This week sees the UEA Students Union officer elections 2018 take place at Norwich’s largest educational institution. The Norwich Radical contacted all candidates in the election for comment on why they’re running and what they stand for. This article and the others in the series are intended to offer an insight into the current and future state of the union and of the UEA more broadly.
UEA students can vote in the elections at uea.su/ueavotes until Tuesday March 6th.
The statements of those candidates for the positions of Campaigns & Democracy and Activities & Opportunities officer that responded by the deadline are presented here, unedited, along with their manifestos. The manifestos of the candidates who did not respond are presented without comment. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Campaigns & Democracy
Abbie Mulcairn
We need a strong, grassroots campaign to oppose the selling off of UEA land to private accommodation providers and defend the right for students who rely on their student loans to be able to afford to live on their own campuses. As someone who has been involved in student activism for 5 years, I have the experience to lead a powerful, grassroots campaign and take University accommodation back into the hands of students.
For the past four years I’ve been running campaigns on campus and in the city. As UEA SU’s Women’s Officer, I helped to organise the Reclaim the Night march in Norwich, standing up against sexual violence and for a safe night out.
I’d love to keep organising campaigns like this. If you want to see more of it, head over to uea.su/ueavotes now and vote Abbie number 1 for Campaigns & Democracy.
Sophie Atherton
I chose to run for the role of Campaigns and Democracy because I’ve loved being at UEA, but students deserve better than what UEA can offer and I believe that I can make a real difference. That’s why I’m standing to be your next Campaigns and Democracy Officer. I want to improve facilities for mental health and support students through their degree. I want to tackle costs on campus and ensure the SU stays democratic. Vote Sophie for Campaigns and Democracy!
Activities & Opportunities
Emily Bourne
Candidate did not submit a statement to us or a manifesto image to uea.su. We instead present a screenshot of their text manifesto.
Oli Gray
I’m Oli, I study Environmental Science, work in the LCR and I’m part of the UEA Sport exec team. I’m running for Opportunities officer because I want to tackle everyday student issues and getting every student involved in our top class opportunities programme, and I have some new ideas for how we can achieve this.
Firstly, research shows sport can help reduce/prevent mental health issues. I’ll work to provide free activity sessions to any student waiting to see a mental health counsellor. I’ll improve committee training with more relevant topics like mental health & things you want to know.
Secondly, lectures are encroaching on student’s activity time because there’s not enough teaching space, so I’ll introduce a ‘keep Wednesday afternoons free’ campaign to protect our time for all extra curricular activities. I’ll also work with other officers to ensure UEA’s expansion has no impact on current students.
Finally, student’s face many costs whilst at university, but cost should never be a barrier to student opportunities. I’ll immediately make it compulsory for clubs & societies to offer a 1 semester membership, and I’ll work with UEA Sport on freezing SAM membership to stop it increasing.
Featured image credit: UEA SU
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