Keele University Students' Union
Encyclopedia
Keele University Students' Union (KUSU) is the students' union
of Keele University
, England
.
(now part of the TP Bennett
practice), with some guidance from the University's architect, J.A. Pickavance.
The Students' Union holds the student club night, Amnesia every Friday as well as various events on Wednesday nights, including Flirt!
, Wired and Rewind. The Union has several bars — The Scruffy Squirrel (formerly The Lounge), Blueprint (formerly Sam's Bar), K2 (including the area "The Bubble") and Barista (formerly "BJ's" Bar).
Harveys Coffee Shop and The Kiln (formerly "The Diner") serve hot food throughout the day.
Kube Radio
broadcasts over the internet. Kube is an acronym for the full title of the radio station which is Keele University Broadcasting Enterprises.
KUSU has five sabbatical officer
s who are elected annually. The current officers are:
The KUSU Executive is made up of three non-portfolio Officers along with the five sabbaticals.
The Students' Union also has three regulatory officers who form the Constitutional Affairs Committee. These officers are:
The Students' Union also elects representatives of the student body to sit on the University's Faculty Learning and Teaching Committees.
The governing bodies of the Students' Union are the Student Council and the Union General Meeting (UGM). Although the UGM is the sovereign body of the Students' Union it only sits four times per academic year and therefore the normal day-to-day governing is done through the Student Council.
The UGM is open to all full members of the Students' Union to vote in and may be observed by members who are not officially full members (including guests). At a UGM any two people may together put forward a motion to either amend the Students' Union constitution or to add, edit or remove policy motions, which are documents that mandate the union and its representative to undertake an action or official position on an issue for a maximum of three years (unless stated otherwise). The UGM is the only body within the Students' Union that can enact amendments to the regulations of the constitution.
The Student Council is a body made up of 50 councillors representing the various aspects of life at Keele. Each hall of residence is represented, as are societies, off-campus students, the Athletics Union, undergraduates, postgraduates and members of the Hospital Campus site in Stoke-on-Trent
.
However, despite the historical reputation for left-wing activism amongst Keele students which once had the campus labelled "The Kremlin on the Hill" by local people, the university has more recently been a centre of apoliticism, with political groups struggling to recruit on campus. In this regard, however, things have begun to change again.
Membership of the university's Conservative Future
branch was once popular and the largest political party on campus. Every year NKCF (as the society is known) held many social and political events with notable visitors including Boris Johnson
and Michael Howard. Every summer NKCF held their "Conservative Ball" in Keele Hall
which attracted fellow Tories from all across the country, including notable MPs; but now these events and balls have now fallen out of favour with the group after failing to make a profit.
There has been a resurgence in membership of Labour Students
, who have had high profile visits from many Keele graduates who are Labour MPs. Keele Labour Students is now the largest Labour Students club in the West Midlands in terms of membership, and the group currently occupy four seats on the Newcastle-under-Lyme
Constituency Labour Party Executive Committee, a member on the Stoke-on-Trent North
Constituency Labour Party Executive Committee and one former Chairman is now a Councillor for Longton North.
The university was also home to the first ever student branch of the United Kingdom Independence Party
and a short lived England Society (loosely affiliated with the English Democrats Party
).
, an award-winning student-run radio station; KRAP, Keele's very own Rock Society, holding regular fortnightly clubnights, and the Keele Drama Society.
KUSU's Entertainments department organises parties and designated themed nights.
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
of Keele University
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Overview
The main Students' Union building at the University of Keele was designed by architects Stillman & Eastwick-FieldStillman & Eastwick-Field Partnership
Stillman & Eastwick-Field Partnership was an architects' firm based in London, founded in 1949 by the architects John Stillman and John and Elizabeth Eastwick-Field, a married couple...
(now part of the TP Bennett
Thomas Bennett (architect)
Sir Thomas Penberthy Bennett KBE FRIBA was a renowned British architect, responsible for much of the development of the new towns of Crawley and Stevenage....
practice), with some guidance from the University's architect, J.A. Pickavance.
The Students' Union holds the student club night, Amnesia every Friday as well as various events on Wednesday nights, including Flirt!
Flirt!
flirt! is the name of a nightclub brand that was started at the University of Surrey Students' Union and later sold to, and developed by the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom services for the purpose of providing a recognisable night for University students across the United Kingdom...
, Wired and Rewind. The Union has several bars — The Scruffy Squirrel (formerly The Lounge), Blueprint (formerly Sam's Bar), K2 (including the area "The Bubble") and Barista (formerly "BJ's" Bar).
Harveys Coffee Shop and The Kiln (formerly "The Diner") serve hot food throughout the day.
Kube Radio
Kube Radio
This article is about a student radio station in England. For the radio station in Seattle, Washington, see KUBE .Keele University Broadcasting Enterprise is a student run radio station at Keele University in Staffordshire, England and has now been running for fifteen years...
broadcasts over the internet. Kube is an acronym for the full title of the radio station which is Keele University Broadcasting Enterprises.
KUSU has five sabbatical officer
Sabbatical officer
A sabbatical officer is a full-time officer elected by the members of a students' union , commonly at a higher education establishment such as a university...
s who are elected annually. The current officers are:
- President: Rosie Weatherley
- Vice-President (Education): Sam Higham [first postholder]
- Vice-President (Welfare): Matt Bedding [first postholder]
- Vice President (Finance and Activities): Alex Chow
- Vice-President (Sport and Fitness): Adam Priston
The KUSU Executive is made up of three non-portfolio Officers along with the five sabbaticals.
The Students' Union also has three regulatory officers who form the Constitutional Affairs Committee. These officers are:
- The General Secretary
- The Constitutional Affairs Secretary
- The Chairman of the Student Council, who also acts as Speaker of the House for the all important UGMs.
The Students' Union also elects representatives of the student body to sit on the University's Faculty Learning and Teaching Committees.
Governance
The Students' Union is currently undergoing a governance review, which has been a cause of both controversy and dissent among the student body. It started because of legislation in Parliament which may affect the union's charitable status, however, it has been claimed that many of the proposals brought forward to amend the governance of the Students' Union goes beyond the stated mandate. In the final Union General Meeting (UGM; a conference of students) the proposals of the sabbatical officers were rejected by the student body and the review was placed in the hands of the Constitutional Affairs Committee. However due to the nature of KUSU's constitution the Constitutional Affairs Committee has three members and all must be there for their decisions to be quorate, but two of the three members resigned in late 2007 (the General Secretary and the Constitutional Affairs Secretary) and the positions were left unfilled leaving the then Chair of SRC unable to legitimately make any rulings. This situation is now fixed as one of the constitutional amendments made in 2008's first UGM was to change the quorum requirements from "three members" to "100% of current voting members". This however was criticised as it could potentially leave one person in charge of interpreting the union's constitution.The governing bodies of the Students' Union are the Student Council and the Union General Meeting (UGM). Although the UGM is the sovereign body of the Students' Union it only sits four times per academic year and therefore the normal day-to-day governing is done through the Student Council.
The UGM is open to all full members of the Students' Union to vote in and may be observed by members who are not officially full members (including guests). At a UGM any two people may together put forward a motion to either amend the Students' Union constitution or to add, edit or remove policy motions, which are documents that mandate the union and its representative to undertake an action or official position on an issue for a maximum of three years (unless stated otherwise). The UGM is the only body within the Students' Union that can enact amendments to the regulations of the constitution.
The Student Council is a body made up of 50 councillors representing the various aspects of life at Keele. Each hall of residence is represented, as are societies, off-campus students, the Athletics Union, undergraduates, postgraduates and members of the Hospital Campus site in Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
.
Student activism and history
Keele University students have a history of particularly left-wing activism, most of which occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. A three day sit-in of the University's Registry Office took place in protest against various university rulings of the time mainly centring around accommodation. This included a rule which banned students of the opposite sex in halls after 10pm. Ironically, Keele University would later become the first UK university to offer mixed sex halls. There were subsequent sit-ins in various locations around the university for various reasons over the proceeding ten years. The most infamous event however, was Keele students' week long declaration of independence from the UK. However, some less enthusiastic alumni claim that the effectiveness and popularity of this stunt have been greatly exaggerated.However, despite the historical reputation for left-wing activism amongst Keele students which once had the campus labelled "The Kremlin on the Hill" by local people, the university has more recently been a centre of apoliticism, with political groups struggling to recruit on campus. In this regard, however, things have begun to change again.
Membership of the university's Conservative Future
Conservative Future
Conservative Future, abbreviated to CF, is the youth movement of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom for members aged up to 30 years old.Founded in 1998, Conservative Future is the largest political organisation on British campuses...
branch was once popular and the largest political party on campus. Every year NKCF (as the society is known) held many social and political events with notable visitors including Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
and Michael Howard. Every summer NKCF held their "Conservative Ball" in Keele Hall
Keele Hall
Keele Hall is a 19th century mansion house at Keele, Staffordshire, England, now standing on the campus of Keele University and serving as the university conference centre. It is a Grade II* listed building.-History:...
which attracted fellow Tories from all across the country, including notable MPs; but now these events and balls have now fallen out of favour with the group after failing to make a profit.
There has been a resurgence in membership of Labour Students
Labour Students
Labour Students is a student organisation affiliated to the British Labour Party.Membership comprises affiliated college and university clubs . Membership of Labour Students is through membership of a university or college Labour Club. Affiliation is open to any Labour Club generally supportive of...
, who have had high profile visits from many Keele graduates who are Labour MPs. Keele Labour Students is now the largest Labour Students club in the West Midlands in terms of membership, and the group currently occupy four seats on the Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
Constituency Labour Party Executive Committee, a member on the Stoke-on-Trent North
Stoke-on-Trent North
-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections of the 1980s:-Notes and references:...
Constituency Labour Party Executive Committee and one former Chairman is now a Councillor for Longton North.
The university was also home to the first ever student branch of the United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
and a short lived England Society (loosely affiliated with the English Democrats Party
English Democrats Party
The English Democrats are an English federalist political party, committed to the formation of a devolved English Parliament with at least the same powers as those granted to the Scottish Parliament. Whilst not supporting English Independence, the English Democrats consider themselves the English...
).
Student entertainment and activity
Keele University students can get involved in Keele University Students' Union (KUSU)'s many musical and non-musical societies, such as: Kube RadioKube Radio
This article is about a student radio station in England. For the radio station in Seattle, Washington, see KUBE .Keele University Broadcasting Enterprise is a student run radio station at Keele University in Staffordshire, England and has now been running for fifteen years...
, an award-winning student-run radio station; KRAP, Keele's very own Rock Society, holding regular fortnightly clubnights, and the Keele Drama Society.
KUSU's Entertainments department organises parties and designated themed nights.
Affiliations
- British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS)
- National Union of Students (NUS)
- West Midlands Area National Union of Students (WMANUS) (until 2009)