First Council of the year fails to meet quorum

Union Council met on Tuesday for the first time this year, although with attendance being so low was unable to meet quorum. This means that there weren’t enough students present to allow any papers to pass and any decisions to be made. Email votes are taking place instead on the papers discussed.

Students present at Council casted votes on the papers out of interest, although the votes were more so to gauge opinion and were not officially recorded.

Papers presented included the recommendations for changes to the Amenities funds, a proposal for annual general meetings, suggestions to reallocate the functions of the now defunct executive committee, and also whether or not the votes of individual council members should be recorded and then published.

The idea of publishing the votes of named individuals has proven to be a contentious issue; although those present rhetorically voted in favour of publishing the choices made by elected representatives, it has not been a popular opinion in the past.

With the Union having invested £2,000 for electronic voting pads, they are already able to record which member voted in favour of or against any paper. However, some people have previously voiced displeasure of the idea of their being a permanent record of voting decisions. Said one Council member, “If that motion passes, I’m just going to abstain from everything.”

Some students suggested that it would make council members think more about their vote before they cast it, but also that some topics could still be voted on anonymously on an ad hoc basis.

Email votes have to be cast by the 16th of January by all council members on these papers, not just those who were not present.

Paul Beaumont, Council Chair, spoke to Felix about the importance of attending Council. Said Paul: “I can completely understand that at busy times of the year for students, it will be difficult for Council to reach quorum (January exams being a prime example).

“It’s totally understandable that elected students might have to miss a meeting or two due to other commitments. It is a pity that some members of Council do not attend at all though.

“Council is the place where students elect their most senior representatives to, and for them to then not use their vote is frankly confusing to me.

“It seems both a waste of time for the students who bothered to vote, and for the people who run for the positions.”