the
medicalstudent The voice of London’s Medical Students
April 2012
George's win UH Revue for the second year Page 3
Healthcare in Lesotho an exploration Page 6
Look for our special RAG pullout in the centerfold
GKT Loses Battle for Sabb Alexander Isted
The proposal for a new full-time sabbatical officer representing the medical and dental student bodies at King’s College London was defeated at the KCLSU annual general meeting on March 22nd. Although the proposal did not specifically request a Health Officer, its intention was to extend the number of appointed full-time Student Officer Trustee positions to five. The emphasis of the debate was that one of the roles must provide a representative for the medical and dental student bodies, better voicing their unique concerns to the student council. However, the motion did not receive enough votes to be passed by the General Council, and consequently the position will not be made in the immediate future. The Officer team which proposed the motion, including Fran Allfray,
Vice President of Student Media and Engagement, was particularly disappointed by its rejection. They believe that ‘health student and campus/ school based representation is the way forward’ and they consider this belief to be mirrored by the wider student population as all their conclusions had been based on extensive dialogue with health school student groups, course reps across the college, and heads of schools including focus groups of over 150 students. Within the motion, the provision of the new post was coupled with a series of other measures for the wider democratic restructuring of the KCLSU. As the proposed amendments would alter the very rules by which the SU governs, the proposal had to be passed at the AGM and would subsequently require the rubber stamp from the College Committee. Whilst many of the councillors showed support for the new
post, there was no consensus over the additional proposals and so the majority were unable to vote in favour of all the changes. The individual components of the motions could not be chosen independently and so the motion in its entirety had to be rejected. Despite some support, the Health School Officer post was not met with universal approval, with one criticism of the motion being that it was undemocratic. The concern being that having a single representative would not effectively voice the opinions of such a large group of students. Equally, questions were posed as to whether other significant and equally valued student bodies may consequently get a lesser say and have their representation diminished with the decisions having too much of a health school sway. The student council presently consists of 50 members, voted in by the student body and of these, 30 make up
the general student council who have no specific agendas and so can vote on any issue they feel passionately about. These council members provide representation of many courses and all campuses. However many feel that the students themselves, with their broader college experiences, are underrepresented, with the focus primarily on the academic side of university life. The newly appointed president of the SU, Thomas Clayton, who supported the motion, commented that he, as well as many other councillors, feels that this ‘negated the entire point of the student council’. Clayton suggests that there is a lot of rationale behind the proposal as medical and dental students have very different requirements and priorities from other students which includes being based on a separate campus and dealing with different student bodies as well as the NHS. (cont’d on page 2)
Supersize my genes - a discussion on epigenetics Page 9
The Tooting Show - a review Page 10
Why my brother is afraid of beards Page 21