Manifesto Points
- Fighting for students by campaigning to reopen Nisa at the weekends, and scrutinising the University’s Latte Levy.
- Keeping York SU accountable on sustainability and nightlife safety.
- Supporting community building by pledging to keep volunteering free, and empowering student staff.
Hiya! I’m Gen, and I’m re-running to be your Union Development Officer. I’m a History/Politics graduate, last year’s President of Anne Lister College, and a passionate advocate for students. Some of my headline successes from this past year include:
- Securing £10,000 of funding from the University to support student volunteers;
- Establishing a student-led committee on environmental and social sustainability;
- Founding the Union’s “New Year, Same Planet Fair”;
- Launching Glitter, an on-campus LGBTQ+ club night;
- Advocating for the carbon emissions tracking of all food in SU venues.
Now, armed with a year’s experience of working within York SU, I want to go further. This is how I will do it.
FIGHTING FOR STUDENTS:
EXTEND CAMPUS OUTLET OPENING HOURS
(Aka: why is Nisa shut at the weekend???). The University has radically reduced the opening hours of its campus venues. It is downright appalling that the university would consider these actions in any way acceptable. The ask? For the University to restore back last year’s campus outlet opening hours. I have already done the groundwork on this issue, and am ready to lobby the Uni to commit to a “minimum service” policy, which would protect students from further attempts to reduce these hours.
REFORMING THE LATTE LEVY
Students pay into the University’s Latte Levy Fund on a daily basis. Meanwhile, the management and spending of the fund is obscure. Aside from the portion which funds the Union’s Sustainable Development Grant, there are no published accounts detailing where this money is spent, and the Union is kept firmly out of any decisions made on how the funding is allocated. The scheme is barely publicised, and most concerningly, no one seems to know what happens to money remaining in the fund at the end of the year. The whole system needs to be reformed, and I pledge to have these issues rectified and made public to students by the end of my time as a Sabb.
KEEPING YORK SU ACCOUNTABLE:
SAFETY ON NIGHTS OUT
York is often branded as one of the safest uni cities in the UK, but it’s York SU’s responsibility to ensure that this is always the case. If given a second term, these are the ways in which I would guarantee student safety remains a priority:
- Continue to drive events onto campus, building on the legacy of events such as Glitter – when events are on campus, it is guaranteed that students are always the priority.
- Increase the transparency and accountability of club night contacts with York SU – involving students in contract agreement processes, introducing a dedicated webpage to addressing the specifics of these contracts, and ensuring that there are clearer avenues to feedback
- Work to develop a “nightlife strategy”, which would codify and protect the student experience for the future
A CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY POLICY FOR YORK SU
From a sustainability standpoint, York SU lacks any clear guidance on the financial partnerships it makes. To ensure that the Union fulfills its commitment to “taking practical steps towards climate justice”, this issue must be rectified. I propose the development of a Corporate and Social Responsibility Policy, which would ensure that the Union makes responsible financial choices, and never accidentally partners with companies responsible for the destruction of our planet.
CARBON EMISSIONS TRACKING FOR ALL UNION ACTIVITY
Klimato, the platform we use to track and display the carbon emissions of all food produced in Union venues, is a great start – but we shouldn’t stop there. I will continue to work with Union staff to ensure carbon emissions tracking is extended to all Union activity. By keeping our own house in order, the SU will be in a much better position to hold the Uni accountable to their sustainability goals.
SUPPORTING COMMUNITY-BUILDING
KEEP VOLUNTEERING FREE
This February I secured £10,000 from the University to support student volunteers – this funding is specifically focused on the goal of keeping volunteering free. My goal for the next academic year is to extend the longevity of this fund, securing a constant stream of funding into volunteering projects at York. No student should have to pay to volunteer, and it’s York SU’s job to secure this into reality.
OPEN MEETINGS BETWEEN THE UNION DEV OFFICER AND SU VENUE STUDENT STAFF
Student Staff are what keep our venues running, but over the past year I’ve heard a common complaint – venue staff feel distant from the decisions made by York SU centrally. Of all the Sabbatical Officers, the Union Development Officer is best-placed to bridge this gap. Therefore, I pledge to establish regular open meetings between myself and all commercial student staff.
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?
I’m Just Ken(/Gen)
If your campaign had a mascot, what would it be?
My last brain cell
What’s your favourite building at the University of York?
The Anne Lister Hub
We gave each candidate a random word, and asked them to think of what the question would be:
Answer: Bar
Candidate’s Question: What do I still want two of on Campus East?!