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RE: Tom's article

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Re:

Postby Dardar on Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:20 pm

I didn't say they were 'incompetent' - in fact I am sure that they were not (probably for exactly the reason which you mention - they were busy doing other things which they deemed more important... which I also wrote in the article).

I said they were not competent enough to make a strategic plan - which they weren't: Because there isn't one!

(yet...)
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Re:

Postby Paranoid on Tue Nov 07, 2006 10:09 pm

Any way of making yourunion.net the homepage for all computer lab computers? Students open up Internet Explorer and the first thing they see if the front page of yourunion.net

One way to force awareness...

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Re:

Postby Monster Sink on Tue Nov 07, 2006 10:42 pm

You could ask the University as the computers belong to the University.

But surely the University would rather the students looked at their website and not the Unions?
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Re:

Postby Dave the Explosive Newt on Tue Nov 07, 2006 10:47 pm

The association has its fingers in a lot of pies, I think a lot more than people are aware of. One key to this are class reps - if people are aware that their class reps are part of the association's remit and (more importantly) that the reps play an active role in informing the students they represent about the activities of the association at large, you stand a good chance of really reaching out to people. The key to this is that class reps can tailor the information they pass on to ensure that it's relevant to the students they represent and, thus, much more interesting. I'd imagine the big priority here is to get SRC reps for the faculties working closely with the class reps within their faculties.

Campaigning is something else to investigate - I think when we were all writing on postcards for CHESS or letters to the AUT last year a lot of people got interested in what all the fuss was about. The problem here is that you've got to wait for something important to come along for you to campaign about! I think at a much simpler level though, when an important issue comes along, the association has to be seen to be at the forefront of things. What you wrote on the Khatami issue was excellent Tom, but I can't help feeling that if you (or indeed the SRC as a body) had sent out a letter/email to every student they might have recognised the association's role a bit better. Although the key with mass-messaging is to give people a short, snappy message, not pages and pages, and give them the opportunity to follow it up if the subject tickles their fancy with relevant links etc.


As for blogs -
http://dosda.livejournal.com/
http://dorep.livejournal.com/
and I think Graeme has one too - but unfortunately these haven't been updated recently. Still, a promising start

Quoting Dardar from 18:53, 7th Nov 2006
(No, you can't have Laura Wilson in her underwear).


Oh really?

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Re:

Postby Al on Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:42 pm

I suspect this thread is going to veer wildly off topic now that the subject of a sabb and her underwear has been brought up.
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Re:

Postby Cain on Wed Nov 08, 2006 7:22 am

Quoting Al from 23:42, 7th Nov 2006
I suspect this thread is going to veer wildly off topic now that the subject of a sabb and her underwear has been brought up.


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Re:

Postby exnihilo on Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:49 am

The days before the luxury of four sabbaticals? When was that then? Pre 1995, certainly, and there was a brief spell a few years ago when one was abolished and then recreated, but there have been four sabbaticals more or less continuously for the last 12 years.

There were also long-term, strategic plans in the past; for improvements to the building, restructuring of the SRC/UMC/Association, relations with the AU and the University, etc. etc., many of which were brought to fruition. So the whole idea is not as new as you might think.
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Re:

Postby RJ Covino on Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:28 am

Ah, but they weren't in a big pretty folder marked "Strategic Plan" though, which I believe makes all the difference.

When Derek went through his "must write the strategic plan" phase when he was AP, I remember having to sit down with an outside consultant along with all the trading department chiefs and everybody they could drag in basically. I vaguely recall that we even paid that woman to produce a series of recommendations based on the "Strategic Plan Away Day" - I never saw them, though. They may be lurking in an archive somewhere.
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Re:

Postby Laura on Wed Nov 08, 2006 12:49 pm

Quoting Dave the Explosive Newt from 22:47, 7th Nov 2006


Quoting Dardar from 18:53, 7th Nov 2006
(No, you can't have Laura Wilson in her underwear).


Oh really?

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Tom,

Postby Bonnie on Fri Nov 10, 2006 10:58 pm

For the sake of your own sanity, take everything you have been "taught" by the permanent fixtures with a handful of salt.
One of the best ways to weaken a sabb is to to tell him all of his predecessors were shit. Thus you are shit, they're just waiting a few months before they tell your successor all about the hell it was to work with you.


But, ah, this is supposed to a positive thread because airing dirty laundry in public isn't pretty. Especially because it makes people think the Union is a place of backstabbing worthless politicians-- which it isn't.
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Re:

Postby Bonnie on Fri Nov 10, 2006 11:03 pm

Trust me-- I work with real-life backstabbing worthless politicians. I've learned how to identify the wheat from the chaffe. I only wish that more people could see how well St Andrews works (compared to the real world outside the bubble).
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Re:

Postby Grandpa on Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:51 pm

Quoting Dardar from 18:53, 7th Nov 2006
The Opening of the Old Union Diner from 8-11 on week nights (not bad for a couple of pointless student politicians!).


Well, with furtherance to this, what about opening something closer to where the students are - Beatons, for example. Surely the union would wish to have the money that is currently spent in Empire going to the union?

Get some kebab and pizza equipment and lets make the union lots more money. Why not?

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Re:

Postby Dave the Explosive Newt on Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:59 pm

Quoting Grandpa from 17:51, 11th Nov 2006
Quoting Dardar from 18:53, 7th Nov 2006
The Opening of the Old Union Diner from 8-11 on week nights (not bad for a couple of pointless student politicians!).


Well, with furtherance to this, what about opening something closer to where the students are - Beatons, for example. Surely the union would wish to have the money that is currently spent in Empire going to the union?

Get some kebab and pizza equipment and lets make the union lots more money. Why not?

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Have you not sampled Charlie's cheesy chips?

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Re:

Postby Lid on Sun Nov 12, 2006 12:12 am

The whole point of the Old Union Diner being open is so that people in the library can get a coffee or quick bite, to take a break from studying for a minute or two.

Personally, I think it's a great idea. And yes, Beatons' cheesy chips were great.

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Re:

Postby Paranoid on Sun Nov 12, 2006 1:59 am

What???

If ever I heard a statement of complete contradiction this is it! We're not all backstabbers, but stop making a big deal of what you have done compared to the rest of us! (???)

In my experience with dealing with Tom he has been very professional, very polite, and ultimately very considerate. His sanity is completely intact and does not need re-assuring by other 'permanent' members of staff.

If you ask me, having now left St.A, Tom is definitely the best thing that could happen to the University and I have seen some fantastic improvements compared to the 4 years I studied there!!

Quoting Bonnie from 22:58, 10th Nov 2006
For the sake of your own sanity, take everything you have been "taught" by the permanent fixtures with a handful of salt.
One of the best ways to weaken a sabb is to to tell him all of his predecessors were shit. Thus you are shit, they're just waiting a few months before they tell your successor all about the hell it was to work with you.


But, ah, this is supposed to a positive thread because airing dirty laundry in public isn't pretty. Especially because it makes people think the Union is a place of backstabbing worthless politicians-- which it isn't.


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Re:

Postby David Bean on Mon Nov 13, 2006 5:29 pm

Quoting Bonnie from 22:58, 10th Nov 2006
airing dirty laundry in public isn't pretty.


In the context of the post above yours, I hardly think this was an appropriate choice of words.

However, we agree that it's a bit off to paint quite so bleak a picture of past performance - you and I can both point to a brace of genuinely beneficial achievements of our terms of office, and if we lacked a certain visibility (which to be honest I don't think is really true either, but that might just be us ;) it was hardly our fault, since we were too busy getting on and doing the job.

Anyway, taking the lead on strategic planning and the image of the Association fall squarely within the remit of the Association President, so I might venture to suggest that blaming the entire sabb team each year for failures in these areas may be overstating the case a little...

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Re:

Postby Jono on Mon Nov 13, 2006 5:33 pm

Quoting David Bean from 17:29, 13th Nov 2006
Quoting Bonnie from 22:58, 10th Nov 2006
airing dirty laundry in public isn't pretty.


In the context of the post above yours, I hardly think this was an appropriate choice of words.

However, we agree that it's a bit off to paint quite so bleak a picture of past performance - you and I can both point to a brace of genuinely beneficial achievements of our terms of office, and if we lacked a certain visibility (which to be honest I don't think is really true either, but that might just be us ;) it was hardly our fault, since we were too busy getting on and doing the job.

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You certainly didn't lack any visibility. I nearly Peed myself when that poster first went up!


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Re:

Postby Grandpa on Mon Nov 13, 2006 5:34 pm

Quoting Lid from 00:12, 12th Nov 2006
The whole point of the Old Union Diner being open is so that people in the library can get a coffee or quick bite, to take a break from studying for a minute or two.

Personally, I think it's a great idea. And yes, Beatons' cheesy chips were great.

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Oh, it is a great idea, absolutely, but I think the union is missing out by not having Beatons open in the evenings. One or two members of staff when it's not too busy and more when it is would easily pay for itself (I suspect), however, the contrary may be the case that this is why it is not open in the evenings.

Just think about how much trade empire does.

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Re:

Postby Laura on Thu Nov 16, 2006 12:13 am

I updated my sabb blog pretty briefly (time is of the essence at the moment!)

http://dorep.livejournal.com/

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Re:

Postby David Bean on Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:17 pm

[quote]Quoting Jono from 17:33, 13th Nov 2006You certainly didn't lack any visibility. I nearly Peed myself when that poster first went up![quote]

Good! I can't take any credit for the design, but it's always nice to hear that people had a bit of fun with it. I have to say that we had a 0% success rate for the service it was designed to promote - i.e. not one single person (apart from my friend Tom, whom I strong-armed) came forward to use it - but never mind, at least it cheered people up! :)

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