Monday 16-11-2020 - 13:24

Following on from last year's SU democracy healthcheck, we’re now entering the second stage of a long-term review of Durham SU’s democracy. We’ve seen many students expressing a desire to see democracy at the SU reformed. We've listened and reprioritised our work so that as your Opportunities Officer, I can work with students to create real change this year. 

SU democracy is everything from Assembly to campaigns to the Student Officer elections. It’s the way we fairly understand what students need us to stand up for, it’s how we represent your voice to the University and beyond, and ultimately how we are the champion of every Durham student. 

And it’s clear that it's time for our democracy to change. We need to overhaul the existing system to create something new and better. Our democratic systems were created to work for past students and have been tweaked year upon year in response to students’ requests for change. But this means they no longer work for many students now. We need a new system that does what students tell us they need it to, and not just one type of student – we need to make sure our democracy is inclusive and open to every student at Durham. 

I’ve already been working closely with students to make sure that the review of our democracy is done in a way that students can trust and believe in. You can view a timeline of how we got to where we are today here.

We now need to hear how we can make our democracy work for you. We know that there has been lots of discussion about how we could do better – here’s your chance to feed into the process that will make things better. We want to understand how to improve, and only then can we create a system that you have confidence in. That's why we're launching a survey to find out what you think.

When you complete the survey, you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win one of 50 Greggs gift cards. And don’t worry, Greggs is still open during lockdown, so whether you’re a festive bake fan or a sausage roll supporter, you'll be able to use the card! 

We need as many students as possible to tell us about a whole range of experiences, so please, take the time to fill out the survey below and then ask your friends to do the same.  

[18/12/2020: please note the survey is now closed. The results will be communicated via our website and social media in due course]