Presidium days in Gothenburg - SFS member meeting

Day 1

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Monday 7:00 am Calle and I meet at Uppsala central station, a little less alert but quite happy. We rolled out of Uppsala as the sun rose and the mist lifted from the fields.

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We are heading to a place few want to go. Gothenburg. Or more specifically: the United Swedish Student Unions' member meeting in Gothenburg. The United Student Unions of Sweden is a membership body often called and written SFS that conducts higher education policy at the national level. This little diary-like journey will contain a lot of abbreviations, so be ready for that! Twice a year, SFS has member meetings in different student cities, and on November 5-6, 2025, it was Chalmers University of Technology that acted as host.

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On the train between Stockholm and Gothenburg, we meet several student union friends: Stockholm University Student Union (SUS), Umeå Student Union (US, confusing) and Stockholm Student Union Central Organization (SSCO). We roll in a little late and split up. Calle is going with 6S, a network for student unions' cooperation bodies in big cities, where Uppsala Student Union should not really be included, but we are happy to be able to play! The four cities in that collaboration are Uppsala, Lund, Stockholm and Gothenburg. Most important first, of course.

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I disappear together with SUS and the other US towards Studenternas hus, which is located just behind the University of Gothenburg's university building. Here are several student organizations, including Göta Student Union. We are served a special for lunch: two sausages, mash, and any amount of mustard, ketchup and roasted onions. A Gothenburg delicacy. Since we are late, some student unions from Lund and Linköping have already arrived, and two Gothenburg student unions. This network is called U6, for the six major universities in Sweden, and focuses specifically on SFS issues. Very important to point out that we are not a block in SFS and do not vote together: most of the time we think quite different from each other and vote differently on issues.

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Calle will give some talks on housing issues for students in big cities. If you want to know more about it, feel free to email him. We went through last year's SFS council (their annual meeting) and talked about it, and what we think for the coming year. We also discussed the extraordinary election of the vice president, which has been vacant since May.

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Dinner. We visited the ancient Gothenburg palace O'Learys. Have you heard of it? Apparently they have student discounts there, but it's still not as cheap as at the nations. We're probably a bit better off.

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Because of the early morning, it was also an early evening for this vice, and I had to take the tram to stay with a friend for a night in the Gothenburg town of Flogsta, also known as Sandarna.

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Day 2

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The next morning, it was a tram to Chalmers student union building. Help, you guys! I hardly dare to tell you what they had there for fear that you will drop out of Uppsala University and switch to another union. But I will say it anyway. There was a cafeteria, merch shop, pool, conference room, and DISCOKULA! We met two friends from Uppsala, the presidents of the Student Union of Technology and Science and the Student Union of Pharmacy. Benjamin and Sigrid we see every now and then, so it was almost like being on a family vacation. I won't comment on who fulfilled which family role. Feel free to email me what you think.

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The meeting on Tuesday began with a welcome and then some background information from the SFS President. As you may know, the government has decided to cut our grant money. We obviously take a very negative view of this, and see that student support should be increased so that all students have the opportunity for a quality education.

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Then there were some presentations from Chalmers student union about their business, digitization, how it is to own a lot of companies, and to keep the compulsory education at their university. This is because Chalmers University of Technology is a foundation and not a government agency. This is partly good, because all students are mandatory members of the union, but also difficult because they do not have a statutory requirement for student representation. Student representation, for those who don't know, is the most important thing we do as a union.

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At the end of the day, we heard from Komit, the SFS committee for educational issues in Europe. Super fun! Calle was particularly interested in this.

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We checked into the hotel (I had to share with Sigrid), and then it was back to Chalmers kårhus for a dinner at GasQuen! The best part of the evening was all the spex, or x as they called it, and that I had nice tablemates. Tram (again) to a bar, and finally bus back to the hotel.

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Day 3

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Another early morning, hotel breakfast, walk with packing back to Chalmers student union building. This day is about SFS finances and political advocacy. When chairman Rasmus Lindstedt goes through the budget forecast, we hear several yawns. It's interesting, but also early, especially for those of us who stayed up until late yesterday.

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At lunch, something strange happens.

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The rain is pouring down. We are standing under the roof of the old student union building. Four men dressed in tails and student caps are riding around the courtyard on a four-seater tandem bike. A group of people in dark coats and umbrellas gather below their balcony. Another group wearing dark student caps gathers on the balcony. An orchestra comes around the corner and plays. It's hard to describe just how bizarre it was. Like being at home. Apparently it's a newspaper launch! The 161st annual edition of Rasp, a serious magazine for clean jokes, is literally dropped from the balcony. In the sea of people, people with postman's bags start selling copies. Genuine student cheese.

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Lunch and then the last session of the day, when we will hear from the candidates for the by-election of the vice-president. It makes me very sad to see a President without a Vice, it's like a boy without a dog. I believe that SFS will make the right choice!