Lifetime membership of t'union

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

If someone has been nominated, is there any way of finding out who nominated them (and why)?

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[Lid]

As it was overseen by the Association President, you could try emailing Alex.

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[Lyeta]

I think its quite amusing that lifetime membership only costs £10 (thats less than a replacement matric card when you are actually AT the university) and they make this big deal about being nominated/awarded for lifetime membership. My flatmate got awarded life membership and I was really impressed. The next day we all got an email saying pop into the general office and buy yours for a tenner.

[Insight]

I think the meetings for nominations were "in camera" - that is nothing leaves the room. I could be wrong though.

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[exnihilo]

It was reduced to £10 some years ago because nobody was buying it at (I think) £30. It is a bargain, however, as it continues to give you reciprocal membership at all the other Unions with which you have reciprocal membership as a student.

Unsurprisingly, the price reduction is another example of the Association solving the wrong problem. Nobody was buying Life Membership not because it was too expensive but because anyone who might be likely to was being given Honorary Life Membership anyway and hardly anyone else (at the time) had a notion that Life Memberships even existed.

I don't know who got it this year, but it used to be pretty much everyone who was elected to any position, anyone on Ents, anyone in Charities or Debates and anyone whom the hacks saw in the building a lot.

All of which is very silly and removes any honour from Honorary Life membership. It should be for outstanding service, not for simply being elected and showing up - which point I made when they voted it for me after serving about 2 months in office following a by-election.

Bizarrely, I was outvoted in objecting to it and when, some years later, I had actually done something to deserve it and it turned out I already had it, a new award for outstanding service was created for me. That's since become the John Honey Award and I understand there was some debate about my having received it and my name was left off the list.

Not that anyone needed to know that, but I thought I'd tell you all how moronic the Life Membership/Honorary Award system has been heretofore. Oh, and the meetings always used to be in camera so naturally nobody bothered to keep a list of who did and didn't get it or why because we all know in camera means no records are kept (oh no it doesn't!) and the books kept for that very purpose have been gathering dust for years.

[David Bean]

Well, the meeting is in camera, but of course we kept records of the people it was awarded to. To answer your initial question, Will, the only way you can find out who nominated you is if the person who did so volunteers the information - the people who sit on the committee won't disclose that kind of information, and also won't divulge who was nominated and turned down (although, again, it's possible to find that out if someone tells you).

The criteria for the award is that a student must either have made an outstanding contribution to student life in one area over two or more years, or across two or more areas for one year. In response to exnihillo's claim that it's being devalued, that may have been the case in the past but I can say that we regularly turn down nominees who only got elected to something and then did their job - 'benchwarmers' is the term often used, and the reason why open nominations were introduced a couple of years ago was precisely to combat that phenomenon. Although, if someone had taken on a number of different jobs and performed well in each of them, there's certainly a case for saying that the sum of their effort was outstanding, and I don't see any reason to begrudge any recipient in that situation.

Whilst it's true that the 'face value' of honorary life membership may only be £10, since that's the amount you'd have to pay for life membership otherwise, the real point of the award is that it's meant as an honour, something to recognise achievement, and I think by and large the people who receive it are happy to accept it in that spirit, and glad to do so.

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[Al]

Quoting exnihilo from 19:36, 9th Jun 2006
It was reduced to £10 some years ago because nobody was buying it at (I think) £30.

I did. Of course if I had known the price was going to be reduced, I would have waited.

[niall]

Quoting exnihilo from 19:36, 9th Jun 2006


I don't know who got it this year, but it used to be pretty much everyone who was elected to any position, anyone on Ents, anyone in Charities or Debates and anyone whom the hacks saw in the building a lot.

All of which is very silly and removes any honour from Honorary Life membership. It should be for outstanding service, not for simply being elected and showing up - which point I made when they voted it for me after serving about 2 months in office following a by-election.

i agree that it shouldnt be given to those voted into position on the merit of them being a SRC/SSC member, but for those that help on ents and charities, that counts for alot. both of these comittees take alot of commitment and arent something that you can scrape by, with only attending a meeting every couple of weeks.

incidentally, i was awarded honorary (associate) life membership after buying life membership! oh well!

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[Al]

In my day HLM was usually awarded to members of the SAEC who - by the very nature of their posts - couldn't just scrape by through attending the odd meeting.

[exnihilo]

Indeed. There are SRC/SSC officers who do nothing and deserve nothing, but there are others who do a tremendous amount and don't deserve such dismissiveness. For example, it was possible for the Treasurer (when we still had one) to do as much as any sabb, as it was for the Chair to do likewise but it was equally possible for the Treasurer and the Chair to simply show up to meetings (or not). That's not confined to officers, it's possible for someone involved in any part of the organisation to do nothing or to make Herculean effort. All I was saying was that nobody should get HLM for simply being involved, it should be for the ones who make the huge efforts.

[Al]

Quoting exnihilo from 09:03, 10th Jun 2006
Indeed. There are SRC/SSC officers who do nothing and deserve nothing, but there are others who do a tremendous amount and don't deserve such dismissiveness. For example, it was possible for the Treasurer (when we still had one) to do as much as any sabb, as it was for the Chair to do likewise but it was equally possible for the Treasurer and the Chair to simply show up to meetings (or not). That's not confined to officers, it's possible for someone involved in any part of the organisation to do nothing or to make Herculean effort. All I was saying was that nobody should get HLM for simply being involved, it should be for the ones who make the huge efforts.

I agree. Anyone who deserves the award should receive it.

[Midget]

So who has got Honorary Life Memberships?

There seems to be a lot of discussion of Union related effort, and while many graduates involved with the Union over their years have made a fantastic contribution to student life, eg Bonnie (or does she get one automatically,), I feel that there are many people who have nothing to do with the Union who have made big contributions to student life, eg Michael Stacey for services to drama.

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[Stuart]

Quoting Midget from 16:45, 10th Jun 2006
So who has got Honorary Life Memberships?

I got one despite never involving myself with the Union.

[LK Today]

From reading this thread it seems, and correct me if I am misunderstood, that there are two main themes here. Firstly, that of the difference between Honorary Life Membership and Life Membership. There is a very simple difference here, whether or not you pay. Although the cost of Life Membership is quite small, only £10, this is not the point. Honorary Life Membership is there as a way of recognising the achievements of students during their time in St Andrews, and their contribution to student life. As David has already pointed out, the guidelines on qualification for this award today are set out quite clearly. "The criteria for the award is that a student must either have made an outstanding contribution to student life in one area over two or more years, or across two or more areas for one year, " leading me on to the second issue- who get's HLM?

Every student in the university is invited to nominate any other for HLM. These nominations are then considered by the SAEC, which I sat on this year. The guidelines are very clear, and while, it can be argued that in the past they have not been followed as closely as they should have been, this year we were very strict on this. Looking through the list of people who received HLM this year, I doubt anyone can argue that the people on this list have not greatly contributed to student life in St Andrews. And no, they are not all union hacks, the opposite in fact.

There are a large number of people on that list that I do not know personally, but I discovered how much they had done by a bit of investigation. And HLMs are not automatically given to people who hold positions within the Association. Officers and Members of the SRC and SSC, as well as Sabbaticals, must be nominated like everyone else, and they need to have actually done something with their positions. Take for example Andrew Killen, the SRC Member for Sexualities and Gender. Andrew was nominated for HLM and received it, not because he is SRC Member for Sexualities and Gender, but because of the work he has done during his time here both as a member of LGBT, the Bute Medical Society and as SRC Member for Sexualities and Gender, and more.

Those who have received HLMs are to be congratualted. For next year, remember that you can nominate anyone who is graduating who you feel has made a contribution to the student life in St Andrews and who meets the criteria.

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[Midget]

Sorry to be repetitive but, who has got Honorary Life Memberships? I can't find it on the Union website. It would give this discussion a bit more substance.

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[LK Today]

I dont think the list has been mad public as of yet. Those who have received HLM have been notified by post and will receive their membership at a ceremony just before the graduation ball.

Quoting Midget from 01:20, 11th Jun 2006
Sorry to be repetitive but, who has got Honorary Life Memberships? I can't find it on the Union website. It would give this discussion a bit more substance.

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[Al]

There are a number of issues about the award of Honorary Life Membership arising from the posts on this thread.

First, Honorary Life Membership has never been granted automatically. Not even in the dim and distant past. I well remember sitting in an SAEC meeting discussing who should be on the list for ratification by the AGM. I also remember not getting HLM myself. It may have reached a point when it seemed that HLM was being awarded automatically to officers but I am sure there was at least the pretence of discussion.

Second, I don't see any reason for limiting the award of Honorary Life Membership to those who are in their year of graduation. There is no good reason for this and good reasons against it.

Third, I have long been of the mind that a sabbatical year should not be included when considering whether or not a person should be awarded HLM. They are paid to do a job. Why should they then receive an honour for doing the job they were paid to do?

Fourth, this "outstanding contribution to student life" sounds so vague as to be pointless. Who decides what is "outstanding"? Take the person named by LK Today. He may well deserve the award. I don't know. But being involved the SRC and affiliated societies is still only involvement in the Association. If a person served on the SRC and the SSC simultaneously, would that be an outstanding contribution?

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

Andrew Killen has been tireless in running sexual health campaigns, condom distribution etc in St Andrews and I believe the fact that St Andrews has one of the lowest rates of sexually transmitted disease going is at least in part due to him.

That's why he's getting HLM.

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[in the know]

jo kerr has the nod

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

Diana Ulic has it too, although neither she nor I can work out quite why - no disrespect to her whatsoever but she's not done anything for the union.

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