Monday brought with it some long overdue work for the Student Experience Group. For weeks i had been collating data and research and my folder was looking decisively full, sadly however it had mysteriously managed to dodge typing any of it up!
On Monday evening we had our first exec meeting back of the term with a number of important motions regarding changes to the executive elections.
Firstly a motion was called to change the restrictions on the Welsh Affairs Officer Candidates to be either learning welsh or had the ability to speak welsh - this would be self defined byt every individual.
The second was in relation to the new "societies and services officer" position. With such a position it was felt that the executive positions were now redundant, therefore the motion called for them to be removed. However it is also important that our Union executive remains a populous body ensuring a strong check and balance on sabbaticals and other officers. Therefore 2 non-portfolio officers would be created to both increase numbers and assist next years Elections Working Group in re-structuring the executive committee effectively.
I also spent much of my week preparing the changeswansea site for the upcoming exec elections. From re-organising the remits to writing up reasons for students to run and FAQ's ensuring a clear and transparent elections process.
On Tuesday we had our penultimate Student Affairs Committee of the year, a highly succesful committee fantastically chaired by Alan Speight. I was particularly impressed by his call for sabbatical officers to give a brief run down of our plans for the final term. Alongside this Ross and i could see the time ticking away on the NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY countdown in the sky!
Much of the rest of my week was taken up with raising exec elections profile, second campus work and building increasing liasons with the community. On Thursday night i worked with a number of local residents on a draft bid for increased funding for a "great gardens" scheme - highlighting both residents and students who made efforts to green up their streets and houses - much like the Unipol project in Leeds.
On Friday I had an unexpected visit from a predecessor- Becki McKinlay President of the Union in 05/06- my first year! It was like a proper blast from the past. I had seen Becki at a leaving do for a colleague back in August/ September last year but due to the noise level in the venue we hadnt really had the chance for a proper chat!
It was great to chat to someone who i think had a similar experience to me - except to be fair Becki and her team lost their then Welfare and Education officer in their first term - imagine the workload!
I remember in our first year when we were doing our show the Lazy Students Club on Xtreme Becki would regularly message in - until one week when we forced her to come in to the studio and get involved - as you can see from the picture she got stuck in! A homage to the legend that is the Kinster!
So a good week all in all and a good beginning to the end (sniff!)
