Tonight, at a meeting of the Guild’s Executive Officers (minutes available here ), Officers have voted in favour of holding a referendum over changing from the General Meeting policy making body to a proposed Assembly. Ben Meakin, Jess Leigh, Tammy Hawkins, Alun Minifey, Dan Meehan, Dorothee Beuttner, Ioan Evans voted in favour of holding a referendum, Laura Dickens voted against; no abstentions were raised, and no other voting officers were present.

This discussion arose after a motion to call a referendum at GM on Tuesday was ended when the meeting fell below quoracy. As a result of the decision, an announcement shall be made on Friday calling for 2 delegates for a Yes Campaign, and 2 delegates for a No Campaign. The referendum shall be held alongside Guild elections, via online ballot, on the 7th and 8th March 2012.

It should be noted that prior to the GM dissolving, an amendment was passed that would have made the referendum in October. In agreeing to hold the referendum in March, the Executive have gone against the will of what was, at the time of said amendment, a majority of students in a then-quorate meeting

Tonight, at a meeting of the Guild’s Executive Officers (minutes available here ), Officers have voted in favour of holding a referendum over changing from the General Meeting policy making...

Today, a general election was declared. It was also the day that the human rights infringing, industry-drafted, protectionist Digital Economy Bill had its 2nd Reading in the commons, before being passed through the wholly undemocratic process of wash-up in the coming days.

The controversial bill would see the death of public wi-fi, houses being disconnected on allegation of copyright infringement – with them having to prove innocence by paying for an appeal after the fact, photographers and works creators having work taken and exploited by industry without consent, or as one MP put it (in an endorsement of the bill!) – “putting creativity before freedom” – despite the fact the bill mentions not once the content creator or artist, and instead refers only to the rights holders – most often record labels or publishers, not the artists who created the works.

Understandably there has been outrage over the bill itself, and the government’s insistence on passing it without true scrutiny and debate: Over 20,000 letters and e-mails to MPs, over 35,000 signatures on the Number 10 petition against the bill, 100,000s of tweets, campaigns against the bill from consumer groups, business groups, ISPs, the  public, and the Pirate Party; concerns from the JCHR and the Law Society of Scotland that the bill breaches human rights, one of the  most discussed topics on social media worldwide, even on the day of the declaration of the election.

Guess how many of our great ‘Representatives’ turned up to the debate today?

(more…)

Today, a general election was declared. It was also the day that the human rights infringing, industry-drafted, protectionist Digital Economy Bill had its 2nd Reading in the commons, before being...