The 2010 Exec Committee have been elected in a highly contested AGM.

The committee are:

President: Seb Templeton
Vice-President: Sarah Wilson
Secretary: Nigel Smith
Treasurer: Yogesh Patel

General Exec: Richard D’Ath
General Exec: Holly Jenkins
General Exec: Udayan Mukherjee
General Exec: Jenna Raeburn
General Exec: Kathy Scott-Dowell
General Exec: Ihaia Tichborne

You may notice the six general exec members and lack of a 2nd year representative. This is due to a constitutional amendment being passed turning the position into a general one. First year rep still remains, and will be voted at the IGM for 2010.

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This Wednesday slot (6:30, SUB, you know) will be our AGM. The evening involves reports from the President and Treasurer, discussion and voting on constitutional amendments, and then the election of the committee for 2010. Positions, subject to amendments, are President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, 2nd Year Rep, and 5 General Exec positions. Speakers give a short speech to their nomination and then every paid member votes. There will be pizza provided.

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Deletion of second year representative requirement on the Committee

Proposed amendment

Article 7, Clause B, sub-clause 1 and 2 currently reads:
The Committee shall be composed of:

1. The Officers of the Society, namely the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary and the Treasurer
2. Five other committee members, one second year representative, and one first year representative (to be elected at the Society’s Initial General Meeting), or such number of other members as the Annual General Meeting may determine;

I propose amending sub-clause 2 so it reads as:

The Committee shall be composed of:

1. The Officers of the Society, namely the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary and the Treasurer
2. Five other committee members, and one first year representative (to be elected at the Society’s Initial General Meeting), or such number of other members as the Annual General Meeting may determine;

Effect of the amendment

If the amendment is passed then the Debating Society committee will not contain a mandated second year representative from 2010 onwards. Additionally, the committee will reduce in size by one person, ie the second year rep shall not be replaced. The committee will reduce from eleven to ten people.

Rationale for the change

It is difficult to see why the constitution mandates that there be a representative specifically for second years on the society’s committee. Unlike first year students, second year students are able to stand for election at the AGM each year. It is also hard to see that second year students have issues in debating that are separate to those of other students, or that those issues are incapable of being resolved without a dedicated representative.

I wish to stress that this proposed amendment should not be construed as an attack on anyone who has held the office of second year representative in the last few years.

In the event that the above is defeated (and only in that event) I also wish to move the following:

Amending sub-clause 2 so it reads as:

The Committee shall be composed of:

1. The Officers of the Society, namely the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary and the Treasurer
2. Five other committee members, and one first year representative (to be elected at the Society’s Initial General Meeting), or such number of other members as the Annual General Meeting may determine

Effect of the amendment

The effect of this amendment would be the same as above, except it would keep the same total number of committee members, ie the second year representative would be replaced by an additional general executive member.

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Article Sixteen

Trialling Method

1. Trials to select teams to represent the Society shall be conducted in teams not determined by trialists.

2. The Committee shall determine Selectors for trials.

3. Selectors shall evaluate trialists on the basis of factors determined by the Committee for the specific trial in question. The Committee may give selectors direction about how they expect the factors to be weighted or applied. Factors may include, but are not limited to:

- Performance in trials;

- Past Performance;

- Potential for development; and,

- Preferences expressed by trialists to be selected in teams including (or not including) other trialists.

4. Selectors shall determine which trialists represent the Society, in which teams.

5. For the avoidance of doubt the trialling method described above applies but is not limited to the following tournaments:

- New Zealand Universities Prepared Debating Championships;

- New Zealand Universities Impromptu Debating Championships;

- Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships; and,

- World Universities Debating Championships.

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The AGM for 2009 has now been moved to week 12 (previously week 11) in the normal Wednesday slot due to a clash with the Blues Awards dinner for a number of our debaters.

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Due to a clash with the Blues Awards dinner for a number of our top debaters, the AGM has now been changed to Wednesday 14 October – in week 12. This means that we will have a week off in week 11 instead. The calendar on the front page has been updated.

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Just to clarify – the AGM is now on Wed 7 Oct, so in week 11. Week 12 we will not have debating simply because it’s always a crazy time of year for everyone.

The end of year party is the Saturday after the last day of class – October 17th. You can get good and drunk because you have a whole week of study leave before exams start. No excuses.

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It was a long night with Pizza Hut being useless and a cold 1/2 hour break for a Sonny Thomas shaped fire drill, but besides that everything about the AGM was fantastic.

The committee for 2009 is:

President: Polly Higbee
Vice-President: Kathy Scott-Dowell
Secretary: Seb Templeton
Treasurer: Yogesh Patel
2nd Year Rep: Ella Edginton
General Exec: Emily Bruce, Stephen Whittington, Hugh McCaffrey, Ihaia Tichborne, Sarah Wilson

The most fantastic thing about the evening was the number of extremely talented people running, and with well thought out ideas and a lot to bring to the society. Not just next year’s exec but next year’s society looks like being an extremely vibrant, innovative, and committed one and that is fantastic to see. Eight people who ran weren’t able to make it onto the committee and each would have been brilliant to have. Next year will certainly be exciting and well done to Polly who will make an excellent President.

In other events at the AGM the President’s report was excellent, and a huge applause was given to Chris for his two years as President. Yogesh presented beautiful accounts, and Gareth Richards was made a Life Member of the society. Keep posted for more info on these.

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As mentioned in the weekly email, the AGM of the society is scheduled for our last Wednesday of term at the normal 6:30 SUB time. Get along and listen to the reports, vote for the positions, and run yourself if you’d like to be on the committee next year. There will be pizza provided, and we’ll go out for some final Wednesday drinks afterwards. The AGM is an extremely important evening, where you get your say on how things are run next year and on how you think they’ve gone this year. It’s key that we have a good showing so make sure you’re free to come along. The positions members can run for on the committee at the AGM are President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, 2nd yr rep, 5 x General Exec members.

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The AGM 2008 will be held on the last Wednesday of class in the 2nd trimester. Check here closer to the time for more information and a finalised date.

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