Everything You Need to Know About Queen's Students' Union
Abby Davidson
As we approach Student Leader election season, The Scoop has put together this guide to help students understand how the Queen’s University Belfast Students’ Union (QUBSU) functions. Applications for all Student Officer roles are now open and close on Thursday, 2 February at 5pm. Any student can apply for these roles and run an election campaign. All students will then be able to vote for their chosen candidates on the SU website from February 28 until March 2.
The Structure
All 25,000 Queen’s University students are automatically a member of QUBSU and can vote in elections. Students are given the opportunity to vote for School and Faculty Representatives, Student Officers and Association Chairpersons to represent them.
The SU Council is currently made up of Full-Time paid and Part-Time Student Officers, School and Faculty Reps and other elected students from across the University. In the upcoming elections there will be some changes in the SU’s structure with the introduction of Student Associations that will represent a number of student groups and replace the roles of Part-Time Student Officers.
All of these representatives sit on the SU Council which meets throughout the year. Members of the council represent students and their views, decide what the Union should be focusing on, decide positions on local and global issues and hold Student Officers accountable.
Any Queen's student can submit a motion or issue for discussion at a council meeting or a question to the Student Officers. All students can also attend meetings and speak during debates, though only Councillors can vote on motions and submit and vote on amendments to the SU’s Constitution.
SU Officer Roles
QUBSU has six paid Full-Time Student Officer positions. They represent Queen's students and their views, organise student-led campaigns and run the Union on their behalf. The six roles are:
SU President
Student Officer Undergraduate Education (previously known as Education Student Officer)
Campaigns and Engagement Student Officer
Welfare Student Officer (vacant for academic year 2022/23)
Equality and Diversity Student Officer
Postgraduate Education Student Officer (previously known as Postgraduate Student Officer)
Representatives, Chairpersons and Committees
There are numerous representatives and chairpersons which aim to present specific student issues and concerns. Representatives include Undergraduate and Postgraduate School Representatives and Undergraduate and Postgraduate Faculty Representatives.
School Representatives work with course representatives and chair and participate in Student Voice Committees in their School as well as attending other meetings.
Faculty Representatives work with School Representatives, Course Representatives and participate in Faculty-level committees in the Universityl and attend other meetings in their Faculty throughout the year.
As a new role, Chairpersons will be responsible for heading up Students’ Associations. Here are the the planned associations:
Environmental Action Students’ Association
Irish Language Students’ Association
Student Parents’ and Carers’ Students’ Association
Disabled Students’ Association
Ethnically Diverse Students’ Association
International Students’ Association
LGBTQ+ Students’ Association
Mature and Part-Time Students’ Association
Trans Students’ Association
Women Students’ Association
Members of the council can also sit on the Scrutiny Committee, the Standing Committee and the Environment and Ethics Committee. Several council members are elected by the council to sit on the Management Board, Academic Council and Senate.
Raise and Give (RAG)
QUB RAG is the official fundraising group of the Students’ Union. All students are automatically a member of RAG. Each year, the entire student body votes for RAG's charities as part of the Student Leader elections.
Management
The Management Board of the SU’s membership is currently made up of:
The President of the Students’ Union
The five full-time SU Officers
Two part-time SU Officers
Three elected members of the SU Council
The Director of the Students’ Union
One representative of the University’s Senior Management team
One representative of the University Senate
The Chair or Deputy Chair of Convocation (representing the Alumni Voice)
Three non-student appointees / lay members
UGMs and Referendums
Union General Meetings (UGMs) are meetings where all students meet together to discuss an issue. Any student can call (and attend) a UGM. You can demand that a UGM is held either by:
Getting 200 Queen's students to sign a petition
Getting 20 Queen's Students’ Union Councillors to sign a petition
Asking Queen's Students’ Union Council to call a UGM
Referendums are all-student votes and give students a say in big issues that affect the student body. Any student can call (and vote in) a Referendum.
If you have a campaign that you want the student body to support, you can demand that a Referendum is held, by either:
Getting the signatures of 1.5 per cent of the student population at the University
Asking Student Council to call a Referendum
National Conference Delegate Elections
Alongside the QUBSU elections, students will have the opportunity to run and vote for National Conference Delegate positions. Here are the three delegations that students can partake in:
National Students' Unions - NUS Conference Delegate (3 places) - UK
National Students' Unions - NUS-USI Conference Delegate (7 places) - NI
National Students' Unions - USI Congress Delegate (4 places) - Ireland
Nominations for these roles close on January 20 and voting opens on January 24 .
Read more about the SU and vote here: https://qubsu.org/YourUnion/
Abby Davidson is Deputy Head of The Scoop and is a Liberal Arts student at Queen’s University Belfast