Wadham SU Minutes 2013 HT7

7/28/2019 Wadham SU Minutes 2013 HT7

1/8

Sunday, 24th

February (HT Wk 7)

4.00pm in the JCR

SU Meeting: Minutes

A: Officers Reports

PRESIDENT

Rent Negotiations

Gym

Bike Scheme

Provisions for Tortoise

CB Fry

Recycling Bins

Projector

Suitably onesie-clad

VICE PRESIDENT

Trying to find Entz/Bar Reps (Plz join its rly cool).

Email Alex if interested.

Nominations due Wed.

Finishing work on constitution.

Working on Guide to the SU; accessibility to the constitution

TREA$URER

Money meeting was good Rent Negotiation

ACADEMIC

Nothing exciting

ACCESS

10 more people on ambassador team.

Hilary Training.

Meeting about roadshow in easter; lots of freshers volunteering.

E-mentoring

ARTS

Tim the librarian has exhibition in Blackwells.

ARTS WEEK: Meeting with DB next week.

Movie marathons in JCR plans.

BAR

Pub quiz in 8th Week. Jahni's bday on Thurs 8th week...

International dinner on Thurs: Japanese + karaoke after it.

Surveying bar prices WADSTOCK


2/8

Meeting steward re: drinks.

Need 15-20 volunteers for selling cocktails at wadstock.

Free drinks & fun for any volunteers

Also, college not so happy about yard glasses recently due to vomit

CHARITIES Charity ceilidh, possibly early next term: End of 2nd week

ENTZ

Wadstock.

Become an entz rep!

FOOD

International dinner, Japanese on Thurs

HOUSING Room ballot going fine. Photos finished being taken

INTERNATIONAL

Decorations for int night

LGBTQ

Fun crewdates

COMMUNICATIONS

OUSU Council on Wed

SPORT

CB Fry

TECH

Games & Controllers bought for Xbox"

WELFARE

Welfare Week success.

Zumba success. Yoga on Friday.

Fridge available in Snug.

Don't steal mugs.

Pidging exam sweets.

WOMEN

All good.

TORTOISE OFFICER

DB meeting last week. Allowing it hopefully. Tortoise fact & joke (ask joe)


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B: Matters for Discussion

1. RENT NEGOTIATION

Proposed by Jahni Emmanuel, SU President

Rents will be going up 5% next year

Pres & tres trying to keep lowest rents (as we are currently) College have been generous so far.

Trying best to negotiate (ask Jahni and Max for further info)

Questions

Q1. Maintenance loan still currently not enough to cover battels

A1. College aware of this, trying their best.

Q2. How much are other colleges raising prices?

A2. Hard to work out, but some are freezing.

Q3. Whats the lowest rent?

A3. Ours at 2933 median atm, average is 3000-something

Q4. With these increases, how will we compare?

A4. Still lowest quartile but not sure.

College authorities dislike cheapest college reputation

Clarification: Wadham is currently the cheapest median college

Other colleges split their accommodation into price bands

We dont want to do this

C: Motions

1. LIVING WAGE

Proposed by Mirela Ivanova

Wadham gave 2011 of giving 6.90 wage

Didnt respond when asked this year

Living wage is 7.49

Pushing for Wadham to support it, but dont know figures

Mandate Pres to ask college for figures

Discussion

Living wage particularly relevant in Oxford; most comparable prices to London

Good campaign but worth bearing in mind:

Wadham provides benefits such as subsidised food & transport

Some staff prefer to keep these rather than removing them for higher wages

Much better benefits at Wadham than elsewhere.

Outcome

No oppositionMotion passes


4/8

2. WEEKS OF SU MEETINGS CHANGEOVER

Proposed by Alex Cibulskis

Officially changing SU meeting schedule to start of odd weeks

Relevance with OUSU Council.

Discussion Potential Issues:

1st meeting end of 0th week too early

Lack of 8th week meeting

Solutions:

Have an extra 5th meeting in 8th week anyway

Also pointed out that it's good to have 0th week meeting (eg freshers week)

Since provisional changeover, Wadham has regularly taken 3rd votes to OUSU

Worth overriding logistical problems to have opportunity to have this 3rd vote

Conclusion No apparent problems.

Keeping it as has been during provisional trial period

Next meeting likely to be mid-week 8th week (Wednesday)

Outcome

Motion passes

D: OUSU

3. BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT & SANCTIONSProposal to vote against OUSU Council motion

Proposed by Jacob Haddad

Motion went to OUSU Council re BDS.

Original motion suggests that OUSU vote to support BDS

In turn, suggesting BDS motion to be brought to NUS Conference

Proposer recognises that a lot of what Israel is doing is wrong

But boycotting puts a wedge in.

Not realistic, not fair to boycott an entire nation

Mandate Wadham's voters to vote againstoriginal motion and boycott.

Questions

Q1. What is the boycott about?

A1. BDS boycotts various cultural, agricultural etc things

inc groups not even tied to government.

Radical movement

Sometimes extremist, creates a hostile environment

Q2. Does BDS boycott Israeli academics and students eg coming to Oxford?

A2. Not sure, but worth checking

Huge step backwards if Oxford were to ban students based on a nation


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Q3. Doesnt BDS website say they don't advocate discrimination?

A3. How individual people choose to use the boycott is up to themselves

Q4. Other colleges' decisions?

A4. 8 colleges all voting same way mandating JCRs to vote against BDSinc Magdalen and Brasenose

Q5. Whats OUSU's role in this motion?

A5. The motion is a student proposing for OUSU to take the motion to wider NUS

conference, voting for/against it to be passed into NUS policy

Q6. Who votes in the NUS conference?

A6. OUSU's NUS delegates, not academics.

Q7. Are there provisions for individuals takes on NUS motions?A7. If NUS passes it, then it will filter back through universities.

Discussion

Religious implications

Motion means boycott of associated Jewish societies etc

Isn't the point of the BDS motion to drive the wedge?

Using the bluntest possible instrument to change Israeli policy

E.g. same as South African apartheid approach

Comparing to apartheid not helpful

Not comparable situations Israel likely to get more defensive

Reasons it won't work like with apartheid.

Ideological: Israel's constitution still implies state equality, even if there is

discriminination, unlike apartheid separation.

Factual correction:

There is definite discrimination regarding number of Arabs stopped vs Israelis

stopped.

Debate about ineffectuality of boycott

BDS worst possible approach to solving the problem. Breaking ties with Israel and all associated quite antisemitic.

Maybe not intentional

BDS = anti-Israel not anti-jewish

Boycott of nationality is fundamentally racist.

National identity, racial identity and religious identity all different.

Issue of racial and national identity very intertwined in Israel

Defined differently there

Does this mean that here we can boycott because we DO have the distinction

Even if we condemn every action done by Israel, it's still xenophobic even if

not necessarily racist/antisemitic Clarification that motion doesn't condone both Israeli and Palestinian violence


6/8

Problem with this motion:

Attacks a specific group, regardless of what group has done.

Not academic, shouldnt concern OUSU.

Academic institutions shouldn't be boycotting other academics.

Political issue, not academic. Doing our university a disfavour As a student union, we are a political institution.

We have made political affiliations and stances in the past

Wadham SU might be political, but OUSU isn't

We are a political institution, but also one which represents Israelis

Should be open and welcome to everyone.

BDS isn't about targeting individuals

BUT implication that people are still allowed to target individuals if they want

e.g. Galloway

Chomsky quote in point 3 should be taken out

Historically, boycotts as a concept are an entrenchment of antagonism very much a step back

South African boycott is the quintessential boycott

instigated social and policy change

All points in favour: putting pressure on government etc.

However all the paths towards peace so far have been bilateral

Bilateral also worked in South Africa. Best way to go

BDS also advocates bilateral talks in the end.

With this approach we could boycott other nations that discriminate similarly.

Politically we CAN say that we condemn Israeli policy

But it's unacademic to practically block association with Israel

What is the OUSU/NUS Conference process?

Long drawn-out process to mandate Wadham students to vote in OUSU to

take to NUS, to be taken back to all universities

Other universities have also declared stances on BDS eg Sheffield

Academic freedom

A lot of discussion on Israel, what about Palestine?

Boycott of Israeli academic work won't necessarily promote Palestinian work.

Sanction will do more harm than good

BDS tries to find ways to hit the government in a way that won't harm the people Purely economic boycott of Israel's government in ideal world.

But BDS hurts workers not governmentt

Palestinian and Israeli economy intrinsically linked.

Weve established we're all against the cultural-academic part of original motion

This is just about how we should vote at OUSU, so were already against.

Ultimate yes-or-no question: support bds?

We're not directly boycotting Israel

OUSU's motion is to support an organisation which includes boycotting Israel

as a policy. Can we amend motions at OUSU?


7/8

In this particular case we have no control because it's being taken to NUS.

We could suggest amendment changing BDS to just specific form of sanction.

OUSU debate will work the same as Wadham SU.

Completely separate motion can be proposed to support other sanctions

Stricter than we are on how much we can amend a pre-existing motion

Misunderstanding of what the motion is about It's not that we're supporting BDS like a political party

OUSU motion to support BDS in general, not with specific parts

Don't vote for a motion where there are still parts with which you disagree

Current case is do we vote for or against at OUSU?

We could take a split vote to OUSU Council?

AMENDMENT

That Wadham votes represent proportional split in decision at OUSU Council

Is this worth deciding?

Whether vote is proportional could affect peoples decisions Proposer doesn't accept amendment; taken to immediate vote

Majority vote against proportional representation

Amendment falls

Should there have been more official discussion about this amendment?

Procedural disagreement

Discussion of whether amendment was taken fairly

OUSU Council votes should reflect Wadham view in the most democratic fair way

However, democratic thing is to vote

Our vote was in favour of one-way representation

Annulling a vote is unconstitutional Not discussing properly before the vote was also unconstitutional

Problem within the constitution

Will update constitution next week on how such amendments are dealt with

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

For a 3rd person to go to OUSU Council voting independently to promote

proportionality

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

That if the Wadham motion falls, the voters at OUSU Council abstain from the

motion to reflect opinion

PROPOSED AMENDMENTThat if the Wadham motion falls, the voters at OUSU Council vote for the OUSU

motion, as implied by the vote

Conclusion

Proposed amendments retracted

Some opposition as evident from discussion

Motion reverted to straight vote:

For or against motion to oppose OUSUs BDS motion

OutcomeMotion passes


8/8

Proportionality was about 90-10

All three Wadham OUSU Reps will vote against the OUSU motion.

SU President to take up third vote.

THE END.

Documents

Wadham SU Minutes 2013 HT7