The Union’s greatest strength is its clubs and societies, we have an incredible and largely unrivalled amount of involvement from very committed people right down to casual members. We need to ensure that this remains the case and that the clubs feel supported, not hindered, by the Union. Whilst we do have occasionally have to say ‘no’ (something I learnt in my year as DPFS), we should also work to find a way how to do what the clubs want to do (something else I did a lot whilst DPFS). Training has been improved but there is still a long way to go, we cannot train officers in only one session and hand-over is critical and must be supported, the best way for a new officer to learn how to do their job is to shadow someone and learn directly from them. However, the Union needs to be there to support officers for whom handover failed. There should be a review of volunteer officer training in specific and relevant club activities, especially tour and trip training, training in how to run a successful formal dinner, bar-night and social activity training. This training should be freely available in an easy to follow form but not compulsory for those clubs who do not need it.
There are many other aspects that need addressing to strengthen our clubs and societies and make our Union better serve its members. We need to review the mark-up on drinks sold to clubs for bar-nights and social events, 35% is too high and does not represent the true cost. FUs, CSCs, Clubs and societies should profit directly from these events and the benefits should be passed on to their members. FUs should have greater freedom to create clubs where there is a demonstrable purpose such as sports teams for inter-union matches.
I will also use the Union’s buying power to the benefit of clubs and societies, many clubs hold large dinners and the Union has a lot of buying power, this power should be used to secure preferential booking rates for clubs at local hotels.
Elect me as President and I will:
1. Support, not hinder clubs and societies.
2. Improve training to make it more relevant and accessible with drop-in sessions throughout the year.
3. Introduce specific training materials for events, especially tours which can lose a lot of money.
4. Review the prices charged to clubs for bar nights.
5. Use the Union’s buying power to secure preferential rates for clubs and societies.
