Aberdeen University’s Student Association’s (AUSA) Student Council has voted to approve the recommendations put forward in Coole Insight’s Democracy Review of AUSA representation structures.
The final Student Council (SC) meeting of the year, held on June 17th, presented the final Democracy Review to its members, and opened the floor for discussion, with a subsequent vote on changes proposed in the Review. The vote in favour will lead to the next proposed step in the form of a smaller discussion/focus group over Summer to work out smaller details and possible revisions.
The report’s findings were gathered over four months, using a range of methods including 607 survey responses, six student focus groups, officer and staff interviews, and discussions at SC meetings. The review proposes:
“A simplified structure where all students belong either to a ‘student community’ (e.g. liberation, belonging, or academic identity) or a ‘student group’ (e.g. society, sports club, or project).”
This change aims to “eliminate the confusion of multiple naming conventions like forums, committees, and councils, while strengthening democratic clarity and inclusion.”
Some of the review’s major suggested changes came in the form of “deliberative” Student Assemblies to replace Student Council, where any students may attend, but voting powers are held by 11 representatives from across the University. This alteration will also see the Assemblies meeting 3 times a year, rather than once a month like the current Student Council. The Student Officer team is also set to be reformed, from its current five-role model to a four-role system, including 1 president, and 3 vice-presidents.
Some SC members voiced concerns on the smaller assemblies, worried that it would cut out certain voices and minorities who already struggle to be heard within student politics and representation. Coole Insight assured SC members that measures would be taken to ensure a diverse and representative group would compile the assemblies.
Student President Christina Schmid commented on the Review’s passing in council:
“We are really pleased that the recommendations were accepted by Student Council. The report reflects a wide range of student and stakeholder input and the further feedback we have received puts us in a great position to begin to prepare a more detailed implementation proposal over the summer. I’m particularly excited about the move to a community organising model and look forward to working further with students and student councillors next year to deliver more engaging and inclusive representative systems fit for the future”
The Gaudie caught up with Kaitlin Aguis, SC Chair, for her thoughts on Coole Insight’s review being approved in June’s council meeting:
“The Democracy Review passing gives a new and exciting direction for change within the Union. The movement towards an assembly model opens Union conversations up to more people, which will hopefully allow for more accessible policy and campaigning discussions. These changes will be discussed over summer and hopefully implemented in the coming year.”
Kaitlin continued:
“This Review brings promising reforms to how students and the Union engages with democratic structures. A lot of work has been put into this paper, and I look forward to the coming year and seeing what this will bring.”
The full democracy review report can be viewed on ausa.org.uk/representation/demrev.