Referendum questions and debates
14 questions went forward to Referenda on the 8th and 9th February.
There were two debates, and videos of the debates are available at the links below.
Debate 1:
Videos of this debate are available
1. Should EUSA retain both of the current two Undergraduate School Representative positions for each School?
2. Should the elections for Undergraduate School Representatives be held in the main election during the second semester?
3. Should EUSA pay all of its staff a Living Wage of £7.20 an hour?
4. Should EUSA support the Edinburgh Rector, Peter McColl, in his strategy for improving accommodation? (Details of the strategy can be found here).
5. Should EUSA reserve at least 40% of places for women when electing delegates to NUS UK and NUS Scotland Conferences?
6. EUSA should work with the Vet School Council (VSC) and staff to campaign for the University of Edinburgh to provide a free shuttle bus to the Easter Bush Vet School, because all students have a right to fair and free access to their campus.
7. In the interests of strengthening our twinning, should EUSA organise an annual visit from a delegation of students from Birzeit University?
Debate 2
Videos of this debate are available
8. Should EUSA be reorganised so as to give the greatest number of students direct democratic control and meaningful participation, through a system of nested councils?
9. Should EUSA ban all SABMiller products sold from Union outlets within the university due to the unethical tax practices of this brewer, until the company incorporates tax justice principles into its corporate responsibility policy?
10. Should candidates in EUSA elections be banned from running in a group, under a common name with collective publicity designs and sharing funding?
11. Volunteering as a special constable creates a conflict of interest as a sabbatical officer. Yes or No.
12. Should the university make students aware of any additional costs they are going to face on their course (textbooks, travel, lab equipment, etc.) and should they minimise these additional costs?
13. Should EUSA stand against ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement)?
14. The law limits Sabbaticals to two years. Should EUSA's Sabbaticals be eligible to stand for reelection for a second year, effective from the EUSA General Election of 2013?
Why Referenda?
Referenda are the sovereign decision making mechanism of your Students' Association - which means that a question passed by referendum is the most powerful way that you can make sure that EUSA is reflecting your views in what it does and campaigns on - and that EUSA will act on the results.
A strong endorsement of a position in a referendum can also support EUSA in arguing for changes in the University to improve your student experience.
It is important that as many students as possible vote in EUSA's referenda. The more students who vote, the more representative the outcome - and the stronger the mandate given to the results.