Oxford University Student Union’s board of trustees has abolished the role of president, opting instead for a ‘flat structure’ of four officer roles. This decision was made by the board which at the time had a student-elected majority, but follows an SU survey in which 86.2% supported keeping the role of president. The sample size of the survey, however, was too small to be conclusive. As part of the same restructuring, a new ‘Conference of Common Rooms’ model will be implemented by the SU to mirror the University’s collegiate structure.
Nominations will open tomorrow to elect four roles: Undergraduate Officer, Postgraduate Officer, Communities and Common Rooms Officer, and Welfare, Equity and Inclusion Officer. The SU announcement does not explicitly mention the removal of the presidential role.
After the SU entered its transformation period last year, it conducted a “Democracy Consultation” to explore student support for different structures for the organisation. Survey respondents were asked their thoughts on the roles of sabbatical officers.
According to internal documents viewed by Cherwell, only a small sample size of 61 respondents answered this question, and of this only 29 offered specific feedback. The “flat structure” being implemented was favoured by 4 respondents (13.8%), whilst 25 respondents (86.2%) supported a presidential model.
In 2022, however, former SU president Anvee Bhutani conducted a consultation with “hundreds of people – including JCR and MCR Presidents, Campaign Chairs, University staff and many more” to find that the role of president should be retained. The review argued in favour of having a president because “it is good to have a central point of contact administratively”, according to a Cherwell story from the time.
Today’s SU announcement also includes a restructuring toward a ‘Conference of Common Rooms’ structure, which coheres with the findings of the consultation. The new model would gather JCR and MCR presidents as the main democratic decision-making body of the SU.
According to the consultation, 61% of 217 students supported or strongly supported the model, with responses saying that it seemed the best suited for Oxford’s collegiate system and that common rooms receive higher levels of student engagement.
The SU will also re-introduce part-time Community Officers to represent ‘marginalised students’ whom the SU recognise ‘may not always feel an affinity to their common room’. The consultation found support for this change with 76.8% of 194 respondents supporting it.
The plan for the ‘Conference of Common Rooms’ started development in Trinity Term 2024. In comparison, the plan to abolish the presidential role happened over a shorter time frame, with a single open-ended question in the ‘Democracy Consultation’ survey in Michaelmas Term 2024.
In a press release, the SU stated: “We hope and believe that these changes will address some longstanding challenges, and establish a precedent for a more inclusive and accountable primary purpose.”
The announcement follows SU president Dr Addi Haran’s resignation earlier today to speak out against “institutional malpractice”. She cited “efforts to…undermine student leadership” and “deny students the transparency and accountability they rightfully deserve”.
Cherwell has contacted the SU for a reply.
