Manifesto Points:
- Accessability – Making York SU easy to reach so issues can be resolved through a clearer line of communication.
- Inclusivity – An emphasis on taster/crossover events in order to create a united student body.
- Individuality – Upholding the character of each society, through improving services that may limit them.
I am James Taylor, currently in my third-year, taking History and Politics. Whilst I have been in York, the society I have been most involved with is University Radio York as both their Social Secretary and Wellbeing Officer in the last two years. I have additionally become a writer for Nouse in the past few months.
As Social Secretary, I have gained experience through, and thoroughly enjoyed delivering successful events for my society’s members. If given the chance to plan student nights out and union-led events for the whole University, I would ensure that new life is breathed into events such as the Roman and Viking Raids and ensure they were just as successful and most importantly, as fun as the ones I hosted for URY and Student Media. As Wellbeing Officer, I have also gained additional experience in consulting and communicating with the members themselves and working towards a better environment and culture within the society.
After speaking to countless different society representatives, the current system isn’t working for many societies, who feel left out and undervalued. I will make strides towards ensuring this doesn’t continue into the future. I must state that I do not believe the current problem lies with the individual Sabbs themselves. They have done the best they can in the current circumstances. However, this does not change the fact that the general sentiment towards the Sabbs and YorkSU is still negative. I am keen on turning this narrative around and establishing YorkSU as a body that every society can place their trust in.
A huge part of University life is the societies that students are a part of, so it is essential that they are supported. I would do this by prioritising three key factors in order to ensure that the societies and by extension, the University experience is protected and upheld. These are…
ACCESSIBILITY
Better Communication – The role of Activities Officer is described as ‘ensuring that societies, volunteering groups and student media are advocated for and that their voices are heard.’ After discussions with many societies, it has become clear that many feel neither ‘advocated for’ nor ‘heard’. I believe a clearer line of communication should be established in order to rebuild relationships between the Union and its societies.
I would achieve this by being available and offering ‘one-on-one’ meetings with societies, establishing a consistent back-and-forth dialogue with individual groups. These would be in-person or online, depending on which was easier for the society in question. I believe this would bring societies closer to the Union and reassure them that their concerns are being properly listened to. I have had prior experience with communicating with other societies due to my background in planning events for all of Student Media, so I would welcome talking to different student leaders in order to achieve goals.
INCLUSIVITY
Support for Charities – When looking at a list of societies that need adoption, a clear pattern emerges, being that societies directly or indirectly involving voluntary charity work have fallen by the wayside, with a large majority now in limbo. I would aim to ensure more support is given to these societies to keep them active, as the work they do is vital. Committees of said societies must also be supported, and I would ensure the Union were more involved with events that these charities put on. Recently, York SU has begun supporting charities by putting £10,000 towards keeping volunteering free. I would be keen to continue successes like these in this field
Crossover/Taster Events – An issue I encountered once I joined URY was that I never felt much interest in joining another society. I have now gotten to third year and unfortunately, I feel time has run out. I know I am not alone in this, with many picking a society and never really branching out or looking at other options after Freshers Week of First Year. To combat this, I would encourage societies to hold more taster events, generating a culture of recruiting new members throughout the year, not only during Fresher’s Week. I would additionally encourage crossover events between societies, allowing for those already firmly within one society to consider new options. I joined Nouse as a result of going on a joint social with them, and I am better for it. This would additionally create a more inclusive and fun environment around campus, with students hopefully mixing on a larger scale. York SU should also play a part in supporting and promoting these events when they do happen.
INDIVIDUALITY
Improvement to Storage Facilities – After my discussions with societies, it is evident that the storage facilities are not good enough. Shared storage for many is disorganised, confusing and arguably unsafe due to the amount of people who could have potential access to the property of many societies all within one location. I have also found that some societies who are lucky enough to have access to their own personal storage are still dissatisfied, having to store large quantities of equipment in spaces that are too small to accommodate them. I would target this issue head on and ensure better locations were found for the societies who need it.
Improvement to Room Booking – Another common issue I encountered was that many societies were unable to book the rooms they needed in order to properly carry out their activities. If the societies are limited by the space allocated to them, it will be harder for them to flourish and can even harm the student experience. Every society is unique and its individual character must be recognised and taken into account when making decisions. I would once again achieve this by establishing a clear dialogue with the society in question and working towards a solution where they are properly able to express themselves without limitation.
The manifestos appear here exactly as they were submitted to us. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of York Vision.