On Wednesday 12th to Thursday 13th October (at the same time as the Part Time Officer elections), voting opens for the student body to decide the outcome of a referendum question. Student Union Council decided that the issue should go to referendum after the motions were closely contested at the inquorate AGM in November 2009.

If you feel passionate about either side of the debate for both or either referenda, you can get involved in the ‘for’ or ‘against’ campaign teams - please submit a statement of no more than 400 words supporting your argument by email to returning@ussu.sussex.ac.uk by Tuesday 4h May at 4pm. In the event that multiple campaign teams step forward for either side, a meeting will be called on Wednesday 5th May to unify all similarly intentioned statements into one 400 word text. The referendum question to be voted on will be the following:
* * * “Should University of Sussex Students’ Union outlets replace species which are endangered, threatened or harvested in an ecologically destructive
manner (such as Bluefin Tuna, Tropical Prawns and Cod) for sale with more sustainable alternatives (i.e. from sustainable fisheries) and lobby
the university to do the same?” * * *

One of the constituencies that you can vote in is Brighton Pavillion, and three candidates from the leading political parties have already signed the NUS candidates pledge to vote against a rise in university fees. One candidate Charlotte Vere (Conservative) has not but you could influence her to sign the pledge today, ensuring that whoever Brighton Pavillion elects to parliament will vote against any increase in fees.

As a constituent you are entitled to know where prospective candidates stand on specific isses.

Email Charlotte Vere now

Copy and paste this letter, don’t forget to include your postal address in the email

I’m a constituent in Brighton Pavillion and I am asking you to sign the NUS Funding Our Future pledge: “I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative.”

You can sign up here (it takes just 30 seconds).

Graduates are currently leaving university with debts of more than £23,000. An increase in the cap on student fees would intensify the financial pressure on young people and their families at a time of great economic uncertainty and dire employment prospect for young people. At a time when families are already very much feeling the pinch, there is very little appetite for extra burdens on the family budget.

Indeed, according to NUS recent polling work with YouGov, 88% of the public do not think an increase in fees should even be considered, while NUS polling with Opinionpanel shows that 79% of students would be influenced by a party’s position on higher education when making their choice at the ballot box.

While student fees have nearly trebled since 2006, overall student satisfaction has increased by just 1%. The Daily Telegraph reported, universities are hiring managers at three times the rate of academics and there is increasing concern that money is being poorly spent. Students simply cannot be expected to pay more for less.

When the election is announced NUS will be emailing students with details of local parliamentary candidates who have signed the NUS pledge in advance of polling day. Caroline Lucas, Nancy Platts and Berni Millam have already signed the pledge joining more than 500 parliamentary candidates from the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat party.

By signing up to this pledge, you would be stating that a crude raising of the top-up fee cap is not a sustainable approach to the future funding of higher education and that we must instead look into alternatives.

Please email Charlotte Vere right now and ask her to sign NUS’ pledge. Please be sure to include your address to prove that you are in his constituency.

Email Charlotte Vere

If you recieve a response from Charlotte Vere please let the NUS know. Already thousands of students have signed up to Vote for Students, please help us influence more candidates by forwarding this message too your friends.

Many thanks, in voting for students solidarity.

For more information about the General Election click here

Mounting pressure from students also forces VC to unconditionally reinstate six suspended students.

Yesterday University of Sussex students packed out the students’ union building and passed a motion of no confidence in University of Sussex Vice Chancellor Michael Farthing and his executive group (VCEG).

The emergency USSU general meeting (EGM)- called in response to management proposals to cut 115 jobs at the university and the suspension of six student protestors - was called at only 48 hours notice following a written request from over 150 students.

The meeting was one of the biggest in Sussex’s history and was attended by well over 850 students, with many having to be turned away due to the insufficient space in Mandela Hall to accommodate everyone.

The motion of no confidence was voted on and passed by an overwhelming majority, as was another motion that called for the full and unconditional reinstatement of the six Sussex students who were suspended by university management after the recent occupation of Sussex House.

The second motion regarding the reinstatement of Sussex students also called for an independent inquiry into the events surrounding the occupation on 3^rd March, during which police with riot gear, dogs and spray were called on students by university management.

Following the USSU emergency meeting yesterday, and the Sussex UCU strike action taking place today (18^th March), the six suspended Sussex students have now been unconditionally reinstated. This marks a significant victory for the suspended students, who are now able to continue taking part in their studies at the university unimpeded.

The original decision to suspend the students had been condemned by both Sussex UCU and members of Brighton Council Pete West and Bill Randall.

The six students still face possible disciplinary action from the university, however, and the motion passed yesterday also called for “any subsequent disciplinary action to be in accordance with due process and the right to a fair and independent hearing.”

USSU President Tom Wills commented: “Yesterdays unprecedented level of attendance at the USSU EGM shows the huge strength of feeling among Sussex students about management’s proposals, and that student democracy and engagement is in as rude health as ever.”

He added: “We’re delighted that this pressure from students and staff has forced the Vice Chancellor to back down and lift these unjustified suspensions.”

The Communications Officer is probably the only elected officer that is involved in almost every area of the union. This can sometimes be overwhelming, but most of the time this makes the job incredibly varied and exciting. There’s really no other job like it.

The first and foremost part of the job is to make sure that the democratic structures of the Students’ Union are accessible to students.  This includes big events such as the AGM and all USSU elections. Sussex consistently has one of the highest election turnouts in the country, but there is always a lot of scope for improvement, and this is something you should always be striving to do. The Comms Officer also often has to act as Returning Officer for elections, which is basically making sure elections and referenda are run fairly and properly.

In addition to this, the Comms Officer has overall responsibility for the image and promotion of the Union, which means that anything with the Union logo on it has to be scrutinised carefully to avoid contravening union policy. It also means keeping and eye out for press about Sussex and the union at both a local and national level. For this reason, a considerable part of the role involves responding quickly to unforseen events - both postive and negative. You’ll be assisting the President in relations with the media - often putting together press releases and coordinating a union response to, or stance on, major events; calling up the press to promote a good cause; or arranging television, radio and newspaper interviews with Sussex students or USSU officers. The press can be both friend and foe - but a good relationship with them is essential.

Perhaps the most time-consuming part of the remit is to look after student media such as The Badger, The Badger Online, The Pulse and URF. In terms of the print media, the role requires a fair bit of work time outside normal hours (on Thursdays you can expect to work 15 hours or more) as you’ll be co-ordinating an editorial team that, in turn, co-ordinates a team of writers. On top of this, it is your responsibility to make sure that this media adheres to the Code of Practice outlined in the constitution. This can all be very enjoyable though, as you’re working closely with lots of dedicated students and meeting new people all the time. It’s also incredibly rewarding to see student media thrive at Sussex, and to have played a part in it.

One thing I didn’t realise before I got elected is that the Communications Officer acts a director of the Union’s trading company and a trustee of the Union. Along with the other officers, you are legally responsible should anything happen. This is not intended to put anyone off, but to make anyone interested aware of just how important and varied a role you could be taking on.

I also didn’t realise that I would regularly sit on academic misconduct panels that decide whether students have plagiarised or colluded on their work. Checking through biology lab reports to make sure they haven’t been copied off the internet was certainly not something I thought I’d be doing. Again though, it is this variation of the job that makes it so exciting and interesting.

Perhaps the most important part of any elected officer’s job is to actively work and lobby to improve the student experience. As an elected officer, you have been asked by the student body to stand up for them on issues that matter to them and this is part of the job that you should never forget.

Why did I decide to stand? I always felt that I really wanted to do this job, and perhaps most importantly, that I could also be really good at it. On the other hand though, the idea of campaigning for election - public speaking, door knocking and having my name and face plastered on posters and t-shirts - scared the hell out of me. I’ve always known that regrets are a hell of a lot scarier though, and luckily I have none whatsoever - campaigning during the elections last year was one of the best things I’ve ever done, and because of the skills I gained through doing it I’d have felt the same even if I had lost.

But if you’re still not sure whether to nominate yourself, then I’ll simply leave you with a quote from Margaret Mead:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Now, go submit that nomination form - the deadline is nigh!

Top o’ the morning to you!

I’ve been in the job a couple of months now, and seeing as we’ve now got this blog up and running it’s probably best that I start using it. Having returned from yet another excellent, sun-soaked Glastonbury (but unfortunately missing the brilliant, Brighton-local Nick Cave on the pyramid stage), so began the week-long handover. Many thanks must go out to Dan Higgins for all his hard work last year, and also for making the handover period about as smooth as it can probably be.

Looking ahead at the 09-10 year, there’s so many reasons to be very excited indeed. And it all starts with new arrivals at the end of September: Freshers’ week has become a jam-packed Freshers’ Fortnight with a huge variety of events to suit everyone. Just be sure to get your tickets nice and early to avoid disappointment.

Dan oversaw the first successful year in the existence of The Badger Online, and carrying on from where he left off we’ve already got the first guest blog of the year uploaded for your reading pleasure. David Bull, esteemed Sussex alumnus and Executive Director of UNICEF UK, kindly took the time to write us an inspiring call to arms as we approach the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. If you can spare ten minutes of your time, please spend them here.

I’m also very pleased to announce that our termly magazine, The Pulse, will also be going online from the beginning of the academic year. Having been in consultation with USSU’s IT-guy Hesan this summer, I’m very excited about the many new opportunities that going online will provide. The website is still in the works at the minute, but it should hopefully be good to go very soon, so watch this space. Incidentally, if you are interested in working on The Pulse this year (as a designer, writer, editor, photographer or proof-reader), application forms will be available at Freshers’ Fair, from Falmer House reception, and are also downloadable here. No experience is necessary, just a shed-load of enthusiasm!

There are also a few reasons to be worried about the coming year, however. With the recession still pulling hard on the purse strings of cash strapped students, it’s great to know that the government is seriously considering lifting the £3,000 cap on annual tuition fees. I suppose students are literally made of money aren’t they, so why the hell not? And while they’re at it, why don’t they just cut funding for higher education even more, but at the same time announce that another 10,000 places should be made available at UK Universities this year? But of course, they already did that… It’s good to see that there’ll be lots of people making their feelings known by protesting outside the Labour Party conference in Brighton though. Not that the Tories instil much confidence for the future of higher education either, mind you.

Nor does NUS’s very own president Wes Streeting, for that matter, whose feeble attempt to defend higher education from further cuts on BBC 5 Live was rather telling of our national body. His regular tweets merrily inform us that he is to learn to drive this Christmas. Let us hope he is far more effective on the road than he is on national radio, or it will not just be higher education that is heading for a crash.

I wouldn’t want to end on a sour note though - there’s a lot that can be done to fight against these cuts to our education, and you can be sure that Sussex Students’ Union will be at the forefront of this fight. And seeing as Oxford United FC are riding high at the top of the Blue Square Premier League, the future looks pretty bright to me.

Cheers, Michael.