Section I – General – General 

I. Definitions 
A. The following definitions apply throughout these standing orders: 
1. Member refers to an ordinary student member of the Union as outlined in the Constitution 
and in section II below; 
2. GM refers to a General Meeting; 
3. EGM refers to an Extraordinary General Meeting; 
4. AGM refers to an Annual General Meeting; 
5. WGM refers to a Welcoming General Meeting; 
6. E Officer refers to the Education Officer; 
7. C & S Officer refers to the Communication and ServicesOfficer; 
8. SA Officer refers to the Student Activities Officer; 
9. M & PS Officer refers to Medical & Postgraduate Students’ Officer, 
10. F & D Officer refers to the Finance & Democracy Officer; 
11. W Officer refers to the Welfare Officer; 
12. NUS refers to the National Union of Students; 
13. the Union refers to the University College London Union; 
14. UCL or College refers to University College London; 
15. SSEES refers to the School of Slavonic and East European Studies; 
16. RUMS refers to the Royal Free and UCL Medical Students; 
17. ULU refers to the University of London Union. 
II. Membership of the Union 
A. The regulations for Union membership shall be as given in the Constitution. 
B. Membership fees for associated and visiting memberships shall be set by Council. 
C. All registered UCL students are automatically members of UCL Union. Any student has the 
right not to be a member of the Union. The procedures for exercising that right are as follows: 
1. Each year, a membership period, which shall normally be the third and fourth weeks of 
the Autumn Term, will be publicised on the official Union noticeboard and in any other 
way the Executive may specify from time to time. 
2. Any student wishing to declare non-membership may do so only during that period, using 
the appropriate forms. The declaration remains in effect until the end of that academic 
session; 
3. A list of non-members will be maintained by the Finance & Democracy Officer of UCL 
Union. 
D. Students who have exercised their right to opt out under paragraph C above have the 
following rights of access to services and activities: 
1. Access to all non-grant aided facilities managed by the Union (currently bars, catering 
outlets, shops, hairdressers, and games machines, and the Bloomsbury Fitness Centre) 
provided the appropriate fee or charge for the service has been paid, which shall not be 
higher than that charged to Union members; 
2. Ability to join any Union society or club, provided the appropriate membership fee has 
been paid, which shall not be higher than that charged to Union members, however 
restrictions as to elected positions apply; 
3. Access to advice provision at the grant-aided Rights and Advice service; 
4. Access to the grant-aided sports grounds, which are owned by UCL or are held in trust for 
UCL students, provided the appropriate fee or charge for the service has been paid, 
which shall not be higher than that charged to Union members. 
E. Students who have exercised their right to opt out under paragraph C above may not 
participate in the democratic processes of the Union as outlined below nor may they be 
involved in any position where they would be in a decision making role involving the Union's 
funds, policies, procedures, or services. These students: 
1. may not hold elective or appointed office in the Students' Union: including sabbatical or 
non-sabbatical officer, Council Member, or Union committee member. 
2. are not eligible to vote in the Union's general or sectional elections or in Union General 
Meetings. 
3. may not serve as an officer of any Union society or sports club. 
4. may not vote in any election or general meeting of any Union society or sports club. 
5. may not serve as Union representatives on committees which are part of the governance 
structure of UCL or its departments. 
III. Statement of Equal Opportunities 
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A. . UCL Union is fully committed to equal opportunities, and will strive at all times to ensure that 
no Member or member of Staff may be subject to discrimination in any form by any other 
Members on the grounds of: age; ability or disability; ethnic origin; regional origin; caring or 
parental responsibilities; sex; gender identity; marital status; nationality; physical appearance; 
race; religious faith or affiliation or lack thereof; political affiliation, opinions or lack thereof; 
sexual orientation; spent or irrelevant criminal convictions; trade union affiliation; employment 
status; socio-economic background; medical condition; genetic features; membership of a 
national minority; full or part time student status; mental health status or any irrelevant 
distinction. 
B. Wherever necessary, use will be made of lawful exemptions to cater for the special needs of 
particular groups. 
C. All individual Members, including Officers, are responsible for their own actions and 
behaviour. 
D. All individual Officers should strive to ensure equal opportunities practice within their remit. 
E. All Meetings must accommodate the needs of all Members, and be accessible as far as is 
reasonably practicable. This includes, but is not limited to, the following conditions: 
1. No Meeting may be held in a venue that is not accessible to all Members. All meetings 
must be held in venues that do not serve alcohol, and which may be accessed by 
Members with limited mobility. 
2. All paperwork must be provided in an accessible format to any Member who gives 
reasonable notice. 
3. This also applies to all Clubs & Societies. 
F. None of the above shall be taken to infringe on any member’s democratic right to make an 
informed decision during Elections. 
IV. Definition Of Harassment 
A. Harassment may be defined as behaviour in contravention of UCL Union's equal opportunities 
policy. In particular it is when : 
1. The behaviour interferes with another person's work or social life or creates an 
intimidating or hostile environment; 
2. Submission to this conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of a 
person's employment or right to enjoy the Union's facilities; 
B. All complaints about harassment within Union facilities or during a Union activity will be 
addressed in a manner as outlined by the Standing Orders on complaints procedures. 
C. Harassment constitutes a disciplinary offence. 
V. Quorum 
A. For purposes of determining quorum for General Meetings and Referenda and the numbers 
required to call an EGM or petition for a referendum or ballot on affiliation, the Finance & 
Democracy Officer shall ascertain as accurately as possible the number of students 
registered at UCL at the start of every academic year. From this number shall be subtracted 
the students who have declared that they are not Union members in that year. This number 
shall be the basis of quorum calculation, and shall apply throughout the year. 
B. Until this figure can be calculated, the previous year’s figure shall apply. 
VI. Union Policy 
A. Policy adopted on any matter at a GM, Council or Referendum shall be binding on the Union 
for the next six terms including the term in which it is adopted, except in the case of election 
to Honorary Life Membership or where the motion specifies a shorter term. 
B. In the sixth term, the policy may be renewed for a further six academic terms at the last 
normal Council of the term. 
VII. Affiliations 
A. The Union may affiliate to external organisations which assist it in providing services, 
provided that such affiliation is not outside the Union's objects as defined in the Constitution. 
B. The Union shall annually publish on the Official Union Notice Board and in its annual report a 
list of current affiliations, the cost of each affiliation, and the relationship of each affiliation to 
the service provision. 
C. Any new affiliations decided during the year shall be posted on the Official Union Notice 
Board. 
D. Unless a request is received for a ballot on any particular affiliation as outlined below, the 
affiliations shall be deemed to be approved by the membership for the next year. 
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E. . The question of continued affiliation to any particular organisation can be decided by a secret 
ballot in which all Union members are eligible to vote, provided that a request is received from 
at least 5% of the current membership. 
F. Other aspects of ballots on affiliations shall be handled as for referenda. 
VIII. Reporting To The Membership 
A. The Union shall publish an annual report for submission at a Union Council, which shall then 
be submitted to the College Council at or before its last normal meeting of each session. 
B. The report shall contain a statement that the Union operates in a fair and democratic manner 
and that it has properly accounted for its finances. 
C. It shall contain a report on the Union's finances including procedures for allocations to clubs 
and societies, the outcome of general Union elections, a report of any collections, and a 
report of current affiliations. 
D. Enough copies should be printed such that the report will be available to anyone who wishes 
to read it: one copy for each department within college, two copies to be held at each UCL 
Library and one copy to be held at Union reception. 
IX. Freedom of Speech 
A. The Union is required to observe the UCL 'Arrangements and Code of Practice for the 
Operational Management of Meetings and Other Functions Held on College Premises' in 
relation to Freedom of Speech as required by Section 43 of the Education (No. 2) Act of 1986. 
X. Honorary President 
A. An Honorary President may be elected by a General Meeting for the following academic year. 
B. The Honorary President shall not use the name of the Union or of UCL for political or other 
sectarian purposes. 
C. The Honorary President according to their particular qualifications shall further the aims of the 
Union. 
D. The proposer of a candidate for the office of Honorary President shall be responsible for 
bringing these standing orders to the notice of the candidate before the election. 
XI. Amendments 
A. Standing Orders may be amended by Special Resolution. 
B. The Special Resolution must be passed by a two thirds majority at two consecutive Council 
meetings, two consecutive General Meetings or by a two thirds majority in a referendum. 
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