AMM 2023 Highlights
If you weren’t able to make it down for this year’s Annual Members Meeting (AMM) then don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
Hundreds of students got involved to have their say and vote on SU policy – and multiple motions were passed. But what were they, and what are the outcomes of the year’s biggest democratic event?
Introduction and Officer Updates
An important part of AMM is that it offers you the chance to reflect and hold your current Full-time Officers to account!
First things first, the Chair gave an overview of the agenda and explained AMM – check out our Guide to AMM if you missed this and want to find out more.
Afterward, the Elected Offices gave 90-second updates – explaining what they have been up to this term and what they plan to do for the rest of it. The Chair then asked if any members had questions for the officers.
One student asked Lucy Matthews if it would be possible to have more yoga sessions, Lucy replied “yes, if possible. I will take this to SEH.”
Lu Macey, Postgraduate Education Officer, was asked whether she had anything else to say about plans for Postgraduates (PG’s) over the summer. Lu said that “Summer is planning mode for SUs as most students are Undergraduates. I want to ensure PGs aren’t forgotten about so I’d like to run some events and help them to build community during a time that can be stressful and isolating.”
Strikes were also bought up. One student asked where we as an SU stand in the ‘struggle between UCU, Unison and the VC’. Lu explained that “A motion was passed at Student Council in November 2021. It was a neutral position that allowed students to submit amendments as we wanted it to be a student-led decision. After amendments, the motion went through as supporting the strikes. We have been using our position to help them negotiate and there are lots of other things we’ve been doing too."
If you have any questions about strikes then we may be able to answer them on our UCU and Unison web pages, so feel free to take a look at them!
Motion Renewal
Onto the exciting motion renewal - an opportunity to renew a policy that is about to expire!
At this year’s AMM, the following policies were up for being renewed:
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Support Student Rent Strikes
Proposed by Saranya Thambirajah, take a look at the motion here. -
Let’s Disarm Bristol!
Proposed by Saranya Thambirajah, take a look at the motion here. -
Sanctuary Scholarship Legal Fund
Proposed by Topaz Brownhall, take a look at the motion here. -
Support the Student Climate Strikes
Proposed by Izzy Russell, take a look at the motion here.
The motions that passed were Sanctuary Scholarship Legal Fund, Supporting Student Climate Strikes, and Supporting Student Rent Strikes.
No member of AMM spoke against the motions that passed when invited by the Chair.
However, one member did speak against the Disarm Bristol motion. And so, the Chair opened the meeting to another round of debate for the motion.
The key arguments for focussed on the big business involved with the arms trade supplying funding to the University, and that divestment from the arms trade does not mean that people studying aerospace engineering are going to have their degrees made worthless.
Arguments against focussed on opportunities for graduates, such as networking through different societies, and the impact the motion would have on careers if these were taken away. They also separated the defence elements of some businesses to their overall defence arms.
This debate was then followed by the Chair explaining that there was now a motion to take this motion into parts.
Splitting the motion
After a quick explanation of splitting a motion into parts, members voted to do so. The motion now was split into the following actions:
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To write a letter from the Student Union – including all its sabbatical officers – to the university management and Vice Chancellor asking the university to divest from arms trade companies linked to alleged human rights abuses.
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To publish information on the university’s ties with arms trade companies on the Student Union website. This should also include information on how much the university makes from its ties to arms trade companies via a Freedom of Information request. a. To also publish information on ongoing conflicts that are fuelled by university-linked arms companies, such as the 2019 conflict at the Turkey-Syria border.
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To support any student movement against arms trade links in the University of Bristol, including providing marketing resources and promoting events.
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To openly condemn any careers fairs held by the university that include arms trade companies linked to alleged human rights abuses.
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To lobby the university management on creating a progressive plan to divest from arms trade companies linked to alleged human rights abuses.
- To update all students on any progress with lobbying the university to create this plan via newsletters and the website.
- To consult relevant student groups that campaign for humanitarian issues throughout the process
These actions were then separated into parts. Part 1 (Actions 1,2 and 5), Part 2 (Action 3), and Part 3 (Action 5).
So, what happened next?
Seen as a middle ground between whether members were for or against the motion, Actions 1, 2 and 5 were seen as an opportunity to fully investigate and research more into the issue. These actions were then passed.
After discussion and votes, Action 3 and Action 5 were not passed by members. It was then time to move on…
Motions
Next up, it was an opportunity for new motions to be debated!
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New and Improved Prayer Room for Muslims on Campus
This motion was proposed by Adam Michael, take a look at the motion here.
With no speech made against it, the motion passed!
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Stopping Mandatory Sub-Group Subsidisation in Student Groups
This motion was proposed by James Forster, take a look at the motion here.
Unfortunately, after a short round of debate for this motion, this year’s AMM had to conclude due to time constraints.
So, you may be wondering what will happen to the remaining motions.
The remaining motions - Stopping Mandatory Sub-Group Subsidisation in Student Groups, A Plant Based Students’ Union, and Supporting Trans and Non-Binary Students & Campaigning for Gender Justice - will be deferred to Student Council in May.
All students can attend, so come along to see which motions pass and become SU policy for the next 3 years!
