University of Leicester Students' Union
Encyclopedia
| University of Leicester Students' Union | ||
| Established | 1923 | |
| Sabbatical Officers | Alex Nutt, Lily Davis, Suzi Burtenshaw, Fénian Ó Duġaén and Thom French | |
| Union Speaker | To be elected | |
| Location | Leicester Leicester Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest... , United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
|
| Members | 21,000 approx | |
| Member of | National Union of Students, British Universities & Colleges Sport | |
| Homepage | http://www.leicesterunion.com | |
The University of Leicester Students' Union is the students' union
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 the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
. It is situated in the Percy Gee Building on the university campus. The union offers a wide range of facilities for students.
History
The Percy Gee Building which houses the union was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1958. It was named after Percy Gee, a director of a local shoe manufacturer and benefactor to the University.In 1973, the Nightline
Nightline
Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
service was established, a confidential listening service provided by students in a manner similar to the Samaritans.
In 1997, LUSH Radio was established. This broadcasts from the Percy Gee Building. In the same year, the Greenhouse 2 gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
was opened.
In October 2010, the Percy Gee Building fully reopened having undergone a refurbishment worth £15 million , which greatly expanded the number of facilities which the union can now provide.
Governance
The Union has three main methods of policy-making:- Referenda
- General Meetings - open to all full members and have a quorumQuorumA quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
of 2%. - Union ParliamentUnion Council (students' union)A Union Council is a body of elected or appointed representatives who represent students who are members of a students' union. Union Council's often have the power to hold the Union's Officers to account and to create new Union policies. The Council is usually not responsible for implementing...
These decision-making bodies form a hierarchy, with referendums at the top and Union Parliament at the bottom.
The Annual General Meeting
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
(AGM) is open to all full members of the Union both to speak and vote. It approves the Union's accounts, strategic plan, policy lapse and discusses any proposals submitted.
Union Parliament
The Union used to be run by Union Council, a group of about 80 Officers and representatives elected by a cross campus ballot. Reforms were passed, headed by the Union Executive, at a General Meeting in 2010 that dissolved Union and created a new, proportionally electedProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
Parliament
Parliament consists of around 100 Officers some are elected for each academic college of the university and some are elected as course representative of their school (Academic Officers).
Union Speaker
Union Parliament elects a chair, the 'Union Speaker', who shall also be chair of any members meetings, the steering group committee, and any committees as required by the Unions Bye-laws.The current speaker is:
| Year | Union Speaker | Speaker Department | Other position(s) held by the Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | Daniel Vokes | Faculty of Law | Chair Elections and Rules Committee |
| 2009-10 | Sam Twining | School of Management | none |
| 2010-11 | Holly Colvin | School of Biological Sciences | none |
| 2011-12 | Tom J. Grundy | School of Medicine |
Executive Committee
The students' union run on a day to day basis by the Executive Committee. The executive committee consists of the five full timeFull time
Full-time employment is employment in which the employee works the full number of hours defined as such by his/her employer. Full-time employment often comes with benefits that are not typically offered to part-time, temporary, or flexible workers, such as annual leave, sickleave, and health...
Executive Officers who are elected in a cross campus ballot.
They are sometimes referred as 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 or Officer Trustees
The current sabbatical positions were/are:
| Year | Academic Affairs | Campaigns and Involvement | Strategy and Communication * | Student Activities | Welfare and International |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | Aaron Porter Aaron Porter Aaron Ross Porter is the former President of the National Union of Students in the United Kingdom; he was elected with a 65% majority and took office in June 2010 for one year.-Background and positions held :... |
Alex Smith | James Laden | Graham Ross | Laura Eagan |
| 2008-09 | Kirsten Dyer | Graham Ross | Rob Hicks | Johanna Rigden | |
| 2009-10 | Alex Smith | Owen Jones | Max Cawthorn | Phil Dixon | Kate Newton |
| 2010-11 | Alex Nutt | Owen Jones | Stephanie Chua | Tom Wilmot | Kate Newton |
| 2011-12 | Alex Nutt | Thom French | Lily Davis | Fénian Ó Dughaén | Suzi Burtenshaw |
(*ex Services)
Facilities in the Percy Gee Building
The Students' Union runs a variety of commercial services which raise revenue and provide a service to students. The newly refurbished Percy Gee Building is home to the O2 Academy , a music venue with a capacity of 2000. This is complemented by O2 Academy 2 and 3, smaller venues located in the former Queen's Hall. Adjacent to the O2 Academy, The Scholar is the union bar.The union is also home to a Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
, Ryman's
Ryman
Ryman is the largest British stationery retailer, historically based in London, now based in its £100m headquarters in Crewe, Cheshire.-Formation:...
and Nourish, a small supermarket selling essential goods. The new Percy Gee Building also houses Nineteen Twenty Three, a restaurant which uses mostly local produce. Willingale's is a small bookshop, also selling university
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
branded merchandise. A cashpoint
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
is provided by Santander
Grupo Santander
The Santander Group is a banking group centered on Banco Santander, S.A., the largest bank in the Eurozone and one of the largest banks in the world in terms of market capitalisation. According to Forbes Magazine Global 2000, it is the 13th largest public company in the world...
.
Greenhouse 2 is a small gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
and fitness centre, free to use by those who have purchased an annual Sportscard. All offices for sabbatical officers and welfare services on the upper floor of the Percy Gee Building, along with Abode, which provides accommodation services.
Additional Services
The union runs the Safety Bus service, which provides safe transportation at night for students living in Oadby Student Village .Societies
The Union offers support and funding to a range of student societies and activities. These can be grouped into four categories:- Societies
- Associations
- Sports clubs
- Media groups
The Union is home to around 140 different organisations that cater for a diverse range of student activities and interests .
Sports
At Leicester University Students' Union there is a great sporting tradition with around thirty two sports clubs, from American FootballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
to Ultimate Frisbee. Sports clubs compete in Varsity Day, a competition with De Montfort University
De Montfort University
De Montfort University is a public research and teaching university situated in the medieval Old Town of Leicester, England, adjacent to the River Soar and the Leicester Castle Gardens...
, and also throughout the year in BUCS competitions.
Media
There are four media groups:- The RippleThe Ripple (newspaper)-The Ripple Today:The Ripple is the Students' Union student magazine at the University of Leicester. The monthly flip-over free magazine editions have a potential readership of nearly 10,000 students...
, the student newspaper. - LUST, the student television station - http://www.youtube.com/user/LUSTELEVISION/LUST YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel] - LUSH Radio, the student run radio station.
- A Web Group, who together with Union staff manage the Union website.
The Ripple was established in 1957 and publishes monthly. LUSH Radio currently broadcasts online and traditionally via FM
Restricted Service Licence
A UK Restricted Service Licence , is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event...
.
Notably, LUST won the National Student Television Award for the Best Light Entertainment category in 2006.
Awards
In 2009, the union won the Silver Sound Impact Award and was an accredited venue in the Best Bar None Award scheme.In the Club Mirror Awards, it was voted Students' Union of the year for 2005 and short listed for the same award in 2006 and 2007.