This year’s LUU leadership race is upon us, with voting opening on the 4th of March. Her Campus Leeds spoke to Union Affairs candidate Sabrina Poole, to find out how she intends to “Cast a Spell” on LUU…
Why have you chosen to run for Union Affairs Officer in this year’s leadership race?
I’m running for Union Affairs Officer because I’ve had a fantastic three years at university and I want to help people to have the opportunity to too. I feel that the union has the potential be a force for good and really engage students in having the best possible time at university. It’s my mission to see that happen.
What experience do you feel that you’d bring to the role?
I’ve written for the student newspaper for 2 years, so I’m used to researching issues on campus and talking to students. I enjoy talking to various people and really engaging myself with what’s going on and the effects things have on students.
I’m also interested in politics as a whole – it’s my degree. My degree would help with balancing people’s opinions and ensuring that we have the most democratic environment possible.
What do you hope to go on to do eventually? Possibly a career in politics?
I don’t have a set career as such. I just know that I want one where I go to bed every night feeling that I’ve done something to help people, and hopefully have a roof over my head and food on the table at the same time! So possibly in something like public policy, public affairs, charity work… it depends where the job market takes me.
Can you talk us through some of the key points of your manifesto, and how you would hope to implement them?
Firstly, I want to ensure that all staff at the union get paid the living wage hourly rate of £7.45 or above. Particularly because there are lots of students working in the union and we’re at a time where students really need as much finance as they can get. I feel that’s a simple way to support them whilst also increasing their employability.
I also want to engage people more with what the union’s doing generally, by improving the website and trying to engage people more with the national side of things – so the NUS (National Union of Students) and the government. At the moment we have a lot of issues arising, such as £9k fees and funding. Students need to be involved more in what’s going on and the union needs to get to grips with what they really want. This would also increase democracy in the process.
Another point is Joblink and the part-time job fairs. I want to make sure that people know what Joblink is and what it’s there to do, because it’s a very good service and students are paying for it! I also want to expand part-time jobs fairs so that students can explore paid employment options, which would obviously help their finances and also increase their employability.
I want to completely overhaul what is stocked in Essentials as I think it could be cheaper and stock more products. At the moment a lot of students find it expensive and find that it doesn’t really provide what they want. I also want to discourage banning products (e.g. bottled water) from the union as I feel it’s quite unnecessary and you can buy them in the University-owned refectory anyway.
Finally, I also want to run a “Where is YOUR line?” campaign against sexual assault, probably alongside the Welfare and E&D officers. It would focus on personal limits and expectations, and ensure that students don’t overstep boundaries and end up assaulted or in trouble.
How’s the campaign going and what can we expect from you over the next couple of weeks?
It’s going alright! We’ve got a really good idea for a video, and there’s going to be lots of banners and posters. I’ll be going round in a t-shirt harassing everyone soon.
How did you come up with your campaign slogan?
As my name’s Sabrina, whenever people find out they say “like the teenage witch?” So I thought I’d go with something along those lines and came up with “Cast a Spell on LUU.” It’s cheesy, but there are worse.
How are you managing to balance all of this alongside completing the third year of your degree, managing your dissertation and doing a part-time job?
I don’t really keep on top of it all the time! Not a lot of sleep, a lot of caffeine, trying to stay organised… I keep a diary where I plan each day but it doesn’t always work. I’m running for NUS Delegate and the NUS Women’s Conference, too.
Are you looking forward to when it’s all over?
Yes, but I hope that when it is it will have been worth it.
If you don’t manage to get elected, what are your plans after graduating?
I have applied for a few graduate schemes alongside this, as a backup, so I guess if I get offered one of those I’ll take it. If not I’ll move back home, where I have a full time job in a pharmacy over the holidays and they’ve offered me work. I don’t really want to move back home, I want to stay in Leeds or move to another big city.
Finally why should we vote for you?
Out of all of the candidates I feel that I am the best person for balancing how students can have a good time but also feel like the union is there to provide for them as an individual. I want to make sure that students can get involved as much as they like in the political side of the union without feeling ostracised just because they might have slightly different views to the general population of the university.
Also, watch out for the candidates that just concentrate on shops, bars and space, because without what the union actually means and what it can do to help students, it might as well be a commercial playground and shopping centre.
Find out more by liking Sabrina’s campaign page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabrina4luuaffairs
Finally, if you want to get in touch, tweet @sabrina4luu
Image Sources:
All Sabrina Poole.