Dunfermline 2009 - Autumn Conference

I’m sure very few of you were able to attend federal party conference in Bournemouth this week due to it being Freshers’ Week. However, there is an opportunity to get involved with the Liberal Democrats at a national level by coming along to the one-day Scottish Party Autumn Conference.

This year, it will be held in Dunfermline and the agenda will largely consist of constitutional matters. There are fringe events you can attend, however, including topics such as electoral reform, the environment and housing policy. A number of important party figures will be attending the conference and you will get the opportunity to chat or have a photo with some of the bigger names in politics. Last year the Society met Vince Cable and Tavish Scott.

If you register before October 3^rd you will receive a discounted price. You must be a member of the Liberal Democrat party to get into party conferences. The cost for a Society member in the party is just £7.50 (tick the box marked LYS). If you are a Society member and not in the party and wish to go, you must either first join the party or contact a member of the committee who will help you out.

The conference will take place on Saturday 31st October and last all day. You will need to get a train to Dunfermline, or a coach changing in Perth. You can arrange to travel with the Society by emailing uoalibdems@hotmail.co.uk and letting us know that you are going.

A “Fresher” Start - Give it a Go

This year the Liberal Democrats will be hosting a stall at the Freshers’ Fayre. Here you can find out more about the society and its committee members, the events we are planning for the upcoming year, how to contact us and our major campaigns. You can also sign up to our mailing list; join the Society; or even join the Liberal Democrat party if you’re really keen. We can be found inside the marquee on King’s Field during the Societies Day in Freshers’ Week. Check out www.ausa.org.uk for more details.

If you’re not sure about joining the Society, or have decided to join us but want to get more hands on experience before sticking with it, we are participating in AUSA’s Give it a Go scheme. On Saturday 26^th September, you can meet the Society at the HUB at 9am for transport to Dyce and Bucksburn (or meet us there at 10am), where we will spend the morning campaigning.

This will involve handing out leaflets, knocking on people’s doors to find out their concerns, and asking people what they believe and how that will affect their vote. You will not be expected to know any of the LibDem’s policies if you are a first-timer, and you will be accompanied by a member of the Society when knocking on doors. No one will be made to anything they are not comfortable with.

After all that hard work and training Freshers’ to campaign in public, we will of course be exercising our civil liberties to drink freely in large quantities. You can join us at The Bobbin at 3pm for a pub lunch where you will meet members of the Society and can ask us questions about getting more involved, talk politics or just make new friends.

If you want to join us for the pub lunch and not the campaigning, that’s fine. Please let us know if you intend to do that by emailing uoalibdems@hotmail.co.uk. You will find details of the event in Freshers’ guides.

We look forward to seeing you! Welcome to Aberdeen!

Presidential Debate

On Thursday 24^th September, the Liberal Democrat Society will be participating in an inter-party debate! The Presidents of the five parties represented on campus will all be getting together to tell Freshers why they should join their society. This is you opportunity to learn more about us as a Society as well as about our politics, party policy and the other parties that we work alongside.

This is the first in a series of events organised as part of an inter-party grouping trying to combat student apathy and increase political participation. It will be hosted by JP's University Bar & Grill, one of this year’s official Freshers’ Week sponsors. More details can be found on our Facebook page in the links to the right.

Jenny Marr will be representing the Liberal Democrats and debating with Andrea Sharpe (Conservative), Calum Darling (Labour), Andrew Sweeney (SNP) and a member of the SWP.

When all is said and done, you will have the opportunity to meet other members of the Society, have a drink and make some new friends. If you decide you want to get involved with any of the parties on campus, you can use the opportunity to approach their committee members – the Liberal Democrats will all be there.

EGM - Secretary, Treasurer, Social Secretary and First Year Rep Wanted!

The Liberal Democrats will be holding an EGM on October 15th with Alistair Carmichael MP coming to chat with the society afterwards. This will elect a new Treasurer to replace Jason M. Teiken, who left for Minnesota recently. We will also elect a new Secretary to replace our former Secretary who has now resigned from the party. A Social Secretary and First Year Representative shall be elected from scratch.

This will also give members the opportunity to pass an amendment to our constitution (dependent on whether AUSA passed the first one). If you have your own amendment to make, you can get a copy of the original by emailing us. You can also put your name forward as a candidate for election by emailing uoalibdems@hotmail.com. Your candidacy must be in at least a fortnight before the EGM for constitutional reasons.

If you want to stand, the deadline is 5pm on 1st October. You can join us for the EGM on the 15th at 5pm with Alistair Carmichael joining us from 7pm.

Égalité – the new Society magazine!

Over summer the Society has been working hard designing a new magazine and writing articles for you to read. It will be published quarterly with a special Christmas edition on top. You can obtain a hard copy at the Freshers’ Fayre or download it online. It will be emailed to everyone on the mailing list shortly after publication.

The first edition contains articles from Jason Teiken, our American correspondent in Minnesota; John Sleigh, our PPC for Aberdeen South; Callum Leslie from Liberal Youth Scotland; and our very own Jenny Marr discussing the upcoming “Jenny Marr Show”!

The next edition will be released in December for Christmas containing guest articles from leading Liberal Democrat politicians and features from our correspondents across the globe!

You can get hold of the Freshers’ Edition by clicking here.

The Plan – Semester One

A new year is about to start and the Freshers’ Fayre is only around the corner. Here is a short update of what the Society has been up to over the summer to ensure that the next 12 months with us are as enjoyable and educational as possible. This is a rough guide to the first semester with the Liberal Democrats.

Last week, Jenny and Alex met with Aberdeen North constituency to arrange activist days for Freshers’ and throughout the year. Although Aberdeen South is our target for the General Election, needing just 1300 more votes to win from Labour with the Tories trailing behind in third, both halls of residence are situated in North. For training activists near to their home ground and ease of access, the Society will be coordinating some events in the north of the city that we hope will provide new member with the essential skills for campaigning come the General Election next June.

We are also arranging visits from politicians to speak at the University. This year, however, there will be a different style to discussions. Rather than the textbook lecture format that we have come to expect, the Society will be informing speakers that they will be limited on lecture time and expected to respond to a Q&A session in the style of a Town Hall debate from members. We hope this will allow anybody participating the opportunity to learn more about the party, the politicians and politics in general. Asking questions is always the best way to learn.

We also have Scottish Autumn Conference on October 14th, which you must register for (party members only) and the new Society newsletter due to be published on September 11th!

Finally, there will be a workshop from the Electoral Reform Society in November that Alex is currently arranging with Amy Rodgers, their director in Scotland. This will give everybody in the university an opportunity to learn about the benefits of electoral reform, how it has already affected them and the campaign for more change.

Needless to say, the vast majority of events will be followed by the inevitable pub trip to which all are invited.

New Committee: the Marr Administration

Today Aberdeen University Liberal Democrats held their Annual General Meeting. The minutes for the meeting are available by e-mailing us at uoalibdems@hotmail.co.uk.

The new Executive for 2009/10 is led by the new Society President, Jenny Marr.

If you wish to contact the society please email us at the address above ONLY.

An EGM will be called in the new academic year to fill the position of Social Secretary. For the time being the position will be presided over by the committee as a whole.

The new President gave an acceptance speech at the AGM and outlined her vision for the coming year.