VMU Student Parliament: the most relevant issues and the election of the chairman were discussed
At the first meeting of the newly elected Vytautas the Great University Student Parliament, representatives of faculties, academies and doctoral students got acquainted with the activities of the parliament, as well as the most important documents regulating the work, and elected the president of the parliament. Everyone also shared their insights on the biggest visible problems in the university.
This year, as every year, the President of the Student Parliament was elected during the first meeting. At the meeting, Monika Ražauskaitė, a fourth-year student of the Faculty of Humanities, was nominated as a candidate, and Liepa Kalinaitė, a first-year student of the Academy of Education, nominated herself. Elections were held anonymously, remotely. Before the vote, all members of the parliament got acquainted with the introductions of the candidates and their motivation for occupying these positions. M. Ražauskaitė received the most support (33 votes), 4 MPs voted for L. Kalinaitė, 2 abstained.
In her motivational letter, the new chairperson stated that she is very familiar with and understands the activities of the parliament, as she has been a member of parliament for the fourth year, as well as currently being the coordinator of the Student Representatives of the VMU Student Representation (SA) and actively involved in work activities organized at the university or on a national scale. groups. Monika shares that her "main goal when running for the position of Speaker of the Parliament is to fully organize the activities of the Parliament, to structure and plan all meetings and work in them."
At the parliamentary session, representatives of each academic department discussed among themselves and highlighted the most prominent problems faced by students in their environment. Nine problems were mentioned, ranging from lack of textbooks or room heating to feedback between teachers and students. According to the participants, the most important and urgent problems were the issue of the student campus and poor communication between students and teachers and the administration.
The issue of the student campus in the Academy is relevant due to its isolation and the lack of use of its opportunities. It is a place that is not well known to most of the students, so their activity in it is passive. We want to include the Academy in the lives of students, introduce them to the campus and thus attract as many students as possible. The second relevant problem raised was communication gaps between university staff and students. A significant number of MPs noted that this is indeed a relevant topic, especially for first-year students, but a significant number of senior students are also faced with it. These questions remain open and will be discussed in the future.
Also, during the meeting, the dates of the next meetings were proposed and decided. According to the Work Regulations of VDU SA, meetings of the Student Parliament must be held at least once a quarter, but more meetings are planned. The next parliamentary session will be held at the end of January.
