Broadcast: News items

Six Sussex students celebrate their election as Students' Union officers for 2013-14. From left to right: Sophie van der Ham, Richard Mashiter, Kelly McBride, Imogen Adie, Emily Holliday and Juliette Cule. Photo courtesy of the Students' Union.

Nearly 4,000 students have elected Students’ Union officers to represent them in 2013-14, setting a new turnout record. 

3,866 Sussex students – around 30 per cent - voted last week to elect six full-time officers, as well as to a number of part-time and other representative positions, including the first chair of the new Postgraduate Association.

The new officers will take up their year-long positions from June.

President – Kelly McBride (current President)

Kelly was re-elected to serve a second term as President under the Students’ Union’s Alternative Vote electoral system with 64% of the vote after next preference votes were counted. Kelly says she will continue to strengthen the Union and make it work for the wider student body. Specifically, she will work on measures to: promote Union independence, including pushing for funding increases; make the Union more effective, through better campaigning and use of technology; and defend education locally and nationally.

Operations Officer – Emily Holliday (English undergraduate)

Emily was elected on a manifesto focusing on ethics and environmental policy. She will lobby for more bike sheds on campus, encourage recycling and resist the marketisation of higher education. Growing the Students’ Union is also a priority of Emily’s, through creating a loyalty card scheme in outlets, developing a bar in town and putting on more events for international students and student parents.

Activities Officer – Richard Mashiter (current Activities Officer)

Richard made seven key pledges in his successful re-election campaign. He aims to make sport available to all by freezing Students’ Union sport membership fees and will campaign for improved sports facilities on campus. He also wants to make weekends more fun for students and put on a number of new events throughout the year. Societies and musicians should get more opportunities to showcase their talents and more students should get the chance to volunteer in the community.

Education Officer – Juliette Cule (English undergraduate)

Juliette’s successful campaign focused on supporting teaching and learning on campus by working with the University to enhance technology, provide more opportunities to build relationships, and empower students. Specifically, Juliette plans to use her year in office to help the University move towards e-submissions and lobby for the early release of timetables and exam dates. More paid internships and an efficient email system are also key objectives for Juliette.

Communications Officer – Imogen Adie (Law, Politics and Sociology undergraduate)

As Communications Officer, Imogen will try to make the Union and student media more relevant for all students. Union officers will be encouraged to be more visible around campus and there will be more support for volunteers. Imogen will support student media and improve the Union’s online presence with a better website, more effective use of social media and development of apps for smartphones.

Welfare Officer – Sophie van der Ham (Law, Politics and Sociology postgraduate)

Sophie will campaign to maintain teaching quality and promote students’ interests as the University continues to grow. With a focus on sustainability, Sophie will use her time in office to increase the number of water fountains on campus and look at ways to make it easier to cycle or get the bus to the University. Affordable and high-quality housing is also a priority for her, as is making campus a more inclusive environment.

A number of other students were also celebrating when the results were announced in Falmer Bar on Friday evening (22 February).

Five part-time officers were elected:

• Bree Allegretti will serve as Media Development Officer
• Gavan Harrison will spend 12 months as Community Engagement Officer
• The Ethical and Environmental Officer post has been filled by Hichem Maafi
• Alicia Coupland is the new Equality and Diversity Officer
• And the new Postgraduate Association has elected its first Chair, with Akin Oyawale the first student to take on the challenge.

For more about the elections and details of who was elected to represent Sussex at the National Union of Students (NUS) annual conference, visit the Students’ Union website.