Union Etudiante Sciences Po Le Havre
During the October elections, the Union Étudiante won 49% of votes, a landslide by any metric. We thank you for your mobilisation and your trust! This victory gives us the chance to have two Le Havre students elected to the Conseil de la Vie Étudiante et de la Formation (CVEF) : Lino Battin this year and Lisa Debaud next year. But what exactly is the CVEF? The Union Étudiante will explain the stakes and how we plan to ensure that these seats benefit the entire campus.
The CVEF is the council where students are the best represented proportionally : 8 students out of 18 seats (the rest of the seats are allocated to professors, teachers, researchers, and staff representatives). This council “determines the conditions under which users exercise their political and union freedoms and cultural activities“, a key role given the authoritarian practices of the administration in recent months. The direct interest for our campus is that the CVEF is also the body which “oversees and coordinates student life in regional campuses.”
Practically speaking, the CVEF votes on the academic framework, student life regulations, and maintains the link with student associations. It is truly the council most connected to what happens on our campus; for example, the amount of subsidies for Le Havre associations are voted on there. It is also the place where we will express our demands to have more teachers and a wider range of courses on regional campuses.
It’s true that this council isn’t very powerful within the organisational structure of Sciences Po: it has no decision-making authority and is only consulted for major decisions that affect students. Most of the power is held by the Conseil de l’Institut and especially by the Conseil d’Administration of the FNSP (the private part of the institution). The latter consists of only two students, while “ten founding members” who are very disconnected from the interests of Sciences Po and its students—such as the directors of Carrefour and CMA-CGM—co-opt each other year after year. Through this system, power is convoluted, turning the school into a business by increasing tuition fees while neglecting social justice and a quality, free, and emancipating education.
Despite this blatant lack of democracy, we will do our best through the seats we won at the elections to make the voices of Le Havre students heard. This is why we will organise meetings before the CVEF councils, where we will present the agenda of the CVEF council to help everyone understand what is being decided far away in Paris. This meeting will provide for students on our campus an opportunity to discuss our key points for the council in defence of our campus and to hear any suggestions or requests you may want to address to Paris, including positions to adopt, arguments, or any other concerns.
We hope to see many of you at these meetings, where everyone is welcome !
Le Dragon Déchaîné 