Your SU President, Natasha Barrett takes you through the importance of All Student Meetings
SU All Student Meetings (ASMs) create a space that belongs to our membership that is free for you to shape. As students of RHUL, whose voices are not always heard by the university, this is your chance to speak to an audience, to your peers, to your elected representatives and to your union, who will carry your opinions and suggestions to the highest levels of college management.
Whilst an hour spent in the SU main hall on a weekday evening may not seem ideal when it doesn’t involve VKs, this meeting is important as it allows every student the chance to guide us on what we prioritise when lobbying the university, the key causes we should be campaigning for, and on our own successes and failures.
We, at the union, pride ourselves on being able to admit when we haven’t got things quite right, or when improvements could be made, so we are always looking for honest student feedback determine our future endeavours. We aim to be completely transparent, which is why, amongst other elements, we allow you the chance to publicly hold each of your Sabbatical Officers accountable at ASMs. You will have the chance to listen to a presentation from each Sabb on what they’ve been working on this term, and to ask them any questions.
Not only this, but you can also submit your own motions, to create formal suggestions of policy you think your union should adopt, projects you wish us to support, or campaigns you’d like to see us take on. Nothing is too big or too small, and it is always worth putting an idea forward as we guarantee there will be many students on campus who agree with you.
The motion template is simple and straightforward, it doesn’t need to be long or overly formal, and you can speak on it for as little or as long as you prefer.
You also still have the chance to submit motions on anything you feel the Union should be doing, supporting or lobbying the college for. Send motions to President@su.rhul.ac.uk and they will be checked by the steering committee before the meeting. Come prepared to speak on your motion to engage other students in the room and ready to answer questions! A motion template can be found here - https://www.su.rhul.ac.uk/voice/general-meetings/
If you are thinking about writing a motion, but it seems a bit daunting, you can always drop us an email or pop by the help desk to quiz us, we can even sit down with you in our office to help you through the process, so don’t be afraid to get in touch!
If you are still unsure about whether to attend the upcoming ASM, bear in mind that as well as a healthy dose of democracy, there will be free pizza – so turn up early to grab a slice of your favourite.