Warwick Students' Union, also known as Warwick SU, is the
students' union for the
University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
, in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
History
The Students' Union developed in tandem with the University and has existed since 1965. In its first few decades, it was heavily involved with the
protest
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...
s,
rent strike
A rent strike is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants come together and agree to refuse to pay their rent ''en masse'' until a specific list of demands is met by the landlord. This ca ...
s, and occupations which earned the University the nickname of 'Red Warwick’. In 1974, one Warwick student
Kevin Gately
Kevin Gately (18 September 1953 – 15 June 1974) was a second-year student of mathematics at the University of Warwick who died as the result of a head injury received in the Red Lion Square disorders in London; it is not known if the injury wa ...
was killed during the
Red Lion Square disorders
Kevin Gately (18 September 1953 – 15 June 1974) was a second-year student of mathematics at the University of Warwick who died as the result of a head injury received in the Red Lion Square disorders in London; it is not known if the injury wa ...
. More recently, in 2009, many Students' Union officers were active in the occupation of a lecture theatre in the Social Studies (S0.21) building to express solidarity with Gaza.
One of its on-campus successes was its campaign for its own building, which finally succeeded in 1975 after lengthy opposition from large parts of the University establishment. Some of its early activism was carried out in partnership with sympathetic elements of the academic staff of the university, with one incident being chronicled in the book ''Warwick University Ltd.'', edited by the eminent historian
E. P. Thompson.
The Union is also a shareholder in the NUS Services Ltd (NUSSL).
Recent history
Warwick Occupy
On Tuesday 19 November 2019, a collective of students known as Warwick Occupy led an occupation of three rooms in Warwick SUHQ for 30 days to protest allegations of institutional racism within Warwick SU. The collective were made up of several liberation groups and societies on campus including Warwick Anti-Racism Society, Warwick Anti-Sexism society, Warwick Pride and Warwick Labour.
The initial protests that sparked the occupation began when retired Israeli Defense Force Colonel Eyal Dror was invited by the Warwick Jewish Israeli Society and Stand With Us UK to speak on campus. The event took place on 19 November, less than a week after at least 32 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air raids in Gaza led by the Israel Defence Force. A statement with more than 250 signatures had called for the cancellation of the event. During the colonel's talk, protestors linked arms and the protest eventually culminated in the occupation of three rooms in the SU headquarters.
Free education
In the Autumn of 2011, Warwick Students' Union passed policy against tuition fees which stated its position in defence of free education.
In October 2014, a campaign group emerged, called Warwick for Free Education. The group rose to prominence after a sit-in at the University's Senate House was broken up by the police, who had been called in to deal with an assault of a university staff member. The police were accused of using excessive force, and video footage appears to a show a police officer using
CS spray
The compound 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (also called ''o''-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile; chemical formula: C10H5ClN2), a cyanocarbon, is the defining component of tear gas commonly referred to as CS gas, which is used as a riot control agen ...
on students. This led to an investigation by the
Independent Police Complaints Commission
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales.
On 8 January 2018, th ...
. In July 2015, one protester was found guilty of common assault, while another was found guilty of causing fear and provoking violence.
In response to his handling of the situation and other issues, Warwick Students' Union passed a Vote of No Confidence against
Nigel Thrift
Sir Nigel John Thrift (born 12 October 1949 in Bath) is a British academic and geographer. In 2018 he was appointed as Chair of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, a committee that gives independent scientific and technical advice ...
, Vice-Chancellor of the University. A two-hour panel debate was held on the student protests, at which Thrift faced further criticism for calling students ''yobs''.
University Registrar,
Ken Sloan, said that Thrift's response was "very human" claiming that Thrift had been victim to a student campaign of targeted intimidation, and had been verbally abused and spat at near his home.
The Warwick for Free Education Campaign group denied any association with such attacks but claimed they "further highlight the widespread dissatisfaction and anger towards Nigel Thrift and his behaviour as VC".
Fossil fuel divestment
On 8 July 2015, the university committed to
divesting
In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is ...
from fossil fuels, and placing its investments elsewhere when an opportunity becomes available. This came in the wake of a successful student campaign, and union referendum at which 65% of voters supported divestment. At the time of the decision, the university held no direct investments in any of the 200 largest fossil fuel companies, but did hold indirect investments, which it pledged to eliminate.
Students' Union building
The Union consists of Union South (largely food, drink and entertainment) and Union North (mostly administration, offices and meeting rooms).
The Students' Union got its first building, Union South, in 1975, after a long struggle with the University under
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
Jack Butterworth, who said to Will Fitzgerald (President of the Union in 1970-1): "the Students' Union will never have its own building." Union North was added in the 1990s and, until recently, was linked to Union South by the 'link corridor.'
Union South rebuild
The Union South building underwent a £11 million refurbishment in spring 2008, which was completed in January 2010. The new facilities included a club and gig venue, ''The Copper Rooms'', a pub, ''The Dirty Duck'', a sandwich bar, ''The Bread Oven'', a drinks bar, ''The Terrace Bar'', a tea room,
Curiositea, branches of
Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
and
Barclays banks, a pharmacy, a travel agent, spaces for societies and a pool room.
Union companies
The Union has four subsidiary companies:
* Student Union Services Warwick Limited (Registered company number: 02197761
)
* Membership Solutions Limited (Registered company number: 05525449
)
* Warwick Students Union Services Limited, (Registered company number: 01187495
) (mostly dormant and retained due to contracts held in its name)
* Students' Union Warwick Events Limited (Registered company number: 06371766
)
In the style of the University of Warwick itself, the Union has an entrepreneurial strategy. Unlike many other British universities, which have privatised halls of accommodation and catering facilities, Warwick provides all of these in-house through its many subsidiaries. With Warwick SU, the entrepreneurial strategy is manifest through Membership Solutions Limited, an IT company that currently provides website and other solutions for membership organisations across the UK.
Union Awards
Societies Awards
Student Voice and Impact Awards
The Student Voice and Impact Awards recognise and celebrate students who advocate and create change for the student experience, including Course Reps, Execs, Activists & Campaigners.
Notable people
*
Lord Kerslake, former
Head of the Home Civil Service
His Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as His Majesty's Civil Service, the Home Civil Service, or colloquially as the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, whic ...
, served as General Secretary from 1977 to 1998.
* The Conservative MP
David Davis stood for the position of President during his attendance at Warwick, but failed to win. He also founded
Radio Warwick, the student radio station.
*
Claire Horton
Claire Ellen Horton (born 20 May 1962) is a British executive and charity worker. Since January 2021 she has been Director General of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the body responsible for the care and upkeep of the graves and me ...
, served as Chief Executive from 2002 to 2008.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Warwick Students' Union
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
Students' Union