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| sallamino
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 | | Joined: 17 Feb 2006 | | Posts: 101 | | : | |
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 Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:37 pm Post subject: Help make halls better |
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Residence Associations in your halls are there to represent you, organise your social activites and run your sports teams. They receive an amount of money from each students rent in order to do this.
There are (now!) 7 positions in each hall;
President
Vice President Services
Vice President Finance
Vice President Volunteering
Entertainments Officer
Marketing, Communications and PR officer
Sports Officer
All of these positions are elected by their hall in November each year. Voting this year will be on the 29th or 30th November depending on your hall.
nominations are open now and will close at 5pm on friday 24th November. Every student in halls of residence should have received a nomination form and information leaflet by the end of tomorrow. If you dont have one you can also get them from guild reception.
If you want to make your hall better, hold HAS to account, make sure residences money is spent wisely, see more volunteering activities and community events or just see better socials and sports teams then you need to think about standing for election. Its a fantastic opportunity and a lot of fun.
If you want more information ask for Mark in the basement or come and find me (sally) in exec. (or email me vphc@bugs.bham.ac.uk)
If you're a first year (or living in halls), please think about standing. If you're not a first year, please try and tell as many first years as you can about this. If youre a first year whose not in halls whose interested email me and il tell you all about focsoc and how to run for that! |
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| Johnny P
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 | | Joined: 11 Oct 2006 | | Posts: 101 | | : | |
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| Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:47 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for that. I would like to see the guild seriously advertising this election. It was very good to see advertising for council elections, but a shame that it wasnt in time for the first round where the majority of seats were taken, many without contest.
_________________
"...a society that believes in nothing is particularly frightened by people who believe in anything." Bill Durodle, Director International Centre for Security Analysis, Kings College London |
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| sallamino
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| | Joined: 17 Feb 2006 | | Posts: 101 | | : | |
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| Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:51 pm Post subject: |
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Im trying! There are posters in all halls, the guild and hopefully around campus. Let me know if your experience is that that isnt the case. Everyone should have a nomination form, lecture shouts and door knocking is happening this week/weekend/next week and emails have been sent to sports teams, societies and will soon be sent to volunteers.
If you have ideas about how else I could or should publicise this, im all ears, im kind of out of ideas myself! |
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| Teapotboy
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 | | Joined: 05 Mar 2006 | | Posts: 691 | | : | | Location: Hamburg, Germany |
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| Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Seriously you are never gonna get enough people standing. Maple Bank is huge and had one person stand in the year Jon Welch got elected (luckily for him!) |
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| Johnny P
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| | Joined: 11 Oct 2006 | | Posts: 101 | | : | |
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| Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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Well thats good...i said it was my aspiration that the guild does those things, im not going to criticise it for something it hasnt done yet.
_________________
"...a society that believes in nothing is particularly frightened by people who believe in anything." Bill Durodle, Director International Centre for Security Analysis, Kings College London |
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| sallamino
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| | Joined: 17 Feb 2006 | | Posts: 101 | | : | |
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| Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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| thanks for that vote of confidence josh, I dont suppose you have any helpful suggestions?? So far the interest has actually been really promising and theres still a week to go.... |
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| Teapotboy
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| | Joined: 05 Mar 2006 | | Posts: 691 | | : | | Location: Hamburg, Germany |
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| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 1:11 am Post subject: |
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ah and whe theyu sdo dhget elecete tohey ner go look at lat euar and for ever they are ntt therd wass tje [ppmt
tno pont in the gudl cinci;l |
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| SimonM
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 | | Joined: 16 Feb 2006 | | Posts: 327 | | : | | Location: Selly Oak |
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| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:05 am Post subject: |
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| Teapotboy wrote: | ah and whe theyu sdo dhget elecete tohey ner go look at lat euar and for ever they are ntt therd wass tje [ppmt
tno pont in the gudl cinci;l |
In Germany they serve beer by the litre. |
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| naivehottie
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| | Joined: 01 Apr 2006 | | Posts: 385 | | : | |
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| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:25 am Post subject: |
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| Josh is right. Electing 7 positions in one go is a big mistake. You won't get more than 5 people standing across them in most halls. It would make more sense to elect the president and VPs first and let the losers stand for other positions. We only had 2 people from the whole of Mason interested last year (although only for half a year admittedly) and one didn't really do anything. You only need 4 people to run an RA if they do it properly as well, not 7. |
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| Teapotboy
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| | Joined: 05 Mar 2006 | | Posts: 691 | | : | | Location: Hamburg, Germany |
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| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Teapotboy wrote: | ah and whe theyu sdo dhget elecete tohey ner go look at lat euar and for ever they are ntt therd wass tje [ppmt
tno pont in the gudl cinci;l |
Ok let's try again without Germany's finest coursing round my veins:
"Ah and when they do get elected they never go - look at last year and forever they are not there, what's the point in the Guild Council?" |
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| Teapotboy
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| | Joined: 05 Mar 2006 | | Posts: 691 | | : | | Location: Hamburg, Germany |
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| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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| naivehottie wrote: | | Josh is right. Electing 7 positions in one go is a big mistake. You won't get more than 5 people standing across them in most halls. It would make more sense to elect the president and VPs first and let the losers stand for other positions. We only had 2 people from the whole of Mason interested last year (although only for half a year admittedly) and one didn't really do anything. You only need 4 people to run an RA if they do it properly as well, not 7. |
We are both ex-RAs - we know what we're talking about. |
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| sallamino
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| | Joined: 17 Feb 2006 | | Posts: 101 | | : | |
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| Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 1:02 am Post subject: |
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| Teapotboy wrote: | | naivehottie wrote: | | Josh is right. Electing 7 positions in one go is a big mistake. You won't get more than 5 people standing across them in most halls. It would make more sense to elect the president and VPs first and let the losers stand for other positions. We only had 2 people from the whole of Mason interested last year (although only for half a year admittedly) and one didn't really do anything. You only need 4 people to run an RA if they do it properly as well, not 7. |
We are both ex-RAs - we know what we're talking about. |
Im also ex RA, and passionate about them. and I firmly believe youre wrong. I also believe that if in halls of 200 odd people (as the majority are) less than 7 care about the RA enough to stand, then you have a serious problem in justifying why the RA exists in the first place and has the right to money from students rent. AS to only needing 4 people, that depends on what you believe the RA should do.
There is a need to educate students about what they are, what they can do, and how to get involved etc. Im hopefully trying to do that, and if you think I could do it better PLEASE tell me. time will tell if i succeed.
Part of the problem now, is that people who genuinely passionately want to do the new 4 positions get themselves elected to the old 3...and then we bitch that they dont do their job.
If im left looking silly at the end of next week when nominations close, then maybe il consider your argument, but for now i really believe that if we believe in RAs then we believe that students care enough to stand for them. otherwise, if theyre so irrelevant and trivial, why bother with them at all?? |
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| Teapotboy
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| | Joined: 05 Mar 2006 | | Posts: 691 | | : | | Location: Hamburg, Germany |
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| Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 2:19 am Post subject: |
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Some people would say why do we bother with RAs - their representative function does not work - would it not be better to reflect what they do well (so long as you're a white straight male who likes alcohol) and just call them social committees.
I am certain you will not get anything like all the committees full of all seven people, and when you do it will be almost always from uncontested ballots (RON is hardly a fearsome opponent).
This is not a criticism of you nor indeed the idea. But I don't think it will work. |
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| sallamino
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| | Joined: 17 Feb 2006 | | Posts: 101 | | : | |
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| Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 9:56 am Post subject: |
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| Teapotboy wrote: | Some people would say why do we bother with RAs - their representative function does not work - would it not be better to reflect what they do well (so long as you're a white straight male who likes alcohol) and just call them social committees.
I am certain you will not get anything like all the committees full of all seven people, and when you do it will be almost always from uncontested ballots (RON is hardly a fearsome opponent).
This is not a criticism of you nor indeed the idea. But I don't think it will work. |
I agree that currently they dont work, and they dont do everything they are supposed to. I dont believe the solution is to change the name and forget they ever had a representative function though :p I believe they can be fixed, and made amazing. the potential in the set up of RAs is incredible.
Its going to take time, and its not something thats going to happen in just one year, but I believe it could happen.
I am not confident that il get all the positions filled, I desperately want all the positions contested never mind filled, but were doing what we can to promote them, and kick start a change, and time will tell. If we end up not filling all the positions but with people elected to do the positions they actually want to do, and doing them well, then thatll be a start.
I know youre not attacking me per se, and I understand your doubt...but if we dont believe that there are students out there who care, then why do we continuosly say we want representation? If we dont try, then we'll never know!
and tell every first year you know to stand!  |
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| Teapotboy
Black Bloc
| | Joined: 05 Mar 2006 | | Posts: 691 | | : | | Location: Hamburg, Germany |
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| Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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Completely agree. But maybe students will get better representation with fewer representatives - if there were only one elected position per hall then there would more likely be contested elections. having said that, I am under no illusions that contested elections would solve the problem, as for various reasons they always turn into popularity contests in any case.
I will definitely tell the handful of first years I know (knew them as sixth formers) to stand! |
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