Voting for Cambridge SU leaders closes tomorrow, so here’s everything you need to know

It’s time to elect our new sabbatical officers and university councillor. There’s a lot of information milling about and so I’ve summarised all the manifestos to key words and ideas.

Candidates for President (Undergraduate)

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Sophia Choudhury

Background and experience: Final Year Geography Student. President of CU Palestine Solidarity Society 25-26 (Events Officer 24-25); Access Officer CU Islamic Society 24-26; Welfare and Charity Officer CU Bangla Society 24-25; Successful International Campaign Lead GAZA40; Successful NUS-disaffiliation Campaigner; Cross-College Divestment Campaign Coordinator

Slogan: Your Voice in the SU

Manifesto: Student health over uni wealth; ethical investment and careers; lecture recordings and modernised accessibility; rent affordability; safer communities for all; college JCR collaboration; UK-wide advocacy

Melanie Benedict

Background and experience: VP for Education and Liberation 2025-26 (Rebooted the SUpermarket: a free food provision; Put access to lecture recording back on the table; supported College Divestment Organisers to make tangible progress; Supported Consultation Work on the University Counselling Service and negotiated changes; organised activist, welfare, decolonial, feminist and disability justice events in collaboration with students and societies; set up the Trans-Inclusion Working Group and campaigned for students in committees; ensured local MPs attend Parliamentary Discussions for Duty of Care); Magdalene JCR

Slogan: A President that Cares, An SU that Delivers

Manifesto: Fairer rents, access for all – accessibility and protecting minorities, a more ethical Cambridge, better transparency and more support

Nesar Rafiq

Background and experience: Part-time mature student

Slogan: Cambridge University for the Many Not Just the Few

Manifesto: Better mental health support; equality and inclusion; environment and ethics

President (Postgraduate)

Jeeves Rohilla

Background and experience: PhD student in Theology at Lucy Cavendish College, MCR President

Slogan: SAY NO TO COLLEGE INEQUALITY

Manifesto summary: Protecting social mobility; college equality; supporting international students; affordability for all; Re-engaging all the J/MCRs.

Roman Shainskyi

Background and experience: Master’s in entrepreneurship, runs tutoring company with over 200 tutors

Slogan: Financial independence while you study — opportunity, growth, and real-world momentum.

Manifesto: Cambridge to be a start-up eco-system; financial independence while you study; academic-enterprise integration; international exposure

Olivia-Chineze Riddle

Background and experience: Masters in linguistics, Postgraduate Representative for Linguistics, President of the Tipsygate Readers Society (York), STYC/STYM (Second and Third Year Contact/ Mentor, York)

Slogan: Opportunity. Connection. Resources. Vote OCR (cleverest slogan lowkey!).

Manifesto: Abolish the master’s application fee; an information overhaul; transforming the postgrad welcome and creating real postgrad community; expand postgrad access

Sonia Fereidooni

Background and experience: Second-year international PhD student in the digital humanities. President and Chair of the Gates Cambridge Scholars’ Council. Co-founded Gates Against Genocide, which launched the Palestine Educational Initiative, and continues to advocate for arms divestment of the Cambridge University Endowment Fund (CUEF) in collaboration with the University’s Arms Working Group.

Slogan: Organising Power, Protecting Postgrads

Manifesto: Empowering student voices; arms divestment; ending casualisation: support for international students; green policies

Vice President (Education and Widening Participation)

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Jessica Asiedu-Kwatchey (re-electing)

Background and experience: Education graduate. VP for Education and Widening Participation (Represented the UG & PG student body across 27 University committees, including presenting papers to the Academic Standards and Enhancement Committee, as well as the Undergraduate Bursary Scheme Committee; chaired the Academic Rep Forums and worked alongside subject/school reps to make students’ voices heard on topics such as lecture capture and assessment; successfully supporting another year of the SU’s Shadowing Scheme and contributing to the programme’s review for future improvement; worked to strengthen relationships with J/MCR Access & Class Act Officers through termly meetings, frequent communication and an officer forum and social event; brought a discussion paper on bridging weeks to Student Council to gain student feedback to share with Senior Tutors; collaborated on undergraduate financial support guides with J/MCR Officers to improve transparency of support available across colleges; renewing content in the SU’s undergraduate alternative prospectus to make it a more useful resource; launched surveys to collect data which will inform my research on the awarding gaps affecting black and bangladeshi students; helped to save the vet school 

Slogan: My continued aim is to bring the SU meaningful change!

Manifesto: Bridging JCRs and the SU; producing careers guides; creating a postgraduate alternative prospectus and carrying out research on progression to postgraduate studies

Corrine Kola-Balogun

Background and experience: Third Year HSPS student. Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Oxbridge Africas; Oxbridge Launchpad Mentor

Slogan: Clarity, Continuity and Care

Manifesto: Listening to students; providing clarity on Cambridge’s systems; continuing widening participation after admissions too 

Maya Karthikeyan

Background and experience: M.Phil. student in education, international student from the “Global South”

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Slogan: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges

Manifesto: A Comprehensive and Centrally Accessible Peer Mentoring System for Students from Marginalized Contexts; One-Stop Webpage for all Academic Events; One-Stop Webpage for all Academic Events; Unified Financial Resource Guide

Martin Varga

Background and experience: Fourth year engineering student.

Manifesto: Exam resits; marking transparency; improved scheduling; transparent college system; encouraging applications from everywhere

Sarah Misraoui

Background and experience: Third year history student. Former JCR President at Peterhouse, and a faculty and school rep

Slogan: Building Systems that Work for Students!

Manifesto: Access following admissions; affordability; supporting student volunteers; improving educational experience and outcomes; improving employability; an ethical and responsible Cambridge

Vice President (Liberation and Welfare) 

Talulla Harris

Background and experience: Final year Geography student. SU women’s liberation rep 25-26; Gender Agenda welfare officer 25-26; CU Amnesty campaigns officer 25-26; Cambridge Rape Justice treasurer 25-26; Homerton Matcha Society president 24-26; CU Student Minds treasurer 24-25; Embrace college officer 24-25; involved with Cambridge for Palestine 24-26

Slogan: This is what community looks like.

Manifesto: Intersectional representation; improving student safety; supporting student activism; improving community and wellbeing; supporting those in need of financial support

Yuqing Yang

Background and experience: Girton MCR Dining Officer and Academic Representative for the School of Arts and Humanities. 

Slogan: Student voices at the centre, wellbeing at the heart.

Manifesto: Amplifying student voices and empower student-led activism; improving signposting to support services, strengthening communication between students and welfare teams, and advocating for more accessible and responsive mental health and wellbeing provision; liberation initiatives to meaningfully include marginalised and underrepresented students

Vice President (Student Community and Societies)

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Stella Wilkinson

Background and experience: Fourth year climate sciences NatSci. Humanitarian and environmental advocacy (Cambridge Climate Justice, Trans Liberation Cambridge, Cambridge4Palestine, and more); Medwards JCR Arts Officer; Sign Lang Soc Secretary; Medwardscissorhands; Co-President of Cambridge Roller Skating Society, camdram actor, science festival volunteer, open day worker, CCK helper, and college ambassador.

Slogan: Every voice matters

Manifesto: Lead by listening to societies and CRs; student empowerment against maltreatment; increase college equality; work to prevent any (further) course closures; continuing to lobby the university for work extensions for students with sports or music commitments, improve rent negotiation training for JCRs and setting up renters infrastructure on the SU website, and build a better SU though other open & unfinished campaigns within my remit.

Olivia Ledger

Background and experience: VP for Student Community and Societies (launched National SU Letter for Gazan Students; Led winter holidays activities project; launched Room Booking Guide; launched Societies Forum; Launched Student Volunteering Fair; Led leadership training; Led NUS Disaffiliation campaign)

Slogan: Re-Elect Olivia Ledger for VP (Student Community & Societies)!

Manifesto: Further support for societies; improving student community; further support on rents; wider community engagement

University Councillor

Vareesh Pratap

Manifesto: None attached

Nmesoma Kamalu

Background and experience: Second year land economist. Robinson College BME Officer of 2024/2025, Women in Business College Representative, Outreach and Charities Officer for CUCF and Student Ambassador. ACS President 25/26.

Manifesto: Collecting structured feedback regarding what the student body would like to see changed or maintained within their University, as ensuring that issues such as costs of living, accessibility, transportation and student wellbeing.

Bethany Watson

Background and experience:

Slogan: Bet on Beth!

Manifesto: Reassessing sexual violence reporting at university; creating new avenues for collective student action; encouraging constructive academic feedback; equality of academic resources across colleges

Abel Mavura

Background and experience: Postgraduate researcher who has studied and worked across Africa, France, and Cambridge

Slogan: A clear student voice and real accountability in university decisions.

Manifesto: Clear communication and transparency; real student impact in policy decisions; accountability and follow up; accessible representation

Voting closes tomorrow (Thursday 26th February) and you can find out more on the Cambridge SU website.

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