The nomination peroid will be open for one month, until March 5.
Students can run for one of five Student Affairs Committee (SAC) roles; President, Education Officer, Media Officer, Campaigns Officer or Activities and Participation Officer, or for a place on the Student Council.
This year’s current SAC, explain why they think it is important to run for their respective roles.
Pluto, PSTV and Frequency Radio will be bringing you all the latest on the Students’ Union Elections as they happen, with live-coverage of results and question-time events, as well as interviews, videos, photos and more.
The Pluto team are looking for enthusiastic members to join a special election coverage project in March.
The Students’ Union elections are always a popular event around campus, and we aim for our coverage this year to be bigger and better than ever. We aim to live-stream results and ‘question time’ events, as well as having audio and video online coverage of candidate’s manifestos and campaigning.
We had a little practice with our live-streaming app today, and you can see how it went by viewing the Pluto Facebook page.
We are looking for enthusiastic students who are really interested in multimedia, journalism and social media. You don’t have to be on a journalism or mutlimedia course, and the necessary training will be provided.
If you want to get involved in this project, which has never been attempted before by UCLan student media, then you can get involved in the following ways:
Electoral Reform probably isn’t high on anybody’s list of priorities at the moment, particular students. There’s already the usual minefield of getting a decent degree and surviving three years courtesy of the Student Loans Company, and facing high levels of unemployment at the end of it.
Politically also, it hasn’t gained much attention. The priorities for the major parties’ manifestos include everything you’d expect – the recession, climate change, crime, health and education. I don’t dispute that these are worthy issues, but would suggest that perhaps there’s something else that should also be on the agenda.
You can’t have missed the seemingly endless furore about MPs’ expenses. There was and still is public outrage at the indifferent manner in which some MPs manipulated the system for their own personal gain.
What I would ask though, is how did this come about?
What kind of political culture do we have where politicians can walk into seats that are ‘safe’ for their party, become MPs by default, and then are granted jobs for life? Perhaps this has fostered the complacency of expenses abuses and growing voter apathy amongst people like you and me. These are the upshots of our voting system, called First Past the Post (FPTP).
By FPTP, as long as one person gets most votes in their area, they win. This seems initially logical, but here’s an example. Hypothetically, if I got 10 votes, and five other candidates got 9, although 45 people voted against me, those 10 are the only ones that matter. MPs don’t need the majority of people in their constituency to actually vote for them, yet they go on to represent everyone. About 70% of UK votes are wasted in this way.
A party doesn’t need most votes overall to win, just valuable votes in specific places. In fact in five UK elections during the twentieth century, the party with the most votes didn’t win. A more infamous example of the failings of FPTP is George Bush winning the US election in 2000 despite Al Gore getting half a million more votes.
Only the two biggest parties have any real chance of power, disenfranchising and discouraging votes for the others that many of us would like to vote for. These two parties are becoming indistinguishable, only offering an either/or government, switching power back and forth every few terms, and stifling new ideas from more diverse sources.
There are proportional alternatives that are more accurate in representing the actual votes cast. The Vote for a Change campaign is currently asking the government for a referendum on changing the voting system, letting the people choose a new option. More information is available from the Electoral Reform Society.
We think it’s time that rather than getting outraged over the consequences, we tackle the root cause – the system that lets us choose who gets these positions of power in the first place.
Course: Archaeology, also has a Forensic Science Degree
Position: Activities and Participation Officer
Why are you running for the position?
Having been here for 5 years UCLan is my way of life now and I have a lot of passion for it at my heart and I want to pass that baton onto other students. I want to show them how great this university can be!
Experience and skills:
As I have been here 5 years and played sport, throughout the 5 years I’ve seen the activities and societies change from when I first started. At first there was less people involved but as it’s developed over the past couple of years, more opportunities have risen and people are more approachable. I’d describe myself as very approachable and friendly and I can adapt to the activities. So I want to develop these past few years really and push it on and make sure it runs on in the right direction.
Top 3 goals in the office:
Develop Give it a Go and RAG as it gives students a massive opportunity to get involved.
Promote more clubs and societies, because as the Chairman of the Football team I get a lot of people coming up to me wanting to get involved even at this stage in the season so I want to push that as well.
And make sure the relationships with students and the student committee are maintained and excellent, just so people are aware of these opportunities so more people can get involved.
Campaign plans:
Get involved with everything really, make sure my publicity is there. I want to get out there and meet people and talk to them. If I was elected that’s how I’d be so I want to show and give a taste of my views.
What are your negatives?
Sometimes I can get, not a bit short-tempered, but wound up a little bit and I start to get overheated but as soon as I’ve calmed down that’s it really but other than that I haven’t got any.
How can you improve on your predecessor?
I’ve known Kelly, as I did my first degree with her so I know what she’s about and I think she has similar views to me. I can develop her views and push them forward, so I can build on great foundations she’s already laid.
How can you cope with the responsibility and pressure?
I think I’d cope well as I’m very good at adapting and creative and obviously I’ll have everyone around me to help so, I’m not afraid to ask for help.
How will you aim to improve the relationship between clubs and societies?
By getting more people involved as by getting more involved more bonds are made and more friendships. Hopefully, the more people involved and more friendships and bonds it will bring the clubs and societies closer. And it will also expand them, making them bigger.
Why should people elect you?
I have had 5 years of university experience. I am friendly, approachable, hardworking, organised and adaptable. I am very dedicated to achieving my goals also.
10 seconds to sell yourself?
I look forward to seeing everyone at the university and meeting everyone. Vote for Big T!
Dedicated a significant amout of time so far to student media this year and in second year. I’d like to continue it, I know they said it isn’t a job but it is a job and I want to do something that I like; I think I’d be good at it and I think it’s my cup of tea.
Experience and skills:
Not a stranger to running a publications- PR1 editor since September and deputy features editor 2nd years. I’m an organisation freak generally, I know how the place is run, I’m here all the time, I redesigned PR1 in the first place with Andy Squire and re-structured these offices, so I think I have a good solid idea of what to do.
Top 3 goals in the office:
To better the quality students get from their SU media experience. It’s great to put something on your CV but I want students to be involved with training in whatever area they want to concentrate on so their time is spent better. Also more volunteers. Basically more organised, things are running good and things have improved in the last year, but I think it needs to be smoother and tighter.
How will you improve Pluto, Online, PSTV and Frequency?
I would combine them really. PSTV hasn’t really lifted yet, the year before nobody knew what it was but the time I right now to really launch it; it’s got into a routine, people know what it is, but it hasn’t really been publicised. It would be good to combine it with other mediums and get more volunteers. TV and broadcast is something people really want to do, but they don’t know they can.
Campaign plans:
Funny ones so far. Flatmates say “vote for ginge” the usual facebook groups and blogs so people can keep in touch with it. I’ll also be canvassing halls.
People might know my name but not my face or what I’m doing.
What are their negatives?
I think It would take up an enormous amount of time because I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I don’t like to leave things half done.
How can you improve on their predecessor?
I think the website would be where I improve. It’s been redesigned and looks great but in terms of content it’s mainly left to the SU website for information about the SU but the Pluto site could incorporate frequency and PSTV, which atm it doesn’t. The media is as a whole and would work better combined together.
How can they cope with the responsibility and pressure?
I’m not a stranger to it! The PR1 deadline means I’m regularly in this office until things are finished. I edit two magazines at the moment, so I think it will be ok.
Why should people elect you?
Daft as it sounds, it would be nice to have a girl in the position. I think I’m too organised to let anybody down, if people vote for me they’d be getting a lot more for their time in general.
Sell yourself in 10 seconds…
I’m Karen, I’m a journalism student, so I know what I’m doing, I’ve studied law and basically I just love all media- I really want this position. Vote for me.
Course: Politics – currently taking a sabbatical year as Campaigns Officer for the Student Union.
Position Running For: President
Why are you running for this position?
Because I feel the Union needs strong leadership, I think we are coming through a really tough year, in the next twelve months, and I think we need a strong leader to take us forward, things around the recession and the economy, there’s a higher education funding review about the fee levels, the cap on fees coming up in the next twelve months; just to keep building on the great work we started this year, as a team this year we’ve really done well.
I’m the only person that’s re standing out of the whole sabbatical team that we’ve got, I think it’s important to have a bit of continuity, hence why I’m running for President! I think it would be great to have a second year leading the team, and taking the team forward into the next academic year with all the stuff that’s coming ahead.
Experience and Skills?
I have the current, last year which has been a massive, massive help for me, Campaigns Officer this year, before that I was a part-time officer, been a faculty rep, a course rep for three years so, I know the Union, I know the University, I know senior staff, I’ve built those relationships. I’ve worked with regional Universities, I’ve worked with Liverpool Guild of Students, which is the SU in Liverpool, Manchester Met, Manchester University Student Union, on Campaigns such as ‘In the Red’ which is a campaign about student debt, the wall of debt and all the stuff we did in November which was really successful.
I have loads of contacts with the NUS, I was a regional observer to the National Executive Committee of NUS, so I’ve watched all the big important meetings, all year, so that’s given me loads of experience, I know what the local and national issues are that are going to be coming up in the next 12 months. I’ve also made contacts in all those organisations, so I can bring that in as well and that all adds to the experience.
Top 3 goals whilst in office?
The first one would be keeping up the good work we’ve done this year, I think that’s really important to state, it’s moving on with the momentum, make sure that momentum is carried on, we’ve had a really strong this year; focussed on campaigning, focussing on getting students involved. I think it’s really important that we carry on that work.
I found out which I found really bad, well disgusting actually, that not all the part-time and casual jobs in the University that can be done by students are sourced in The Bridge. All the ones in the Library, like all the part-time staff that can be done by students are sourced through The Bridge, which is the student job shop, yet none of the advancement jobs are sourced through us that students can do, so it’s bringing all those in, especially at a time of a recession, when industries that students work in, like retail and catering are going, jobs are going in those industries, the University needs to be supporting it’s student body to find work, to keep them at University, there’s such a big furore about getting students here, it needs to support them when it gets them here, by making sure they’re offered those kind of jobs, and all those jobs are sourced through The Bridge, so only students can go for them, and it keeps students employed so that they can carry on with their degrees, that’s also one of my big priorities in the next year, and make sure those jobs are transferred through The Bridge.
Finally, another big point is making sure that UCLan’s voice is heard when it comes to the funding review that is going to happen. There are institutions out there that want to raise the cap of fees, the Vice Chancellor of Oxford has said he wants to raise the cap to £8,000 a year, if that happens then they’re going to raise our fees to easily £6,000 a year. Now that won’t affect the current students as they are at the moment, the next generation of students, brothers, sisters, children of current students, are all going to be affected and before you know it, you have a two tier system, where only the super-rich can go to the elite institutions and it leaves everyone else going to institutions that have less money going to them, not that they aren’t good enough, but it creates a two-tier system, and it suddenly becomes going to university on your ability to pay rather than your your ability to learn or your ability to perform and I’m really against that, I think that’s an unfair system, and something we have to fight the government on.
Campaign plans?
The experience that I’ve got, that leadership, I think when you’re Campaigns Officer it’s about working with people and getting people to work together and gelling and taking that and making sure, and I think that’s what the President is there to do, is to bring all the experience in and take that forward and move that on. So I think that’s one of the key things I’m going to take forward. An actual physical campaign that I want to transfer to next year that I will be doing is the Voter Registration Campaign, it’s getting students acting, voting in not just union elections which is really important, but local, regional, and European elections as well. With the European elections happening this year, trying to do a big push on that, that’s in the planning processes, and with the General election having to happen next year I’d like to continue that process and take that forward. But I think it’s making sure I’m there as a guide as a second year sabbatical in leading the team into the next 12 months and making sure we really focus and keep going as well as we have; making sure we’re a campaigning focussed Union, rather than a really disjointed executive sabbatical team, I think that I will be the person to gel everything together and make everyone work cohesively.
What are your negatives?
I’m quite loud. It’s not really a negative but I have my opinions, I’m always willing to listen to opinions, but I am quite opinionated, I’m a politics student, it goes with the degree, some people find that intimidating, some people find my opinionatedness, not necessarily my opinions, the fact that I am so opinionated, I have an opinion on anything, some people find that quite intimidating, to work with. I have, I must admit, from last year to this year, toned it down a hell of a lot, I am definitely more accepting, I used to be, well even before Uni, I used to be very much my opinion, it’s my way. Now it’s definitely give and take, so I think I’ve curbed that one slightly, but you’d have to ask the others!
I can be indecisive, there are points, on big decisions, I like consultation, especially in a team like this, not that all the decision are from one person, even as President, I think because we all have the same liability for the union and all have the same sort of responsibility just split up within job roles I think, could that be seen as a negative? I like to consult.
What do you think are the main factors affecting the unions future?
The recession, a massive one, obviously, the way we perform commercially, affects what we can do for students, because of the Back2U, whatever students spend goes back to the student body, so if students aren’t going out, aren’t going to gigs, not going to Source, it kind of has a knock on effect, so that’s going to be a massive thing in the next twelve months, so it’s trying to cater and change as students change, so students aren’t going out as much, they’re not going out and getting hammered like they did in the 90’s, where it was five-nights a week, it was fine.
Students don’t do that any more, so it’s changing the way the Uni work, things like the Atrium coming out is brilliant, because that’s a good healty-eating restaurant, which is big at the moment with the environment and healthy eating. So, the main one is recession I’d say. Recession, and fighting fees.
How can you improve on your predecessor?
Gavin has been a brilliant President, what I think I will bring is the experience that Gavin lacked at the start, so I’ll be able to start on day one, on the 1st of July. The training that I will have will be the training with the team, rather than the training for the job, I know what working here is like, I have done it for a year, I have got that experience. Gavin had a good two, three months where he had to learn about the Union as well as learn how to be President, I know the Union, I just need to work out what my place is in the team.
So I think that’s definitely going to be the biggest advantage that I’d have over Gavin, it’s just experience. Gavin has been a brilliant President, once he got that on board, he was a brilliant President.
How are you going to cope with the added responsibility and pressure?
I don’t think there is any extra pressure, I think it’s just your focus shifts, so where at the moment I am very focused on minority groups, LGBT, disabled students, black and ethnic minority students and so forth, it’s just I’ll focus more on national, local issues with the community with Burnley College, with the campus that’s starting. I don’t think it will be more stressful, I just think my focus will change, I don’t feel it’s a more stressful job.
Why should we elect you as President?
Because I bring passion, I bring experience and I bring knowledge to the role that I think that the other candidate can’t bring because I’ve been so involved, because I know the Union really well, it’s just what I’m good at, it’s just what I’ve done since I started. I also bring good leadership qualities, which is what you need as President, you need to bring that all in for the team, I’m a good touch person, I’m able to bring all those qualities together and I’m hoping I can be a President that people can rely on, as the experienced one to guide them through the next year and I think that’s one of the best things I bring to President and also my vocalisation of issues.
If you’re going to vote, and I recommend you read stuff, vote for the person who you think will be the best for the Union, vote for the best future for the Union, and I think that person is me!
Campaigns officer relates a lot to my course so I can bring that experience to running campaigns for the Uni and I’m easy to talk to; anyone can talk to me about anything.
Experience and skills?
Obviously experience from my course and I have good communication skills: I can solve problems for people, I’m a good listener, I’m here to help and that’s what I want to do.
Top 3 goals in the office?
1. I want to make the uni more aware of environmental issues. Trying to recycle more and let students know what doing their little part can help.
2. I want to try and make university a safer place for students
3. Involve more people in the union through different campaigns, like the recent student debt drive.
Campaign plans?
Posters, word of mouth, megaphones, a lot of people I know on sports teams will be handing out flyers for me, I’ll be using facebook- anything I can do to get a message across.
If you could run one campaign during your time in office, what would it be?
Something about the environment, or making links with local charities and the community around UCLan. The things that are there in the background but that students aren’t necessarily aware of.
What are your negatives?
I hope I don’t have any! I think I need to work on my organisational skills, but in a position like this you’re going to get better.
How can you improve on your predecessor?
I don’t want to improve just continue what’s already been done; more student involvement and just building on what’s been done this year
How can you cope with the responsibility and pressure?
It’s a full time position so I won’t have any conflicting interests. I’m very driven to do this so obviously I’ll try the best I can.
Why should people elect you?
I’m a real person, so that always helps! I’m easy to talk to, sociable, fun, everyone will get to know me. I just like to help people.
Sell yourself in 10 seconds?
I’m a very bubbly, talkative, lively person, I’m approachable… vote for me!
Pluto is the independent student newspaper of the University of Central Lancashire. We are run by a team of student volunteers headed by the Students' Union's Media Officer. If you've got a story or would like to write for Pluto contact sumedia@uclan.ac.uk.
