Student Council is the chief democratic event in The Students' Union's calendar - three times a year, students come together to hold the Presidents to account, question them on their work and plans, and discuss what our position should be on key policies. It's a key part of our union democracy that the Presidents are accountable to students, and robust questioning is encouraged!

The session opened with each of the Presidents giving a short verbal update, alongside their written reports which can be found here. Members of Student Council and attendees then had the opportunity to ask them questions about their reports and the work they had been undertaking. After an accessibility break, Council heard from delegates to NUS' National and Liberation conferences on their experiences and asked questions about NUS' plans to reform and the policies passed at conference.

Council then discussed and voted on Student Ideas which had passed their initial vote and were awaiting the support of Student Council. All of the following ideas were discussed and Council voted to pass them to the next stage of the process:

#451 – African Kitchen on Frenchay
#454 – A Chaiiwala on Frenchay Campus
#455 – Regular Campus Therapy Dog Visits for student mental health
#479 – The Students’ Union should have a mobile app
#515 – More direct communication from the SU around UWE strikes and the universities labour disputes
#518 – Install Bidet in all bathrooms.
#527 – Reserve the 9.5ha Site Neighbouring Long Mead Rd on Frenchay Campus for Micro-Rewilding, Wellbeing and Research!
#528 – Reduce prices of onezone to make it more realistic for students
#540 – The Engineering Building Hours Should be 24/7
#550 – SU Pre-Made Meal Packs To Make Eating Healthier Easy

Atlas, one of the attendees, said "It was an excellent opportunity for us to discuss the realities of these Student Ideas - all really promising, but by no means easy to bring to life. I'm really glad that Council voted to support my idea (#550) and I'm excited to work with the Presidents team to try and make it a reality".

Make sure you keep an eye out for the dates of next year's Student Council meetings and come along to hold your Presidents to account.