Outlined below are the key things to take away from the candidates’ manifestos. We have steered clear from including lots of details about their background; as we believe they said it better in their own words; so their full manifestos are available online here. It is advised you check these, to help make an informed decision on who to vote for.

It’s important to remember that many of the aims in these manifestos are stated as ‘I will’, when in fact it’s unknown whether, if elected, the candidates will be able to get the reforms and aims passed.

As well as this, unless I explicitly write it in this document after their aim, the candidate provides no method as to how they are going to achieve the aims they set out, they simply state their goal, so its unknown whether this will be possible.

With some aims which seem particularly appealing, such as workload reduction, which is mentioned by a few candidates, I’ve said outright whether or not they propose how to achieve this goal, given that an appealing promise such as exam/workload reduction is sure to influence votes.

 

Candidate One: Amy Laverne Davis

Amy is a second year English Language student whose experience includes volunteering in schools and the local community, as well as being a Course Representative for two years and being nominated for Department Representative this year.

Aims:

* Timetabling reforms.

* Reducing exam stress, specifically creating a feedback blog.

* Increasing material availability for disabled students.

* Increasing the number textbooks available as e-books.

* More direct help in teaching students how to write academic essays.

* Anonymous feedback for students.

* Better quality contact hours with tutors.

* Improving the student hardship fund.

* Being personally available to talk about issues.

Candidate Two: Andrew Ademola Adegbola

Andrew is studying MSc Accounting and Finance, with experience in leadership and student unionism while he was an undergraduate in Nigeria. While there, he was the Vice President of the Millennium Development Goals of Nigeria Youth Service Corps.

Aims:

* Introduce drop in sessions for academic issues.

* Sessions to help students with timetabling, placements and workload reduction (unspecified as to how he proposes to do this).

* Encourage recorded lectures.

* Increase educational events.

* Increase mental health support.

* Improve support services for disabled students.

* Lobby for bursaries for students who represent Hallam in sporting events.

* Strengthen student union presence at collegiate campus.

* Free tea and biscuits during the exam period.

Candidate Three: James Glazier

James studied Education, Psychology and Counselling, and has been a founding committee member of two societies, a Course Representative, Department Representative and participant in the Education Forum.

It’s important to note that James includes seemingly workable methods for all the aims he outlines.

Aims:

* Increase observation in quiet and silent zones in the Learning centre in order to ensure they are able to be used as study areas.

* Enforce rules that Wednesday afternoons be kept clear on timetables so everyone can participate in sports and societies events.

* Enforce rules that all lecture materials are posted to blackboard, and continue to lobby for recording of lectures.

* Lobby the university to change the 40% cap on late submissions, in favour of a model where 5% of the mark is lost for every 24 hours late the project is submitted.

* Closer work between university staff and academic societies.

* Make course rep meetings either monthly or twice a semester.

* Change these meetings to be headed by an elected chair rather than a member of staff, as this can change the dynamic on voicing issues.

* Spend at least one day per week at collegiate campus.

* Lobby for a breakdown of how uni fees are spent visible to all students

* Increase free printing for course-necessary documents.

Candidate Four: Nicki Cholakov

Nicki says he wants to expand science, and enhance the SHU experience for everyone.

Aims:

* Increase participation in extra-curricular activities.

* Increase support for students on placement.

Candidate Five: Prince Igho Ikpesu

Prince is a masters student of biomedical science. He says he believes success is attained through hard work, something which he is happy to put in.

Aims:

* Change spacing in exam season to avoid clustering and stress (unspecified as to how he will do this).

* Create a feed forward scheme to allow students access to previous students work.

* Increase student awareness of opportunities available to them.

Candidate Six: Simon Todd

Simon has been a Course Representative for three years, and a Student Councillor for 2 years.

Aims:

* Improve disability support

* Lobby for a refund protocol when lectures are cancelled at the last minute.

* Improve postgraduate placement system.

* Improve speed of feedback system on submitted work by stopping students from waiting for other students’ deadline extension period to be up.

* Increase course rep visibility and reachability through blackboard.

 

To read every candidate’s manifesto in full, please click here. They show methods and plans that they’d put in place if elected. Make sure that you vote from the 11th March up to the 15th March at 11:59AM.