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7Th Week Hilary Term 2020 Student Council

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7Th Week Hilary Term 2020 Student Council 7th Week Hilary Term 2020 Student Council TIME: 17:30 DATE: Wednesday 4th March LOCATION: Britton Room, Lawns Pavilion, Trinity College If you have any questions about Student Council, please feel free to contact: Chair of Council: [email protected] Student Engagement Coordinators: [email protected] Disability Contact: Disability Coordinator, [email protected] Project Bid Pot: £1235 remaining a. Minutes of the previous meeting b. Elections in council c. Reports from and questions to Sabbatical Trustees d. Report from the Trustee Board e. Report from Scrutiny Committee f. Reports from and questions to Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality and Suspended Students’ Campaign g. Reports from and questions to Humanities Divisional Representatives h. Items for resolution 1. Motion to Amend Bye-Law 31 (Media Services) 2. Motion to trigger a by-election for NUS Delegates 3. To establish the Divestment Project as an SU Project 4. Approve reports from SU Projects a) TABOU Disability Magazine b) Oxford Migrant Solidarity c) BSL classes d) TSHA Free Library e) Homelessness Awareness Project 5. Ban Beef 6. Academic Hate Speech motion 7. Housing Justice in Oxford 8. Re-mandate the SU President to speak in favour of abolishing the post- graduate application fee 9. Establish ‘Walk in my shoes: The Oxford BAME Experience’ as an SU Project Below the line 10. Approve the It Happens Here Campaign Constitution 11. Renew the Oxford Living Wage Project i. Items for discussion j. Any other business Page Break a. Minutes of the previous meeting b. Elections in Council Chair of Council - Chair of Council is elected in 7th Week Council each term to serve for the following term. They are responsible for the running, operation, and pre-planning of the meeting as well as sitting on Steering Committee. Council’s decisions have an impact across all levels of both the University and the Student Union, and as Chair you will be responsible for ensuring that this student decision making body is as effective as it can be. Returning Officer - The Returning Officer plays a crucial role in upholding and maintaining Oxford SU’s democratic structures. Throughout the year you will have the main say in all things electoral, from elections in Council, to the Annual Elections in Hilary. You will chair the Elections Committee as well as resolving complaints and disputes within the Annual Elections. This is one of the most crucial student volunteer roles within Oxford SU. Steering Committee (x2) - Steering Committee is comprised of two elected student steering members, the Chair, the President, and the Returning Officer. Steering is the committee tasked with deciding the agenda for the coming Council. They meet the week before to discuss whether submissions should make it to the agenda, whether they need to be amended, or whether they require ‘steering’ to another committee first. Steering are also the group responsible for ensuring that an All Student Consultation is held, if called for. Scrutiny Committee (x1) - Scrutiny are elected at the start of Michaelmas to serve for the entire academic year. It is their task to interview the Sabbatical officers at the end of each term and ensure that they are doing the job they have been elected to do. Scrutiny will craft a report to be delivered to Council in 7th Week of each term. c. Reports from and questions to Sabbatical Trustees d. Report from the Trustee Board e. Report from Scrutiny Committee f. Reports from and questions to Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality and Suspended Students’ Campaign g. Reports from and questions to Humanities Divisional Representatives h. Items for resolution 1. Motion to Amend Bye-Law 31 (Media Services) Council Notes: 1. 'The Oxford Student' newspaper and Oxide Radio constitute Oxford SU's 'Media Services'. 2. Oxford SU has a Media Board with various responsibilities relating to these services. 3. The Bye-Laws do not reflect how these responsibilities are carried out in practice and there is no accompanying Terms of Reference for the Media Board to provide clarity. Council Believes: 1. That the Media Board as it currently functions is not fit for purpose. 2. That Oxford SU should have a Media Board that is able to plan for the future. 3. That the Media Board should draw from the experience of those who have had a high level of involvement in the Media Services. 4. That individuals should be able to have confidence in the Media Board’s ability to address complaints. Council Resolves: 1. To amend the Bye-Laws per this motion (Appendix A). Proposer: Ray Williams, Oxford SU Seconder: Neil Misra, Oxford SU 2. Motion to trigger a by-election for NUS Delegates Council Notes: 1. Oxford SU is entitled to send 7 NUS Delegates to NUS Conference in April with one automatically being the President. 2. NUS requires delegates to be elected via cross-campus ballot. 3. At the Oxford SU Annual Elections earlier this year, only three candidates stood for six available positions for NUS Delegates. One of these candidates was RON’d meaning only two were elected to the six available positions. Council Believes: 1. The returning of RON from the election is a mandate from the student body to run a by-election. 2. It is important that every effort is made to send to NUS Conference the full number of delegates that Oxford SU is entitled to send Council Resolves: 1. To declare a vacancy for the 4 currently unfilled positions for NUS Delegate before the NUS Conference in April. Proposer: Anisha Faruk, Oxford SU Seconder: Kaya Axelsson, Oxford SU 3. To establish the Divestment Project as an SU Project Council Notes: 1. That the firm weight of the evidence, and as a result the scientific consensus on the matter, states that anthropogenic global warming is an imminent threat, which is already negatively affecting some of the most marginalised people on the planet, and that this is largely the result of greenhouse gas emissions from the fossil fuels sector. 2. That in spite of this, neither the central Oxford University Endowment Management Fund nor any constituent Colleges’ endowments (bar three) have divested from the oil and gas industry, nor from any company which will not produce a net zero carbon emissions plan. Council Believes: 1. That any responsible investment strategy on the part of the University and its constituent Colleges ought to include divestment from any company which will continue to contribute to the problem of anthropogenic global warming (i.e. not produce a credible net zero plan), and especially from the fossil fuels industry. 2. That the Oxford University Endowment Management Fund, and the management of individual constituent Colleges’ endowments, should reflect the above. Council Resolves: 1. To establish the OCJC Divestment Project as an SU Project (Appendix B) and allocate an additional £20 from the Project Bid Pot. Proposer: Heather Woods, Magdalen College Seconder: Benedict Fellows, Pembroke College 4. Approve reports from SU Projects a) TABOU Disability Magazine (Appendix C) b) Oxford Migrant Solidarity (Appendix D) c) BSL classes (Appendix E) d) TSHA Free Library (Appendix F) e) Homelessness Awareness Project (Appendix G) 5. Ban Beef Council Notes: 1. Just like humans, cows form close friendships, and they grieve when their friends or family members die. Yet in the beef industry, families are torn apart, calves are mutilated, and many cows are slaughtered when they’re just 18 months old. 2. Raising and killing cows for their flesh is also destroying our planet. The production of beef is responsible for more greenhouse-gas emissions than that of any other food – a staggering 40 times more than the production of beans or peas. The beef industry is a major contributor to the Amazon rainforest fires, deforestation, drought, and water and air pollution. 3. That we follow the example of both Cambridge and LSE in banning beef. Council Believes: 1. That beef is harmful to the planet. 2. That the university's meat consumption should be reduced. Council Resolves: 1. To make the following SU policy: The Vice President for Charities and Community will campaign for removal of beef products in buttery's for the environment, student health and animal welfare - following the example set by Cambridge, Goldsmith’s and LSE. LSE passed this policy through their Student Union. These campaign will include will not be limited to: - Informing staff and students within the University as to Oxford SU’s support for banning beef and the purposes and reasoning behind our adoption of this policy. - Articles and other appropriate material will be included in publications and websites managed by Oxford SU. - Raising awareness of the benefits of banning beef to health and the environment. - Meeting regularly with university authorities to campaign for banning beef on a university level. - Ensure that the removal of beef accompanies a replacement with plant based options instead of different meat options. - Campaign to get meat reduction added to Oxford’s sustainable food policy. More specifically, Oxford SU will campaign for: - The University to have an official policy surrounding meat reduction, reviewed annually. - The University to look into supplying plant based products in all its cafes and shops, and at all university events. - The central University to advise departments on how to begin banning beef in cafes and buttery’s. Proposer: Megan Griffiths, University College Seconder: Jon Stocks, University College Trigger Warning: ABLEISM, TRANSPHOBIA, CLASSISM, MISOGYNY, EUGENICS, HARASSMENT 6. Academic Hate Speech motion Council Notes: 1. Current Oxford University policy on academic free speech protects most, if not all, academic speech so long as it is within the law. 2. There are no guidelines to the setting of reading lists by the University, nor any rules about whether students should be required to attend tutorials, seminars, or lectures during which content prejudicial on the grounds of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, cisgender/transgender status, or socioeconomic background is going to be discussed.
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