THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA
Issue 181 October 26th 2005 www.concrete-online.com Free: Please Recycle
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!NDY 0OTT EXCOMMUNICATED BY NEW %XECUTIVE #OMMITTEE "Y 3!2!( %$7!2$%3 !.$ !..! 34%7!2$ The General Manager of the Union of UEA Students, Mr Andy Pott, will no longer attend Executive Committee meetings following a decision made by the Committee last week. The move to bar Mr Pott has been made in accordance with the Union Constitution, which allows student or staff representatives to be invited to attend meetings at the discretion of the Executive Committee. As General Manager of the UEA Student Union, Mr
Pott will continue to sit on the Management Committee, which conducts the day-to-day adminis- tration of Union policy, as ratified by Union Council. Although Mr Pott is not al- lowed to vote in Executive meet- ings, he has previously been able to offer an advisory role to the student officers who make up the Committee. There is concern that his removal from meetings could mean that Executive Com- mittee decisions might be made without appropriate consultation with more experienced members of staff. Mr Pott has worked in the Un- ion for seven years and is respect-
ed for his understanding of the democratic procedures involved in running such an institution. Some students have ex- pressed concern that the move will make the eleven members of the Executive less accountable within the Union. One student commented that they had tried to view the minutes of previous Executive Committee meetings – including the excom- munication of Mr Pott – on the Union’s website, but found that no agendas had been posted on- line. “I am worried that things are being done on our behalf that may not benefit the student body over-
all. We can only hold the Executive to account if all their decisions are made public appropriately and not just given to Council,” he said. The Executive Committee con- sists of four full-time student offic- ers – Academic, Communications, Finance and Welfare – and seven part-time officers. All members of the Committee are chosen by the student body during elections in the spring. The Exec is responsible for the administration and management of the Union’s affairs and the im- plementation of policies made by Union Council. Meetings of the Executive Committee are held on a weekly basis during semesters.
This year's Communications Officer, Andy Higson, told Con- crete: “Unions are democratic, student-led organizations and the Executive Officers are elected by students to run this Union. To have meetings with no one else there apart from students who are allowed to go to Exec meetings is a perfectly valid way to run the Union.” “Executive Officers are free, unless told otherwise by the stu- dents, to run the meetings of the Union in a way that they think best. If people have a problem with this Union they should use the democratic structures and hold the officers to account.”
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