The most publicised Student Council of this academic year was held on Thursday, February 4th. A motion to investigate the problem of the Rope Walk crossing was put forward, the sports centre motion was concluded, and bursary cut proposals by the university were discussed at the meeting.
Attendance was higher than usual, with 30 people sitting altogether, 18 of which were council members or students.
Jonathan Holmes, the LGBT Committee representative, put forward a motion to investigate the issue of the rail crossing once the new Business and Law Faculty building opens. He said: “Students will need a means to cross — it’s time to act”. Holmes also called for the SU to “pressure the university”.
The motion, which was passed by the council, is set to research the possibility of installing a pedestrian crossing over the railway, whether it would be practical in light of the university’s budget cuts, and what, if anything, the city council plans to do about this problem.
The sports centre motion, which aimed to gain better access to the facilities for sports students, has been closed due to “fitness not being a requirement for the course”. This means that sports students wishing to use the services will still have to pay for them.
Part way through the meeting, Chris Charnley, the SU president, distributed plans made by the university outlining drastic cuts to student bursaries, and what the SU’s response would be. He said: “the [Students’] Union in no way supports cuts to student funds.”
[Read the whole story on student bursaries cut]
There was also a call for the nomination of a Higher Education and a Further Education officer to represent the university, with Charnley and Emily Gough at the NUS National Conference. The nominees will be asked to make a short speech at the next meeting, and will be elected by the council.
The next Student Council meeting is held on Thursday, February 18th at 4:30pm.