My name is Josh Muirhead, I’m your current Vice-President Communities and I’m hoping for your vote to be re-elected as your NUS Delegate.
Why should you vote for me?
I’ve been involved with the NUS for the last two years. I've attended NUS ran events across the country, and through chatting to my counterparts from Aberdeen to London discovered that our students share very similar problems.
The NUS hold their conferences in Spring every year on both a UK and Scottish level. At these conferences student unions send delegates to represent the views and opinions of their students as well as to vote on motions and elect NUS Full-Time Officers, including the National Union of Students President. These Officers regularly meet with government officials and business leaders; the NUS can be a powerful shaper of national political discourse and policy, as seen through the changes to law in Scotland towards care experienced students.
Be Accountable!
As a Sabbatical Officer and NUS Delegate all my actions are accountable to our students, so I would like to see that NUS’s policies and officers also remain accountable to all students, rather than only to a select group of delegates. I'd invite candidates running for NUS national office to Stirling, in person or through Skype, so you can question their suitability to be major figures in the student movement.
Bus Services
Many Stirling students will understand the continued frustration we have had with the First-Bus services to and from the University. Though it may seem like an uphill hopeless struggle at times, the student union has made great strides through communication with First-Bus. In previous years our delegates drafted a motion for the NUS Scotland conference to create a framework of communication and improvement for all higher learning institutions in Scotland. The motion was however heavily altered to such a point it no longer reflected it’s original purpose, we decided to rally against it and successfully scraped it during that conference. This year I would like to submit an updated version of the motion, to both the Scottish NUS and the British NUS.
Democracy: One Member, One Vote!
I want to push for a fair NUS, one where all students across the UK can vote for its motions rather than several hundred representatives. I believe this is more illustrative to what students believe and will help limit the bickering which exists within the NUS. So, for that reason I would push for a One Member, One Vote system and work with other delegates to help garner support for this motion. I may not be the NUS’s biggest fan but the best way to protect Stirling students is through continued membership of the NUS; and the best way to reform NUS democracy, is from within.
