Manifesto Points:
- Safety First: I’ll create an anonymous reporting system for clubs, partnerships with venues prioritising student wellbeing.
- Sustainable Solutions: I’ll reintroduce Meat-Free Mondays, expand food waste distribution programs, and push for University transparency.
- Volunteer Support: I’ll create a dedicated forum and tiered certification system to recognise volunteers, alongside workshops for employability.
Hi, I’m Anna, and I’m running to be your Union Development Officer! With three years experience in running a volunteering project, serving as a History Rep and Academic Officer for the History Society, I understand the frustrations students share about the SU. I’m committed to addressing this, putting student voices at the forefront of everything I aim to do.
Closing the Loop
The biggest frustration I have felt with the SU is not feeling truly represented or able to make a difference, to combat this I will:
- Implement anonymous feedback systems for events, sustainability, and volunteering initiatives, which I will review bi-weekly and publish action reports on the SU website, actively working in what the students want in their campuses
Events
- launch an investigation from the SU into the treatment from bouncers in the clubs we work with, and ensure better safety measures. As part of this, establishing an anonymous reporting system where students can report safety concerns at partnered nightclubs, to be reviewed by the SU and work with clubs to address them. I aim to expand the SU’s partnerships with nightclubs to offer students a wider range of safe and inclusive options.
- The cost of living crisis is hitting students in so many ways, including their social life. I want to implement “Pound a Pint” night at the SU, and create more student nights on both campuses that are affordable, safe, and vibrant – as it should be.
Sustainability
- Reintroduce Meat-Free Mondays on campus, where SU venues have discounts on non-meat meals, providing a cheaper meal for students that also helps the planet!
- Expand food waste distribution programmes by securing additional funding, and additional distribution points for student access, as will as promote the Shop, Save and Sustain Programme further through loyalty card schemes and more targeted advertising to make student aware of food they can access
- Push for concrete action to reduce Scope 3 emissions such as better sustainable transport services and expanding the NET-ZERO fund
Volunteering
Coming from three years experience of being a part of a volunteering project I understand the struggles faced and have lots of ideas to make volunteering more accessible, rewarding and fun:
- Create a regular forum between Development Officer and Volunteering Projects, providing more resources for engagement and support. As part of this, I want to create a networking event, wherein the charities we have worked hard to support can come, along with other charities, to give volunteers greater opportunity to network with the charity sector.
- Volunteering is a great employability skill but many are unsure how to utilise this. I want to launch a “Volunteering to Career” workshop series and create a mentorship programme pairing students with alumni in related fields.
- Implement a tiered certification system for volunteering commitment, with official references, recognition in HEAR and discounts at SU venues
I am dedicated to being a Union Development Officer who represents student voices and works to improve the student experience. Vote for Anna, and let’s build a better SU together!
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.
Don’t get us wrong, the York SU elections are very important. But so much of the election process is formal and serious…which means it can also (at times) be a little bit dull.
But we don’t think it has to be like this. So alongside their manifesto, Vision asked each candidate a series of light-hearted, get-to-know-you type questions. This should give you a little dive into the individual personalities of the candidates:
What would be the theme song for your campaign?
Better Together – Jack Johnson
If your campaign had a mascot, what would it be?
My parents live on a farm and we have three alpacas, I think one of those guys (especially Norman) would do an excellent job at being a mascot
What’s your favourite building at the University of York?
Goodricke Nucleus. I have many fond memories from first year of going there woth my flat, watching movies, playing piano and doing crafts. The college team do a really wonderful job at putting events on their students and we took full advantage of that haha.
We gave the candidate a word, and asked them to think of what the question would be:
Answer: Bar
Candidate’s Question: What’s a sheep’s favourite place on campus?