A motion to censure vice president of societies and activities Emma Meehan for her recent trip to Israel/Palestine failed at the Student Council meeting on Tuesday January 24.

The visit caused consternation amongst university students after it was revealed that the trip was paid for by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS).

At the meeting Liam O’Hare proposed the motion, arguing that Meehan had brought disrepute to Edinbugh University Students' Association (EUSA) and the university. He stated, “This is a big issue in terms of democracy and transparency in our student unions”, arguing that the trip was imbalanced and Meehan should be held accountable for it.

Although Meehan went on the trip during her holidays and in a “private capacity”, the motion stated, “It is clear that she was invited due to her involvement in student union politics”.

However, Meehan responded to this by claiming the right to engage with all sides of the debate. She said that “it is right that we engage in all sides of the robust debate about the Middle East”.

She argued the need for dialogue and discussion in order to resolve the conflict in Israel and Palestine, highlighting those aspects of the trip where she met people across the political spectrum.

The supporters of the motion raised concerns about how the University of Edinburgh’s relationship with Birzeit University had been affected. EUSA passed a motion in 2005 which means it has since been twinned with Birzeit University Student’s Council.

The motion stated that Birzeit Student Council had been in contact with EUSA, calling for the university’s student body to “distance themselves from this shameful trip”. O’Hare also stated that every students’ association in the West Bank has condemned the trip.

The debate raised tensions, with a number of council members giving emotional statements both for and against the motion to censure.

Liam O’Hare stated “I have not spoken to anyone, on all sides of the political spectrum, who have said they would go on the trip”.

Meehan urged those voting to “analyse information based on the facts”, saying that “if this motion passes it will not merely be a comment on my visit. It will be a comment upon the work I’ve done over the last seven months”.

After the motion failed, clapping erupted in the room, which is against the rules of EUSA’s “safe space” policy and had happened twice earlier. This prompted a number of council members to call for EUSA President Matt McPherson to resign his position as chair of the meeting.

McPherson apologised for the infringement of the policy. The motion failed and McPherson resumed as chair for the rest of the meeting.

Several motions intending to make EUSA more democratic and accountable were also discussed.

Three motions were proposed by undergraduate representative James McAsh that aimed to make EUSA more transparent and representative which recognised that those elected to EUSA had a duty to represent the student population and should be more answerable to them.

The first sought to make voting records from Student Council Executive, Welfare Council and the External Council meetings public to make elected officers “accountable for their decisions.”

The motion narrowly fell following a short debate after it was decided that officers had the right to change their mind over issues over time and keeping a record would possibly create ammunition to be used against those standing for election in future.

The second motion proposed by McAsh sought to require members of the Student Council Executive to declare when they are seeking election to an external political organisation. The motion fell with those opposing citing issues of privacy.

The final “Accountability and Democracy” motion noted that elected representatives could sometimes receive gifts as a consequence of their elected position and proposed that high value gifts from external political organisations should be declared and approved by the Student Council Executive.

Andrew Burnie argued that this would introduce another layer of “pointless bureaucracy” to the students’ association but it was also argued that given the controversy over EUSA vice president of societies and activities Emma Meehan’s recent trip to Israel, this highlighted the need for greater openness over high value offerings. Another close round of voting saw the motion pass.

Undergraduate representative and National Union of Students delegate Stephen Donnelly proposed the final motion discussed at the meeting surrounding the rectorial election. It noted that the new rector, Peter McColl, had been unchallenged and that pressure should be put on the university to make the position of rector more attractive.

It was also proposed that there should be an option to reopen nominations in future rectorial elections to ensure that even if there is only one candidate the election takes place.

This motion passed but some at the meeting including EUSA vice president of academic affairs were concerned that it did not go far enough to make the presently unpaid position more attractive.

The meeting also saw the approval of two new student societies. Both the Baking Society for “students who appreciate good cake” and the cheese society will be the latest to join the universities list of almost 300 societies.