A Brief Guide to CUSU

The Questions

• What is CUSU? Answer
• What does CUSU do? Answer

- 1. Services Answer

- 2. Entertainment Answer

- 3. Student Support Answer

- 4. Representation and Campaigns Answer

• How does CUSU work? Answer
• How can I get involved? Answer
• Where is CUSU? Answer

The Answers

What is CUSU?

In short, it is the Cambridge University Students' Union, representing Cambridge students' interests at a university level, and providing central services and support for all students. Every student is automatically a member of CUSU, and receives the services listed below free of cost. It is not to be confused with the Cambridge Union which is a historic debating society.

What does CUSU do?

CUSU's work can be divided into three main areas:

1. Services - CUSU provides a range of services for its students as well as college union officers, faculty reps and everyone else. These include..

Student ID & Discount cards reception@cusu.cam.ac.uk

Because CUSU affiliates to the NUS (National Union of Students), all its members can obtain Student ID from CUSU, giving them a wide range of discounts across the country and providing convenient proof of student status. CUSU also sell Young Persons? Railcards.

CUSU Mail Service business@cusu.cam.ac.uk

CUSU-MS delivers post within 36 hours for students to all 31 colleges every day of full term. Unlike the University Mail Service, which is only for use by College/Faculty/Admin staff and Fellows, the CUSU Mail Service (formerly called ICMS) is open to all students. There is a CUSU Mail Service box in each College?s pigeon-hole room or Porters? Lodge, and mail can also be sent from the CUSU offices.

Societies Fair services@cusu.cam.ac.uk

CUSU organises the Societies Fair at the beginning of each October, giving new and old students alike an opportunity to view the rich diversity of Cambridge Societies. This year over 330 societies and 8,000 students attended the fair which spent two days in Kelsey Kerridge sports centre. For a society to attend the fair they need to be listed on the CUSU Societies Directory and pay a small fee for the cost of their stall.

Services in the Offices reception@cusu.cam.ac.uk, services@cusu.cam.ac.uk

Services in the office are provided principally through Reception, which is open Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:30pm during Full Term, and 8:00am to 4:00pm during vacations. Reception services include:

• Two top-quality, high-automation black and white photocopiers. One of which provides automatic double-siding, sorting and stapling of sets and booklet making. They are ideal for newsletters, concert programmes and so on. Photocopying costs 4p per A4 sheet, 8p per A3, and all the automatic functions are free.
• One top-quality, high-automation full colour photocopier, providing excellent colour reproduction at the best rates in Cambridge ? 30p per A4 sheet, 60p per A3. It is also networked to our computer system for top-quality printing from files.
• A copy printer for cheap printing of large poster runs (only 2p per A4, 4p per A3)
• Reprographics facilities - A4 and A3 Lamination and a free heavy-duty guillotine that can slice up to 550 sheets at a time. Ideal for creating flyers.
• Faxing ? available in reception and can be used to receive messages (for free) and send them anywhere in the world
• The Financial Times discount scheme, offering the FT at 20p to students during term time

For more information on the services CUSU provides, take a look at The CUSU Guide

2. Entertainment- CUSU employs an Entertainment Manager to run its club nights and other events throughout the course of the year, and to act as a point of information and expertise for other arms of CUSU and college unions wishing to provide entertainments.

CUSU currently runs the following ents nights

Tuesday - Edge @ Ballare (formerly 5th Avenue / Cindies?) Unique @ Life with CUSU LesBiGay ? www.uniqueatlife.co.uk

Thursday - Urbanite @ COCO

Sunday - Eclektix @ COCO

In addition to this CUSUents runs promotions with drinks offers at alternative venues on weekday nights. These are:

Monday - River Bar + Kitchen

Tuesday - Vaults

Wednesday- The Cow

3. Student support

On average, two or three students a day approach CUSU needing welfare support or help. These enquiries may involve disciplinary proceedings, council tax, housing, financial information, academic concerns and more. CUSU provides an Individual Student Support Service (ISSS) which provides non-judgmental, confidential support and information to all students.

For general information you can email the CUSU Welfare Officer:welfare@cusu.cam.ac.uk and take a look at CUSU's welfare pages

CUSU also runs three helplines:

• Beeline
• LBGT Phoneline
• Eating Disorders Support

4. Representation and Campaigns

CUSU is the representative voice for students across the University on issues affecting students, giving representation on a whole range of University committees right up to the very top. CUSU enables students to have a direct input into the University's decision making process on everything from the quality of supervisions to funding for sports and societies. CUSU's voice is also heard on a national level, as members of the National Union of Students (NUS) and represented to MP's and Government Ministers on issues affecting students.

CUSU alos runs a number of Autonomous and Ordinary campaigns on behalf of students, such as CUSU Women's and Black Sudents autonomous campaigns, as well as dealing with Green issues for example. For a full list of CUSU campaigns, please see the CUSU Campaign Page

How does CUSU work?

Structure

CUSU Council - The main decision-making body of the Union is CUSU Council. This is made up of all the Presidents and External Officers of each College Union, together with various other representatives. Although any member of CUSU can go to Council, only specific representatives actually have a vote

The Executive - The Executive is the body which carries out the actions required from whatever decisions CUSU Council has made, although it takes many operational decisions itself. In practice, this means that members of the Exec work out the details of what needs to be done, and then get on with it. The CUSU Executive includes:

• The Sabbaticals, (only one - the Women?s Officer - has a vote at Council.)
• The eight part-time posts elected each March who can vote at Council.
• A range of members co-opted from the various campaigns or elected by Council. Of these only the faculty liaison officer can vote at Council.
• The Graduate Union President, who can vote at Council.

Committees - Committees may include any ordinary member of CUSU and are created by mandate of Council. Current committees include the Funding & Access Campaign Team, Fighting Against Increased Rents, Development & Planning Committee and the Entertainments Committee.

Open Meetings - Open Meetings are held once a term, at which any member of CUSU can vote (ie you). Decisions made at Open Meetings are not policy until ratified by CUSU Council and Council is not obliged to do so. However, the decision of a quorate Open Meeting is likely to be carried by Council. Also under the terms of the constitution the decision of a quorate Open Meeting must be voted on at Council with no discussion ? there is only one opportunity to discuss the matter at hand. To be quorate an Open Meeting must be attended by at least 100 ordinary members of CUSU. An Open Meeting can be held by the prior arrangement of the Executive or when petitioned to do so by at least 200 ordinary members of CUSU under the terms of the constitution.

Funding - The College Unions affiliate to CUSU by financial contribution. They pay a fee of around £5 per undergraduate and £2 per graduate, on each student?s behalf, to CUSU. Affiliation fees help fund representation, campaigns, elections, College Union support, welfare support, phonelines and more.

How can I get involved?

Where is CUSU?

CUSU has no central union building (something the exec is campaigning for) however its offcies can be found at 11-12 Trumpington Street, past Peterhouse on your left and Browns on your right

For more information on anything on this page, please see The CUSU Guide

Page last updated 24 March 2005 (hll31)