2022 AGM Minutes

Fri 25 Feb

Week 6 saw us hold our AGM - a time to look back on the year and look forward to who will be running the society for the next one! Here are the minutes...

A LOOK BACK ON THE YEAR - JOSH:

We don’t talk about it :)
COVID is here to stay, but we’ve managed well.
Events have been back in-person.
Increase in membership by approximately 30 compared to this time last year.
Academic:
- Advent of Code - Great fun had by those that participated.
- Lightning Talks - These have been very successful, with two sets per term. All talks are uploaded on YouTube for viewing - in particular, Joey’s talk on Rust has done well (over 2000 views now)!
- Other Talks - Not many, but thanks to Sam for Git Good.
- Programming Challenges - Great turnout at these.
Gaming:
- FNG has been back in person, along with VR and Rockband which have proved very popular. We purchased another Switch and more games, and we are always open to more suggestions.
- LANs have returned too. Enjoyed collaborations with MineSoc at these, along with GeoGuessr, Quiz Night, etc.
Socials:
- Laser Tag has returned - and we’re beating TableTop!
- Pub - We’ve been switching the venue around, seems to have increased turnout.
- Women + NB - Very successful events, along with a new Whatsapp chat which is going along nicely.
- WASD - 1st WASD Summer went well, and we’re planning for this year's event in Week 9 of Term 3.
There’s always more to do. Would like to reassess our academic/gaming/social split, and continue working on inclusivity within the society.

BUDGET - JOHN:

We still have lots of money.
John will be getting the incoming Treasurer to squeeze more money out of sponsors.

MOTIONS:

6 motions are proposed. Each will be presented by the proposer/seconder, and then there will be an opportunity for arguments for and against each point.
- Motion to add Provision for Shared Positions:
  - Keegan (Proposer) - We’ve managed to do things this year, but not as much as we’d like. It would be better to have more Exec per position, decided at the elected Exec’s discretion.
  - Questions:
    - Adam: What is the required number of officers?
    - Keegan: As required/decided by the elected Exec.
    - Adam: This could allow for the targeted exclusion of people.
    - Alex F: If the person in question wanted to be in the Exec, they should have won the election.
    - John: Will the SU even ratify this?
    - Josh/Keegan: In short, yes.
- Motion to add a Publicity Officer:
  - Keegan (Proposer) - Currently publicity is spread between some members of the Exec, but it is time-consuming, and it would both make sense for there to be a designated person in charge of this. This would allow the society to make better use of its social media accounts, which are severely underutilised currently.
  - Questions:
    - Adam: Should be called ‘Publicity and Marketing Officer’.
    - Keegan: That’s just word soup - better to keep it concise.
- Motion to Recategorize Officers:
  - Owen (Proposer) - Current organisation of ‘core’ exec doesn’t make much sense. Currently, the Gaming Coordinator is one of the core exec, but this is only due to there previously being an Academic president and a Gaming president. It would make more sense for the Secretary to replace the Gaming Coordinator as core exec, given their responsibilities.
  - Questions:
    - Contributor: Do the core exec have to attend SU training?
    - Skiros: No, they don't.
    - Contributor: It's in the rules.
    - Keegan: The society should not collapse if the Gaming Coordinator is not present.
- Motion to add Freshers Representative:
  - Owen (Proposer) - The society has had a lack of fresher engagement this year, and a fresher rep would help to solve this and is already a position included in many other societies.
  - Questions:
    - Contributor: Do we need to be a fresher and a member to vote?
    - Thomas/John: Yes, but by-elections have more lenient rules regarding eligibility to vote
    - Keegan: It’s worth noting that there is no quorum as it is a self-identifying position.
    - Jenny: How are you going to limit the voting to first years?
    - Skiros: It’s not hard to add an extension for this in our voting system.
- Motion to Rebrand Women's Officer:
  - Skiros (Proposer) - Women's Officer is currently not very inclusive regarding its name, we essentially want to fix this with a rebrand.
  - Questions:
    - Contributor: Why not expand to include other minorities that aren't gender-related?
    - Thomas: I don't think we have as much of an issue regarding other minority groups, compared to gender inclusivity.
    - Contributor: Why not have welfare officer as another elected position, rather than merged with this?
    - Owen: Could make them separate but would they have enough to do?
    - Alex D: Belief 3 does not seem to be addressed.
    - Josh: The motion document has been changed in the last couple of hours.
    - Many: Perhaps we should just remove Belief 3 from the motion?
- Motion to Delete the Exec Server:
  - Alex F (Proposer) - Week 5 FNG was cancelled, and the discussion was held in the private Exec server. Had the discussion been in public, there may have been a workaround. The idea is to replace the server with a couple of private channels for the things that do need to be discussed in private.
  - Questions:
    - Ella: How would you propose the non-exec helpers get keys to the cupboards (referring to members helping with FNG in Week 5)?
    - Alex: John was around but couldn't do it all.
    - Keegan: There’s nothing stopping the Exec from just making another server.
    - Alex/Owen: The point is more to encourage public discussion.
    - Josh: If you delete it, you lose history and useful files.
    - Keegan: We could archive it instead?
    - John: The server is very useful for organisation.
    - Thomas: Threads exist and are evolving now, which would help with the organisation aspect.

EXEC POSITIONS:

President:
- Overview by Josh: The president represents the society and makes sure things run smoothly, along with chairing Exec meetings.
- Candidates:
  - Keegan - Was the Academic Coordinator this year. Has been heavily involved in the society and is running to shift the focus of the society back towards the academic side. Has proposed many of the motions discussed today to make changes at the constitution level. Would like to increase academic output, without harming the gaming side of the society.
  - Onion - Very active in the society, and goes to the majority of the gaming events. Considers themself approachable and friendly. Has spoken to members and realises there is a disconnect between Freshers and the older years, aims to resolve this by improving fresher engagement.
  - Michal - Not present at the AGM.
- Questions:
  - Contributor to Onion: What is the most important thing you've learnt about the society?
    - Onion: People have been leaving the society, and freshers don't feel as they're being targeted.
    - Anything you'd specifically do to change this?
    - Onion: More advertising to the Freshers.
  - Question from online: What experience do you both have?
    - Keegan: Academic Coordinator for UWCS this year. Understands the workings of the society.
    - Onion: No experience as an Exec, but has helped with FNG this year.
  - Felix to Both: What is the biggest thing you'd like to change?
    - Keegan: More academic output.
    - Onion: Agrees, but also thinks the society should cater for all. Wants to do something related to this, but nothing specific in mind yet.
  - Question from online: Do you have thoughts about integrating with DCS better?
    - Onion: request the ability to write revision guides and hold revision sessions for modules. A CS262 revision session was held by the Coding Society and this should really be something we are doing.
    - Keegan: Agrees, but has been shot down many times in the past and is frustrated to find out it is indeed possible to do these things.
  - Question from online: What are your plans to shift the focus towards the academic side?
    - Keegan: Wants to hold more Programming competitions, specifically aimed at Freshers, along with more association with DCS. Holding a Hackathon would be nice too.
    - Onion: Agrees, likes lightning talks and wants to get more guest speakers to do these, including people from Industry.
  - Question from online: What are your plans to improve attendance?
    - Keegan: Half of our members are Freshers, but they don't attend events - thinks this is because we did not target WhatsApp which is their main platform. The motions proposed earlier aim to fix this.
    - Onion: Believes the trend is on the up, just need to continue improving accessibility.
  - Question from online: Provided sponsors get back on track, would you plan events with them, e.g. coding challenges with prizes provided?
    - Both: Absolutely agree.
Treasurer:
- Overview by John: The treasurer handles the society's finances and is heavily involved in obtaining sponsors for the society.
- Candidates:
  - Onion: Will not commit embezzlement. Plans to release a series of NFTs.
  - Alex and Joey: Will make good purchases and take UWCS onto the stock exchange. We want more sponsors because they give us money. We support free pizza and want to do merch too.
- Questions:
  - Questions from online: How do you aim to get more sponsors?
    - Both: Better communication with them, chasing up potential sponsors, etc.
  - Jenny to Alex and Joey: I’m concerned that this is a MineSoc takeover.
    - Alex and Joey: We don't actually intend to embezzle any funds.
  - Keegan to Both: What merch are you interested in providing?
    - Alex + Joey: Hoodies, programming socks, stickers, mousepads, and more. Would put out some polls if elected, to see what the members want.
    - Onion: Agrees with everything said.
  - Adam to Both: Would you be prepared to call sponsors?
    - Both: Yes, whatever is necessary to secure deals.
  - Felix to Both: More investment in server upgrades?
    - Both: Yes.
  - Question from online: Do you know anything about finance?
    - Joey: Yes.
  - Raumann to Both: What will you do if you get caught got doing fraud?
    - Joey: We wouldn’t get caught.
Secretary:
- Overview by Harry: The secretary handles most of the admin tasks for the society, including the newsletter, meeting minutes and room bookings.
- Candidates:
  - Max: Has been a course rep for the last two years. Is happy to help out where possible, including outreach to members that aren't aware of what's going on, as well as acting as a friendly face in the society for those who need it.
  - Onion: Back again.
  - Owen: Aims for more coordination to create more and bigger events, and already has experience as MineSoc secretary.
- Questions:
  - Question from online: What is the current newsletter missing?
    - Owen: Brevity - the top 3cm is prime real estate, so we need to utilise it.
    - Onion: Yes.
    - Max: Not much is missing, just need to get more engagement with it.
  - Question from online: What is the plan if you win multiple roles?
    - Onion: Would only consider holding two Exec roles.
    - Owen: Would only take one role, no concrete plan currently, but Gaming Coordinator has lots of candidates, so I might take Secretary over that.
  - Thomas to Onion: How would you cope with the workload?
    - Onion: Gaming Coordinator is already split up nicely, so that wouldn’t be too much work.
  - Contributor to all: What is your average WPM?
    - Onion: Don’t really know, around 100 probably.
    - Owen: Enough.
    - Max: Probably enough.
Academic Coordinator:
- Overview by Keegan: We're doomed.
- Candidates:
  - Max and Spchee: Both course reps. Want to run a hackathon and leetcode workshops. Wants to advertise lightning talks more, so people know they're there! Would also consider weekly assignment/coursework help sessions?
  - Onion: The society is meant to be academically focused but the Coding Society is doing a better job at this than us. Needs to be big changes - more lightning talks, more in general.
  - Keegan: This role fills the core objectives of the Society. Wants more academic coordinators as it's not possible for one person to do this job. Please vote for the shared position motion.
- Questions:
  - Question from online: How would you secure more speakers?
    - Keegan: It is very hard to get people to do lightning talks!
    - Onion: There probably are people that want to do talks but haven't had the chance.
    - Max and Spchee: Agree with Keegan that it is quite hard. There is no magic solution, but reaching out to sponsors and ex-students, and those that are active in related socs but perhaps not so active in UWCS, may help.
  - Question from online: Do you support study sessions?
    - Onion: Has gone to Lan to do work and finds it to be a good thing. Supports the idea.
    - Keegan: Would prefer to focus on specific topics and perhaps LAN isn't the best place, as when DCS labs are open 24/7, that will be more favourable.
    - Max and Spchee: Definitely something to look into.
  - Question from online: Can the two sides of the society be integrated better?
    - Onion: Yes - take working at LAN as an example.
    - Keegan: Speaking from experience, this doesn't always work, as they don't tend to mix.
    - Max and Spchee: Should keep both and have the coordinators focus on their jobs.
  - Question from online: Would you consider a collab with other societies (e.g. Warwick Coding Society, Warwick AI, Warwick Data Science Society)?
    - Onion: Generally this makes a lot of sense - would be good to collab and would increase the chance of a good turnout.
    - Max and Spchee: We both benefit if this happens.
    - Keegan: Is already in talks with the Coding Society and has collaborated with ChemSoc in the past.
  - Question from online: How will you engage with the department?
    - Onion: Ask them to host events with them, such as a lecturer doing a talk.
    - Max and Spchee: Believes the department will be willing.
    - Keegan: Didn't entirely jump on this at the start of term. Linux 101 was in collab with the department. Have been in contact more through this term though.
Gaming Coordinator:
- Overview by Thomas: Responsible for running FNG and LAN, and managing our collection of hardware.
- Candidates:
  - Laurence, Constantinos & Onion: All go to FNG nearly every week so we have experience.
  - Owen: Has had experience in gaming-related societies. Has helped to run FNG before and attended lots of events in general. Wants to coordinate with other societies too, like we've been doing with MineSoc already.
- Questions:
  - Brendan to all: What is your aim?
    - Onion: More events. Wants to transition FNG back to how it was pre-covid (e.g finishing later).
    - Constantinos: FNG currently doesn't have any structure. Would like to make a change to this.
  - Question from online: What is your favourite game?
    - Onion: Dark Souls 3.
    - Constantinos: Minecraft, but smash for FNG.
    - Owen: Minecraft, obviously.
  - Question from online: Which societies would you look to collab with?
    - Owen: Any that want to.
  - Question from online: Would you want more or less scheduled events for LAN?
    - Onion: It’s nice to have flexibility, but attendance seems to peak when we have events running.
    - Owen: More events means more people from different groups which is only a good thing.
    - Constantinos: More on the first day of LAN.
  - Question from online: Would you support alcohol at FNG?
    - All: It’s against the rules.
  - Question from online: Should FNG be moved to a different day?
    - Owen: People tend to go out on Fridays, but the department may not allow us to run it on another day. Perhaps a Thursday when less stuff is going on, but logistics may not work.
    - Constantinos: Friday is the best day if we look to extend it later into the night.
Tech Officer:
- Overview by Skiros: The Tech Officer handle our servers and renews certificates, along with maintaining websites, hardware, etc.
- Candidates:
  - Skiros, Adam & Felix: Pledge to run tech workshops, restart tech team and upgrade servers.
  - Onion: Will make sure stuff runs correctly.
- Questions:
  - Question from online: Do you have any experience administrating servers?
    - Skiros, Adam & Felix: Skiros was the Tech Officer this year, so obviously has experience. Felix has been involved in running the Minecraft server hosted by UWCS, and Adam has general experience.
    - Onion: ‘SSLC Certificates’
Social Secretary:
- Candidates:
  - Mat, Skiros & Alphex: Want to revive this part of the society with a mixture of events, both sober and drinking based. Skiros has already been doing some of this alongside their Tech Officer role this year.
  - Onion: Same as above really.
- Questions:
  - Question from online: How many socials would you be looking to run each term?
    - Mat, Skiros & Alphex: Would like to run an equal number of sober and drinking socials. Excluding the Weekly pub social, we think 4 is a nice number.
    - Onion: Agrees with the points made, wouldn’t want socials too close together as that makes them less important.
Women's Officer:
- Candidates:
  - Jenny and Preya: Preya is a fresher which is a good thing. Jenny has been pretty involved this year. We are running because there is an issue in the society with the gender divide. Want more involvement with the underrepresented groups, and would also act as another person at events to say hi to people who are nervous about joining in.
- Questions:
  - Ella: How would you integrate more people from underrepresented groups into the society?
    - More events for the underrepresented groups and specifically mention one of us will be at other events.
  - Adam to Jenny: How would you balance your time between sleeping and the role?
    - I think that answers itself… I like sleeping but there are 24 hours in the day.