Her Campus met with Ed Keevil, a 3rd year Business Management student from Sevenoaks, Kent. Ed let us in on his ideas for the future of UoN’s SU, including a revamp of Freshers’ Week and (finally!) some action regarding the issue of catered halls meal times for sports and society members! He also revealed a hidden love for a certain Geordie TV duo…
Tell us what you think the role of President is.
Three things: you’re an ambassador of the university, representing the university students as best as possible. You communicate on behalf of the students to the university to get the best out of both functions. And then the role involves with the other officers collaboratively – while I used to think that the role of SU President is one of line management, it’s actually more to do with flat organization.
Talk us through the ‘best bits’ of your manifesto!
The rollover halls idea is that one hall (on a rotating policy) will have later closing hours for dinner, meaning that people who play sport or are members of societies can still get the hot dinner that they are paying for, instead of just missing out because of training schedules or meeting times.
Getting collaboration between societies and sports clubs is really important. There is some overlap between different clubs and societies, and sometimes events will overlap which results in competition between members of the SU.
I also think that the satellite campuses are a bit neglected. I lived on University Park but most of my lectures were on Jubilee Campus, so I could see that. Jubilee Campus needs an SU Office and a burger bar, like Mooch. A bar would draw people from Raleigh Park, SPC, Newark and Southwell, as well as the many sports people who have activities on Jubilee Campus. I want to encourage publicity about the Sutton Bonington Farmers’ Market too, so more students from University Park campus go to SB, not just the other way around.
Another of my ideas is carrying on from Harry’s (our current President) work with the JCR Exec team. I’d like to build on that by having 2nd and 3rd year students represent a cluster, who current JCR members can communicate their problems with, and who the SU can communicate through to the JCR in return. This creates a bit of dialogue which is important.
Finally, I feel like a lot of training for JCR execs can be quite dependant on previous execs. I’d like to put together training packs for JCRs, combining with the current Moodle training site, to ensure enough training is provided.
Which of your policies do you think will be the hardest to implement and why?
Probably the Jubilee Burger Bar, because that involves finding the space for it and financing it, as well as getting the University to agree to it! There are a lot of reasons to do it, but it requires some time and patience.
One of your policies mentions Freshers’ Week, and a move away from focusing on club nights towards a focus on sports and societies. Do you think this is a policy that will be popular with new students who comes to uni with the expectation that Fresher’s Week is a week-long binge?
I’m not saying don’t go out – that’s just part of Fresher’s Week! But there’s so much going on as well as that. Going out is a great way of meeting people, and I’d never suggest “don’t drink!” but there’s a need to emphasize that there’s so much about Nottingham that’s great. And just focusing on one thing sort of outsells the Uni.
A lot of your policies focus on helping international students and showing an awareness of different cultures within the university. Do you think the SU still has a long way to go in terms of cultural integration?
A lot of UK students are very unaware about the different cultures at our university. We need better catering requirements for different cultures within halls, and more direct support for international students. It’s a bit of a culture shock for them, and often they don’t understand what England is like as a place to study. The SU needs to provide a sort of half-way house for these students, to ease them in to life here.
Can you tell us anything about your campaign strategy?
I’ve got a lot of friends who are willing to help out on SB and Jubilee as well as University Park, so that means I’ll be able to engage those guys as much as possible. I’ve already tried as hard as possible to meet lots of JCRs and Societies. It’s not just about being a nice guy – it’s about the policies, so getting people to understand those is key. In that respect I’ve put in a lot of the hard work already – but I’ll still be doing the usual campaigning, getting my face out there as much as possible!
I’m trying to smile as much as possible now that my photos up online!
Do you know much about your other competitors or their campaigns?
There’s about ten of us! There’s someone called YOLO, then Johnny Lawrence – I look forward to seeing his video. I’ve met Ben Malone and Nicole Ocansey. Everyone going for President has to have something about them, and something that’s making them want to do the job.
QUICKFIRE ROUND:
Ocean – yay or nay? Yeah, I love it!
What did you want to be when you were a kid? Either a professional rugby player or professional cricket player. I probably swayed more towards cricket, but I wasn’t good enough.
If you were on Mastermind, what would your specialist subject be? Definitely a sport. Probably Rugby Union. Union not League.
Personal miracle hangover cure? I’m a big fan of fresh juice like apple or orange. And a pizza, to get the carbohydrates back in your body.
Who was your last text from/about? I got one during this interview, asking “do you want me to contact the President of Amnesty International”?
It’s always campaign related! Well other than that…I got one last night. Complicated relationship things (laughs)
Snog/marry/avoid…Keith Lemon-Ant and Dec-Snape OR Miranda Hart-Michelle Obama-Katie Hopkins Can I pick between the males and females?
Yeah go on! I’d probably marry Ant and Dec, avoid Katie Hopkins and Snog Michelle Obama.
Claim to fame? I was interviewed on Spanish TV when I was 9! We did a Rugby tour and I was the captain – we were one of the only English teams there.
Did you speak any Italian? No. Full English!
Anything you’d like to add?
Use your head, vote Ed!