University of Sussex Students' Union
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Union Democracy > Frequently Asked Questions  

Union Democracy

The Students’ Union is a democratic organisation, which means that students set the agenda.

Every year, six full-time student officers are elected by students and take a break from their studies to run the Students' Union. They are supported by a number of part-time officers and representatives who take on their Student’s Union roles alongside their studies, and by around 30 members of permanent staff.

In this section you can find out about decision making in the Students’ Union & how you can get involved, contact your elected representatives, vote in elections & referenda, and find out about opportunities to get more involved by standing for election for any one of the many officer and representative positions available throughout the year.

Contents

► Frequently Asked Questions

We have a separate, more detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions about running for election in our election section.

Who makes decisions about what the Students' Union does?

It depends. Some operational decisions are made by staff, e.g. how many leaflets to order to publicise an event or what content to include on a webpage. Other decisions are made by staff and elected officers working together, e.g. to organise more events for international students in Freshers Week or to remove disposable cups from Students' Union offices. Some decisions are made by elected officers and committees, these tend to be broader decisions about policies and wider issues or plans. Decisions are also made by students at general meetings or through referenda (when all students can vote on a particular issue or question)

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Who is the President/my student rep/on Council?

You can find out who the elected officers are, who your student rep is and who the members of Council are on our website.

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