Balliol JCR threatens OUSU with disaffiliation
Balliol JCR has threatened to disaffiliate from the Student Union should OUSU’s President and President-Elect not respond to a list of grievances they are drawing up. A high proportion of the JCR Committee have expressed discontent with the way in which the Student Union operates and there will be a meeting this Sunday in which concerns will be discussed with the entire JCR.
Their complaints centre around the dealings of OUSU’s commercial arm, OSSL, and unhappiness regarding the JCR’s high subscription fees. After the JCR meeting, President Triona Giblin will request a consultation with Student Union President John Blake and the President-Elect, Emma Norris. The main emphasis will be upon finding solutions to existing problems and redress of decisions which Balliol JCR feel have been poorly made.
Giblin told The Oxford Student: “Since I’ve become JCR President there’s been a lot of problems with the way OUSU is run and some of them have been recognised but not resolved at all. “The time has come for common rooms to say that we’re not happy about it. Sometimes the Student Union isn’t always serving the interests of students. “The position of Business Manager and the OSSL board need greater accountability.
?? She noted that Balliol JCR had yet to receive a letter from John Blake in response to its complaints to the Student Union over perceived violations of the editorial independence of The Oxford Student last term. However Blake maintains he never received such a letter. Issue will also be taken with the considerably higher affiliation fees Balliol JCR has to pay in comparison to colleges with similar sized student bodies, such as St John’s.
This occurs because the rates are calculated according to JCR incomes, primarily received from the college. Subscription fees are paid for by students and so different colleges are paying different amounts for the same Student Union services. Student Union President John Blake acknowledged the issues need to be addressed. He claimed he had written the affiliation fee details into this year’s budget to raise it for discussion.
Blake told The Oxford Student there will be a consultation in this Friday’s extraordinary meeting about the way OSSL is run. He pointed out it was difficult to balance OSSL’s status with the democratic ethos of a student union: “We need to talk about how we can work to maintain profits and satisfy people with accountability.” He said: “The mandate from last year’s council was that it wanted OSSL to act like any other business and increase OUSU’s commercial income.
If people don’t like what that has produced then we are prepared to find another model.”.
26th May 2005