Oxford Brookes Students' Union
Coordinates: 51°45′19″N 1°13′46″W / 51.75523°N 1.2295°W
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| Institution | Oxford Brookes University |
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| Location | Helena Kennedy Student Centre, Headington Hill Campus Gipsy Lane, Oxford, OX3 0BT |
| Established | 1921 |
| President | Joel Holmes |
| Vice presidents |
Tom Smith (Student Experience) |
| Members | ~18,000[1] |
| Affiliations | National Union of Students |
| Website |
www |
Brookes Union (also known officially as Oxford Brookes Students' Union) is a union representing students at Oxford Brookes University. The union offers a range of services for students; it hosts a number of student societies, a safety bus service, an advice service and a system of student repsresentatives. It also sponsors student entertainment through its partnership with the O2 Academy Oxford. The union ran a bar from 1992 until it was shut down in 2012.[2][3] As part of a university redevelopment the union will move to Gipsy Lane Campus to occupy part of the new John Henry Brookes building. In 2012 it scored one of the lowest satisfaction rates in the National Student Survey.[4]
History
The Hellena Kennedy centre where the union is currently located was formerly the headquarters of Pergamon Press,[5] which was the site of Britain's longest running print strike.[6]
Oxford Polytechnic Students Union
Throughout the years Oxford Polytechnic Students Union saw students involved in various movements.
The union had an active peace group which regularly participated in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and protests against US military bases on British territory, such as the Upper Heyford air base. In July 1985 the union sent two students from the peace group to Moscow to take part in the 12th World Festival of Youth and Students.[7]
There were some international solidarity campaigns, the anti-apartheid group took students on coaches to London to protest British support for the policy of apartheid in South Africa.[8][9] This group had a lot of support from Clive Booth who went on to become the vice-chancellor when the college became a university. Some students took part in a civic delegation to Nicaragua during the Contra War[10][11] and received a delegation of trade unionists from Nicaragua in return.[12] Later on the Students Union passed a motion of solidarity with the people of Nicaragua.
The union also received speakers from Sinn Féin[13] and SWAPO[14] representing national liberation movements in Ireland and Namibia respectively. There were debates around the issue of Israel,[15][16] with Jonathan Djanogly taking a zionist position.[17] He was the treasurer of the conservative society at the time.[18]
Oxford Brookes Students Union
After 1992 Oxford Polytechnic was converted to a university and the students union changed its name.
In 2012 students protested on the front lawn of the Gipsy Lane campus, calling on the university to prioritise bursaries over fee waivers for student support.[19] They set up camp on 18 April[20][21] and stayed there until 19 May when they packed up and left overnight.[22] A petition in support of their demands raised 700 signatures.
Governance
- Sabbatical Officers
- President
- Vice President (Academic Experience)
- Vice President (Student Experience)
- Part-Time Executive officers
- Environmental officer
- Women's officer
- Ethnic Minorities' officer
- International Students' officer
- Mature Students' officer
- Disabled Students' officer
- RAG president
- LGBT officer (position not filled)
Safety Bus
The safety bus scheme is a volunteer run welfare service for staff and students at both Oxford Brookes University and University of Oxford. The service operates within Oxford's ring road, plus Wheatley and Harcourt Hill campuses, Risinghurst and Littlemore. Students unable to get home can call the safety bus service, who will then take them home for a suggested donation of £1. It was originally called the Women's Safety Bus and was provided for women who felt unsafe on the streets of Oxford at night. The service runs from 9.00pm in the evening until 4.00am in the morning, there have recently discussed plans to extend the service time till later at night on some occasions.
Societies
The union has many different societies, these are run by current students with assistance from union staff and the VP Student Experience.
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Every year in the first week of term the union runs a societies fair. In this fair societies can run stalls and attract new members.
References
- ↑ "Union Facts". National Union of Students. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011.
- ↑ Coats, Jock (26 February 2012). "So farewell then, Morals Bar". Jock's OXFr33? Blog. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- ↑ "Extension, refurbishment and fit-out of union bar" (pdf). Bridgford Interiors. 2003.
- ↑ Ratcliffe, Rebecca (28 September 2012). "The worst student unions: how does yours compare?". the Guardian.
- ↑ Jenkins, Stephanie. "Headington history: Listed Buildings & Structures". Oxford History. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013.
- ↑ Jenkins, Stephanie. "Inscriptions: Pergamon Press". Oxford History.
- ↑ Clark, Simon; Tony Smith (7 October 1985). "back in the USSR". The Last Edition (2): 11.
- ↑ "Anti Apartheid Movement national demonstration June 16th". The Last Edition (25): 4. 10 June 1985.
- ↑ Forsyth, Justin (28 October 1985). "rally against apartheid". The Last Edition (5): 3.
- ↑ Johnson, Dominic (25 November 1985). "co-ops under fire Nicaragua tour '85". The Last Edition (9): 3.
- ↑ "OxPoly goes to Nicaragua". The Last Edition (11): 4. 20 January 1986.
- ↑ Johnson, Dominic (18 November 1985). The Last Edition (8): 4. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Sinn Féin speaker at OxPoly". The Last Edition (6): 15. 5 November 1985.
- ↑ The Last Edition (12): 14. 29 January 1986. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Geoff, Stewart (May 1985). "the truth about zionism". The Last Edition: 8.
- ↑ Stuart, Geoff (2 December 1985). "Israel- a reply to J. Djanogly". The Last Edition (10): 5.
- ↑ "the myth that has become a reality". The Last Edition (4): 5. 21 October 1985.
- ↑ The Last Edition: 13. 16 May 1985. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Hello! Goodbye! Occupy! (pdf). 20 May 2012. p. 2.
We were here to raise awareness amongst the wider student population who have been deliberately kept in the dark about unfair changes to financial support, especially regarding fee waivers.
- ↑ "Anti-fees protest sets up camp at Oxford Brookes". the Morning Star. 19 April 2012. p. 4.
- ↑ Bardsley, Fran (19 April 2012). "Occupy protest at Brookes continues tonight". the Oxford Times.
- ↑ Bardsley, Fran (22 May 2012). "Brookes protest camp packs up". the Oxford Times.
- ↑ "Student Pride". Gay Sports Clubs & Social Groups. GMFA. 11 March 2010.
- ↑ "OxArch". Oxford Architecture Society. 2013.
External links
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