Trustee

This week I was inducted as a Trustee of the University of Birmingham Guild of Students. The Guild, the students' union here at the University of Birmingham, has recently undergone some pretty substantial organisational changes; part of which was creating a board of Trustees. This was in response to recent changes in law, and additionally, an attempt to clear up the decision-making structures of the union and make things more transparent and effective.

The Trustee Board, unlike that of the union of my previous experience at the University of Leicester, now contains a mix of elected student officers, appointed student trustees, alumni, lay members and the university's Registrar and Secretary. I was appointed as one of the student trustees.

So far, I've been to an induction session and met a bunch of friendly new people; I'm looking forward to getting stuck in. It will indeed be interesting to see how this new structure can achieve a more accessible, participatory and democratic union. Well, that's my aim, and I hope to use my position as a trustee to ensure that this most recent set of legislation to affect students' unions in the UK actually enhances - and certainly doesn't reduce - the democratic power of its members.