CCSU Elections Debate 2014 :
Last night saw the CCCU SU Elections 2014 hustings (debate) take place in the SU Bar Lounge in Canterbury. The atmosphere was unbelievable and all of the candidates present put up a good fight.
The form was as follows: the board were asked to do a thirty second introduction for themselves, stating who they were and why they should be elected. They were then asked a series of questions: some pre-prepared, some came from Facebook, some from Twitter (#ccvote). The candidates then debated their case.
Here are the rounds for the election candidates:
- Welfare and Education
- Student Activities
- Sports
- Presidents
Each round had approximately twenty minutes each, with an average of five candidates per board – it was a heated debate last night.
Candidates List:
VP (Welfare and Education)
- Hanna Kate
- Alaba Johnson-Ogundoju
- Francesca Hawkins
- Michael Jones
VP (Student Activities)
- Joel Grove
- Josh Arnold
- Nathan Read
- Sophie Dudley
- Ross Gilham-Jones
- Sophie Tumber
- Keeley Hensby
VP (Sport)
- Adam Roche
- Matthew Wynn
- Jess Flisher
- Jack Breezer
- Andrew Bannerman
President
- Darcy Anderson
- Adam Dark
- Phil Mooney
- Sammi Wright
- John Bambury
- John Jones
And here is what your candidates had to say for themselves (memorable quotes from the night)…
VP Welfare and Education Candidates:
How do you plan to make real changes to student welfare?
Michael Jones: “Engaging with people – in order to make changes we have to work together”, “We’re students, not your boss”, “We share the same ideas, the same problems”
Hanna Kate: “I totally believe we should work in partnership”, “It’s not just about going to meetings”, “I’m here to support… I’m here to help”, “I want to change the library to twenty-four hours… I pretty much lived in that library.”
Alaba Johnson-Ogundoju: “With you and me together, we can”.
Francesca Hawkins: “It’s all for the students. I believe we should have equal opportunities.” “The campaign is just a formality to show you what we can do”.
Michael Jones: (in response to the library issue) “We have to look at the staff as well because they are the ones that run it.” “If the library is open 24 hours we have to pay more staff.”
Hanna Kate: (in response to the library issue) “Medway has been turned into 24 hours – if they can, why can’t we?”
We often hear about the unrepresented students issue. How can you help and do they actually need you?
Michael Jones: “A lot of us feel unrepresented.” “I was at a debate for student representation – and only fifteen people turned up.”
Hanna Kate: There’s a lot more students on other campuses who feel unrepresented.” “They need a voice.” “If they’ve [underrepresented students] got an issue – they can come to me…”
Alaba Johnson-Ogundoju: “We’ve all worked so hard to get here…” “…it’s the 21st century…”
Francesca Hawkins: “I also think that it’s important that both physical and mental health is accounted for.”
What is student welfare in your opinion and how can you improve it?
Michael Jones: “Your welfare is a very complex thing”, “If you’re not happy, something has gone wrong”
Hanna Kate: “It’s the whole person: physical, social..”, “Making sure that your time at Christ Church… you are being the person you want to be.”, “I’m here for every aspect of your welfare…”, “You should know every aspect of what I am doing”
Francesca Hawkins: “Things like mental health… people should be aware of these issues… and have everything they need to get along”
How are you going to help with mental health issues?
Hanna Kate: “People shouldn’t feel any less important.” “They need to feel valued as a student.” “I will treat everybody the same…”
Michael Jones: “We’re all human, we’re all the same.”, “Working in partnership with each other…we’re part of a family.”
Alaba Johnson-Ogundoju: “If someone is suffering… together we shall deal with it”.
In your position, how can you make the athletics involvement better?
Francesca Hawkins: “First and foremost we are here for our educations”, “Some people have more stress in their courses than others…”, “You can gain that extra experience…” (Talking about CCCU Extra)
Hanna Kate: “It’s brought me some amazing friends.”, “Your student experience is everything you want it to be”, “…and its extra experience and I would encourage you to do as much as you can”.
Alaba Johnson-Ogundoju: “It helps you develop”
VP Student Activities Candidates:
During the thirty second intro round, Joel Grove came out with the phrase “I’m not used to thirty seconds”, although not entirely appropriate; it sure got a laugh from the audience, and the other candidates.
We spend over £10,000 a year on Student Media – what do you think of this?
Joel Grove: “I’m heavily involved [in student media]”, (in regards to sporting events) “It would be great if we had commentary.”
Nathan Read: “Publicise societies”, “We have a massive number of students that don’t involve themselves. We need people to get involved.”; “We’re hoping to re-vamp UNIfied.”
Josh Arnold: “There’s more going on at Kent (University of Kent) than at Christ Church”
Keeley Hensby: “I think the finances need to be looked at.”; “Maybe make it [student media] more website based.” “We need to look at employability – the proper support that the SU might need.”
Sophie Dudley: “They need to cover more society events…”, “There is only so much the committees can do…” “A YouTube channel would be good…”
Ross Gilham-Jones: “There’s a lot of potential for Christ Church students to use the studio… it’s only two years old…”
Joel Grove: “…CSR have never been more involved…” “There needs to be relevant volunteering opportunities…”
Keeley Hensby: “We need more relevant opportunities… internships are another way to go about it.”
Sophie Dudley: “There’s not enough of UNIfied for students to read”
Nathan Read: “TV is still the best way to market.”
Keeley Hensby: “When it comes to our marketing budget, there are other ways to get involved…” (In response to Nathan)
What can you do for societies to make them more involved?
Nathan Read: “There is no one way to deal with them – they are all individuals and have their own needs.”
Josh Arnold: “People don’t know what the societies are about. There needs to be more information available.”
Ross Gilham-Jones: “Societies aren’t as recognised and they should be.”
Nathan Read (in response to this): “The Student Activities Awards are April 24th”
Sophie Dudley: “Societies deserve recognition.. The committee members… the team members are dedicated.”, “Make it [Society Awards] a tradition.”
Joel Grove: “Presidents [of the societies] should decide the price of a society membership” (When the board were discussing how high the fees were to join a society). “Communication is a real issue at Christ Church.”
Keeley Hensby: “We need a display board about societies”.
Sophie Dudley: (disagreeing with Joel Grove) “I disagree – being part of a society – the membership fees involve VAT, insurance… even if you can get a really good insurance quote, you won’t have enough money to play around with for activities… there would be no money if you set it as low as £3.”
Question from Darcy Anderson: What do you think is more important – Student media, rag or societies?
Nathan Read: “You can’t say who is more important.”
Sophie Dudley: “We’re all in it together…it’s all activities.”
Ross Gilham-Jones: “…fundraising is a very good option for student activities.” (In reference to raising money for the societies/activities)
What are your plans for raising participation?
Joel Grove: “RaG Week needs to be more prominent”
Sophie Dudley: “There should be more rewards for everyone that participates.”
Josh Arnold: “A lot of people don’t know what they are…” (in reference to the CC Extra programme)
Ross Gilham-Jones: “I’d like to raise £15,000 for RaG…”
Nathan Read: “We’d have things in place where anyone can come in and volunteer.” “We tried to do a Hunger games style but we couldn’t get the risk assessment…”
Keeley Hensby: “Everyone feels there needs to be more support.”
How do you plan on making societies more accessible to disabled students?
Josh Arnold: “An inclusion officer – one person [in each society] who can make sure – who will back people up.”
Joel Grove: “University is a melting pot for all walks of life.”
VP Sports Candidates:
Thirty second intro round:
Matthew Wynn: “Sports has moulded my life ever since I could kick a ball.” He also mentioned he has been the SP for Cricket for the past two years.
Jess Flisher proceeded to rap her thirty seconds in the style of The Fresh Prince – the crowd approved.
Adam Roche wants to “increase participation”.
Jack Breezer: “I’m CO VP of Football… been involved in trampolining”
We have a sabbatical staff who arranges a lot… opinion?
Jack Breezer: “Every sports team has the right to play wherever they want…” (on the topic of pitches)
Andrew Bannerman: “It’s really important to maintain that link… for students to get what they want…”
Matthew Wynn: “It’s really important for sabbatical staff to have a good relationship with students.” “We are a charitable SU”.
Adam Roche: “They can encourage participation…”
Jess Flisher: “They should be there on a personal level for all of the teams…”
According to last year’s statistics, around 35% of the university funding goes to sports, but only around 5% of the students play sports… Comment (NOTE: This 5% has now increased)
Matthew Wynn: “You are very much encouraged to play sports.” Wynn notes that sports can help you develop loyalty, teamwork and partnership skills from a young age. Such skills are “useful in a business environment.”
Jack Breezer: “More funding should be going into sport to encourage participation.”
Jess Flisher: “The social side has made me who I am today” (in reference to sports societies)
Adam Roche: “It’s a great outlet and integral for study…relives stress.”
Matthew Wynn: “Sports do bring a lot of finance to the SU. All societies should be promoting the SU, not just Sports.”
Jess Flisher: “Spend a little less money on sports and a little more on other things.”
Andrew Bannerman: “Increase participation across the university to get more (students) involved.”
Jack Breezer: “Every sport needs funding…”
Matthew Wynn: “The funding in place is good, but we are always going to want more.” “We need to promote use of the SU”
Jack Breezer: “I don’t see why we can’t go to the big companies and get financial support and endorsement.”
Many people want to increase sports funding – where would it come from?
Jack Breezer: “…wearing company logos and they would then advertise the team…” “Increasing participation and increasing funding (from the university)…”
Adam Roche: “If you approach local companies, it helps funding…”
Matthew Wynn: “Why not target London?”, “The more funding we get, the more opportunities we can give.”
Andrew Bannerman: “Appeal to help get the money back into sport”
Jack Breezer: “Why not target both? Why do we have to single ourselves out?” (in reference to big and local companies)
Jess Flisher: “More sponsors will help C4 as a community.”
The candidates then, following on from being asked about the facilities, got into a debate about the gym membership:
Andrew Bannerman: “Give every student the right to have free gym membership.” He mentioned in his argument that if you added just £12 onto the student fees, this would raise enough money for free gym memberships.
Adam Roche then came back with an excellent point: “Do you think student want to add another £12 onto their fees?”
Jack Breezer commented: “We need a bigger gym, better sports facilities.” He ends the debate with “We need to put the money back into sports – not just the Elite athletes – everyone.”
Many students and boards have made comment on how the sports participation is across the campuses, here is what the Sports board had to say:
Jack Breezer: “Football has an interior league. I don’t see why we can’t lead up to Varsity, get a tournament going against UKC.” “… Everyone should have a right to play…”
Matthew Wynn discusses TrySport: “We’ve had TrySport for three years; promoting players who wouldn’t necessarily had gotten into sports any other way.” “It’s an incentive to all people.”
Andrew Bannerman had this to say: “it doesn’t have to stop there… – not just Canterbury but Broadstairs and Medway should have more opportunities (to get involved).
Jess Flisher thinks C4 should “develop sport throughout the campuses.”
Matthew Wynn agrees, “It’s a massive problem and it needs sorting out.” And also points out that “People with memberships should all have equal funding”.
Jack Breezer backs him up by saying “No society should feel small.”
Andrew Bannerman: “They’re just as valuable as any other sport here” (in reference to smaller societies and team across the campuses).
The fact that Freshers are often misinformed about sports activities came up, and Matthew Wynn summed it up with: “Freshers should be given the correct information – Key fixtures, contact details, involvement, etc.”
Presidential Candidates:
Last but not least, we move on to the Presidents board. The board had a lot to say, and some amazing points, so here are our favourite quotes from their debate:
Darcy Anderson: “Let’s make sure our student forums are online-based”, Darcy wants “Drop-in sessions” for students. “Hold us to account (for our actions)”
Adam Dark: “The role of a president is one of a negotiator.” “We need to increase diversity” “It’s only when people are in your face and talking to you that you can be hold accountable.”
Phil Mooney (Current President): “One of the issues is people not knowing about the student council.” “It’s important that you vote for a candidate who can achieve the points in their manifesto.”
Sammi Wright: “I’d actually go out and talk to students at face value.” “We’ve been blogging – I’d like to make it a requirement” (When asked what they were going to do in terms of making sure their manifests are achieved).
John Bambury: (who fell down a hole as he walked on stage) “I’ve started so I’ll finish [when he over-run in his 30 second intro]”. “I’m going to give you more power…via referendums.” “Your [Student] Reps should be held accountable at all times.” “The people who made the decision [that you would have to pay for your education], were educated for free.” “Guns mean more to this government than we do.” “I’m putting you in the driving seat – who wouldn’t want that?” “Your need your voices heard.”
The Presidents candidates were asked about what they think about where the universities money is going, here are the memorable quotes:
Darcy Anderson: “Let’s see what they’re spending it on” “I would like to see where it’s (the money) is going in a way that is easy for you to read”
Adam Dark: “It’s (the university) is in a strong financial position – any argument that the university has no funding can be challenged.”
Phil Mooney: “If more students had turned up to the AGM, then the university would be more aware of their students… turn up to the meeting and have your voices heard.”
Sammi Wright: “We need a better quality of teaching”
John Bambury: “Transparency is a massive issue for SU funding” “They’re robbing us”
The candidates were then asked about Leadership and Management skills, and what plans they have for the Student Union:
Darcy Anderson: “I’ve always got time for students.” “It’s about working as a team.”
Adam Dark: “Let people do what they do well.”
Phil Mooney: “A president cannot tell someone what to do.” “The key is to making sure students have a voice – we need to be capturing all of those voices.” “We mustn’t forget to engage with the senior management”
Sammi Wright: “There’s being a boss, and then there’s being a leader.” “The facility (The SU) should be a place for every single student”,
John Bambury: “We need to empower the students” “Without you, we are nothing,”
Many of the candidates throughout the night spoke about empowering students. They were then asked how they would empower a student…
Darcy Anderson: “Make sure their voices are actually being heard” “Until you don’t feel ignored anymore, you can’t feel empowered”
Adam Dark: “I was constantly under the impression I was being ignored” (as a Student Rep)
Phil Mooney: “Student Reps are our best asset but they are massively underused.” “The Student Rep system clearly isn’t working – it looks great on paper but it just isn’t working.” Phil also brings to point that there are over 19000 students, and only 9 SU members of staff. “[the university] need to invest in the student union”
Sammi Wright: “Make it clear to people why they should get involved… what they are going to get out of it.”
John Bambury: “You are what you make this university.” “Full engagement is what we need.” “We should make sure that these student reps are actually representing us”
Finally, the candidates were asked to sum up:
Darcy Anderson: “I want to do what you want…”
Adam Dark: “I’m pragmatic and logical…”
Phil Mooney: “I’ve spent the last year fighting for what you want. My manifest is based on student feedback…”
Sammi Wright: “I’m genuine, I’m passionate…”
John Bambury: “This union needs a major shake-up. I’m willing to fight for you.”
Well that’s it from the Elections debate 2014; cast your vote, or find out more about the candidates: www.ccsu.co.uk
You can listen to the entire debate at: http://ccsu.co.uk/2014/03/listen-to-the-elections-debate-night-online-now/