| University of Salford Students' Union | |
 |
|
| Mission | Enhancing Students' Lives |
| Established | 1967 |
| President | Matt Webber |
| Location | Salford, United Kingdom |
| Members | 19,250 approx |
| Member of | National Union of Students |
| Homepage | http://www.salfordstudents.com |
The University of Salford Students' Union (USSU) is the representative body of students at the University of Salford, Greater Manchester, England.
The Union is based within University House on the Peel Park Campus and represents the interests of the 19,250 full and part time members. It is affiliated to the National Union of Students (NUS). The Union's affiliation to NUS was re-confirmed by a cross campus referendum in March 2009 which resulted in 98% of voters voting "Yes" when asked if the Union should continue to affiliate to the NUS.
Contents |
Trustees
The sabbatical members of the 2009/10 Trustee Board are
- Matt Webber - President
- Emily Godfrey - Vice President (Science, Engineering, Environment)
- Ricky Chotai - Vice President (Health & Social Care)
- Joe Kirwin - Vice President (Arts, Media & Social Science)
- Jim Dale - Vice President (Business, Law & Built Environment)
The next group of trustees are full time students and have no portfolio or mandate
- Vickie Scullard - Student Trustee
- Adeel Khan - Student Trustee
- Lorna Cole - Student Trustee
- Ram Bende - Student Trustee
The final group of trustees are appointed externally by the trustee board to serve 4 year terms.
- Ruth Everard - Regional Operations Director, Aldi Supermarkets, & former President of the Students' Union
- Alan Gibson - Former Chair of University of Salford Council
- Samantha Foster - Head of Strategy & Performance in Salford Community Leisure Ltd
- Kevin Morley - Chair of Manchester Trades Council
Governance and representation
Following in the footsteps of King's College London Students' Union, the Union has transformed its governance prior to achieving registered charity status, as required by the Charity Act 2006. Presently it is an un-incorporated association and an exempt charity under the Education Act 1990. Charity registration will take place from November 2009.
The new structure, which took effect on 2 July 2007, created a board of trustees to govern the union. This is made up of five sabbatical officers (President and 4 Vice Presidents), four student trustees, and four external non-student trustees. The board is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Union and monitoring its long term performance and achievements. It is also responsible for the Union's financial performance, directing its staff, and ensuring that the Union's members are involved and consulted on the organisation's work. The Sabbatical Trustees are responsible for delivering effective student representation on a day-to-day basis, and their representation work is supported and monitored by the Union's student representation forum called "You Decide". You Decide is an open forum that can be attended by any student at the University. Its agenda is split between holding the Sabbatical Officers to account for their representation work, and discussing policy motions for the Union as a whole. To assist the officers in focussing on representation work, the Union recently changed the role descriptions for the four Vice Presidents. Instead of having traditional service based portfolios such as Activities, Communications or Welfare, the four VPs are now responsible for being the lead student representative in each of the University's four academic Faculties. The officers are expected to work closely with other student representatives and Universtiy staff in their Faculties to take action on the academic related issues that matter most to students. Each of the VPs is expected to be a champion for the Union and its activities within their Faculty, and to that end need to have a degreee of understanding about most of the Union's activities and services.
The Union employs Student Liaison Representatives to co ordinate the educational feedback for the University, and has an Advice Centre that people can just drop in for almost every problem.
Commercial activities
The Union operates several commercial service. The revenue generated is invested in the Union to enhance the lives of the student body. Some of these activities are:-
- Shops. Sited on each campus is a student shop, the largest being on the Peel Park campus (next to which is a bank and bookstore).
- Print shop. Sited within University House and offering an assortment of print services.
- Bars. The union runs two bars. Cafe/Bar Yours situated in University House, and the Pavilion (Pav) situated at Castle Irwell Student Village. The Pav operates the NUS club night brand Flirt!
Fire
On the evening of 25 January 2007, a fire tore through the Lowry Bar in University House, devastating the bar and its contents. Fortunately, the fire happened whilst the building was closed and there were no casualties. The Lowry Bar was completely destroyed, but the space was re-usable. The situation was compounded by the temporary closure of the Pavilion at the Castle Irwell Student Village, which lost its roof in the high winds of 18 January 2007. Thanks to swift repair work, the roof was restored within a fortnight and the bar reopened on 6 February 2007. Pictures of the fire.
Yours
The Union decided not to rebuild the Lowry bar in situ, and instead moved the whole operation to the other side of the building. The new facility, called Yours consists of a café, traditional bar, and sports bar and occupies the southern part of University House. The University has repaired and redecorated the old Lowry bar space, which is currently being turned into its Student Life Centre, bringing the University's key student facing services alongside those of the Students' Union.
Salford Student Direct
Student Direct is Greater Manchester's official student newspaper and one of the widest circulating student publications in Europe serving the University of Salford, the University of Manchester and the University of Bolton. The University of Salford edition aims to represent the views and interests of students and communicate the work of the Union, as well as informing members about local, national and international issues that effect them as students. It differs from the Manchester edition with up to 12 opt-out pages, including the front and back cover. The editor of the Salford edition is a placement student selected each May on a one year fixed term basis.
Clubs and societies
The Union's sports clubs participate in many competitions, mostly within the BUCS organised leagues. The clubs within the union are:
Badminton, Basketball, Cricket[1], Diving, Football (Men), Football (Women), Hiking, Hockey, Horseriding, Judo, Mountaineering, Netball, Ninjutsu, Rowing, Rugby League, Rugby Union (Men), Rugby Union (Women), Canoe and Kayak, Ski and Snowboard, Snooker, Trampolining.
In addition to the Clubs, there is a large society base within the Union, comprising of activities, political groups, religious groups and other interest groups. They are:
Arabic, African Caribbean, Airsoft, Rifle, Almost Famous, Breakdancing, Campaign For Real Ale Society, Cheerleading, Christian Union, Circus and Juggling, Conservative Future, High Rollers, Islamic, Jewish, Labour Students, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans), Liberal Democrat, UKIP, Linux, Literary, Manchester United Appreciation, PhysSoc, RAG, Rock, Socialist Workers Students, United Against Communism, Wargames and Roleplay.
Shock Radio
The Union also has a student radio society called Shock Radio. Formed in 2000 following the break up of Storm FM (a co-project between the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford). The first FM Restricted Service Licence (valid for 28 days) broadcast was in 2002 and the seventh broadcast took place from October 31 2008 and ran till December 12 2008.
The seventh broadcast was the first broadcast to opt away from the 28 day RSL and was broadcasted over the internet. The eighth broadcast is confirmed for November 2009.
References
External links
Video clips
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
