Thursday’s (Feb 6) General Meeting saw motions passed to support reform of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA), as well as create the role of Arts Officer.
The GRA motion was proposed by LGBT Officer, Elijah Graham, who sent forward a statement to be read at the meeting.
In the statement Graham said that he felt that the union was supportive throughout his transition, but that current legislation prevents inclusion.
He went on to talk about the burden placed on trans people, who currently have to pay for some assessments and medical appointments.
“Surely you can understand the distress. I ask that students are empathetic to this”, Eli’s statement read.
There were no arguments against, but many students spoke in support of Eli’s motion and offered messages of support to the Trans community.
The motion passed 99 votes to five, with four abstentions.
Another motion passed saw the creation of an new executive officer role.
This Arts Officer role, proposed by Abigail Ferguson, will represent all of the arts societies (Live Music, Drama, and Musical Theatre) and any future arts societies in the Communities Zone. They will also help oversee the development of Airthrey Cottage, the space shared by the arts societies.
It was put forward that the Arts Officer would be able to help boost the opportunities and reputations of the arts societies.
A motion to support taking a call for greater mental health support to the NUS conferences was proposed by NUS Delegates Hope Murray and Daniel Deery.
The motion will allow delegates to take their concerns to the NUS conference, and call for a NUS to put more pressure on universities to make mental health a priority.
Motions to make amendments to the union’s constitution and the Equalities Zone were also passed.
Featured Image: Stirling Students’ Union/Elaine Shepherd
