Northumbria Students' Union

Northumbria Students' Union is a student-led, representative, membership organisation for all current students enrolled at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. Its mission is "To have a positive impact on the lives of all our students".

It is based at three locations, the main one on the city campus, the second at a smaller venue at Coach Lane and finally, Bullocksteads. It is one of the biggest students' unions in the north east and has developed significantly in recent years, in particular in membership services such as societies and other student activities.

It is independently run from the University and it is affiliated to the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom.

How it is run
On a day to day basis, the organisation is led by ten annually-elected student representatives, who are collectively known as the Executive Committee, or simply the Exec. They are elected each March in a cross-campus ballot.

The ten posts and the office holders for 2007-2008 are:


 * President - Martin Farr
 * Vice President (Student Activities) - Ivan Blackwell
 * Vice President (Education and Welfare) - Lisa Burton
 * Vice President (Finance and Commercial Services) - Stephen Ross
 * Chair of Equal Opportunities - Vijay Varghese
 * Chair of Entertainments - David Foster
 * Chair of Societies - Jen Wynd
 * Chair of Campaigns & Awareness - Rachael Brannan
 * Chair of Coach Lane Campus - Not yet elected
 * Exec Officer (Non-portfolio) - Sarah Edmunds

The Executive Committee are supported by around 60 full-time members of staff and approximately 200 part-time student staff.

Additionally there is a monthly Union Council which is the soveign body of the Students' Union and decides the policy of the Union. There is also Annual General Meeting which approves the budgets and debates the strategic direction of the Union for the year to come.

Membership services
In recent years there has been a huge increase in the membership services provided by the Students' Union. There has been a long tradition of raising money for charity through RAG (Raise and Give) week. Last year a team of volunteers raised £29,000 for charity in a week, with numerous events such as a pancake race, fancy dress pubcrawl and a slave auction.

For the first time ever the Students' Union ran the course representative system at the University, with over 600 course reps recruited and big increase in the number receiving training to help them improve the education they and their peers receive whilst here.

The Union has a range of societies which has increase from ten to 50 in the last year. There is now a Green Society, International Society, Drama Society and a Darts Society who recently appeared on Bullseye. Students set up and run the societies themselves.

This year the Union has expanded its Give it a Go programme which allows students to try one-off activities such as DJing, cocktail making and salsa. This is complemented by the Skills Programme which provides more structured and formal training to support students on their course. Both of these programmes are student led.

Commercial services
There are numerous venues within the Students' Union buildings:

Bar One - The main daytime bar serving a variety of food dishes, Costa coffee and a range of alcoholic and soft drinks. TVs show an array of sports all day long.

Deli - The sandwich shop which sells made-to-order baguettes and rolls.

Union Shop - Selling food, drinks, fairtrade products and stationery.

The Venue - Which stages numerous large-scale events such gigs. Acts that have played here recently include Franz Ferdinand, Fatboy Slim, Moby, Idlewild, Keane and Mogwai. Venue also plays host to the legendary, Saturday club night, Wiggle, with special guests such as Pat Sharpe making regular appearances.

Stage Two - The smaller theatre-style venue which has a large cinema screen showing films and live sport including the FIFA World Cup 2006. It is also used for gigs including the Raconteurs and MTV New Music events.

Reds Bar - The biggest bar in the Students' Union with pool tables and a dance floor. This bar has undergone a major refit over the summer of 2006. Host to famous Newcastle nights, "Wiggle" on Saturdays, "Rattled by the Rush", and "Get Y'Skates On".

Endsleigh Insurance - This company is independent from the Union and provides insurance aimed specifically at students.

Well Read Bookshop - This shop sells books specifically relevant to courses at the University and is independent from the Union.

Coach Lane Bar - The bar and cafe at Coach Lane is popular with many of the students and staff at Coach Lane campus.

Commercial Services is noted for its staff, offering politeness, attractiveness, smartness and punctuality.

Media
The Students' Union received a large amount of press attention recently during the industrial action between UCU (University and College Union) and UCEA (the University and Colleges Employers' Association) during Spring 2006.

It also supports a student-run newspaper, the Northumbria Student, which brings out an edition once a month.

Former presidents

 * 1999-2001 Kathryn Doherty
 * 2001-2002 Nicola Wearing
 * 2002-2004 Ross Linnett
 * 2004-2005 Carys Jones
 * 2005-2007 Spike Reid