| Goldsmiths Students' Union (GSU) | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Tiananmen Building, Dixon Road, Lewisham, London |
| National affiliation | National Union of Students of the United Kingdom |
| Website | www.goldsmithsstudents.org |
Goldsmiths Students' Union (GSU) is the students' union for Goldsmiths, University of London. It offers a variety of services to students including advice, sports clubs and activities as well as a full listing of entertainments and events and a fully licensed 1000 capacity live music venue. It is also an actively campaigning students' union, with representatives attending many marches throughout the academic year. In December 2008, a group of students from several student led societies occupied the Deptford Town Hall Building for the cause of guaranteed scholarships for students of Palestinian Al-Quds University with which Goldsmiths Students' Union is twinned.
All GSU members may also have access University of London Union facilities and Senate House Library.
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Set in New Cross, Goldsmiths has a diverse student body and attracts students from all over the world and this is embraced and celebrated by the students' union who arrange events throughout the year and its core representative values can be summed up in its mission statement:
Representation is at the centre of all we do and through representation we provide inclusive, accessibile activities for Goldsmiths' students.[1]
We believe our representative function will become of vital importance to students and the College over the next five years.
The mission can be shown in practice graphically here
GSU takes environmental issues seriously and since 2005 has recycled all paper waste and since 2007 has recycled all paper, glass and plastic. The union offices also have facilities in place for the recycling of ink and toner cartridges as well as mobile phones and similar devices. The students' union has won awards from Lewisham Council as well as the National Union of Students (United Kingdom) for three years under its Sound Impact Awards scheme.
Best Bar None Award History
Goldsmiths Students' Union is a supporter of Fairtrade and pledges to source Fairtrade products wherever possible. All teas, coffees, sugar and clothing it sells are certified Fairtrade as well as a selection of snacks and drinks which are available from the SU Shop (see below).
GSU has also, since 2005, campaigned for Goldsmiths, University of London to strive towards becoming a certified Fairtrade university.
Goldsmiths Students' Union is democratically run by elected officers. Each Spring, Goldsmiths students get the opportunity to elect candidates based on submitted manifestos for a variety of positions. These consist of four full-time positions which are remunerated and 14 part-time positions. The elections are independently verified by a returning officer from the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom or NUS as it is commonly known. The full list of positions can be found below.
Each year the students' union publishes its Annual Impact Report which outlines to all stakeholders the work that the students' union has been doing throughout the year, its campaigns and its achievements. The document is designed in house and present to the college management board as well as being made available to students online[3] and in a hard copy format.
Goldsmiths Students' Union helps support 50+ student run clubs and societies and over 20 competitive and non-competitive sports teams. Between September 2008 and April 2009 GSU has attracted media attention several times including major coverage on BBC Radio 2's Woman's Hour,[4] BBC ONE's "The One Show"[5] and The Times[6] newspaper.
Any student may set up a society or club as long as they have ten member subscriptions paid. The cost of a subscription ranges from £1 - £5.
Goldsmiths Students' Union operates a number of commercial services in order to raise funding for the non-commercial aspects to its function. Without these sources of income the students' union would have to rely solely on the grant provided by Goldsmiths, University of London. Commercial services allow the union to maintain a level of independence from the parent institution. The commercial services department is headed by the Commercial Services Manager assisted by a Venue Manager, Retail Manager, Assistant Retail Manager, Entertainment Technical Director, Duty Venue Manager, Bar Supervisors and approximately 40 part-time staff who are all current students at Goldsmiths, University of London.
The Students' Union Shop is located in the Richard Hoggart Building of Goldsmiths, University of London. It sells snacks and non-alcoholic beverages as well as an extensive range of arts supplies and materials.
The SU Shop is passionate about sourcing products ethically and stocks over 25 Fairtrade product lines including Ubuntu Cola and Cafe Direct as well as hoodies and t-shirts, all made with 100% Fairtrade cotton.
The Stretch is the union's 1000 capacity live music and club venue hosting two licensed bars, a night club, common room and cafe area as well as conference room and multi-faith prayer room. The Students' Union primarily organises student-led events but also hosts big gigs and has seen the likes of the Mystery Jets, Metronomy, Late of the Pier, Shy Child all player. Most famously however are the band Blur (band) played to a packed house on Monday 22 June 2009.[7] Two of the members, Graham Coxon and Alex James (musician) had previously studied at Goldsmiths before forming the band.
The venue is generally open between 12 Noon and 2am Monday to Friday or later for large events. The Stretch is not generally open at weekends and operates term-time only so is generally closed from mid-June to mid-September
Every year, Goldsmiths Students' Union holds a Summer Ball which since 2007 has been themed.