Liverpool Students' Union
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Institution | Liverpool John Moores University |
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Location |
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Established | 1992 (as Liverpool Students' Union) |
President | Lorraine Sebastian-Francois |
Other officers |
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Members | c. 20,000 total |
Affiliations | National Union of Students |
Website | http://liverpoolsu.com/ |
Liverpool Students' Union (LiverpoolSU) is the representative body for all students studying at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) in Liverpool, England; membership is automatic upon enrolment.
The union currently is currently representative of around 20,000 students studying at LJMU, located primarily in Liverpool. The current President is Lorraine Sebastian-Francois, who was elected for the 2015-2016 term.
History
Liverpool Students' Union was formerly known as Liverpool Polytechnic Students Union (LPSU) until the old Polytechnic was granted University Status in 1992, when it became Liverpool John Moores University and the Union became Liverpool Students' Union.
Membership
The student union currently has 3 membership grades which includes:
- Full Members - Students currently studying at Liverpool John Moores University and the Executive Student Officers.
- Strategic Members - Trustees who are not full members, the Chief Executive and LiverpoolSU staff
- Associate Members - Former full members who support the union and apply for life membership
Location
LiverpoolSU operates at 5 sites across the University, with its central base being within the John Foster Building. In May 2014 LiverpoolSU moved from their main base at the Haigh Building to the nearby John Foster Building and a number of hub sites across campus to become better placed for LJMU students.
The Haigh Building is named after long serving Union secretary, Sheila Haigh who retired in 1983, the year the building opened is still owned by LJMU and is leased to new proprietors.
Within the John Foster Building can be found the Union's Executive and Management Office, the Marketing, Community and the Student Voice teams. Also within the John Foster Building is the Student Development & Activities team alongside The Looprevil Press and Looprevil Radio.
The Workbank, a recruitment office previously based within the Haigh Building alongside LiverpoolSU has since relocated to the showroom of Kingsway House, Hatton Garden.
The Union also operates retail units on the Byrom Street and IM Marsh campuses.
Looprevil Press
The Looprevil Press is a student newspaper at Liverpool Students' Union. It is both a student society and a part of the student media. As of May 2009, The Looprevil Press has been funded by the Liverpool Students’ Union. Looprevil Press was founded in September 2008[1] by students Shamit Patel & Jess Green (a former Vice President) and is currently the only student newspaper in circulation in Liverpool.
The name, Looprevil Press, is simply Liverpool spelled backwards and plays in with their tag line of "Bringing you the other side of Liverpool". This was done in an attempt to reflect the duality of student life, to show that they can be both professional and a little eccentric of nature.
Looprevil Press started out as a dynamic website which contains four sections; News, Opinion, Entertainment and Sports. The current team consists of 29 members and is made up of writers, photographers and a web designer. The website is active throughout the year while the print edition is circulated four times during the academic year.
Constitution
LiverpoolSU's Constitution establishes the union and outlines the ways in which members can engage in the union, and the procedures the union undertake to make it better whilst remaining democratic. The constitution has been awarded the Plain English Campaign Crystal Mark for clarity in language.
The current constitution was adopted in 2012. It is approved by the LiverpoolSU Board of Trustees and regulated by the LJMU Board of Governors.
Governance
Employing around 25 full-time and 100 part-time staff, the Union is governed by a Trustee Board, consisting of 4 full-time sabbatical students, 3 student Trustees and 3 external Trustees.
Executive student officers
The union is headed by an Executive Committee consisting of 4 student officers, who take a sabbatical year to work full-time for the union and to represent students at Liverpool John Moores University. They are responsible for the decision making and running of the union, however are answerable to the whole student body. Student officers release an accountability report each month which is released to the 3 union forums and debated by students. The President and 1 other officer serve as student governors on the LJMU Board of Governors, currently Lorraine Sebastian-Francois (as President) and Aisling Davis.
As of July 2015, these are the current student officers:
Student Office | Incumbent |
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President of Liverpool Students' Union | Lorraine Sebastian-Francois |
Vice-President (Academic Quality) | Jamie Bennett |
Vice-President (Community Engagement) | Aisling Davis |
Vice President (Activities) | James Stephenson |
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees are responsible for overseeing the management and administration of the union, making the financial decisions, responding to student demands and ensuring activities are within union aims and remain within the law. The board meets twelve times each year and consists of 11 trustees: the 4 student officers, 3 student trustees and 3 community trustees. One student officer or forum chair is elected chairperson of the board, and one community trustee is elected the vice-chair.
One behalf of the Board, the Chair and Vice-Chair appoint the union Chief Executive who is responsible for its functioning on a day-to-day basis alongside union staff.
The current Chair of the Trustee Board is Aisling Davis, Vice President Community Engagement (2015-2016).