Motions of Censure

Posted 69 Months Ago

Written by Erin Brown

The Executive Committee met on Monday 24 September to consider two motions. The motions were:

• Motion to Censure Vice President Wellbeing
• Motion to Censure Welfare Executive

The motions were received after the Executive Committee meeting of 13^th September after all officers gave a report on their actions over the summer. Following discussion some officers expressed concern about the performance of both the Vice President Wellbeing and Welfare Executive.

The Executive Committee this year has vowed to be more accountable to our students and to ensure that officers are delivering on their manifesto and agreed action plans. The motions to censure were put forward to hold these officers to account.

As a result of the motion, the union will arrange meetings between officers to talk about objectives, goals and future performance and accountability of the team. Executive Committee will continue to help and support one another to deliver for our members.

For more information please get in touch with Rah at union.president@hw.ac.uk

By-Elections 2018

Posted 69 Months Ago

Written by Erin Brown

There are a lot of exciting things in October. Halloween. Oktoberfest. Midterms. But perhaps most exciting of all is the By-Elections 2018!

The Big Student Elections in May are where you, the students of Heriot-Watt, vote for your President, Vice-Presidents, Officers and Executive Officers. The By-Elections are kind of like the top-up elections where we complete the set. Now that we have the new intake of students, we are looking to fill the positions of:

• International Officer
• Postgraduate Officer
• Halls Officer
• LGBQ+ Officer

From Monday 24^th September, nominations are open and you can put yourself forward for any of these positions if you meet the title criteria (i.e. you must be an international student to become International Officer, etc.). Even if you’ve only been here a couple of weeks, this is your chance to stand up and represent your fellow students! You have until Wednesday 10^th of October to nominate yourself. On Tuesday 16^th, it’s over to the student body and voting begins! Voting ends on Thursday 18^th, when the new Officers will be announced.

If you need any more information, check out our Elections page. Or, if you have a specific question, Student Engagement Manager Denise McCaig is the one to help you.

What We Did This Summer

Posted 69 Months Ago

You know when you were in primary school and you went back in August/September and you spent at least a morning going round the whole class and talking about what everyone did with their summer? Well, it’s our turn. Rahul, Craig and Kieran were elected as your new Sabbatical Officers in March, but they officially came into office on Friday 1^st of June,  joining Lucy as VP SBC.  They've been working away for over three months already, and what a three months it’s been! Together, and with the help of their Officers and Executive team, they’ve achieved a whole lot that we want to shout about. Here’s a quick recap of the highlights of our summer.

Edinburgh Life

We took advantage of the natural lull on the Riccarton campus to make sure improvements were put in place for when you came back. We were pleased to announce that the days of paying 30p for hot water are now gone, as all University catering facilities have joined us in providing it for free. You can now bring your own teabags and instant coffee for a more economical cuppa.

Speaking of University facilities, the Advice Hub were given a new room in the Hugh Nisbet building. You can now find Ailie and Angela opposite the Shop in what some will remember as being Blackwell’s Book Shop. The room is much bigger but also feels much more tucked away, so you’ve got somewhere really quiet to go for a private chat.

At the end of summer, the University announced big changes to car parking on campus, meaning all students parking overnight need a permit. This massively affects student drivers living in halls and those putting in late shifts at the library. Kieran worked to ensure that students were made aware of the changes and offered to personally assist those applying for permits. It’s not too late to get in touch – drop him a line at union.vpcommunity@hw.ac.uk.

Getting Involved

This summer finally saw the result of years of hard work as it was announced that Student Union volunteering hours will now appear on graduation transcripts. This was the result of close collaboration with the Academic Registry and the Sports Union to make sure that all volunteer hours will be positioned alongside their academic results when they graduate. This is a real win for us and our student volunteers, whose work deserves to be recognised!

Equality

In June, we welcomed sanitary disposal units in all our male toilets. This is to accommodate the needs of men who menstruate without compromising their comfort or safety.

Towards the end of the holidays, Rah, Craig and Kieran were involved in welcoming students to Heriot-Watt through Transition Summer School. They gave a campus tour and helped to reassure new students about starting university.

Wellbeing

A lot of work went into updating our drugs policy, which is rolling out this week. We’re not going to shy away from the fact that some of our community choose to use drugs, and would rather they were doing so safely. We aim to open up and encourage conversations on the topic rather than brushing it under the carpet.

Craig and Kieran also contacted Good Night Out, a charity on a mission to end sexual harassment and assault in pubs and clubs, and organised training for our staff so we can ensure we’re truly enforcing our zero-tolerance policy.

Freshers Week

In June, the three Sabbaticals took it in turns to congratulate graduates in their graduation ceremony speeches, before turning their attention to the new students joining in September. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into planning and pulling together Freshers Week 2018. We hosted a wide variety of daytime and night-time events, from old favourites such as the UV Party to new, off-campus excursions to Laser Station, Camera Obscura and Gravity Trampoline Parks, and our interactive Student Union Experience. Hundreds and hundreds of new freshers passed through our doors and had a week they’ll never forget.

That’s just a small sample of everything the Sabbs have worked on over summer. To be kept up to date, make sure you like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! If you’d like to find out more about any of our summer achievements or there’s anything else you’d like to talk about, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the relevant Officer. We’re here to help you!

Car Parking on Campus

Posted 69 Months Ago

The University recently decided to change overnight parking regulations on Campus without proper consultation with students. From Monday 10th September 2018, parking your car on campus overnight will require a permit.

For some students, this is not in their contract, and we have been promised that anyone who was issued a contract before these changes will have their contract honoured, and a permit issued. In your contract, check article 5.14. If it begins with ‘Not to block local roadways…’, you are eligible to apply for a permit outright. If it begins with ‘Not to bring or keep overnight…’, then these new rules will apply to you.

Vice-President Community Kieran Robson Renner has been fighting for a better deal for you and has pushed the University to move from a blanket ban with exemptions for Blue Badge holders to a scheme where permits will be issued on a circumstantial basis.

The University will issue permits to anyone that fit the below criteria:
• Blue Badge holders
• Students who may meet blue badge criteria – evidence 
must be provided
• Carers of dependent relative residing in halls
• Carers living in halls with a dependent relative away from campus
• Temporary injury limiting walking/movement (limited period) – evidence provided by GP/Uni Health Service

The Student Union has also pushed the University to agree to grant a permit to any student who would be ‘economically disadvantaged’ by not being allowed to keep their car on campus. This could relate to travel to and from a part-time job, or if regular travel home is much more costly via public transport. If by not having a car on campus, your financial situation would be affected, apply for a permit! Here's how:

For those of you with an old contract, beginning with "Not to block local roadways", send a scan or a digital copy of this contract to carparking@hw.ac.uk.

For those of you with a new contract, beginning with "Not to bring or keep overnight", email carparking@hw.ac.uk and include your email address, phone number, car make, model and registration and car insurance policy number (to prove you are insured). List the reasons you have for needing a car, and ensure to accentuate that you rely on your car for financial reasons.

If you need help writing your application we can help you. IF YOU APPLY AND ARE DECLINED PLEASE LET US KNOW. We will use this information to build up a case to lobby the university further.

Get in touch via Kieran and we’ll try our best to make sure your Heriot-Watt experience is the best it can be.

Contact: Kieran Robson Renner, Vice-President Community - union.vpcommunity@hw.ac.uk.