Student Union
The student union called "Örebro studentkår" shortened "ÖS" was created 1963 and represents all students at Örebro University. The union pursues issues relationg to education and student welfare to ensure that all the universities students receive a good and well rounded education as well as a safe and secure study enviorment.[13]
Örebro Student Union collaborates and is in constant contact with the university and the municipality to speak on behalf of students in the decisions that affect them. Among other things, the Student Union has student representatives in the Faculty Boards – which are part of the university's central management.
Örebro Student Union is a democratic, non-political organisation which is ruled by the students themselves as a whole but to make things easier there are different departments that run the actual work in the student union, the most important ones being the student council and the student union board.
Student council[14]
The Student Council is the organisation's highest decision-making body. Simply translated, the general council is Örebro Student Union's own parliament. The role of the Student Council today is to set the overall direction for Örebro Student Union as an organization and activities and to be responsible for the full-time remunerated employees who are elected by the Student Council.
The council consists of 41 members where each union section is represented, the members are elected by the union section's members to represent the union section and speak on its behalf. Every ordinary member of Örebro Student Union has the right to submit points to the Student Council.
The council meets four to five times a year where they vote on various issues that affect or have been submitted by the students. A couple weeks before each voting session the student council assembles for an opinion meeting where all documents that will be brought up at the time of the vote will be reviewed. This is so that the councils members can ask questions and make themselves familiar with the issue for them to bring it back to their respective sections for their opinion as well as being able to discuss and exchange ideas before the actual voting meeting which will reduce the amount of time needed to make an actual decision.
Student union board [15]
Directly subordinate to Örebro Student Union's (ÖS) council is the union board – Örebro Student Union's highest executive body.
The union board consists of the president of ÖS, the two vice presidents of ÖS and one member from each section (usually the president or vice president of the section). The main task of the Student Union Board can be summarized as implementing the council's decisions and managing the organization.
Kårsektionerna
The student union is divided into sections "Kårsektioner" that represent the different programs and faculties that are available at Örebro University. Örebro studentkår have 9 different sections called; Corax, DokSek, GIH, Grythyttan, Qultura, Serum, Sesam, Sobra and TekNat.[16]
There is also one un-official student section at Örebro University called ESN which contain all the exchange students that comes to study at the university. ESN does not have any voting power in the student union as its members are only students at the university for a short time.
Each student section has its own given colour which also translates onto their student overall or most commonly used "Ovve". The different colours help in identifying different sections from each other for example during the student introduction or just on a night out at the student club.
More information Colour, Program/Faculty ...
Colour |
Program/Faculty |
| Yellow[17] |
SERUM |
| Purple[17] |
TekNat |
| Red[17] |
Corax (obsolete) |
| Black[17] |
SOBRA |
| Dark Blue[17] |
Sesam |
| Orange[17] |
GIH |
| Pink[17] |
Qultura |
| Wine Red[17] |
Grythyttan |
| Light Blue[17] |
ESN |
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Ovven
The student overall or "Ovve" is arguably the holiest piece of clothing a Swedish university student can own. The act of owning/wearing an Ovve is a cultural phenomenon dating back to the 1960s that has evolved through the different universities in Sweden. Today owning the boilersuit looking overall filled with patches is a must for university students across the country and the piece of clothing comes with a series of rules that its bearer must follow.
While the rules and act of wearing the ovve differ slightly between universities they are mostly the same all throughout the country with the most important rule being; You can never wash the Ovve unless you wear it while doing so.
The ovve ceremony
Since the ovve is considered holy among the Swedish university students you are not allowed to use it fully until it has been through the ovve ceremony which is like a baptism of sorts. Before the ovve ceremony you are only able to wear your ovve fully buttoned up, in student terms "uppcabbad" and free from any sort of embellishments. The ceremony it-self can be different depending on which university you study at but they all have the common goal of inviting new people to the ovve wearing society. After you and your ovve has been through the ceremony you are finally allowed to embellish it to your hearts desire and wear it rolled down and tied at your waist (nedcabbad).