PRESDIENT CANDIDATES
ALEX RESTON
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I want to dedicate time every day to getting out of the office and speaking to more students about the SU, as well as collecting feedback from students about their university experience to ensure students voices are the loudest." |
Alex's Manifesto:
Pledge one: full policy and democracy review
Over the past year, working closely with our byelaws and constitution has shown me that they are not currently fit for purpose. I want to build on the work I have been doing over the past year to ensure that all of our processes are fair and accessible to all of our students.
Pledge two: speak to more students
The pandemic has presented many different barriers to communication between the university, the students’ union, and students. I want to dedicate time every day to getting out of the office and speaking to more students about the SU, as well as collecting feedback from students about their university experience to ensure students voices are the loudest.
Pledge three: how to be a better ally
Several significant events over the last few years have shown the world that there is a long way to go in the fight for equality. Here at Newman, I want to begin different workshop sessions on the importance of allyship and how we can be the best ally possible!
Pledge four: induction and freshers
I want to work in partnership with the university to ensure that induction is suitable for all students and is relevant to their year of study. I also want to ensure that freshers activities fit in around this period to ensure as many students can benefit from getting involved as possible.
Pledge five: make the union green
There is no denying that we are in the midst of a climate crisis. I plan to make the union greener by coming up with creative solutions to change some of the ways in which we work to ensure that we are doing more to go green.
Pledge one: full policy and democracy review
Over the past year, working closely with our byelaws and constitution has shown me that they are not currently fit for purpose. I want to build on the work I have been doing over the past year to ensure that all of our processes are fair and accessible to all of our students.
Pledge two: speak to more students
The pandemic has presented many different barriers to communication between the university, the students’ union, and students. I want to dedicate time every day to getting out of the office and speaking to more students about the SU, as well as collecting feedback from students about their university experience to ensure students voices are the loudest.
Pledge three: how to be a better ally
Several significant events over the last few years have shown the world that there is a long way to go in the fight for equality. Here at Newman, I want to begin different workshop sessions on the importance of allyship and how we can be the best ally possible!
Pledge four: induction and freshers
I want to work in partnership with the university to ensure that induction is suitable for all students and is relevant to their year of study. I also want to ensure that freshers activities fit in around this period to ensure as many students can benefit from getting involved as possible.
Pledge five: make the union green
There is no denying that we are in the midst of a climate crisis. I plan to make the union greener by coming up with creative solutions to change some of the ways in which we work to ensure that we are doing more to go green.
ALFIE MCMILLAN
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The best way I, as the Representative of the Students at Newman, can serve you is by understanding you; I do not need to be your voice because you have your OWN Voice." |
Alfie's Manifesto:
Throughout my time at this University, I have seen the Students Union change dramatically and adapt to deal with the challenge of the Pandemic. And in the spirit of change, I want to change the understanding of the President's role. This role can be easy to fade into the background often stuck in meetings and relying on others to communicate with the students, I want to change that. The best way I, as the Representative of the Students at Newman, can serve you is by understanding you; I do not need to be your voice because you have your OWN Voice. Instead, I strive to spend as much time as I can working remotely from within the atrium and have conversations with many different students, this way I can understand your stances on the issues at hand and represent you better. Help me to be the Ears that listen to your Voice, let me relay your voice to the people who have the power to change the problems. MY JOB is not to be the person you turn to when you need help changing systems within the university, my job is to help you change them.
But why am I the man for that job? It's simple I understand the power of experience, I cannot understand your struggles and the pain you feel by being underrepresented but I can have that conversation with you. My experiences are not the same as yours, this role is not to stop people from feeling my pain, but instead, it is to allow you to explain to me yours. If I can just for a moment understand the pain you experienced I can do much more to fight against it than if I hadn't.
So my Pledge is to use the officers at my disposal to create a well-informed group to work with the Student Voice Coordinator to fully understand the opinions and desires of the students, I want to make your opinions not only matter but easy to share. Understanding the voices and feelings of the students at Newman will allow me to help empower each of you to make the difference you need. Change is within your grasp, so let me show you how to change the world starting with the University.
I am not the voice of the students, because you all have your own voice, so let me hear it!
Throughout my time at this University, I have seen the Students Union change dramatically and adapt to deal with the challenge of the Pandemic. And in the spirit of change, I want to change the understanding of the President's role. This role can be easy to fade into the background often stuck in meetings and relying on others to communicate with the students, I want to change that. The best way I, as the Representative of the Students at Newman, can serve you is by understanding you; I do not need to be your voice because you have your OWN Voice. Instead, I strive to spend as much time as I can working remotely from within the atrium and have conversations with many different students, this way I can understand your stances on the issues at hand and represent you better. Help me to be the Ears that listen to your Voice, let me relay your voice to the people who have the power to change the problems. MY JOB is not to be the person you turn to when you need help changing systems within the university, my job is to help you change them.
But why am I the man for that job? It's simple I understand the power of experience, I cannot understand your struggles and the pain you feel by being underrepresented but I can have that conversation with you. My experiences are not the same as yours, this role is not to stop people from feeling my pain, but instead, it is to allow you to explain to me yours. If I can just for a moment understand the pain you experienced I can do much more to fight against it than if I hadn't.
So my Pledge is to use the officers at my disposal to create a well-informed group to work with the Student Voice Coordinator to fully understand the opinions and desires of the students, I want to make your opinions not only matter but easy to share. Understanding the voices and feelings of the students at Newman will allow me to help empower each of you to make the difference you need. Change is within your grasp, so let me show you how to change the world starting with the University.
I am not the voice of the students, because you all have your own voice, so let me hear it!
SCOTT JAMES
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I will be running for the position of Students' Union President as I wish to give back to the community that has meant so much to me during my time here." |
Scott's Manifesto:
Hello. I am Scott James, third-year Computer Science student, chair of Newman’s gaming society and the chair of Forum and I will be running for the position of Student’s Union President as I wish to give back to the community that has meant so much to me during my time here.
Point 1: Re-vamp Student Voice
Student Voice is the weakest aspect of the student’s union. Student voice should be an avenue for students to go to with their concerns about their courses and life in the university. There are many ways for students to use their voice to affect change, yet there are many students who do not know where their voice can be heard. Course Reps and Stars are one of the ways students should be able to discuss their concerns, yet many of the student body who do not know who their Course Reps are and therefore, have no way of communicating that they want change. The positions should be changed so that they are more accessible to all students.
If I was to be elected as president, I would work with the elected Academic Representations Officer to implement a new system over summer with better promotion and incentives for these positions with recruitment taking place during Freshers enabling the new representatives time to receive correct training and adjust to their new role.
Point 2: Equal Opportunities
The university does not have essential services available for all students. Over the course of the year, students have used the Think Tank on the Students Union website to ask for new laptops for the Sports Lab, which has passed the threshold needed for action to be taken. The students argued that the computers used in the labs were old, slow, prone to crashing and could not connect to the internet. Speaking with other students, the computers around the university do not have the necessary requirements for their courses and if they do, they may not be available due to the small number of them that have the software available. This puts into question how many students are handicapped and are at risk of failing their modules because the university does not provide them with the resources needed.
The university should account for students who are unable to obtain the software needed on their own and, if I am elected president, I will work to increase student retention by upgrading the computers and reducing the digital poverty around the campus.
Point 3: Monthly Check-ups
Students need a safe environment to ask questions and be reassured. A student’s health and safety are the most important things that the university should consider when making any decision. During the Covid 19 pandemic, student health saw a decline, both mentally and physically as students had no one they could talk to about their issues. Many students, especially those living on campus or coming from foreign countries, are not aware of any local GPs or any other services to ask questions about themselves.
If I was elected as president, I would work to have external professionals provide a monthly check-up to ensure that they are living healthily and to answer any questions that they may have free of charge to students.
This university is a special place where people of all walks of life can come and pick up life skills while finishing their education. It is for this reason that the Students Union must continue to grow and evolve to accept and accommodate as many people as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, if you have any questions reach out to me.
Hello. I am Scott James, third-year Computer Science student, chair of Newman’s gaming society and the chair of Forum and I will be running for the position of Student’s Union President as I wish to give back to the community that has meant so much to me during my time here.
Point 1: Re-vamp Student Voice
Student Voice is the weakest aspect of the student’s union. Student voice should be an avenue for students to go to with their concerns about their courses and life in the university. There are many ways for students to use their voice to affect change, yet there are many students who do not know where their voice can be heard. Course Reps and Stars are one of the ways students should be able to discuss their concerns, yet many of the student body who do not know who their Course Reps are and therefore, have no way of communicating that they want change. The positions should be changed so that they are more accessible to all students.
If I was to be elected as president, I would work with the elected Academic Representations Officer to implement a new system over summer with better promotion and incentives for these positions with recruitment taking place during Freshers enabling the new representatives time to receive correct training and adjust to their new role.
Point 2: Equal Opportunities
The university does not have essential services available for all students. Over the course of the year, students have used the Think Tank on the Students Union website to ask for new laptops for the Sports Lab, which has passed the threshold needed for action to be taken. The students argued that the computers used in the labs were old, slow, prone to crashing and could not connect to the internet. Speaking with other students, the computers around the university do not have the necessary requirements for their courses and if they do, they may not be available due to the small number of them that have the software available. This puts into question how many students are handicapped and are at risk of failing their modules because the university does not provide them with the resources needed.
The university should account for students who are unable to obtain the software needed on their own and, if I am elected president, I will work to increase student retention by upgrading the computers and reducing the digital poverty around the campus.
Point 3: Monthly Check-ups
Students need a safe environment to ask questions and be reassured. A student’s health and safety are the most important things that the university should consider when making any decision. During the Covid 19 pandemic, student health saw a decline, both mentally and physically as students had no one they could talk to about their issues. Many students, especially those living on campus or coming from foreign countries, are not aware of any local GPs or any other services to ask questions about themselves.
If I was elected as president, I would work to have external professionals provide a monthly check-up to ensure that they are living healthily and to answer any questions that they may have free of charge to students.
This university is a special place where people of all walks of life can come and pick up life skills while finishing their education. It is for this reason that the Students Union must continue to grow and evolve to accept and accommodate as many people as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, if you have any questions reach out to me.
ZOE HARRISON
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I have spent the last 3 years forming relationships with staff in and out of the Union, but most importantly I feel that I have formed a bond, a friendship and a trust between myself and students at Newman which I hope to continue as your President." |
Zoe's Manifesto:
My name is Zoe Harrison and I am a third-year student from Studies in Primary Education. Along with this, I am also your current Events and Activities Officer and have been for the last 3 academic years. Over my time on the Student Union, I have grown as a person and, through this, have realised that I am ready to take the next step in my journey at NSU. During my time in office, I have been responsible for a wide variety of events, have sat on different panels and boards, and have become the first Student Officer that is a Trustee for NSU. My time in office has been experienced as an officer whilst on campus and also virtually due to the global pandemic. All of which, I believe, has given me the qualities and experience to be the best person and President I can be for you. I have spent the last 3 years forming relationships with staff in and out of the Union, but most importantly I feel that I have formed a bond, a friendship and a trust between myself and students at Newman which I hope to continue as your President.
My first pledge as your President is to put Newman Students’ Union on the map. I believe that in the past, we as a Union can be guilty of forgetting that we are a small institution and that we cannot compete or compare to larger institutions. Whilst it is vital for us to create a working relationship with other institutions to create a sense of community and have clear communication with them during the year, I believe our priority should be to put NSU on the map at Newman. Over my time on the Student Union, I have noticed a clear lack of communication between us and the University. As a charitable organisation, we are here to create a positive impact on student’s lives during their time at Newman and it has become clear to me that a lot of our students, but also staff, don’t realise what we do as a union itself. Personally, I don’t believe that we can be the most successful organisation that we can and have the potential to grow if our members don’t know what we do or can provide for them. I pledge to make more students and staff aware of what we do as an organisation and, in turn, can help to reach out to more students and be more impactful.
My second pledge is to create committees for part time officers’ remits. During my time as a part time officer, there have been times where I have struggled to balance the work of creating an event or a campaign as well as my degree and everything else that life throws at us students. The idea of the committees will be to take some of the strain away from part time officers. This should make their time in office more fun and enjoyable and make the officer team as effective as they can be for our students. Hopefully, this will also make our engagement levels rise as it will give us more people to spread the work load and focus on speaking to students to find out what they would like to see from us and also to promote anything that we are currently working on. I pledge to make officer roles the most enjoyable experience for our students and also to improve our level of engagement by increasing the impact our services have on students by making our officer roles more manageable.
My final pledge is to just be your President. When writing these pledge’s, I was reluctant to make extravagant promises, as your sabbatical officers have to do the job description that they are elected into but also have to fulfill their pledges. Personally, I would rather write fewer and more impactful pledges that I can work my hardest to fulfill whilst also carrying out the President’s role, but most importantly, whilst also being present and visible. Over time, there has been a stigma in our sector that Presidents just sit behind a desk or in meetings. Whilst I completely understand that is what comes with the job, I feel that being out there, talking to students, being visible and continuing to build trust and relationships with students is just as important, if not more so. I don’t believe that you would have faith in me as your President if you didn’t see me or get to know me. So finally, I pledge to be a visible, accessible President that you as students see, speak to and trust.
My name is Zoe Harrison and I am a third-year student from Studies in Primary Education. Along with this, I am also your current Events and Activities Officer and have been for the last 3 academic years. Over my time on the Student Union, I have grown as a person and, through this, have realised that I am ready to take the next step in my journey at NSU. During my time in office, I have been responsible for a wide variety of events, have sat on different panels and boards, and have become the first Student Officer that is a Trustee for NSU. My time in office has been experienced as an officer whilst on campus and also virtually due to the global pandemic. All of which, I believe, has given me the qualities and experience to be the best person and President I can be for you. I have spent the last 3 years forming relationships with staff in and out of the Union, but most importantly I feel that I have formed a bond, a friendship and a trust between myself and students at Newman which I hope to continue as your President.
My first pledge as your President is to put Newman Students’ Union on the map. I believe that in the past, we as a Union can be guilty of forgetting that we are a small institution and that we cannot compete or compare to larger institutions. Whilst it is vital for us to create a working relationship with other institutions to create a sense of community and have clear communication with them during the year, I believe our priority should be to put NSU on the map at Newman. Over my time on the Student Union, I have noticed a clear lack of communication between us and the University. As a charitable organisation, we are here to create a positive impact on student’s lives during their time at Newman and it has become clear to me that a lot of our students, but also staff, don’t realise what we do as a union itself. Personally, I don’t believe that we can be the most successful organisation that we can and have the potential to grow if our members don’t know what we do or can provide for them. I pledge to make more students and staff aware of what we do as an organisation and, in turn, can help to reach out to more students and be more impactful.
My second pledge is to create committees for part time officers’ remits. During my time as a part time officer, there have been times where I have struggled to balance the work of creating an event or a campaign as well as my degree and everything else that life throws at us students. The idea of the committees will be to take some of the strain away from part time officers. This should make their time in office more fun and enjoyable and make the officer team as effective as they can be for our students. Hopefully, this will also make our engagement levels rise as it will give us more people to spread the work load and focus on speaking to students to find out what they would like to see from us and also to promote anything that we are currently working on. I pledge to make officer roles the most enjoyable experience for our students and also to improve our level of engagement by increasing the impact our services have on students by making our officer roles more manageable.
My final pledge is to just be your President. When writing these pledge’s, I was reluctant to make extravagant promises, as your sabbatical officers have to do the job description that they are elected into but also have to fulfill their pledges. Personally, I would rather write fewer and more impactful pledges that I can work my hardest to fulfill whilst also carrying out the President’s role, but most importantly, whilst also being present and visible. Over time, there has been a stigma in our sector that Presidents just sit behind a desk or in meetings. Whilst I completely understand that is what comes with the job, I feel that being out there, talking to students, being visible and continuing to build trust and relationships with students is just as important, if not more so. I don’t believe that you would have faith in me as your President if you didn’t see me or get to know me. So finally, I pledge to be a visible, accessible President that you as students see, speak to and trust.
