Ideas Board

I would like to propose a review of the current requirement for ideas to reach 900 votes before they are considered. While this threshold may be achievable for larger faculties based on the main campuses, it is not realistic for students within the Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences (HELS). Many HELS courses are delivered on smaller or specialist campuses, and the BCUSU presence and engagement within these areas is extremely limited. As a result, students are far less likely to even be aware of the ideas board, let alone participate in voting. This creates a structural disadvantage for HELS students. Issues that directly affect us struggle to gain traction, not because they lack support, but because the voting threshold does not reflect the size or engagement level of our campus communities. Additionally, HELS students currently do not have active representation on the BCUSU board, which further contributes to the feeling that our concerns and priorities are overlooked. Reducing the vote threshold, or introducing a proportional or campus-sensitive threshold, would ensure that students across all faculties and campuses have a fair opportunity to bring forward ideas that can be considered and acted upon. The current system unintentionally favours larger campus populations. Adjusting it would allow BCUSU to better represent the full diversity of its student body, including those studying in smaller faculties and specialist programmes. This proposal is not about lowering standards, but about making student representation more equitable and accessible for everyone at BCU.