Vote of Confidence for High Fliers

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For the first time in nearly twenty years, the President of the Students' Union has been called to a second term of office. Physics graduate Becca Holyhead was re-elected as President in last month's sabbatical elections, halfway through a successful inaugural stint. Beating off stiff competition from the highest number of candidates for many years, Becca shared her winning ticket with colleagues Hannah Darvill and Kate Ridley, who were also re-elected as Education Officer and Welfare Officer respectively.

The three have ambitious plans for re-hauling and improving such problem spots as student representation, the processes set up to deal with students' welfare problems, and the University's equal opportunities policy. All of these are long term objectives which would benefit from more than a single year's cultivation, and Becca, Hannah and Kate are pleased to be given the time to develop their ideas. They are aware of the potential criticism that new blood is needed on the sabbatical team. As Becca points out, however, "This year will see a mixture of old know-how with new enthusiasm." Kate is sure that a two-tier system won't arise, since "All the sabbatical officers have their own remits."

All three emphasise that their goals on first accepting their posts were long-term and less tangible than, for example, the promise of a "new on-site gold-plated swimming pool filled with free beer". Hannah was worried at first about the lack of flashy promises in her manifesto, but refused to "dumb-down" her campaign, as she has come to realise that voters are more interested in achievable goals. Returning candidates, as Becca points out, "Really know what is and isn't achievable." All three believe that the real challenge of being a sabbatical officer is to remain committed to goals which are unlikely to be fully achieved while they are still here.

With their vision of students as stakeholders in their own educational experience, and a sense of responsibility for, in Becca's words, "Human resource management and the development of multifaceted organisations," the three are serious about succeeding. Such ambitious, assured and determined candidates are certainly set to fly to the highest places.

Hanah Darvill, Becca Holyhead and Kate Ridley ready for their second term of office