Leaving Speech

More or less as delivered to Guild Council on 14th June 2010

To me, this is a room and a building full of ghosts.

There was a time I could name almost everyone who sat in this room at Guild Council, and count lots of them amongst my friends, but being at Uni five years means you outlast a lot of those you started with and see a lot of people come and go. Students are so fleeting, and sabbs even more so. The student movement is in a constant and rapid state of flux, and this year has made me realise that more than ever.




When I started five short years ago here I lived in a hall that is now closed because it breached fire regulations; holding an RA bar crawl entitled “Chamberlain Chunderfest” was perfectly OK; it was not unusual for Guild Councils to last well past midnight; the Muirhead tower was pre-refurbishment and you entered it next to a rusted on sign apologising for the temporary scaffolding; the biggest political faction on Guild Council was probably the Paintball club; and the Guild contained two cafés, a games room and a record store; and you could smoke in Joe’s. So much has changed, and I can safely say that the Guild seems to be stronger now than I’ve ever seen it, thanks to the work of hundreds of great students and staff who have passed through it.



I won’t bore you with a life story, but for those of you who don't know me, I did a four year physics degree, and spent my first year living in the now condemned Chamberlain hall getting drunk and going to Snobs and Bar One lot. I only got involved in my second year here; I realised how much I was missing out on and joined the Labour Club. I sat down at my very first Labour event four years ago, next to the guy who quickly became one of my closest friends was later to turn out to be my predecessor in this job, Tom Marley, and before I knew it he’d convinced me to join the society committee and get onto Guild Council; the rest just happened from there. That curry was where I met Tom Guise for the first time and the Guild Council the next week I met Fab and Ed; never did I think we’d all end up here together. There are other people who aren’t here and not many of you will know but they deserve a special mention- Gaz Hughes, for his support and inspiration and believing in me and making sure I knew it, and John Ritchie, the very first person I met in the Labour Club, for dragging me into the student movement, giving me the pushes I needed, being one of my closest friends and never letting me get down. There have been so many other great officers and people involved in the Guild they’d take forever to name, but I haven't forgotten any of you; thank you all for your encouragement, inspiration, support and friendship over all this time.



I have loved every moment of my sabb year. My election was close, and I have never forgotten this- if twenty three voters had changed their minds I wouldn't be here now. Elections are cruel and crude and the best people will not always win- whether I was the best or not I leave to you to judge, but I want to thank Claire, Luke, Si, Siz, Alex, Louise, Pippa, Emma, Kat, Alan, Tom, Mat, Jim, Heather, Mathis, Dora and especially Steve Johnson for getting me here- I would not have won without every one of you supporting me and working so so hard for me, thank you for giving me the best year of my life. Everyone I’ve known in BULS, past and present, you’ve defined my time at University, thank you. And to my friends, my coursemates and most of all my long suffering housemates, all of you from first year to now- my adopted family, I’m sorry I haven’t seen more of you this year but thank you so much for your continued support and for putting up with me for all these years.



The Guild means something different to everyone. I got involved through a society, but my heart will always be in representation. I believe as a Guild we care a lot about representation and campaigning, but we aren’t always able to give it the resource it deserves. I know I can’t name people here but the Guild staff have been incredible to work with, especially R and D department and everyone in the ARC, and the SMT have been so supportive, and I know there is so much more we could be doing if we had the capacity.



Access is a topic very close to my own heart, but I’m going to be honest and say I have done barely anything on it this year. And I regret this; although I had started a couple of projects and ideas, so many educational issues have arisen that all my time has been taken up.



The Sociology affair has defined my term in office, and is probably the most testing thing I have ever had to go through in my life. Fresh from the glory of the flashmob that we pulled off last November, that evening I got a phone call telling me the outcome of the Sociology review and from that moment my life was consumed. There were highs and lows; having to stand in a room full of a hundred students telling me I was wrong and realising I had fundamentally underestimated their strength of feeling was the lowest point, but sitting in Senate and Council and giving a statement on behalf of the students with the noise of them chanting in protest outside throughout the meeting was one of the most tough but exhilarating experiences of the year. It meant sacrificing a lot of my national engagement, like missing a national demo so I could be at the student meetings and missing NUS conference so I could go the University Council and see it through, but I always put the Guild first this year and am proud to have done so.



What did I promise in my manifesto?



Longer library hours: from next year they’ll go up by at least an hour every day



Better feedback on work: me and Fabian also won feedback on exams starting from next year, and have worked hard on this issue throughout



An online bookstore: The book exchange is up and running and soon to be expanding to include other items



An improved Student Rep scheme: We now have online training but while I hoped I could bring you online discussion forums you’ll have to wait quite some time for them



Fairer access: I tried to work on this, but unfortunately everything else took over. Maybe I’ll be able to in my last month.



But this job is about so much more than simplistic manifesto promises. There are times when as an individual and as part of the team I have come in for criticism, and I know I haven’t got everything right and done everything you wanted me to, and I know as a Guild Councillor I often criticised officers in ways that I know now they never deserved. Until you become a sabb as much as you think you understand the job and what we do, you really can’t. While I’d love to see the Guild campaigning on all the ethical issues that get brought to us and have full sympathy for them, I’m struggling to cope with all the issues that are within my remit in the first place and there comes a point when we have to put our own students first. There are thousands of charities that look out for these issues, and I think they are amazing, but there are only two organisations in the world that will look out for the rights of Birmingham students as students and that’s the NUS and us, the Guild of Students, and this is what we have to remember.



You don’t normally see me about the Guild much, and that’s because I spend a lot of time in University meetings. I can’t show you any big campaigns I’ve done or flashy marketing, because the job of VPEA is often a very subtle and behind-the-scenes one; I’ve sat on pretty much every University board that relates to Education, from the Learning Environment Group up to University Council, and I’m there as partly as a watchdog, partly as an equal, partly as the student voice. These meetings are about answering the questions on behalf of everyone, not just the majority, about spotting things that aren’t student friendly that the rest of the committee would never have picked up on, about making sure students get the best deal and fair treatment at every point in their education.



The other half of my job has been helping run the Guild, and I have been so incredibly privileged to work with this years sabb team. I don’t want this to be too much of a mushy love-in, and I’ll say my real goodbyes to you in July, but I’ve shared so much with you and you’ve made this year amazing- Whether its planning a flashmob on the late train back from Scunthorpe with Fab and Tom, driving lost around the countryside at four in the morning with Fordy searching for A&E with no map or satnav; or the cup of tea Ed brought me after finding me asleep on my desk; or drinking far too much with all of you in Harbourne, it’s been the moments with you that have made this year amazing.



Fabian, you are the smartest guy I’ve ever met, the best president I’ve ever seen and I’m in awe of what you do and how you do it, and I could never have done my without you at my side; Emma, never slow down, you do so much and I don’t know where you get the energy to do all the things that you do and do them so well; Katie, never stop fighting, you’re a true trooper and you’ve done so much for sport this year and to revolutionise your role this year, never let anyone get you down because you’re amazing; Ed, from the day I met you four years ago I knew you were something incredible, never lose that sparkle; Johnny, you’ve achieved so much this year and had the guts to re-stand; I came close but couldn’t face another election campaign, but you did it and made history, you have one more year to make so much difference, don’t stop believing; and finally Tom. You’ve been one of my closest friends for the last four years and I could never have run, never have won, and never survived this year or the last four without you. I know it’s been a crazy year for us both but you’ve been there for me for all my four years in the Guild and in Labour and I’m going to miss you so much, please never lose touch.



As for what I’m going to do next, I don’t know, so please don’t ask me. I achieved my life’s aim at eighteen; I got out of my hometown into University. I achieved my life’s ambition at twenty two, getting a physics degree, and I’ve now achieved my dream at twenty three, having a job like this. When I left Eastbourne I never imagined that by this age I’d have met two Prime Ministers, shouted down an Education secretary for getting his facts wrong, led student protests, sat around University Council and our Trustee Board as an equal to all these experienced people be taken seriously, and get elected to a job like this. I have no idea what the future holds but if I’m ever as happy again as I have been in my time here I will count myself incredibly lucky. Thank you for everything, and Rob, I know you’ll do great. Best of luck.

Inequality gap remains

Depresssing, if not surprising news here that the number of children from lower income backgrounds going to University isn't rising.

In the run up to our Town Takeover event last December, two days of planned action against a rise in tuition fees, someone suggested we should go door knocking in an area of low participation rates to raise awareness about the issue. But the problem goes so much deeper than a simple bit of outreach work; lots of these kids aren't getting in because they don't have the A-levels. Private schools currently account for 7% of our pupils but one third of A grades given out at A-Level. Why aren't students getting good A-levels? Half the time they don't have the GCSEs needed to attempt them, and aren't staying on in the first place. And why don't they have those? Because a shocking proportion of children leave our primary schools unable to read and write properly. By the age of two, the educational gulf between a chlild born to well off parents and a child not is there. The problem runs deeper than the articles at the moment are appreciating.

What about those who do make it, who get their A-Levels, who surpass any class prejudice that may or may not exist with the admissions tutors, who get offered a place? Worrying as debt is, the tuition fees are not the physical thing holding them back right now. The issue is the maintenance loan.

Starting at £3564 for next year, there are only two halls of residence at Birmingham that cost less than this annual budget. How a student is supposed to afford food and books on the £306 pounds they have left over is not a concern of the finance system. The full loan would be £4748, which still prices students out of thirteen of our twenty three halls here, and leaves those who do get that cheaper accomodation with less than
£29 a week, which is well below the poverty line. Getting a part time job to support yourself is getting increasingly difficult.

The tuition fee is no doubt a deterrant, but there are deeper and darker factors at play. It doesn't matter how scary a horror movie at the cinema is, if you don't have the cash in your pocket and didn't have the transport to get there, you don't have a choice over whether to see it. To fix the inequality gap at the top of the education system, we have to fix it at the bottom, and then remove all physical barriers that get in the way of people acheiving their potential. It's going to take a bit more than knocking on doors in Ladywood to sort this one out.

Sociology: the last update.

Avid followers of my blog will know that I spent rather a lot of last term working on the Sociology review. This Wednesday at University Council, the revised set of proposals were passed.

Every promise the students received from Professors Edward Peck and Cillian Ryan was kept to; there was an open and frank discussion with all options on the table, and over a dozen students involved. The proposals did change: twice as many staff are now being kept as were originally going to be, and these are more staff being kept for the MCS teach-out than were originally planned. We are in a considerably better position than we were in November.

There are a number of issues that I know students will want to know about, so I'm going to do my best to address them here. If you want to discuss any of them furthe, please do so below or get in touch.

Yes, there are still job losses; that is something I thouroughly regret, but as a students' union officer, my focus has to be on the students. And the staff who are going are not ones who teach students in significant numbers at all; in fact most don't, and many were actually on short term contracts. I am confident from a quality point of view that the course will not be affected adversley by this. I have to leave the staffing side to the staff unions, and that is what I have done.

Yes, the Media Culture and Society course will close, after the four year teach-out has completed. While I know this is not a popular move with students, it is natural that courses change and close. The levels of staff being kept for the teach-out mean that students shouldn't be affected massively. The jusification for keeping it open simply wasn't strong enough, but full credit should go to the students who worked hard to make the case.

No, there won't be a Sociology department; but there will be a Sociology group within the POLSIS department. So the University still has a sociology presence and course; although not in the way we are used to.

Something good that has come out of this review is that student involvement in future reviews is now at the forefront of the University's mind. In the Theology review I have seen great student engagement, and am working to advise the University on future reviews so we don't get into this situation again.

The students who have engaged in this review have done so with fantastic committment and really have made a difference to the department. I know that not everyone is entirely happy with the outcomes, but we really have come a long way and I am satisfied that the quality of the degree has been at the forefront of these changes. Please, any outstanding questions and worries, send them my way to b.jones@guild.bham.ac.uk or write below.

Brij

Finally...

... I have suffered four long years on Guild Council, and I can't tell you how excited I am to see it finally changing.

Council at the moment is an undemocratic mess. I have seen meetings that go on until one in the morning. I have seen meetings that last half an hour, where nothing is discussed.

We have over a hundred seats available to be democratically elected by school reps, but fewer than half are currently filled. We force over two hundred societies, residents associations, and minority associations to send reps, unelected and unaccountable. About half turn up.

We at present have half a House of Commons and a bloated House of Lords sitting side by side in the same chamber.

Now, finally, after months of hard work, research around the country, and unprecedented levels of consultation with hundreds of students from all walks of student life, we have something to replace this with.

We want more referenda on the most important issues that affect you.

We want themed open forums without the bureaucracy where ordinary students can tell us and debate what matters to them.

We want elected Guild Councillors, who are actually trained to represent and hold the Officer Team to account, and where they all actually read the motions before turning up.

We want fewer Guild Councillors, from all walks of student life, with clear constituencies and lines of accountability, so you know and can choose who represents you.

We want the Guild to become a democracy again.

Next week, for the first time in the Guild's ninety year history, you will have the chance to make that change. Vote yes in the referendum, and give the Guild back to students.

One day in the life of the VPEA

6.30 am
Get up. I had a lot of reading to do over the weekend for this week's meetings, but only upon settling down with my highlighter and Family Guy last night did I discover I'd picked up the wrong pile on my way out on Friday. I have a shower, some toast, a cup of tea and head into work.

8.05 am
Arrive in the office. Mugs aren't looking too nice, so wash them as my computer loads. Discover that half the papers I need to read for my 2 o'clock I haven't even printed yet; seventy two sheets later, I sit down with my cuppa and get reading.

8.28 am
There's building work being done on campus, and has been for about three weeks. The pile driver appears to be acoustically directed at my office window and is driving me slowly insane. It's cold in the office as the heating has been off all weekend. What I'm reading is a document entitled the School of Education Self-Evaluation of Quality Processes; more on that later...

9.30 am
Set off to Starbucks for our weekly Sabb catch-up. It's pretty much the only time in the week we'll be all together in the same room at once, and we use it to get out of the office and let each other know what we're working on and what's coming up in the week ahead.

10:41 am
Back at the desk; a bit more reading before my 11 o'clock...

11.17 am
Well my 11am was going to be on looking at the first draft of the Student Voice Report, a QAA style document we are going to be producing annually, critiquing the University from a student point of view. However, it's been a bit delayed and everyone who was going to be in the meeting is snowed under, so we're postponing it til the end of the week. Answering a couple of emails and reading my School Quality Review documents some more!

13:11
Just had a chat with someone potentially running for my position next year. Very encouraging! Still ploughing through these documents, off to get some lunch in a minute to munch as I read.

13:51 pm
Off to a School Quality Review pre-meet for Education. This is where a team of academics, plus myself, goes into each school on a five year cycle and reviews all their quality assurance processes. Takes a lot of time and trees, but means we can be sure your degree is worth the paper it's printed on. I'm going to be leading on the Student Admission, Support, Guidance and Progression section, since students are my area of expertise. We meet to discuss what we want to ask the school on our day long visit there next month.

15:00
Leave the meeting a little early, to meet a group of school children at the Guild. They're from a local school taking part in a Physics Factory project, a specialist teaching lab that gives pupils without access to physics labs and teachers at their own school the chance to study there twice a week. The pupils were on a day long visit to the Uni to see the physics department, and I've been asked to give them a tour of the Gulid and to tak to them about student life.

16:00
That went well! Back at the desk now, daunted by tomorrow's trip to the Medschool as part of their School Quality Review. A lot of reading and prep to do for that. Off to get a coffee, sit on a comfy chair and figure out what I'm doing in it. Probably going to have to read for Wednesday's Learning Environment Group meeting and prep for the Student Rep Staff Liason Contact Forum I've got then too, since tomorrow I'll be out of the office at this day long meeting.

19.28
Spent a while booking tickets to a friends wedding and chatting with the sabbs, and most of the time trying to read up for tomorrow's Medicine PGT review. Tons still to do, think I'll get some fresh air and carry on at home. Also just recorded an Audioboo with Fabian on the National Student Survey!

Hypocrites, hypocrites everywhere...

The number of times I have seem a newspaper headline denouncing "micky mouse courses" and the "dumbing down of education"! The number of people to whom I have had to defend the idea that 50% of kids could go to University, and that having an educated society was the way forward!

But now the public is unanimously mourning the would-be students who are already forecast to not get a University place this year...

I've said it before and I'll say it again, make your sodding minds up.

Did you know...

...You can just put them in the box inside the Lending area between 10.30am and 11.15am without having to queue?
...You can book short loan books to take out on a particular day?

About a third of students queueing to use the short loan service machine  between 10.30 and 11.15 didn't.

...You can renew short loan books at any self service machine in the library?

Two thirds of students queuing to use the machine between 10.30 and 11.15 didn't.

That's why, instead of diving straight in there with an expensive new short loan machine, and looking at a full range of options, the library is going to run a relatively cheap campaign making people aware of the above. If this helps solve the queues, great. If it doesn't, we'll look at it again and see if we can change the time so that it's on the half hour rather than the hour, or maybe get an extra machine.

I decided, given on the feedback you guys have given me at Student Rep forums, that you'd rather have more books than a new machine, so I advised the library to try the cheap option first to see if it worked...

How does that sound?