State of the Union - QMUSU

Although it is Edinburgh’s smallest higher education institution, goings-on at Queen Margaret University should not be overlooked: these are interesting times for the Musselburgh-based university - and for its students' union, which earlier this year saw a very public power-struggle between its two top sabbatical officers end in the unceremonious exit of QMUSU president Blain Murphy.

Mr Murphy's presidency was a political saga which could not have occurred outside a student-run organisation: after first running for the position as a joke candidate in 2009, he ran again and won the following year. Mark Kent, at the time a student at QMU, tells of a curiosity and bemusement surrounding Mr Murphy’s rise to president: “Obviously there was a feeling that it was him trying to make the same joke twice, and a lot of eyes were rolled. But credit where it’s due, he talked a good talk over the campaign, and in my eyes he won the election on merit, not novelty.”

Mr Murphy may have talked a good talk, but opinions were split on whether or not he had the walk to match. “I know a few people who thought that he was doing a good job, and to be honest, as someone who didn’t really keep a close eye on it, I presumed the same," says Mr Kent. "Then all the no confidence stuff emerged, and suddenly there was all these whispers saying he was rubbish, and that was it for some people - red or blue. Although most of us kept it in perspective, seeing it as petty squabbles.”

At a meeting of QMUSU's Student Parliament in February, a vote of no-confidence in Mr Murphy (for "non-fulfillment of responsibilities") was unexpectedly tabled by his vice-president, Christie McMonagle. It passed, and Mr Murphy was summarily removed from office, telling The Journal on his way out the door that he'd "had enough of QMU for three life times."

The debacle scarred both the union and university management, with both drawing criticism from students for their handling of the affair. But Mr Murphy's successor, current president Michael Breckenridge, argues that pre-existing student apathy meant that Mr Murphy's sacking passed largely below the radar. “The Students’ Union as a whole had fewer active members and student engagement was low from the beginning of last year," he told The Journal. "So most of the membership was actually unaware and unaffected by Blain’s removal from office as everything continued much as it had done and none of the services the union offered changed.”

But while Mr Breckenridge agrees that the last year has been stormy sailing for QMUSU, the future seems to be looking up. “As far as this year goes, engagement is up across the board, we have more participants in our sports teams, more active societies and the largest number of Student Representatives – Class Reps and Members of Student Parliament – in our history," he says.

“I’d like to say that this is all just down to Melvin (the VP) and me, but I think we’ve been really lucky that this year’s intake of freshers are wanting to engage with us, along with our efforts to reconnect with disenfranchised older students.”

The most obvious mark of a shift in union operations comes in an unprecedented locking of horns between QMUSU and university principal Professor Petra Wend. A newly-activist QMUSU took senior management to task ahead of the university's decision to raise RUK tuition fees to £6,750 per year. “We managed to force an extraordinary Court meeting over the RUK fees issue, actively lobbying our principal for the first time in her time at QMU," says Mr Breckenridge.

"The relationship with the University has changed as a consequence and we are now actively sought out to offer the students’ perspective and be involved in more debate across all University committees."

“What I would really like to see is even more student activism across campus. Historically we haven’t had a political student body, but I can sense a slight shift in this, with more members engaging in campaigns and debate. We’ve organised for student rep networking meetings with guest speakers from NUS to try and harness this and encourage further students to get involved.”

But alongside its new political fervour, the union seems to have found new energy in other areas of its work. As is often the way with students' unions, the bar is all important, and Mr Breckenridge and his colleagues are following through on their promise to transform Maggie’s Bar.

“As well as developing a corporate identity over the summer, we got rid of the dark paint and the graffiti that made it look slightly Byker Grove circa 1995 and replaced it with a fresh, bright colour scheme... we’re still making changes, but we’re wanting it to be more of an organic process, letting the bar evolve along with how people are using it.”

The next big purchase on the list is new furniture, but we’re trying to be wise and plan it a little better, putting money aside during this year so that there’s a fund to do it properly at the end of this year for whoever is in charge next summer. Part of this is through a loyalty card that we introduced over the summer: the Wild Card gets members discounts on a variety of products from Maggie’s while also getting them access to our Wednesday night sponsors. Most of the profit from these £10 cards goes into the revamp fund.”

The simplicity of the last initiative bears all the hallmarks of the current administration and how it has conducted its business so far. Promoting a healthy symbiotic relationship between the student body and the union, it is instilling a trust, and genuine relevancy in the day to day life of a student. This sentiment is not lost on Mr. Breckenridge: “All I will say is that we’re in our strongest year in living memory and that’s as much down to our fantastic members as it is to our engagement strategy.”