Teddy Bland was elected York SU Equality and Inclusion Officer on 1st November following a by-election triggered by the resignation of former part-time officer Ezreal Xie.
359 votes were cast by students at the University.
After being elected, Bland said: “I feel excited to have been elected for this role but definitely nervous as the pressure is on now to do the best I can!
“I hope everyone will feel comfortable expressing their needs to me and, since this is my first time doing something like this, I know I need to start learning quickly!”
Bland won on a manifesto focused on barriers to education, increasing cohesion between international and home students and combating classism.
In a statement on the York SU’s website, Bland’s manifesto summary states that he would like to:
- Raise awareness of unrecognised barriers to education, especially traumatic and adverse childhood experiences.
- Support tolerance and cohesion between internationals and home students through cultural sharing programmes and challenging foreign accent discrimination
- Combat classism in the University’s culture and focus on access to careers opportunities and competitive societies.
Bland will join the existing Sabbatical team as a part time officer for 20 hours per week.