A record number of students turned up to have their voice heard at DSU’s biggest AGM EVER this week.
A record number of students turned up to have their voice heard at De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU)’s biggest Annual General Meeting (AGM) EVER this week.
A total of 216 De Montfort University (DMU) students headed to the AGM in the university’s brand new Vijay Patel building to hold the union’s Trustee Board to account and scrutinise the past full academic year.
The meeting was chaired by Ryan Willett, a third-year Politics student who is also chair of DSU’s Activities Council for 2016/17 as well as secretary of the Labour Students Society and a member of the Societies Panel.
He said: “I won’t lie; making sure that the meeting flows to agenda with more than 200 students in the room is a difficult job!
“I think that AGM is very important so that [students] know where things like money go and what activities are done on their behalf.
“It’s also very positive that we have these influences within the university and it does democracy a great load of good with different opinions.”
Part of Ryan’s role as chair was to mediate question and answer sessions between students at the meeting and representatives from the Trustee Board. He continued: “I think it was very good that the challenging questions were put forward.
“We have to keep our Trustee Board on their toes! If they can’t answer a question, then they have to work on it or look into the issue raised and try and get the student voice heard.
“The participation was generally very good with some very positive outcomes. AGM was a good sign of how students can exercise their voice within the university and get it heard – successfully.”
AGM is the biggest democratic meeting held by DSU and is your chance to shape the direction of your student experience at university.
At the meeting the Trustee Board – made up of all five full-time members of the Officer Team plus student, alumni and external trustees – reported back on the academic year 2015/16.
The meeting included video reports of finances for 2015/16, the impact DSU had over the course of the year, plus a financial forecast for the coming 12 months.
The meeting also saw an update on #ReviewDSU, where the Trustee Board pledged to undertake a full governance review to ensure that the students’ union best represents students at DMU. Read more here.
Kelly Davies, a third-year English and Creative Writing student, is on the committees of both Sub Aqua and Tea Break Society and was at AGM.
She said: “AGM is a way that students, whether they are on a committee or anything else, can meet up with the trustees of the students’ union and see where their money is being spent as well as the plans going forward.
“I think the healthy discussion is exactly that; and that is something we need as a students’ union.
“There was a lot more debate in this year’s AGM compared to previous years, but healthy discussion can only be a good thing.
“It really allows you to have your voice heard and to hold the SU to account plus allows you to meet other people and see what else is out there. And sometimes it is quite entertaining.”
You can read the full draft minutes from the meeting here. These will be approved at the next AGM in December 2017.
You can also see a full album of pictures from AGM on our Facebook page here! Can you spot yourself?
A total of 216 students headed to the AGM in the university’s brand new Vijay Patel building.
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