Last Thursday’s Students’ Union Annual General Meeting (AGM) was over in just two hours and three minutes. For those who attended last year’s AGM this was a significantly shorter meeting.
This dramatic decrease in the duration of the meeting can be attributed to the common desire to avoid repetitious circular arguments. Students voted, on several occasions, with an overwhelming majority to move straight to vote when procedural motions were called for by student delegates.
But although this year’s AGM was significantly shorter, it was not without its confusions. Prior to the discussion of motions, Jonny Cox (Chair) briefed the attendees of the order of proceedings that discussions would follow. But as passions for motions increased, confusion followed.
Confusion at AGM seems inevitable given that the procedures followed will only ever be familiar to a select few; namely the Debating Society, Student Council members and a few others with personal interests.
The most confusing part of the evening was the proposition to split the resolves of the motion ‘Campaign to Defeat Fees’. In the midst of the confusion the new split motion was called to a final vote despite the discrepancies that remained with the believes and resolves of the motion. No one seemed to know, or perhaps no one had the opportunity to declare, exactly how this proposal should have been properly presented to AGM.
All attendants at AGM had an envelope filled with information about the Students’ Union and a handful of leaflets and stickers. Perhaps this envelope of documents should contain a guide to the debate formalities that are followed at AGM? But it was clear that some speakers hadn’t read the Agenda fully, let alone the silent masses (perhaps due to lack of time or interest), so who is to say that any further reams of documents would be read fully and adhered to?
After last year’s epic AGM, students this year were empowered through the information provided in the Chair’s brief on how to call a procedural motion to end discussion and vote. Perhaps next year’s AGM delegates will be empowered to call for a quoracy check. Sat in a half-empty Great Hall, one student raised the issue of quoracy in Any Other Business, to be met with the response that any questions of quoracy must be raised as a motion is being voted on.
