shefbase.com :: News

Meet the Women’s Officer Candidates

uninews — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:36:46 +0000

Just two people are going head to head for the role of Women’s Officer in 2008/9. Here’s a quick summary of what they want to do for you:

Fiona Edwards is “standing to guarantee women a proper say in our Union and University life and to improve the Union for all students.” She wants active, high-profile campaigns for equality with a view to ending the 15% pay gap for women graduates, strengthening women’s representation and demanding an end to violence against women. Furthermore, she wants more equality within the university. Fiona wants to make sure women’s safety is not compromised, providing free safety alarms and self-defence classes, making the women’s safety bus more accessible, improving security around halls and she will push for better street lighting. She also plans to revolutionise the Students Union, making it all-inclusive, ethical and environmentally friendly. Fiona is ready and raring for the position, after being a Union Council Women’s Rep, a Women’s Committee Chair and an NUS Women’s Conference delegate. She is also a pro-choice campaigner, Co-Chair Ethical & Environmental Committee and she has been active in the People & Planet, Student Assembly Against Racism & Peace Campaigns.

Elizabeth Kamunge wants to celebrate “the diversity of ages, life-stages, races, and cultures” within our female students and plans to do so through drama, art & photography competitions, music and the spoken word. She wants to make us all aware of those important issues by introducing a lecture series featuring high profile speakers on thought-provoking debates and relevant issues. Lobbying to close the pay gap between male and female graduates and promoting female participation in local communities are on Elizabeth’s agenda, as well as introducing “an open-door office policy”, with drop in sessions. She also wants to introduce ‘Heroine of the month’ to award those who daily make our Uni a better place. Elizabeth feels her previous experience equips her with the necessary skills for the role, including being a delegate at 7th Session of UN Human rights council in Geneva, Vice- Chair of Sharrowvale Residents Association and General Secretary of the East African Society.

Don’t forget to vote for your choice, starting on Tuesday 14th April http://www.shef.ac.uk/union/student-voice/elections08/candidates.php.

Who stays? You decide.

uninews — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:37:27 +0000

On Tuesday we go on the trusty ballot again, as voting opens for the final five Student Officers for next year, after no majority was reached in the previous referendum.

This time 18 candidates are ready and raring to represent you in the roles of Finance, Welfare, Women’s, Sports, and Activities Officer. From Tuesday until Thursday you have the chance to pop on in to any of the voting stations and take your pick.

The voting stations are……

The Union Foyer: Tues & Wed 9.45am-6pm & Thurs 9.45am-5pm

Western Bank Library Foyer & Sir Frederick Mappin Building Foyer: Tues-Thurs 11.45am-3pm

Information Commons: Tues & Wed 11am-7pm & Thurs 11am–5pm

Tapton Hall: Tues & Wed 5pm-7pm

The Edge: Tues & Wed 5pm–8pm

Dearne Valley (Manvers): Tues-Thurs 12noon-2pm

Medical School: Tues-Thurs 12noon-2pmPG Research Centre: Tues 11am-2pm

And of course keep your eyes on shefbase.com for all your election needs.

Isn’t democracy lovely?!

Live - Union Election Pt.1 results

editor — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:10:19 +0000

Who will be our next President? Who will be the new Education and International officers? Will there be a Womens Officer next year? Find out right here as the shefbase team bring you all the developments live from the Raynor Lounge.

23:54 Ok well that’s all folks! The party’s well on its way and Matima has just had to be carried outside past me… We know our first three officers for next year and nominations for the remaining officer positions opens tomorrow. Join us again adter Easter for the next instalment of E-day live! On behalf of myself and my news team I hope you all enjoyed our coverage and are pleased by the new officer team. Until next time, this is Andrew signing off. Bonne nuit!

23:44 Shefbase bumps into Alex Walker, former Presidential candidate who wasn’t on the stage for the announcement. We asked why: “well it was a mate’s birthday, I wasn’t going to miss that! I knew who was going to win, I sent my mate a prediction a few days ago. I did predict two out of the three correct…”

23:37Dave Hurst is finally found outside, surrounded by adoring fans. Shefbase manages to wiggle into the crowds and get a few words. Dave is in high spirits and looking forward to the future: “I’m so sick of seeing my own face everywhere and hearing my own name! The first thing I intend to do is to start sorting out the who diplomatic system. People don’t like to talkbout it because they think people won’t vote for them if they do. I want to bring things back to the students (uh oh…I’m talking in cliches) The other officers elected tonight couldn’t be better, a dream team. We all have the same mindset and we’re going to bring around real change, no more bullsh*t. I’m going to spend the night thanking everyone who helped me out!

23:20Well we’re trying to find our new President but he seems to have vanished! In the meantime outgoing Sports Officer Mark Foster dropped in for a chat. So what did he feel about the new President: “Well to be honest I don’t know anything about him!” On a more familiar note, shefbase asked how Varsity was going. “It’s going to be much closer this year, we had a three point advantage before yesterday but we finished the day after winning one less than we lost. It’s going to be close this year”. The search continues…

22:44 Shefbase sends their congrats to all the candidates.

22:43 And your Student Union President for 2008/09 is Dave Hurst

22:33 We have just found out that there was only about 100 votes between the top two candidates in the education race and we hear the presidential result is much closer. Keep touching base to find out who your new president is.

22:27 Rebecca is overwhelmed with emotion. She is crying on the stage after dedicating her victory to her Grandad.

22:23The time has now come for the Education Officer to be revealed . . . . . . . Your new Education Officer for 2008/09 is, drum roll please Louise, Rebecca Watson.

22:17 We have finally caught up with Saj, who said: “Anybody could have won with a campaign as good as mine. I have realistic policies that will see results within a year.”

22:11Bar One is now filled with people singing ‘I am the One and Only’, what a time for Andrew to make his return. Now where’s my drink!? SuperSaj is our new international officer - we’ll try to grab a word with him when he’s finished celebrating…

22:06 As the crowds chant ‘SuperSaj’ he is thanking everyone who supported and helped him with his campaign.

22:00Your International Officer for 2008/09 is Sajeev Jeganathan.

22:00 The International result is on its way down. Stay posted.

21:46 Due to a lack of votes, less than 2/3, no proposal for the 2008 student officer referendum was accepted so the roles are staying as they are. Congrats to the officers who campaigned for option three. Nominations open at 9am tomorrow for students to put themselves forward for womens, welfare, sports, activities and finance officers.

21:32: We have just had word from the budding Charlotte Rose, the hardest presidential candidate to find due to her size, who said: “I’m not feeling anything really. But it’s not because I am drunk but because I’m so tired from three weeks of campaigning. What ever happens, happens. I just plan to enjoy the night”.

21:27: Sian, reporter for shefbase,returns to the table with a ‘Supersaaj’ symbol painted on her cheek…and it looks good.

21:17: ‘Top Cat’, running for Education Officer, says “I’m a little nervous, but excited. I ran the campaign the way I wanted to and I wouldn’t do anything differently.”

21:17: The various camps seem to battling to see who can “Whoop whoop” the loudest…

21:02: Silence as Maria is about the read the referendum results… The Constitutional Review is passed with 864 to 144. 2051 votes mean that the University is to remain NUS affiliated and the Gay Friendly Policy is passed 1632 to 272.

21:00: Alex Robin, a supporter of David Hurst,says “It’s been a close race, but in the words of Highlander: ‘There can be only one!’”

20:52: An excited Sajeev Jeganathan, running for International Officer says: “Regardless of how the results turn out, this has been the best time of my life. I’ve made so many friends and I know I’ll have them for life, they’ve helped me when I was in trouble. If it wasn’t for them my campaign wouldn’t have been so good. It was the biggest by far.”

20:38: Sarah Shreeve, Chair of the Disabled Students Committee, claims that the referendum is still going forward. She is “behind option one 100%. I’m not disputing that women face discrimination, but if you compare the level of discrimination that women face compared to their level of representation within the Union to the level of discrimination that LGBT, disabled and black students to the level of representation that they have it just doesn’t add up. Option one is the only proposal that did anything for these groups and the only one that consulted the committees, so for us it was the only choice.”

20:33: Mr Andrew Burgess has briefly left his shefbase baby in the ‘capable’ hands of Louise and Sophie - two self-confessed technology rookies. Cross your fingers for us…

20:24: The announcements couldn’t come any sooner, now we’re being treated to the Backstreet Boys, not to worry though, I have the company of five females… Journalism does have its perks!

20:20: Matimba Swana has come to the ball. Wearing a pink dress and strugging with a weak voice, she is glad the campaigning is over. “I enjoyed the campaigning so very much, I’d reccommend anyone to do it, I’ve met so many nice people and made so many new friends.”

19:57: Dave Hurst really is enjoying himself: “Oh, I’m loving the moment. I’ve feeling very optimistic and I hope I win!”

19:51: Rebecca Watson, fresh off the dancefloor, said: “I’m feeling very anxious and nervous but I have no regrets whatsoever. I’ve put everything into this campaign and I could not have done anymore.”

19:37: Spirits are obviously high in the Dave Hurst camp as they all take to the dance floor and strut their stuff! Meanwhile, the Steel team have shown up next to us…

19:17: It’s all kicking off in Bar One now, we’ve just cracked out the French Fancies…

18:38: Recent news from the counting room is that more than 270 people have rejected the gay/transexual policy. Further updates will follow later.

18:00: Good evening from Bar One. Andrew Burgess here reporting on the exciting events happening here tonight. Aided by my news team we hope to be your eyes and ears down here tonight. Now where’s my drink.

17:08: Early rumours suggest that the referendum may not go ahead as one of the options may not have achieved enough votes. We’ll keep you posted as and when we learn any more.

17:00: Time’s up! Voting has finished. Now we await the results… In the meantime there’s a massive game of hokey-cokey happening on the concourse - seems like everyone’s glad the campaigning period is over!

Meet your International Candidates

uninews — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:53:32 +0000

Election time is upon us and your International Candidates are waiting for your votes.

If elected, Leslie Ngwa will form a coalition of leaders of active international students associations and opinion leaders amongst students of all countries at the university to deliberate on and carry out major projects and activities which his office will fund.

Furthermore, most of the international students face significant difficulties in getting part-time jobs and he wants to organize short training programmes to train students in till operation, customer service, industrial cleaning and other skills.

He will also create a Pre-Alumni Network (PAN) which will boost real social and intellectual networking amongst students for future mutual benefits upon graduation.

Leslie, an MA student in International Political Economy, said: “during my tenure, I will organize more international student parties with more variety and competitions such as eating, dancing and drinking competitions”.

Remember: “In our world today a vote is a share, a voter is a shareholder and voting is an investment. Invest you vote where it will yield social, academic and professional dividend. As Barack Obama says, ‘we are the people we have been waiting for’. Give ourselves a better chance, vote for Leslie Ngwa”.

Sajeev Jeganathan plans to promote easy and enjoyable integration, support international needs through existing institutions, assist students wishing to spend a year abroad, introduce home students to new cultures, foster interaction among all students. Sajeev said: “My time in Sheffield has made me who I am today: an individual who has been inspired and motivated by embracing and understanding all forms of diversity, in the forms of culture, religion and ethnicity.

“I strongly believe that this as well as my drive and determination make me worthy of holding this honourable position. I believe that an International Students’ Officer exemplifies an individual who sees diversity not as a force to pull us apart, but as a gift that can bring us all together.

“I am a candidate with experience, vision and charisma. I am Supersaj.”

By Sophie Donnelly

Bryony Bites Back

editor — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 20:22:11 +0000

Bryony Shanks, the Union’s current Women’s Officer, has issued a cry for support ahead of next week’s referendum which could see her position abolished for next year’s term.

She has gathered 1100 student signatures who are in support of keeping her position on the Student Council, after the student officers voted to replace it with an Equality Officer.

Sheffield students will have to vote from Tuesday to Thursday to keep the position of Women’s Officer on the Council.

“Services such as Bite Back, the Women’s Safety Bus and safety alarms for women will be in decline if the position is abolished”, said Bryony.

“Also women will find it harder to confide in a man about matters of sexual harassment or eating disorders.

“There is some comfort in talking to a woman because there is common ground there. To abolish the woman’s officer is to turn our backs on these vital groups”, she added.

At the beginning of the year Bite Back, a support group for women with eating disorders, was non -existent.

After Bryony and her team put their time and effort into the cause it is one of the most vital groups in the University as it offers much support for those who need it.

“You can guarantee that a women’s officer will be passionate about her job. But with an equality officer different groups will have to fight for attention”, said Bryony, who wants students to vote for option two in the referenda.

“By voting for option two, next years council will have a Women’s Officer, Sports, Activities, Welfare and Accommodation Officer, as well as a Finance, Ethical and Environmental one”.

Sheffield Hallam abolished the position a few years ago and the university has regretted it ever since.

John Anderson, former Sheffield Hallam Equality Officer, said: “We used to have a thriving women’s group until our sabbatical team took the ill fated decision to scrap our women’s officers and replace them with an Equality position.

“The result was disastrous for women’s representation. In just a year, without direct support and representation, the women’s group and all the great work it had done disappeared.”

“I am so grateful for everyone who is supporting my position. It is hard to know how people will vote but I am excited for the outcome”, added Bryony.

By Sophie Donnelly

Education: Meet the Candidates

editor — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:59:47 +0000

There are only five candidates for Education Officer this year, all desperate as ever to represent you. But are they offering what you want? Shefbase’s Louise Dobson provides us with a summary of the candidates and their plans if elected:

Catherine Renwick wants to encourage students to evaluate their own academic progress and to utilise their personal tutors, claiming that such skills are invaluable in applying for jobs after graduation. Furthermore, she wants to introduce a mentoring scheme across all university departments. She wants to encourage postgraduate students to play a greater role within the Union, and to review the induction and supervision of postgraduate students. Concerning tuition fees, Catherine plans to “campaign to ensure choice and not a market place”.

Huw Groucutt believes that it’s time to take action against tuition fees and wants to encourage a radical student movement to revolutionise the way in which our education is funded. As an active member of the Communist Students, Huw feels that “students and staff must stand together and democratically decide on the nature of education, which should be geared towards making university enjoyable and fulfilling - teaching the skills required to change the world.”

Matimba Swana wants to change our libraries, especially St Georges, which she claims needs longer opening hours for those who need access to the books it exclusively holds. Additionally, she advocates lengthening the loan times on books and clear explanations of due dates and fines. As your Education Officer she would promote the careers service, and provide careers fairs that represent jobs from all disciplines, rather than just those from law or finance. She advocates subsidies towards external examinations, such as the NCTJ’s, which Journalism students currently have to fund themselves.

Rebecca Watson feels that her previous experience and understanding of how the union works makes her the perfect candidate for Education Officer. She believes that this role provides the chance for students in trouble to have an important representative voice, with the confidence and knowledge to solve any problem encountered. Rebecca plans to strengthen academic representation, especially for postgraduate students. She proposes a consistent review of resources so that they can be used and accessed to their full potential and wants to take a stance against the proposed lifting of the cap on top up fees.

Sam Durk plans to dedicate himself to fighting towards the abolition of top-up fees, because he claims rising University tuition fees are only being met by a decrease in teaching time and money spent on students. He plans to actively seek a resolution and “will work for a system where anyone can get a free higher education without having to first worry about the cost”. He also feels that all unions should be allowed a democratic input at national level through annual conference, and therefore will challenge and oppose the NUS governance review.

Which of these meets your expectations? You can see and hear more of the policies and opinions of these candidates as they present them in front of the camera by going to http://www.shef.ac.uk/union/student-voice/elections08/candidates.php.

Shefbase meets Charlotte Rose

editor — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:56:10 +0000

“I would make Union democracy more face-to-face, personal and more interactive.”

At the end of a busy week campaigning, Charlotte Rose spared a few moments to talk to the shefbase to explain why you should pick her as the next Union President.

SB: Thank you for taking time to speak to the shefbase. What inspired you to run for president?
CR: OK well over the past three years I have had what I would consider to be the number 1 experience at Sheffield University and I want all students to be able to have that experience. I believe Sheffield is the best Union in the country and I want it to continue to be the best and be the best for all students, not just the majority. I think it can be that and I have the credentials and experience to push the Union in the right direction.

SB: One of your main policies is to make the Union more accessible to all, how do you plan to do that?
I have four main strategies for this but a way to cover them all would be to say that I would make Union democracy more face-to-face, personal and more interactive. For a start I’d like to introduce Officer Question Time on Sure Radio, so during an hour slot each week we put all the officer team into the studio, which will be fun because it’s a squeeze, and publicise it well so people can phone up and present their problem. A lot of things happen behind closed doors in the Union and I want students to be able to say ‘I know what’s going on in my Union’ because they can speak to their officers.

Another way to make this more face-to-face is to have MP-style surgery hours so that each officer has an hour, just like your personal tutors, set aside a week to sit and talk to students because I feel it is so important that officers are approachable and don’t just sit up in an ivory tower. Another way is to introduce an e-petitioning system where students register by using their U-card and once a petition reaches 1,000 signatures the relevant officer will have to address that issue because it clearly is something enough students feel strongly about.

SB: Another of your policies is to get high-profile speakers to speak in the Union. How feasible is this and how will you ensure problems, such as those seen in Oxford this year, are avoided?
For a start I think it is important to take into consideration that this is a University campus and safety of students has to be paramount. Whilst I would advocate freedom of speech on most matters, I would put the safety of students before inviting really controversial speakers. As for financing it, I think that it is incredibly financially viable; if you have a high profile speaker that people will be interested in listening to, you can charge a small amount for tickets, say £2-2.50 a ticket, and if held in the Union auditorium with a capacity of 500, you’ll easily cover the cost.

SB: Casting your mind back to the union council elections, were you surprised at the low voter turnout?
To be honest, I wasn’t hugely surprised because although Sheffield has one of the highest voter turnouts of any university in the country, the electorate is about four thousand, which out of a university of around 25,000 undergraduates and at least 2,000 postgraduates is fairly poor. Obviously we need to implement a strategy which doesn’t turn people off Union Politics, but gets them interested and engaged. I think the wording and the whole idea of the Union Council makes it sound dull and like something many people would necessarily want to get involved in, so that’s one problem.

The second aspect is promotion. I saw a lot of emails and a lot of publicity that went around, yet a lot of people still didn’t seem to know that the election was taking place. We need to make sure that we reach the students by the medium that suits them, whether that’s through the Steel-base, sorry [corrects herself], through the Steel Press, the Shefbase, Sure Radio or podcasts from the union website.

SB: With the election being split into two parts, do you think it will have a negative impact on the turnout for the second part?
Yes, because obviously people will have gone through the whole process once and people do get fed up with it because it can be quite trying when you have candidates coming to speak to you in your lectures for three weeks. Whether the referendum goes through or not, I hope it doesn’t have a negative impact on the campaigns of the remaining five officer posts.

SB: How do you think your campaign is going?
I think it’s going really well despite the fact that I have contracted a rather nasty throat infection! Both sets of hustings went really well and I was lucky to have an incredible amount of support, I cannot thank those who have helped and supported me enough.

SB: So why should students vote for you?
I know that over the past three years I have given a great amount of energy, enthusiasm and dedication to the Union and the societies and sports clubs I have been involved in. I have been involved on a variety of levels in the Union and therefore feel that I am ideally placed to see how the Union works, to see what’s going wrong and how to improve it. I think I’m the only candidate with enough experience to make my policies a reality.

SB: Describe yourself in three words:
Oh tricky, I would have to say approachable, enthusiastic and dedicated.

Charlotte Rose was speaking to Andrew Burgess

Shefbase meets Alex Walker

editor — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:54:31 +0000

“I’m not pledging free education or pledging to end world poverty, not that they aren’t important, but at the end of the day I’m one man.”

Ahead of Wednesday’s husting event in the Interval, Alex Walker invited the shefbase for a chat over a steak about why you should vote for him as the next Union President.

SB: Thank you for taking time to speak to the shefbase. What inspired you to run for president?
AW: Well I didn’t vote last year and that was because there were no candidates who really struck a chord with me, so I thought that I’d make an effort to change this and do something positive rather than grumble about it, not vote and take no part in it. Whether people agree with my policies or not, I’m just throwing them out there, so if someone does agree they have someone who will represent them this year.

SB: Your flyer in the campaign booklet doesn’t outline any of your policies, what will you do if elected president?
All my policies are outlined on my Facebook group page, but amongst them is my plan to organise a Founders Day, which is basically an extra day’s holiday a year in one sense, but when we will try to get alumni to come back to the university to speak in their own departments. This is so that people can network and be inspired, and then maybe have a formal ball in the evening as I really don’t think we have enough ‘dress-to-impress’ occasions.

Another of my policies linked to that is putting more emphasis on local charities. I really feel that instead of campaigning for arms deals etc, which is important, we can campaign for other issues such as homelessness which is a real problem here in Sheffield. Why can’t we hold more events, more fashion shows and stuff like that? We can raise a lot of money and make a massive difference on our own doorsteps.

SB: What is this I heard about the Guinness Book of Records?
I want to make this union a record breaking union by setting up a committee to help us decide which records are realistic. We could get sponsorship for this and it would be great for PR and also a really good laugh.

SB: Turning to a more serious issue, what is your opinion on the potential abolition of the Women’s officer?
Well I don’t think it should be abolished. The main reason for this is that women make up 50% of the population, well maybe even slightly more. In an ideal world I don’t think we would need to have a Women’s officer because it wouldn’t really matter. I don’t think the Union has organised an assurance that women’s issues would be pursued effectively if we didn’t have an officer. Rhe role seems to attract people that are good for the position, and with all the work that has been done in the past it is important. For those reasons, I would stick with it.

SB: Were you disappointed at the low voter turnout for the union council elections?
I did find it disappointing that people didn’t want to use their right and vote, but I don’t find it too surprising. The reason no-one votes in union politics is because the majority of us are middle-of-the-road guys and girls with no particular extreme leanings and the other people who want to represent us are CV builders or habitual committee members who sit on every committee there is. I haven’t and if you look are my early stuff, my about me section for example, I started out a bit ‘tongue-in-cheek’ but then when I realised that I was the only person who I thought represented people from my background, I started to take it all more seriously. It is important to vote, and I think we need to promote it more to encourage people not only to vote, but to run for the officer positions.

SB: With the election being split into two parts, do you think there is the risk of an even lower voter turnout in the second part?
I think it will cause confusion but will cause a better turnout on the first part of the election. I think we’ll get more people to show up just to vote on the referendum issue to make sure the activities and sports merger doesn’t happen for example. Equally it could go the other way; we could still end up with low turnout and a lot of people’s views being lost, and then getting a poorer turnout for the second part because people just don’t know what’s going on. It’s confusing when you have two elections and it makes it sort of boring when it goes on for weeks and weeks and weeks. People are going to be covered in flyers and posters everywhere! It would have been better to keep it all as one block, that way people will show up to vote.

SB: So why should students vote for you?
Because I’m just an ordinary guy like them. As I’ve already mentioned, I’m running this year because there was nobody representing me running last year, and while my policies are perhaps a little bit inward looking and focus too much on sorting things out within the union, they are realisable ones. I’m not pledging free education or pledging to end world poverty, not that they aren’t important, but at the end of the day I’m one man. What I can deliver is a clearer constitution, which is more accessible to everyone and will make the union more relevant.

SB: Describe yourself in three words:
Urm, [consults a friend passing by] a pretty straight guy.

Alex Walker was speaking to Andrew Burgess

Shefbase meets Dave Hurst

editor — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:33:07 +0000

“Of course leafleting is the evil you have to do to get in, but I’m saving that until I absolutely have to.”

Ahead of tonight’s husting event in the Interval, Dave Hurst spoke to the shefbase about his environmental policies and why you should vote for him as their next Union President.

SB: Thank you for taking time to speak to the shefbase. So what inspired you to run for president?
DH: Well I think it was the candidates from last year. I’ve always been passionate about student issues and I’ve always been quite opinionated but it always seemed like there was not a distinct choice each year between the candidates, whereas I’m running my campaign upon real policies. It just seemed like everyone was standing for the same reasons and no-one ever seemed very passionate about these issues which is why I’m standing.

SB: You mentioned that candidates of previous years have all campaigned for the same policy, but your own environmental policies are similar, if not the same. Why is yours any different, and why do you think you can implement them?
I think it’s in the way of tackling them; lobbying the university about education facilities or lobbying the council about recycling. I do not think the union did as much as it could have; there is a lot of waste in our communities, 25,000 students go here and I just feel that increasing internal recycling is one of the border issues. I think it’s great that we have the recycling facilities at the Arts Tower but I think the union could lobby further. I think in terms of the community, the [city] council appreciates our presence, I’m sure, making my policy viable with the role of the president as a representative of the 25,000 students. I think that is what makes my policies different from every other year.

SB: What in particular will you be lobbying the City Council for?
Recycling on our doorsteps. At the moment, we only have paper and card so I want glass, tin and plastic too. It is implemented in most small towns and especially when Sheffield is proud of its green credentials I think we can be doing more than we currently are. We have our bin in our house and within one week it was overflowing and this will be repeated by the other 50,000 when you include those at Hallam.

SB: Another of your policies is to extend sports for everybody, how will you go about this?
Well at the heart of the problem is the elitism that I see behind most of the sports teams, I feel that it is everyone’s money and everyone should benefit from it. Not all the sports teams are like this, there are some that if you are not in the first team you are not allowed to train and that is what I am trying to tackle. I am interested in activities because I feel activities are those that do not exclude anyone. It maybe a problem of funding, which is why I want to achieve value for money. I would not mind playing some of the sports but I do not want to play it too seriously but I feel I, like everyone else, should be getting something out of it as well.

SB: What about the potential merger of the activities and sport officers?
Well I think it is good that there is a discussion about it but for me neither of the three options are brilliant. I don’t wish to share my opinion on where I’ll vote on the issue but that’s why I have put policies in, so if it does happen we know what I will be representing and show that activities are being catered for whatever happens.

SB: What exactly does your policy for ‘events for all’ entail?
What I say ‘nights for all’ it doesn’t mean emo nights or rock nights. What I mean by that is that is events for minority students, non-alcohol nights and other events like that. I do not see any reason why, either weekly or fortnightly, the Raynor Lounge can be separately booked for that. I think we should at least try to engage all students so that more of the student population are using the facilities. On one of the union nights a pint of Coke costs £2 which I think is a disgrace when it is cheaper to buy a pint of alcohol.

SB: Another of your policies is to make the union more transparent. How will you achieve that?
Well it is things like the financial statements, things that are not publicly available and to get a copy of it you have to put pressure on people. I think that by putting such documents online we can show the union in a better light, and people can see whereabouts their money is spent. Everyone’s asking ‘what’s wrong with the union?’ but no-one knows because no-one has been told the facts. It is a non-profit organisation so it should be showing its members how it spends its money and they should have a say in that without having to go to student council.

SB: Were you surprised at the low voter turnout for the union council elections?
I think it was an absolute disgrace when some people were getting elected on three votes. I think the reason no-one voted was because no-one knew who they [candidates] were or how to contact them and so as soon as they were elected they were off on their own.

SB: So with the election being split into two parts, do you think there is the risk of an even lower voter turnout?
No, but I do feel it will be detrimental to those people who are running afterwards. As you’ve seen in previous elections, after the first two-three weeks everyone has grown tired of it and I feel bad for them [candidates] that are to run afterwards when lectures have resumed. I think that will really hurt the quality of the candidates that will be elected in the other half. If we had had this referendum back in December we could have avoided this two-tier system and everyone could have gone for it at the same time. I think this is also the reason why there are fewer candidates this year; last year there were eight, this year there are four [for president] because the whole election has been overshadowed by this referendum.

SB: So why should students vote for you?
I think that I am a breath of fresh air, something different. I am a genuine character and I am passionate in what I believe in. I swear that I’m not just doing this for the CV; I’m really fed up of that kind of person who does it for that reason. I hope it comes through in my policies. I cannot guarantee we can get the council on board but I think we must at least try.

SB: Describe yourself in three words:
Genuine, honest and approachable.

Dave Hurst was speaking to Andrew Burgess

Shefbase meets Laurie McCauley

editor — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:44:25 +0000

“We want to be realist rather than idealistic; we’re not promising anything.”

Ahead of tonight’s husting in the Interval, third year sociology student and communist representative Laurie McCauley spoke to the shefbase to affirm his position in favour of retaining the women’s officer and explain why students should vote for him as their next Union President.

SB: Thank you for speaking to the shefbase this morning. So what inspired you to run for president?
LmC: Well for us it’s not just about getting elected, change isn’t just going to come from even a few communists coming into office. For us it is an opportunity to propagate our ideas and to try and rebuild the student movement.

SB: What would be the first thing you would do if elected president?
Have a drink I think! What I would say is that we would not do very much firstly because the officers do not actually have very much power, every decision the union council makes has to be ratified by the university bureaucracy. We would try to use the position to rally the students around us in order to fight for change such as with the union’s position on top-up fees for example where there has been a struggle going on amongst the students and the NUS support has been very half-hearted not taking further education seriously.

SB: What is your position on the top-up fees?
We argue for an aid to top-up fees and tuition fees with a living grant for all to include the colleges of around £300 a week so that students can live a full and decent life while in education. People say to us ‘oh don’t you think it’s fair for those with well-off backgrounds to pay more towards their degree’, but you cannot say it is fair if everyone is not paying exactly the same. We are not really for prejudicing against students from rich backgrounds; they should get just as much as those students from working class backgrounds.

SB: On of the major debates of these elections is on the abolition of the women’s officer role. What is your view on this move?
Oh we’re absolutely against it. Personally, I cannot see why they are doing this, maybe they’re just doing it for the sake of it really. If anything, we should not be electing officers to a particular post if they are changing the officer roles. We should be electing them all to the same place and then the officers can divide the work up between them. We do feel there should be a women’s officer and we do think there should be a dedicated LGB officer, a Black officer and a Disabled officer as well which can be selected to do that even if they are not of the same number.

SB: What about the potential merger of the activities and sport officers?
To be honest this just seems to a case of cost cutting and making life easier for the officers themselves. As with the equality officer, this is just going to reduce the time spent on students and although activities and sports is rather less important than the women’s officer, it is still something that will reduce the service for students.

SB: What do you think is the best thing the current team have done this year?
To be honest I haven’t really noticed! I think I would rather talk about the worst things they have done…

SB: How do you feel about the election being split into two parts? Is there the risk of a lower voter turnout?
Yes, I think it will probably lower the turnout and increase apathy. I think it has been completely arbitrarily performed; the reforms that they have pushed through this year really are not practical. Yes, we should have the referendum on the proposal, but we should wait until next year for the changes to come into effect.

SB: Were you surprised at the low voter turnout for the union council elections?
No, not really. People say to us ‘we don’t need politics in the union’ but it is hardly surprising to see such a low turnout when there is not any meaningful choice or vision from the candidates about what the students should be doing with their union. Basically, you have the choice between right-wingers and those who want to add to their CV or just have a party. We need politics in the union because it is just becoming more and more administrative rather than an actual union.

SB: Why should students vote for you?
We will stand up for their interests. We are the only consistent democrats. One of the questions at the Hustings last night for Huw [candidate for Education Officer] was “I’m not a communist, why should I vote for you?” and basically we’re the best fighters for education, the best fighters for democracy in the union. There are a lot of candidates calling for better recycling and other environmental policies, it’s all the stuff people promise but once in the bureaucracy you don’t know if you can actually fulfil. That is why we are wanting to be realist rather than idealistic; we’re not promising anything. Recycling a bit more is not going to solve the problems.

SB: Describe yourself in three words:
Oh, I was not expecting that one! Urm, I’m a democrat and urm, I’m a relaxed guy if you want to put that!

Laurie McCauley was speaking to Andrew Burgess