My Leaving Speech

Last Monday I made my leaving speech to Guild Council. Below I have reproduced it in full (besides the parts which I ad-libbed). Looking back I realise there is so much I didn't say and so many people I didn't mention - so if your feeling forgotten then my deepest apologies.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Guild Council,

I have in the past heard many leaving speeches at this Guild Council. They’re usually a nice opportunity to thank all the relevant people and sometimes make serious remarks about this organisation and how it must move forward. I’m probably going to stick to this script.

Firstly I want to thank Jen. She has been a dedicated and committed President. I will always think back to how this year it would usually be the two of us, last in the office, working late. You stayed committed to your aims throughout the year and your ability to deliver what you promised should make you proud.

To Sparky, I never really knew what the VPS did before this year. You have been the consummate master of your domain. Thanks for all the funny videos and emails that you forward on. I still don’t really know a lot of what you do, but you do it well.

Hannah, I have known you the longest out of everyone else in the team and it has been a pleasure to be a sabbatical with you. You have been a crucial part of the team, speaking a lot of sense in the meetings I’ve sat in you with and you have also been crucial at signing of the expenses which the Telegraph will never find out about. Thanks for that!

So now Oggy, Mr. Incredible just about does you justice. Few other sabbaticals in the history of the Guild can leave with as much to their name. You have also given the Guild a set-piece campaign this year to be proud of. Best of luck finishing your degree next year. I’m sure from the backbenches you will give next years team something to emulate and aspire to.

On to Rich, mate you should be proud. You have taken on your role with a passion no-one else could match. You put Development in Student Activities and Development. Guild Awards and Get Involved are a credit to your hard work and achievements.

And finally Hollie, our wandering VP Welfare. I hope she is having fun in South Africa. Hollie has taken the job of Welfare by the scruff of the neck and she too can be proud to have delivered. A Nightbus that is now running, a jobs agency on campus and a decent voter registration drive as well. I know she was disappointed to miss the last Guild Council.

I would also like to do a vote of thanks to the Guild staff, some of whom are here to night. In many ways you carry this organisation and for that you should be proud. I’ll be giving them all my thanks later.

So usually a leaving speech should be an opportunity to reflect. They do say you should never forget where you’ve come from…

I came on to Guild Council half-way through my first year. This was one of my first interactions with the Guild of Students and over the years I would faithfully attempt to represent the History department.

My initial activities lead to a spurt of motions to try and reform Guild Council itself. The fact that, if an Officer doesn’t submit a report they would face a censure, that was down to a motion that I proposed. All officers now have blogs, and this was started following a motion that I proposed. And the fact that we have electronic voting pads and got rid of the old card votes – that was decided after I proposed a motion calling for the voting on Guild Council to be made more accountable. However, in my third year I realised Guild Council was failing. Because even though we tried to change the edifice, the structure, it was apparent that would never be enough. As a Guild Councillor I focussed too much on the structure and maybe we forget the students who we were trying to represent.

Someone once said: “The trouble with organisational life is that people become obsessed with changing the edifice rather then the lives for which the organisation was designed around.” I have in the past been guilty of that, as has Guild Council. I hope that can change.

Guild Council should now be playing an even more crucial role because the road ahead is bumpy. We are looking at an increasing marketisation of higher education, a commercialisation of education. We need to adapt to face the challenges of the 21st century. The challenges facing the Guild are now crucial but it is equally crucial that you do not forget the students that you are here for.

But the challenges we face will not be solved with one meeting in one night. Change will not always come if you wait for some other Guild Councillor or if you wait for the Officers. You are the ones you've been waiting for. You are the change that you seek. Never doubt your own ability to make the change with a few emails to the Officers and a motion.

I ran because I wanted to make some of those changes. It was natural that I would want to run for education, and given the choice again I would change nothing.

This organisation has a single objective:
“To promote the educational purposes of the University of Birmingham through the promotion of the common interest of the student body.”

I often feared that we invested in other aspects of our work, the social intercourse perhaps, and lost sight of our overall aim.

That is what I have worked to rectify this year. I was able to progress the brilliant work of my predecessor and continue to enhance the Student Rep system. Student Rep names are now online, the training has been improved, we have a new strategy which builds upon the new policy that was introduced over a year ago – and eventually we will get there. Student Reps can one day be brilliant, though to coin a phrase, it takes a little patience.

Also I have tried to enhance the quality of the representation that this organisation does. As part of the quality assurance audit of the university this year the Guild had to produce a written submission on the quality of the learning experience at the University of Birmingham. This meant using statistical data, focus groups, Student Rep minutes and writing a detailed report. And the shocking thing was that this is something that we have no record of ever doing before.

My frustration is that when it comes to representation, this organisation has been amateurish, ill-resourced and pretty useless.

However, based on the back of that single report we have the university addressing key issues like the availability of core texts in the library, assessment feedback and hidden course costs.

Representation should never be seen in an end in itself. Too often we see representation as a question of communication and merely sitting on the appropriate committee. The purpose of representation is too secure educational and institutional change.

And the sad thing is I have barely had a question on either of those pieces of work all year. It pains me to say that as a body, that body which I was once a proud part of, Guild Council is ill-equipped, irrelevant to all but itself and not fit for purpose. Guild Officers are not held to account, and students are not engaged in what this body does.

My frustration amounts to one simple question: why do we do it that way? Guild Council we need to challenge ourselves more. Why do we have a Guild Council, what do students really thinks about their experience at university, what is the purpose of societies? These are all questions we should be talking about more often. In one of my more memorable speeches to Guild Council I claimed we were the modern incarnation of British steel; a nationalised industry that was prone to stagnation, potentially lacking dynamism. That is the role of Guild Council, challenge the status quo and make the Officers justify their actions. If Guild Council should do anything, it should be able to do that.

As I said before, those things can change. But it is now the job of you to make that happen.

I leave the Guild fairly happy – I’m content that what I’ve done this year has in many ways helped push this organisation forward.

I want to say a couple more thanks,

Tom Guise, everything I just said about Guild Council is now his problem and I wish him the best of luck.

To some of the non-sabbs; Emma, Chris, Pippa, Suzy, Siobhan, I’ve enjoyed Guild Officer Group meetings this year. Thanks for proofreading my motions and being great members of the team.

To my successor Brig, I think your going to be great. You understand the challenges going forward and are smart enough to work out how to solve them. I can’t promise you the next year won’t be hard for you, in fact I can only promise you blood, sweat, toil and tears. Despite that I’m going to do my best to get you ready during handover and I’m sure you’ll love it.

And finally a very special thank you goes to my girlfriend Kat. Thank you for listening to my drone on and on and on about the Guild. Thank you for putting up with my erratic diary: promising you lunch and then cancelling on a regular basis, and thank you for being a confidant who I could trust with everything. (Basically thanks for not talking to Redbrick…)

Which leaves me with one final exhortation to make…

You can make the change, but make the right change. Don’t forget the students we are all here to represent. It’s easy too, we’ve all done it! We get fixated on personal goals and ambitions and loose sight of the wider purpose, loose focus on what actually matters. Ask that fundamental question; why do we do it that way?, think about the students who you represent and be brave enough to stand up and make the change.

That’s all I really have to say about that!

So that’s it for me... My time on Guild Council and pretending to be a student ends. I hope I made a couple of worthwhile changes while here and I exhort all of you to try and do your bit too.

Thank you, that’s all folks!

Do you want to take part in a consultation on the library refurbishment?

Do you have an opinion on how the Main Library could be improved?

Are you willing to spend an hour one day next week discussing your views in a focus group?

You will be paid £5.75 to take part in an hour-long focus group. These groups will run on Monday 8th, Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th June from 1.00pm - 2.00pm. Please note that the focus group on Thursday 11th June will be for Postgraduates only.

All focus groups will be held in the Library I-lounge on the ground floor. A free lunch will also be provided.

Please e-mail t.marley@guild.bham.ac.uk with:
1. your name
2. programme
3. whether you are an Undergraduate or Postgraduate
4. what year of study you are in
5. which day you are able to attend (10th June is compulsory for Postgraduates).

Use your voice: Vote!

This Thursday it is the European Elections. It is absolutely crucial that students' vote whilst they are studying. As residents of Birmingham we are 28,000 strong. However, for our opinions and interests to be taken seriously it is essential that we use our democratic right. Why would Birmingham City Council or the government take notice if students do not choose to vote? The truth is students often do not vote and often students can get overlooked.

So make sure you get your voice heard and vote this Thursday.

For more information about these elections go here.