The office will not be open as usual during the summer, we will be back middle of August. Of course, if you need anything, you can always email luna@luna.lu.se. Have a nice break and we will see you after the summer!

The union board met for its 19th and final meeting on the 10th of June. The board first decided to approve of some vacation days for the fulltimers. Next, the board had a discussion about a new student archiving system that has been suggested by the student ombudsman and discussed within LUS. The board concluded that this discussion will have to continue later on when we have more information.

The last matter on the agenda was a discussion about how to go about writing a testament for the union board. The presidium will instigate the work in connection to working with the operational report, and include the rest of the board. Finally as a miscellaneous matter, the board discussed having a social end of term activity.

The next board meeting will be held by the new board of 2022/23, when they decide. The board of 2021/22 is happy to hand over the reigns to them!

At the Faculty of Science’s graduation ceremony last weekend, the president of LUNA handed out the union’s pedagogical and honorary prizes. 

The pedagogical prize is awarded to an outstanding teacher. Such a teacher should understand the individuality of different students, be an asset and resource for support, create enthusiasm for the subject being taught and take into account the student opinions. It is with great honour the Science Student Union awards this year’s pedagogical prize to Thomas Holst from the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science. 

From the students who nominated Thomas, it has been made very clear that he is enthusiastic about his subject, and teaching it to students. He always takes his time helping his students understand, he never makes anyone feel like they can’t ask questions or are stupid for not understanding. His students say that he always shows great patience, support and humour in his teaching, which both inspires and motivates them, even during covid and online education. His students describe Thomas as a very understanding and kind person, and always with a big smile on his face. In his acceptance speech, Thomas explained that receiving this prize did not mean that he was “finished” as a teacher, but that you can always continue to develop. The prize isn’t the finish line, just a checkpoint on the road. This notion of teaching as a learning process is another mark of a great teacher, and makes the union even more confident in giving Thomas the prize.

The honorary prize is awarded to an employee or a group of employees at the faculty that has eased the studies for students or has worked on strengthening the student voice. This year, the Science Student Union’s Honorary Prize is awarded to Ragnhild Möller from the Faculty Office.  

Ragnild is a person that most of the general student population would not know. She works at the faculty office as their work environment coordinator. In this role, she is the person everyone from department heads to the union presidium would call whenever a difficult situation arises, and a student is being mistreated or harassed. Ragnhild always goes above and beyond to help, with kindness and sympathy, even in situations that are not technically part of her job. She is also one of the driving forces behind the faculty’s equality work, for example through the groundbreaking work of the active action group. Ragnhild pushes the Faculty of Science forward to make sure it is a place where everyone can feel welcome and safe. In her humble and touching reaction to receiving the prize, the union sees a person who is truly worthy of it.

The union parliament (RK) convened for its final meeting before the summer on the 31st of May.

First, RK was informed on the progress regarding the current operational plan and budget. Next, some by-elections for the upcoming operational year were held. The following people were elected:

• Selma Lindgren as Head of Corporate Relations
• Honia Rasul as ordinary and Gloria Kowal Johnson as alternate representatives in the LUS Ting
• Honia Rasul as ordinary representative in the LUS Elective Ting
• Honia Rasul as ordinary and Gloria Kowal Johnson as alternate representatives in the Academic Society (AF) Parliament
• Honia Rasul as ordinary and Gloria Kowal Johnson as alternate representatives in the Academic Society (AF) Scholarship Board
• Tom Brilioth as ordinary representative in the Academic Appointments Board
• Minoo Gandomi as Mentor Committee Member (term of office ends on the 31st of October 2022)
• Minoo Gandomi as Nomination Committee (Valb) Member

Next on the agenda were some regulatory documents. First, the RK discussed a draft for a brand new Directive for Utopia, and gave feedback to the board for their continued work with the Directive. The second document was the Policy for Economy and Agreements to which the RK approved on an update that addresses long term financial sustainability. The new version of this document will be available on the website today.

Finally, the parliament discussed and approved of the new operational plan and budget for the upcoming operational year!

The next meeting date is yet to be determined, but will take place after the summer.

The board held its 18th meeting on the 25th of May. The board discussed the issue with student representation in the investigation to reorganize CEC, INES and the Geology Department. Then, the board discussed the membership fee to the union, and decided to suggest to the parliament to raise the fee to 75 kr per semester. The board also decided to approve of a presidium decision to purchase a storage solution for our patches.

After a break, the board discussed a first draft of a Directive for Utopia. The board gave some input to the working group, and the draft was sent to the parliament for further discussion. Another regulatory document up for discussion was the Policy for Economy and Agreements, where an update was suggested to adress long term financial sustainability. After some minor changes, the policy update was sent as a decision matter to RK.

Finally, the board reviewed and approved of all the documents for the upcoming RK meeting. The next board meeting will be held on the 10th of June.

The LUNA office hours will be closed Friday the 27th.

As always, you can reach us via email: luna@luna.lu.se

Or via https://www.lundsnaturvetarkar.se/complaints/ for student complaints.

The board had its 17th meeting on the 11th of May. In this meeting, the board discussed the operational plan and the budget for the upcoming operational year. Both drafts are considered finished and will be sent to RK for approval on the 31st of May.

Secondly, the board started planning the handover for the future board. The board also talked about how to round of its own year with some social send-off activity. The next board meeting will be on the 25th of May.

The board convened for its 16th meeting on the 28th of April. First, the board discussed an issue with student representation at the faculty together with the auditors, and how to proceed with the situation. Next, the board discussed last weekend’s Utopia ball, and concluded it went well.

The first decision of the night was to elect a student speaker for the graduation ceremony. Finally, the board evaluated the progress with the current operational plan: what has been completed, what is in progress and what might not be possible to complete this year.

The next board meeting will be held on the 11th of May at 16:30.

In the second elective parliament meeting on the 20th of April, a bunch of positions were filled. The positions that were not filled will be available for by-elections in the next parliament meeting on the 31st of May. The following elections where made by Parliament:

On the 19th of April, the first of two elective parliament meetings was held. This meeting dealt with the elections of the Presidium, the Head of Corporate Relations (HCR) and the Board. The following elections were made by parliament:

Presidium – Gloria Kowal Johnson (president) and Honia Rasul (vice president)

Board members – Alva Tangfelt, Caisa Kjellström, Samuel Hjelm, Stina Magndal and Vendela Gustafsson

Unfortunately, there were no candidates for the HCR and the position was left vacant.

The second elective parliament will be held on the 20th of April at 17:15 where the remaining positions will be up for election.