VIHREÄ LISTA - The Green list - election programme / manifesto

Know who you vote in the Student Union Council elections! The Green List offers a responsible and critical alternative for everyone who has interests and concerns beyond the next overall party.

Quality education available for everybody at no charge

A university is not a factory. Higher education and research need to be seen as something more complex and meaningful than a market product. The Green List is opposed to tuition fees and the commercialisation of education: as soon as the upcoming experimental phase has ended, the government should abandon plans to charge tuition from students from outside the EU/EEA countries. Sufficient basic funding has to be guaranteed to all disciplines and fields of science. High standards of education need to be maintained and all students must have chance to flexibly complete a degree in a sensible way, regardless of restricted study times.

• Decision-making bodies at faculty and departmental level must consist of equally-sized representations from professors, other staff and students, as is the current situation.
• If the new University Act is accepted by the Finnish Parliament in its proposed form, the body responsible for selecting the University Board must have equal representation from students, professors and other staff. People chosen to the Board must have strong ties to universities.
• Student-teacher ratio must be improved so that students can be treated as individuals. Admissions should be reduced in several fields.
• There must be enough courses and textbooks available. Use of electronic study materials cannot be seen simply as a way to increase cost-effectiveness.
• It should also result in better availability of material.
• Taking examinations anonymously should be made possible via computer use in a supervised environment.

Sustainable and ethical ownership

The Green List prizes stability and risk-avoidance in managing the Student Union's assets. In its finance management, business activities and investments, the Student Union needs to act ethically and transparently, taking into account all principles of sustainable development. Thanks to the Green List's initiatives, use of fair trade products, organically-grown products and locally-produced food has increased in the student restaurant chain Unica, partially owned by the Student Union. In the future, the Student Union's values must be ever more visible in ownership policy.

• If necessary, the Student Union membership fee can be moderately increased.
• Owning businesses is not a value in itself. Profits from businesses owned by the Student Union should be regularly paid to the Union. Unica needs to develop customer benefits for Student Union members.
• The Student Village Foundation (TYS) should offer rooms for sub-organisations and the entire Student Union. The Student Union must develop a clear political position concerning the repairs of the Student Houses buildings at the foot of the University Hill.
• All Unica restaurants should use more organically-grown food products.
• Vegetarian food served at university restaurants should be varied and always provide full nutrition. Vegan food should be easily available and served more often.
• Fair trade coffee should be the only brand of coffee served at Unica restaurants.

The Student Union exists to serve its members

The central function of the Student Union is to support the student community. To accomplish this, the Student Union has to provide support to a wide variety of different sub-organisations, encourage students to form organisations on their own and offer individual students high-quality services and events.

• The Student Union's sub-organisations need room both at the university and at Student Village Foundation (TYS) buildings.
• The Student Union Sauna needs longer opening hours.
• The Student Union library should be made better, not closed down.
• It should finally be possible to load money on the student card and use it in payments.
• The student newspaper needs enough funding.
• The role of the Committees should be increased the preparation of the Student Union's decisions.
• The direction of the Student Union's sponsorship and cooperation deals with businesses needs to be lined out by the Council.

Equality equals action

Equality among students is one of the Green List's main goals. The Student Union must treat equally and with respect not only people of different genders, but also immigrants and sexual minorities as well as older students, students with children and students who are only partially capable of work. The Student Union should keep the principle of equality in mind in all of its actions and decisions. It should also work to advance equality at the university and in the surrounding society.

• When selecting people to serve in its decision-making bodies, the Student Union should aim for balanced gender representation.
• Accessibility issues must be taken into account in all Student Union and sub-organisation activities.
• Equality must also be served at the university, e.g. in faculty appointments and grant decisions.
• Gender effects must always be assessed when changes are made in academic policy or student financial aid.

International affairs as an important everyday part of university life

Tuition fees do not create international connections. The best way to make the university more international is with good degree programmes, language courses and proper integration. Even those Student Union members who do not speak Finnish should not only have access to the most important Student Union documents but also the chance to actively join Student Union life. The Student Union should encourage all its members to participate in international activities both at home and abroad.

• The university must arrange enough Finnish language and culture classes on both basic and advanced levels for international students. The needs of special groups such as immigrants have to be taken into account in the planning of language courses.
• The Student Union has to aim towards the regular use of two languages in its communication. More English-language information is needed, and
• English-language Student Union activities have to be made possible.
• If fluency in Finnish is not necessary for a job or task at the university or at the Student Union, it should not be required from applicants.
• The university language centre needs more resources. The variety of language courses on offer has to remain wide.
• International degree and exchange students must have suitable English-language teaching available. The quality of international degree programmes has to be closely observed.
• The Student Union must work to increase the role of departmental student organisations in the recruitment of international tutors.

Green university in a green city

The Student Union must take environmental issues into account in all its actions, from purchases to cooperation with the municipality. The Student Union should also participate actively in public discussion and work in both word and deed to advance sustainable development in our society. Members of the Student Union are not only students but also citizens!

• Turku should be a city of pedestrians, bicyclists and functional mass transit. We don.t need enormous underground parking lots!
• The university needs an up-to-date set of environmental policy guidelines.
• The Student Village Foundation should use more green energy.
• Wasting use of energy and paper must be reduced. The Student Village Foundation should organise campaigns to stop wasting electricity and to promote recycling!

Development cooperation - for the good of our common Earth

Members of the Student Union are interested in more than just their everyday lives and personal gains. The Student Union's development cooperation is an important, time-honoured tradition supported also by current members. The Student Union should use the voice of the student community in discussing globalisation and do its part in helping developing countries.

• Target projects of the voluntary development cooperation payments collected with the Student Union membership fee should be selected according to the principles of sustainable development. At least one environmental project must be included. Students should be able to donate to the development projects throughout the year e.g. via special lunch items or collection boxes located in student restaurants.
• The Student Union should continue to have a target project of its own.
• The continuity of the Student Union's development cooperation must be guaranteed at least for the duration of every project support period granted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
• The 0,7 % cooperation development goal should be applied to the Student Union's budget by the year 2010.

Do we really want burnt-out graduates with no experience of anything beyond their studies?

Students have the right to have a life outside their studies. All changes to the student financial aid system must be done on the terms of students. living expenses, not on those of quick graduation. It should also be possible to study without having to work on the side to earn a living. Students. housing needs do not cease for the summer, so the student housing supplement should not either. Student financial aid needs to be tied to an index to ensure that its purchasing power is not destroyed by rising costs.

• All faculties should offer enough study counselling.
• More information on mental health services should be made available.
• Illness should never be punished - the Student Health Service should be funded through yearly basic payments, not appointment fees.
• Intoxicant-free activities by sub-organisations should be encouraged by the Student Union.