Eleanor Doughty explores the inner sanctum of the student union
So, you?ve arrived at university. You?ve signed up, signed in and registered every single

life detail. You?ve got the coveted student card, complete with TopShop or Topman discount, and you?re pretty much ready to go. You?ve done the fun stuff like organising your room? oh no, wait, your mum did that. But now she?s gone home, it?s time to get exploring.
Where?s the Hub"
One of the first places that you?ll need to go is the student union. ?Why"? you cry, clutching at an image from times gone by of Arthur Scargill and his merry troop of trade unionists. But don?t be fooled by history ? a university student union isn?t anything like that. Not now. Or at least, it shouldn?t be. The student union is the place where things happen, where plans are made, where people write the policies and guidelines that make your university run like clockwork. They deal in the day-to-day banality ? the joy, the woe, the rumble-tumble of student life.
Democracy Works
Best of all, it?s a democracy! Every year the union will have an election to determine who you, the students, think should run it. It?s a real election ? like the general election ? and trust us, people really do take it that seriously. But for you, it?s a chance to affect the things that happen in your everyday student life. In these elections, people will put through policies about library hours and how much the coffee is in the campus shops, so it?s im...