The first meeting of Game Design Council for 2016-17.

1. Game Design Council
Minutes: Thursday 24 March 2016
CP&R – DH1, Devonshire House
12:30 to 13:30

2. Agenda
• Equipment Purchase authority
• Student Government
– Executive, Legislative, Judicial.
• Student Elections
– Brief report.
• Student Ideas
– Suggested changes for 2016-17
– Starting at/with Handover Council dates
– Enacts Student Government in its’ new form.
• To Do List
– What needs to be done before Freshers’ Week

3. In Attendance
• DVP Game Design – Reece Fitzgerald
• Student Elections Officer – Dominic Kalantary
• Student Ideas Officer – Gabrielle Knight
• VP Activities – Katie O’Connor
• Staff Support – Gary McLachlan

4. Equipment Purchase
• GoPro Hero4 - £159.99
• Head Strap - £19.99
• Remote Control - £64.99
– GoPro Hero 4 is capable of live streaming via
periscope, which is why this model has been chosen.
– Shadow Council will be live streamed as a permanent
record.
– Other Councils may choose either periscope or
traditional minutes/live tweeting.
– Requires Council authority to recommend the
purchase.
– There is an existing Idea passed in favour.

5. Student Government
• Executive, Legislative, Judicial. (Separation of Powers.)
– For the most part, the collective student body is to be regarded
as sovereign legislator.
• Mini Councils are also part of the Legislature.
• Mini Councils can produce ‘policy’ based on their manifesto
pledges, or when necessary from Ideas.
• Executive – all Sabbs and DVPs.
• Carry out Manifesto pledges.
• Fulfil the will of the Legislature using Student Ideas.
• Judicial – Shadow Council, Elections Officer for Election
Rule interpretation, Ideas Officer for Ideas Rule
interpretation.
• Hold Executive to account for decisions.
• Shadow Council can veto the Executive by qualified majority.

6. Student Government
• Current Planning
– Bill of Student Rights – to express the rights and responsibilities
of membership.
– Current powers / rights left intact as they stand in law, but
described better and in shorter (and clearer) form.
– Will incorporate #Right2Debate into Fast Ideas and declared
Rights to put an end to the myths around Safe Space and No
Platform.
– Grants the sovereign rights of legislature to the collective student
body (clarifying their existing power.)
– Proposed (project initiation stage) changes to the elections using
10 years of research to develop a new digital alternative – this
one has to be signed off legally first, since the requirements of
the 1994 Education Act have to be met first.
– Game Design Council will be involved at

7. Student Elections
• Student Elections
– Lower number of candidates.
– Lower turn-out overall for the equivalent posts – some posts
increased turn-out due to perceived importance of roles.
• National Picture
– Falling turnouts (1% year on year for 2 years.)
– Falling participation (fewer candidates in every election for 3
years.)
• Why?
– Election systems were primarily designed a decade ago, using
the pre-existing paper ballots as a template.
– This is not what people expect in digital terms any more – these
election systems are causing harm and confusion in terms of
engagement.

8. Student Ideas
• Suggested changes for 2016-17
– Commencement date 11 days before Handover – so that all
Ideas closing after Handover or not going to Handover are
graded and passed/failed using the system that:
• First Class – auto-pass (as now)
– Cannot be vetoed by Exec or Shadow Council
• Upper Second – auto-pass (as now)
– Can be vetoed by Exec / Shadow Council
• Lower Second – conditional pass (new)
– Can be vetoed by Exec / Shadow Council
• Third Class – conditional fail (new)
– Needs an individual Change Agent
• Fail – auto-fail (as now)

9. Student Ideas
• Changes:
– Lower Second – conditional pass (new)
• Can be vetoed by Exec / Shadow Council
• Basically is the same method of passage as that used in
Parliament for Statutory Instruments…
• 21 day period of notification, where the veto can be exercised
to strike the Idea down
• Staff will carry out project planning start-up during these 21
days – of the Idea passes then action will be taken
immediately; if it fails then little time will have been lost.
– Third Class – conditional fail (new)
• Needs an individual Change Agent
• 21 day period of notification, if no Change Agent steps
forward in that time then the Idea fails.

10. Student Ideas
• Speed and Consistency
– This gives us speed and consistency in the way we treat all
Ideas.
– It still allows Council to veto.
– The use of this veto carries a requirement to give clear reasons –
that provides the clarity which is currently missing from (what
looks like) arbitrary pass/fail within Council.
– It makes pass/fail automatic under all circumstances.
• Enacts the sovereign principle
– Student Ideas come from individual students and are collectively
voted on by students.
– Therefore, a passing score has as much authority behind it as
any motion through Council, and arguably is better advertised
and informed and should not be failed without the exercise of a
veto carrying an explicit reason for failure.

11. Student Ideas
• New Category: Fast Ideas
– Fast Ideas incorporate elements of the #Right2Debate agenda in
being a more ‘petition-like’ mechanism for cases where students
want/need a faster response than the standard 10 day voting
period.
– Voting will be open for 48 hours
– To pass, the Idea must be 25 votes positive against any negative
votes
• Standard Disclaimers apply…
– The Idea cannot pass by fewer than 25 positive over negative
votes
– The Idea cannot pass if it is forbidden by law
– The Idea will not pass if it is a boycott or ban which does not also
pass as a Large Idea (i.e. over 450 or 900 voters)
– The Idea cannot spend over £1,000 if it does not pass as a

12. Student Ideas
• Elected Manifesto promise
– The #Right2Debate agenda is the basis of a Manifesto for a
Liberation Councillor.
– It is easier to enact through Student Ideas than to create another
bureaucratic process managed by staff in an unclear way.
– Specifically, there are problems of ‘mission creep’ in the methods
outlined in the #Right2Debate.
– There are also problems with language in the #Right2Debate
platform, which throws no additional clarity onto the grind
between freedom of speech and safe spaces.
– The Student Bill of Rights will make the division absolutely clear.
– Our commitment to safe spaces is on a voluntary basis only – a
forced safe space is not safe for any participant as a matter of
principle since it involves coercion not consent.

13. Student Ideas
• Project Management
– In a change from the past two years, project management will be
undertaken by staff.
– Staff will pass specific actions to Executive students – when
leadership is required to ‘smooth’ problems.
– This is required at this point to manage the workload – it was not
foreseen when Ideas was set up that we could possibly get more
than double the previous method of engagement.
– The previous method of engagement (open meetings) generated
about 6 Idea-like actions per year.
– We do more than that on some days, and every week this year
since September.
– The Sabbs cannot cope – there is an existing workload that has
to be done, and Manifesto pledges that take priority.

14. To Do List
• Project Management
– Ready to deliver properly an efficient, clear Student Ideas
system.
• Equipment
– Ready to deliver transparent meetings for Shadow Council and
the legislative Councils.
• Student Elections
– Ready to deliver any changes for the new year, including the
thoughts and opinions of current elected officers and groups.
• Policy
– Any changes to Bylaws in place and approved.
• Games!
– Introduction material and events for new students
during Fresher’s Week

15. Votes cast in session
• Project Management/Ideas grades
– Unanimous vote to accept the changes to Student Ideas which mean staff project
manage, Sabbs will lead when required, and the pass/fail is automatic with
Council to have a veto to strike down an Idea (with clear reasons given.)
• Equipment
– Unanimous vote to accept the equipment purchase, in order to make Council
transparent and also to carry out the Student Idea passed earlier in the year to
film Council.
• Student Elections
– Information only at this stage.
• Policy
– Information only at this stage.
• Games
– To start thinking about ways of introducing new students to Student Ideas,
Student Elections and They Represent You