Friday 11-06-2021 - 10:35

Max Kendix, Assembly Media Observer, reports from the June Assembly meeting.

The last Assembly of the year was hosted by new Assembly Chair, Natasja Enthoven, and saw a packed schedule. Nine motions and one amendment were discussed at the meeting, which had wide input from student representatives. Officers, Committees and Associations provided their updates online before Assembly. 

Several motions pass

The first motion to pass asked Officers to work towards disclosing voting records of Assembly members. After some discussion and understanding of the importance of keeping the identity of some Association Presidents private, the motion passed. 

Postgraduate Academic Officer Sarah McAllister presented what she hoped was “the beginning of a national conversation” about postgraduate access and participation, in a detailed plan aimed at “recruiting students from various backgrounds usually underrepresented in higher education”.

Two further motions passed in the session concerned refugees and sex work. Durham Student Action for Refugees successfully presented a motion backing a national campaign seeking to restore the right to work for everyone waiting for more than six months for a decision on their asylum claim. 

Meanwhile, Welfare and Liberation Officer Ewan Swift gained approval for a core SU position on student sex work based on research from the University of Leicester. The Officer put to Assembly that “students who engage in sex work should not face any barriers to access support in the University, and specifically support that is well-informed and free from prejudice”.

Another motion, building on Assembly’s declaration of a climate emergency in 2019, resolved to “advertise and support student-organised climate change demonstrations” and to create a working group of students to “implement sustainable practices within the SU”.

Palestinian solidarity

The longest debate of the afternoon concerned a motion “to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine” from the Durham People of Colour Association (DPOCA). The motion resolved to raise awareness for the people of Palestine, to lobby the University to “boycott and divest from any organisation that funds or supports the Israeli government as it commits acts of terror against the Palestinian people”.

DPOCA President Dan Takyi argued the motion was “standing on the shoulders” of the 1980s movement to boycott apartheid South Africa, saying “they made a difference and we hope that we can also”. 

After some discussion over University support for Israel after misleading claims on social media, St. Chad’s college representative Isabel Lewis brought forward concerns that the motion may contribute to increased incidents of antisemitism on campus, contrary to the SU’s commitment to “fostering a safe environment for Jewish students”.

Yash Raju, Vice-President of DPOCA, defended the motion, saying it did not question the legitimacy of Israel as a nation or erase harms inflicted upon Israeli citizens of Hamas. They argued the motion “pretty unambiguously leaves no scope for antisemitism in any way, shape or form”. 

An amendment seeking to remove reference to the Israeli government was overwhelmingly rejected, and the motion as a whole passed.

Democracy

Two motions implementing reform to Assembly after the results of the ongoing Democracy Review passed, with a third delayed. 

The first motion concerned policy development. Opportunities Officer Anna Marshall hoped that the proposed changes would avoid the same “stale, horrific format as the previous parts of this meeting”. 

The motion proposed greater flexibility in presenting motions to “build a system that allows faster, slicker and better policy”. Anna Marshall answered concerns over the explaining the proposed changes would allow a “rolling process of discussion and collaboration”.

With the first motion on the issue passed, attention turned to reforming Committees and Working Groups. Here, Anna Marshall proposed increasing the number of Assemblies from five to eight per year, as well as dividing up Assembly into subcommittees “so that people can actually engage” and “understand the working of the SU”. 

Changes include the introduction of an Officer Scrutiny Committee to examine the work of elected sabbatical officers. Asked how the proposals would allow greater engagement in the SU, Anna Marshall said that making “everybody feel like they have some stake” will be crucial.

Due to the time restraints of the meeting, a third motion, on Assembly’s membership and purpose, was delayed until an extraordinary Assembly meeting on 24 June.

Watch the full meeting here

[Added Monday 14 June 2021]