Key vote for OUSU
The campaign to reform the voting system at OUSU Council has received a boost after a motion triggering a referendum on the issue was finally passed at last Friday's OUSU Council.
The referendum will give students the option of abolishing the present system whereby colleges elect representatives to vote on their behalf at the weekly OUSU Council meetings. The proposed new system would allow any student member of the University to vote.
The way in which the sovereign policy-making body that is Oxford University Student Union Council operates has been an issue which has occupied the minds of a group of Oxford student politicians since last summer.
A campaign to trigger a referendum on the voting procedure by gaining the support of 10 JCRs or MCRs had run out of steam with only 5 out of around 60 such affiliated members passing motions in favour of a referendum.
Despite this apparent lack of general student interest in the issue, the alternative mechanism of triggering a referendum through OUSU Council was employed by proponents of the changes.
At present, ordinary students are allowed to attend and speak at the Council meetings but only elected representatives from each college; the JCR president, OUSU rep and a third representative, are allowed to vote.
The proposed change, to a so-called "One Member, One Vote" system would be a move away from representing JCR executive commitees and move towards a broader electorate of 15,000 individuals, with any student able to vote.
"As it stands at the moment, the Council has a lot of problems," admits OUSU President Anneliese Dodds. She added that she sees that there is a strong argument in favour of change: "In a democracy, there's meant to be freedom of speech. If people can't be bothered to turn up to meetings, why should they have any say in what OUSU are doing?"
Opponents of OMOV argue that such a move would be both impractical and undemocratic, as the time pressures on students would mean that many undergraduates wouldn't be able to spare the 4 or 5 hours needed to attend OUSU Council in full.
JCR president Debbie Cozens voted against a referendum, arguing that "People shouldn't be penalised because they can't attend. They represent other areas such as journalism and sport. Once you get into 'high politics', you have to have people who know what they are talking about."
Associate institutions like the Ruskin Art College would now have a significantly larger influence in the union and as St Anne's College President Jane Osborne highlights: "People who have radical viewpoints will make a stand and have more influence."
The threat of OUSU Council being dominated by political groups such as Oxford University Conservative Association or the Socialist Workers Student Society which have highly motivated, albeit minority followings, have led to concerns that the policies made at OUSU Council will become less representative of the student population as a whole.
John Courouble, President of the Students First organisation that last year tried to occupy the OUSU buildings in a vain attempt to win One Member One Vote, remains: "optimistic that students will vote for One Member, One Vote."
The referendum will take place concurrently with the OUSU elections in 6th week and is likely to become a central issue in those elections.
14th Oct 1999