Here is what happened at the Student Leader Candidate Question Time

Voting closes at 2 pm on Friday

2 years ago

Candidates for the Students’ Union Student Leader Elections took to the stage last night, sharing their main manifesto points as to why the students of Lincoln should vote for them.

Each candidate got the opportunity to speak for one minute giving an overview of their manifesto and the audience was then given the floor to ask any questions they had for the prospective student leaders. Candidates also had to answer a question from the SU’s board of trustees.

VP Wellbeing and Community

The candidates for VP Wellbeing and Community went up first, with each candidate having the opportunity to share their manifesto points and answer questions.

Ethan Day (he/him)

Ethan’s main promise to students is to begin work with the University of Lincoln and the local council to have better CCTV and streetlights across campus as well as around the city.

He wants to increase provision in sexual health clinics, to have a minimum-security requirement for student houses as part of the Housing Accreditation Scheme. Ethan also wants to reintroduce the RAG (raise and give) Officer to the Students’ Union.

Joanne Copson (they/she)

Joanne wants to make sure Lincoln becomes a safer and more inclusive community, pushing for the voice of students to be heard on campus.

They want to support more disabled students by increasing involvement in disability sports such as wheelchair basketball. They also want to introduce free STI testing on campus and introduce a student experience support scheme, such as introducing a Twilight cafe scheme during Freshers’ Week for students who may not want to go out clubbing.

Chukwuemeka Omerenna (he/him)

Chukwuemeka is a computer science student who wants to address that students have trauma and he wants to help students through this while at university by developing programmes to help tackle the issue. He wants to introduce mental health professionals to look at the issues students face as well as counselling teams to offer physical and mental health support for students.

Zuzanna Romanska (she/her)

If granted the role, Zuzanna wants to support students with health and mental health, especially regarding student depression. She wants students who are working to be recognised and supported by providing opportunities hand in hand with the student wellbeing team.

Zuzanna wants to raise awareness on consent, to enforce that no always means no. She also highlighted that student life isn’t always as “colourful” as it may be shown in advertisements and she wants to support students who may face difficulties. Zuzanna wants to ensure students are listened to, seen, and their engagement is always appreciated.

VP Campaigns and Environment

Nat Kirchin (she/her)

Nat wants to focus on continuing the work she has already started as current VP of Campaigns and Environment. She wants to work with the university on increasing the gender neutral facilities in the sports centre, as well as pushing for accessibility in sport.

Given the opportunity, she wants to set up a sustainability project fund to allow for students to apply for grants for their sustainability projects, rather than it coming out of their own pocket.

VP International

Vaibhav Jain (he/him/his)

Vaibhav wants to support international students by addressing their issues and wants to support them with anything they may face. He felt that international students had no place to talk about their issues and something was missing when it came to this.

Rita Ugi (she/her)

Rita wants to increase the amount of joint intercultural events between international and home students. She wishes to improve the wellbeing of international students through working with various officers. As well as working with the VP of Education in supporting international students with their studies.

She also wants to introduce international community ambassadors to support all international students.

Patrick Haze Turaray Barco (he/him)

If elected, Patrick wants to introduce EDI’s to maximise the representation of students. He wants to implement 24/7 prayer room at the university. He wants to hold international days to showcase the background and heritage of international students, as well as creating an international buddy scheme.

Opeyemi Olorunleke (he/him)

Opeyemi believes international students face troubles because of a lack of accessing information and wants to bridge that gap. He wants things that may be obvious to domestic students to also to be obvious to international students, as well as support students who may face loneliness and anxiety whilst at university.

Vice President Education

Talia Adams (she/her)

Talia is Lincoln SU’s current VP Education and she wants to continue the work she has been doing for the past year. If elected, she wants to ensure the student experience is up to standard in and outside of the university. She wants to make sure face to face teaching is continued alongside students being able to access lecture recordings.

She wishes to close the attainment gap and ensure there is an inclusive student experience, working with EDI ambassadors to do this. Talia also wants to support academic societies and course reps so students feel a larger sense of belonging in their academic courses.

Pelumi Shonde (he/him)

Pelumi acknowledges that being a student can quite overwhelming. If elected, he wants to ensure the student experience is met with ease and less stress. He wants to be the voice of students and ensure their issues are met on time and effectively. He also wants to create conferences for students to showcase their academic successes.

VP Activities

Finley Cannon (he/him)

Finley said being a part of a society has made his university experience the best it could be and he wants everyone who comes to university to have the same experience.

If elected, he wants the chance to celebrate the success of individuals whether that be through sports or societies. He always wants to get more people involved with activities by working with the wider community so everyone had the space to do what they wish to do.

He also wants to bring back former members of societies who some students may not have been able to meet due to the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Louis Williams (he/him)

If elected in the role, Louis wants to increase accessibility and inclusivity across societies and sports. He wants to get international students involved as much as possible and bridge the information gap that has arisen. He wishes to implement competitive leagues for more sports as well as doing non-profit events in the local community.

Louis also wants to look at a strategy for expanding facilities at the university.

Voting closes at 2 pm on Friday. Make your voice heard and vote and keep an eye out for results night coverage on our Instagram.