The VSS (Association of Swiss Student Bodies) is the voice of the students in Federal Bern. Various sections (student bodies) from all over Switzerland are part of it, including us as VSETH. Once a month, one delegate from each section meets in the small legislature, the Section Council, in Bern and exchanges ideas about various concerns that affect all student bodies. At the beginning, the quorum is determined, which means that it is checked that enough sections from the French-speaking area are present. This is due to the fact that the VSS wants to live the diversity of the Swiss languages and therefore in all meetings people are free to raise their concerns in German or French. At the last Section Council, these included a position paper on the application of the Covid certificate requirement and a discussion on promoting commission work and student engagement. Twice a year, the large legislative body, the Delegates Assembly (DV), meets, where the number of voters depends on the size of the section. There, the proposals of the Section Council as well as topics of the association as a whole, such as the budget and the accounts, are discussed and approved.
In addition, there are four thematic commissions which prepare position papers and political statements. In the CIS (Commission for International Affairs and Solidarity), Erasmus+, a petition in support of students from Belarus and perspectives on studies were discussed most recently. In the CodEg (Equal Opportunities Commission), workshops on racism and studying with disabilities were recently planned. In the HopoKo (Higher Education Policy Commission), scholarships, third-party funding at universities and sustainability in canteens were discussed. In the SoKo (Social Commission) the last time the topic was affordable housing for students.
If one of the topics appeals to you and you would like to get involved, you are welcome to contact us (hopo@vseth.ethz.ch). The commissions are happy to welcome participants who are not only from the boards of the sections.
