Siena

[donpablo]

Wow! What a bitch... I think it just goes to show the amount of faith Phil has in the students that voted and the faith they have in him. His campaing was very well run and respectable, what with not having to resort to chalking up the town with some of the dumbest crap I have ever read or creating attrocious videos.

It was always going to be close that contest, Lizzie had some great energy and enthusiasm (it would have been no bad thing if she won) but Phil is a great guy who has done his job superbly. He caters for all tastes, goes out his way to help everyone and is very approachable. It is hardly his fault when people ask for all sorts of events, puts them on and then only a handful of people turn up and then the rest moan later on down the line the union is shit and doesnt do anything. The events have been the strongest I've seen them in the nearly 3 years I've been here. The 'pole fitness' last night was a big win and well received. Maybe you actually saw that since you were in the building for once?

That's not to say there's not much to be done still, but Phil is the only one with the experience to keep things progressing and thankfully it's not all back to square one for next academic year. I have no idea how people keep missing the advertising though. At the very least read your email or even just check the union website if you are too oblivious to the advertising that is out there.

[Fawksie]

On chalk drawings being 100% legal....

That's not actually true. I don't know who told you that, but they are wrong.

A desk sergeant, one would presume. Hardly likely to be terribly well clued-up on legal precedent.

Hardman v Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary [1986] Crim LR330 clearly shows that even SOLUBLE chalk drawings/writings made on a public pavement can be construed as Simple Criminal Damage under s1(1) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971.

Section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 does not extend to Scotland. Also, though I am not completely clear on this point, I don't believe that the Sheriff Court (to take an example) is bound by precedent set in the Crown Court of England and Wales, which is not its superior.

[RedCelt69]

Section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 does not extend to Scotland. Also, though I am not completely clear on this point, I don't believe that the Sheriff Court (to take an example) is bound by precedent set in the Crown Court of England and Wales, which is not its superior.

You beat me to that reply. Citing law in England and Wales isn't very helpful in Scotland - which has always had its own legal system - before, during and after the Act of Union. Well, not including periods of occupation / English dominance when the King of England said what was and wasn't legal north of the border.

But anyway, yes. Scottish Law is its own beastie. If someone at the police station (desk sergeant or otherwise) gave a thumbs up, I'd take that as grounds not to be prosecuted. Probably.

[DACrowe]

Not to mention that every time Phil Pass spoke at the hecklings I wanted to kill myself from the sheer boredom and barely bothering to run a campaign is not particularly promising either.

You must have watched a different DoES hecklings than I did then. Phil's initial speech/statement was remarkably lacklustre (I asked folks about this and they said he'd just got off work) but during the questions it quickly became more and more 'the Phil Pass Show' (as a friend listening on STAR described it to me); Phil's answers were not only complete and compelling they were also damn funny.

[Chalk]

I am well aware Scottish law is distinct - but a Court ruling in England and Wales would be considered to be persuasive if used in a Scottish court, and could certainly be referred to.

I agree it would be unlikely that a soluble chalk drawing could ever lead to a prosecution - if only because it would wash away pretty quickly. That said, I wouldn't be quite so convinced that it was '100% legal' either... ultimately, it's still marking public property.

Chalky

[donpablo]

Plus the cost of bringing a prosecution and the public opinion would almost certainly completely rule it out.

It's still pretty annoying and inconsiderate though.

[starsandsparkles]

That's not to say there's not much to be done still, but Phil is the only one with the experience to keep things progressing and thankfully it's not all back to square one for next academic year. I have no idea how people keep missing the advertising though. At the very least read your email or even just check the union website if you are too oblivious to the advertising that is out there.

Unlike many of my peers I do actually read the union emails but sending a weekly email with a potentially huge event put in the middle of the weekly listings isn't really advertising, especially when a lot of the events are the same from week to week.

[orudge]

I can't speak for events this year, but at least in previous years, major events have generally seen giant posters outside the union, "top billing" in the weekly e-mails, plus a deluge of Facebook invitations/groups. While I agree that it does seem like a good portion of the student body seems to be unaware of what's going on in the union, the information is out there - I'm not quite sure how else it could be promoted without others getting annoyed at "overpromotion". Maybe more information distributed in halls? Notices up in schools? (Although again, at least in my experience, major events do seem to end up with posters up even in the computer science department!)