.
In the first talk, on Thursday, Abu Khalil spoke about the American media’s coverage of the war in Gaza. He spoke out against the New York Times, citing its influence over other media sources in terms of stories and the terminology used in reporting the conflict. He said this influence reached not only into other media organisations, but even members of Congress, and denounced “the global influence of the Zionist media.”
Continue reading ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’
Harry Long
The UMSU election hustings were held on Tuesday 3rd March with a large audience of students turning up to listen to the candidates debate prior to this week’s elections for the Union Council and Executive.
Each candidate was given a two minute slot to speak after which questions were asked by members of the audience. The questions covered a wide range of topics with the candidates emphasising their experience and suitability to the positions they were standing for.
The event continued for nearly three hours with the contenders for all 8 Sabbatical Union positions and the candidates for the Faculty Officers questioned.
Continue reading ‘Candidates Make Their Pitch at UMSU Hustings’
Harry Long
The Politics Department’s Dr. Jill Lovecy joined over 100 students and staff on a pro-Palestinian demonstration last Wednesday in support of the ongoing occupation of the Simon Building.
The protest, which saw students clash with police and demonstrate inside and outside several University buildings began with a rally outside the Students’ Union. Demonstrators held banners reading “Israel out of Gaza” and “Stop the Genocide in Gaza.” Victoria Palazzo, a third year Religion and Theology student addressed the crowd, criticising University Vice-Challencellor Alan Gilbert for refusing to negotiate with students occupying the Simon Building. She said: “Our demands are reasonable; we need to keep on protesting.”
Jill Lovecy, the Politics Department’s academic co-ordinator, told the crowd: “this occupation will lead to gains in terms of securing scholarships for Palestinian students. Stay motivated and stay active.”
Continue reading ‘Politics Staff Join Palestine Protest’
Each of the candidates for Communications Officer tell us why we should vote for them in the forthcoming UMSU elections - 10th-12th March. Read on to find out why Thomas Fairhurst, Mohamed Ghalaieny or Alex James should receive your vote and become the next Communications Officer of the Students’ Union.
Continue reading ‘Meet the candidates for Communications Officer’
