George Bradley is a third year music student who balances his time between Leeds RAG society and working on the university Nightbus, alongside his studies. Outgoing and charismatic, he has now chosen to run for Community Officer in this year’s leadership race and Her Campus caught up with him to find out why he thinks he’s the best candidate for the job.
If elected, what would your role as Community Officer involve?
The role of Community Officer broadly involves dealing with issues related to crime and safety, transport, housing and halls. The key word is ‘broad’ – I think it’s flexible enough to be pushed in a variety of directions that can make students feel safe, secure and part of the community of Leeds, which is what it’s all about for me!
Why have you chosen to run for Community Officer in this year’s leadership race?
The role appeals to me because I care about students’ safety and security – anyone who knows me well enough can testify that I’m scared of traffic, on foot and on my bike! I want students to love their time in Leeds as much as I do, for all its buzzing student community, cultural variety, and great networking opportunities with like-minded students.
For anyone who doesn’t already know, what are the main points of your manifesto?
In a nutshell, a ‘RATE YOUR LANDLORD’ scheme so that all students know what they’re getting into with each Unipol-advertised property, as well as a new minimum code of security for all landlords to abide by; a ‘KNOW THE SCORE’ directory so students know what’s what in Leeds, including the best student deals and discounts; regular pop-up donation sites for students to give their unwanted bits and bobs to those more in need in the Leeds community; the ‘STUDENT SKILL NETWORK’, an online portal for students to network and share their skills and ideas in order to realize projects, ideas and plans; and finally an online portal for local businesses to advertise CV-boosting volunteering opportunities specifically to students.
What do you think makes you stand out from other candidates running for the role of Community Officer?
I’m driven and motivated to get the job done, my policies are realistic and easy to implement and will really benefit Leeds students’ university experience. I’m a RAG society challenge leader, which involves managing a large budget and organizing logistics for 60 students across Europe – leading comes naturally to me. I drive the university night bus and am well-versed in the KNOWLEDGE campaign which concerns student safety. I’m in fairly varied friendship circles too, so I understand how to meet the needs of the great variety of students here.
Do you believe you can make a real difference if you’re elected as Community Officer?
I certainly do! I’ve watched how the various initiatives that the Student Execs have implemented during my time at Leeds Uni have benefited all of us. The job really does have a great impact on student life, and these changes don’t always take years to implement like many students think – from a clueless first year to a seasoned third year I’ve watched things get better and better!
What would you say to anyone who is still not sure whether to vote for you or not?
I’d say, have a read of my manifesto online (the LUU website), send me a tweet or come chat to me yourself, I’m always floating around the union somewhere or necking coffee in the Hidden Café. We tend to live in a student bubble during our short years at university, so as my tagline goes, ‘let’s pop the student bubble’ and get involved with our community. Vote George for Community!!