Keele University Students' Union

Keele University Students' Union
Institution Keele University
Location Keele University, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England
Established 1967
Trustees 5 sabbatical officers, 3 student trustees, and 3 external trustees
Members c. 12,345[1]
Affiliations National Union of Students, NUS Services, AMSU
Website KeeleSU.com

Keele Students' Union (KUSU) is the students' union of Keele University, England.

Building

The main Students' Union building was designed by architects Stillman & Eastwick-Field[2] (now part of the TP Bennett practice), with some guidance from the University's architect, J A Pickavance.

From January 2012, the ground floor went through a £2.5 million refurbishment. This was completed in September 2012, before students arrived for the start of the 2012/13 academic year. With this new development came the relocation of the Independent Advice Unit to the ground floor, the coffee bar "Barista" becoming "Blend" and the catering facilities "The Kiln" and "Harveys" becoming "Munch" with a purpose-built kitchen.

Governance

The governing bodies of the Students' Union are the Student Council and the Union General Meeting (UGM). The UGM is the sovereign body of the Students' Union but, as it sits only four times a year, the normal day-to-day governing is done through the Student Council, which meets six times a year.

All full members of the Students' Union can vote at the UGM, which can amend the Union constitution or mandate the Union and its representatives to take an action or an official position on an issue.

The Student Council is made up of about 35 councillors representing a different cohort of students including International students, students studying in the three faculties (Health, Natural Sciences and Humanities & Social Sciences) of the University, students living off-campus, the Athletics Union, undergraduates, postgraduates and members of the Hospital Campus site in Stoke-on-Trent.

KeeleSU has five sabbatical officers who are elected annually. Together with three open-portfolio officers they form the KeeleSU Executive. The Students' Union also has three regulatory officers who form the Constitutional Affairs Committee. The Students' Union also elects representatives of the student body to sit on the University's Faculty Learning and Teaching Committees.

Student activism and history

Keele University students have a history of particularly left-wing activism, most of which occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. A three-day sit-in of the University's Registry Office took place in protest against various university rulings of the time mainly centring on accommodation. This included a rule which banned students of the opposite sex in halls of residence after 10pm.[3] Ironically, Keele University would later become the first UK university to offer mixed sex halls of residence. There were subsequent sit-ins in various locations around the university for various reasons over the proceeding ten years. The spirit was kept alive a decade later when Keele students declared a week-long independence from the UK. However, some less enthusiastic alumni claim that the effectiveness and popularity of this stunt have been greatly exaggerated.[4]

However, despite the historical reputation for left-wing activism amongst Keele students which once had the campus labelled "The Kremlin on the Hill" by local people, the university has more recently been a centre of apoliticism, with political groups struggling to recruit on campus. In this regard, however, things have begun to change again.

Membership of the university's Conservative Future branch was once popular and the largest political party on campus. Every year NKCF (as the society is known) held many social and political events with notable visitors including Boris Johnson and Michael Howard. Every summer NKCF held their "Conservative Ball" in Keele Hall which attracted fellow Tories from all across the country, including notable MPs; but now these events and balls have now fallen out of favour with the group after failing to make a profit.

There has been a resurgence in membership of Labour Students, who have had high profile visits from many Keele graduates who are Labour MPs. Keele Labour Students is now the largest Labour Students club in the West Midlands in terms of membership, and the group currently occupy four seats on the Newcastle-under-Lyme Constituency Labour Party Executive Committee, a member on the Stoke-on-Trent North Constituency Labour Party Executive Committee and one former Chairman is now a Councillor for Longton North.

The university was also home to the first ever student branch of the United Kingdom Independence Party and a short lived England Society (loosely affiliated with the English Democrats Party).

Student entertainment and activity

Keele University students can get involved in Keele University Students' Union (KeeleSU)'s more than 130 musical and non-musical societies, such as: Kube Radio, an award-winning student-run radio station; KRAP, Keele's very own Rock Society, holding regular fortnightly clubnights, and the Keele Drama Society.

KeeleSU's Entertainments department organises parties and designated themed nights.

The Students' Union holds the student club night, Amnesia, every Friday as well as various events on Wednesday nights, including Flirt!, Wired and Rewind. The Union has several bars — The Scruffy Squirrel (formerly The Lounge), Blueprint (formerly Sam's Bar), and K2 (including the area "The Bubble")

Kube Radio (Keele University Broadcasting Enterprise) broadcasts over the internet, and is one of the highest-rated student radio stations in the UK.

Student support

KeeleSU has an advice service, Advice & Support at Keele, ASK. Advice & Support at Keele is a free, confidential, impartial, advice, information and representation service for Keele students. ASK is situated in the Students’ Union building, is funded by the Students’ Union. Jobshop is situated in ASK. ASK is a member of Advice UK, the UK's largest support network for free, independent advice centres. ASK is a member of UKCISA, the UK Council for International Student Affairs and advise in accordance with their Code of Ethics and the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner’s Code of Standards. ASK advisors are members of NASMA, the National Association of Student Money Advisors. ASK is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, authorisation number 618690, to provide money and debt advice. ASK subscribes to an electronic information system provided by Citizens Advice.

KeeleSU has its own Nightline Service. Keele Nightline is a confidential Listening and Information Service, available to all Keele students. It operates between the hours of 9pm and 3am, every night during the semester, a time when few other services are available.

Affiliations

References

  1. ↑ "Table 0a – All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  2. ↑ "Students’ Union Building". History in Keele Buildings. Keele University. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Keele University Alumni Website
  4. ↑ Keele University Alumni Website

Sources

External links

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