Meet the Candidates!

Have you been wondering who those smiling faces surrounding the town actually are? Well look no further. Below is a comprehensive list of each sabbatical candidate and a synopsis perfect for the frazzled voter: experience, plans for the role and a darling picture. Get to know and remember to vote Thursday 7th-Friday 8th March 2013. Who will win? You decide.

Association President

 Alexandra Thornton-Reid

Alex currently holds the positions of Law Soc President, Ambassadors Vice Present, Class Gift Committee Chair, and about a zillion others. If elected, she plans on ensuring transparency throughout the Union redevelopment process, as well as returning Fife Park to the accommodation agenda, ensuring cheap housing remains available. Alex wants to work to expand our St Andrews community, in terms of widening access as well as a more substantial postgraduate and international community, as we always need more Americans. She’ll represent our views to the university, and says to just “Ask Alex” (alliteration is always a plus)!

 Duncan Downie

Duncan’s served on the Albany Park Hall Committee for two years, the final of which as Senior Student. During his time at Albany, Duncan managed to write a financial contract for hall committees, as well as scored a major refurbishment of Albany’s common room. The first point on his agenda would be to improve the affordability of accommodation, and of life in town as a whole. He plans on protecting the existing halls, increasing available bursaries and improve how private sector accommodation is made available, all while hosting open surgery hours with a weekly release of minutes in order to increase transparency. We at The Stand would like to request first pick of cheap houses, please.

 Chloe Hill

Chloe currently serves as the Rector’s Assessor, was President of the Model UN, and sat on the SRC last year as Community Relations Officer. As Rector’s Assessor, she’s worked closely with Alistair Moffat (jealous…) to set up the Rector’s Fund to fund student internships. If elected, Chloe plans on setting up a Union-run letting agency, to alleviate costs in private accommodation. She’s also dedicated to lobbying for 4 years of education for the price of 3 for residential UK students, as we’re now the most expensive place to study in the UK for our lovely English folk. Lastly, she plans on founding a Scottish Sabbaticals Forum, in order to communicate with other unions without joining the NUS. If she has time, she’d like to solve poverty and create world peace. 

 Nathan Elias-Ruby

Nathan is St Andrews’ resident Veg-head, serving as SRC Environment and Ethics Officer for the past few years, as well as various posts in VegSoc, Music is Love, and STAR. He’s passionate about “hauling ass and kicking ass,” as he said, in regards to the Union’s redevelopment, widening access, lowering accommodation prices, and being directly involved in St Andrews life. Nathan worked for the Development Department’s phone campaign to create new ideas on widening access, and is willing to endorse any student project that will accomplish this (a student version of Ever to Excel is just one of his ideas). He’s ready to ensure that the Union wil have space for societies throughout the redevelopment process, as well as expanding the idea that the SRC can provide funding for non-society group projects.

 Mark Hamid

Mark has been head honcho of societies for the past year, serving as the SSC Societies Officer as well as on the Association Executive Committee, working with the Sabbs to improve the student experience. Mark’s focus is on helping the students meet their individual goals, whether it’s adding more books to the library (The Stand gives this one an emphatic “please”), more affordable housing, or widening access is on our minds. He would like to assure that its the students in the driver’s seat of the Union redevelopment, by taking advantage of the new Union website to recieve feedback on the Sabbs and reward societies when money is spent in the Union. We like the sound of that.

 

 Jamie Ross

Jamie Ross describes himself as “self-absorbed, feckless, and unable to speak in front of more than five people without having a stress induced nosebleed.” As such, his first act as Association President would be to install easy-clean floors to the Sabbatical offices. Jamie is running on 3 key points, the first of which being that he doesn’t want to be unemployed yet has a taste for expensive hair products. He also asks that, as he will not be staging a physical campaign, students throw away each pamphlet they recieve, or throw it at the campaigner who gave it to them. Finally, Jamie believes that in order to widen access, a student representative who looks like Avril Lavigne circa 2002 would be just the thing to rid ourselves of our Jack Wills/Etonian image.

Director of Representation (DoRep)

 Teddy Woodhouse

Teddy has been active in the University since he was a wee first year, volunteering in a wide array of services, serving as Duty Manager during Freshers’ Week this year, serving as a class representative since his second-year, and working with Nightline at the national level to encourage support and acceptance for mental health and student welfare. He’s also served as the STAR reporter covering SRC meetings, providing him with a unique access to the process. Teddy has four key priorities as a candidate, securing a 4-day weekend in the middle of the first semester following 3 days with no deadlines (WAHOO!), moving the 24-hour library service into term time, refocusing on mental health and launching new services within the Union, and expanding training for school presidents. 

 Pei Liu

Pei has been busy during her last four years at university: founding and serving as a key member of the Chinese Hongpao Society as well as serving on the Rector’s Fund Committee in her spare time. As an international student herself, Pei will be fighting for an international student fee cap to alleviate honours students’ financial stress. She’ll use her own international connections to expand the university’s global alumni system, and create an integral and functioning web of red trouser-ed lads around the world. Pei would also like to lobby the university to bring back reading week, at least for second, third, and fourth years (sorry freshers, down it), and revamp the School Presidents’ training system. 

Director of Events and Services (DoES)

 Dan Palmer

Dan is no stranger to Freshers’ Week or the Union (though really, are any of us?), running Freshers’ Week 2012 as Head of Ents. His priorities throughout his term would be to keep the Union open to both professional and student acts through the redevelopment, as well as ensure a Freshers’ Week with just as big-name acts as Tinchy Stryder and Goldfish (holla). On this thread, he’d like to ensure that the Bop and Sinners Sport stay at the top of their game through the redevelopment, as well as ensuring that RAG Week is fully protected in terms of event venues and tickets sold. Though he can’t make promises, Dan would like to keep Union drink prices as low as they can be, as well as ensuring that 72 hour drinks promotions continue. 1 pound messy bombs for all!

 Fionnuala Glover 

Fionnuala (pronounced Fin-nu-la!) was Social Secretary for Women’s Rugby, meaning she has a lifetime’s worth of experiences organising parties and events. She believes that since we’re getting a new Union, we need fresh ideas to match, and is dedicated to expanding communication between students and the university. She’d like to build on the success of the current events team and expand the types of events held. As a working student, she is passionate about keeping drinks prices down at the Union, and calls this one of her main priorities.

Not featured: Alice Taylor

Director of Student Development and Activities (DoSDA)

  Kelsey Gold

Kelsey has been livin’ the societies life for 4 years now, most recently serving as the Charities Campaign Convenor, and describes herself as an “aspiring foodie and tea drinker.” We approve. Kelsey is running on a policy of C.A.R.E. (d’awwww), and hopes to improve student life through communication, activities, redevelopment, and employability. If elected, Kelsey plans on drastically expanding and improving the Union’s website, including a societies portal to ease relations between societies and the university. She’d like to revamp the Societies Committee as well as the affiliation process, as well as expand ‘affiliated student projects’, such as On the Rocks and Class Gift. Kelsey would also like to improve student emplyability efforts as well as add an SRC Officer for Employability, to help those students whose fallback option is not the Duke of Cambridge. 

Athletic Union President

  Stuart Owen

Stuart Owen is no stranger to the AU, having served as the 1st captain and President of the University Badminton Club, as well as as an Ambassador to BADMINTONscotland. Stu quite opposes the de-democratisation of the AU, but would like to establish a Club Captain’s Forum to ensure that the voices of the university sports clubs are still heard. He’d also like to establish an AU Exec Charities officer, in order to work as a liason between the univeristy Charities Committee and the sports clubs. Stu firmly believes in transparency within the AU, and would start a presidential blog in order to ensure regular updates. He’s passionate about increasing links with AU alumni and publicizing events and opportunities within the AU to attract a higher quality of candidates for committee positions. He’d also like to organise a Charities Sports Fayre, complete with “bouncy castles, BBQ, and stalls for each club.” BBQ + footballers = yum. 

 Jess Walker

Jess has been up to her eyelashes in university sport for the last four years, as she’s been serving as Rugby President for the past two years, an intern for the University Department of Sport and Exercise for the past year, and was selected to be a member of the Project Zambia group. As AU President, she intends to create a Club Captain’s forum in order to improve inter-club relations, as well as create open forums where students can have access to the decisions of the Exec. With the continuing renovations of the sports centre, she would like to continue advocating on behalf of sports clubs for improved equipment and facilities. She’s also passionate about reaching out to the more lazy among us (i.e., me) who are not as active in sports clubs, through continued publicity of Well-Being Week and Revitalize Week.

SRC Positions

Max Baldi- Association Chair

Ruth Roberts- Association Environment and Ethics Officer

Natasha Gartside- Association Environment and Ethics Officer

Dominyka Urbonaite- Association Environment and Ethics Officer

Callum Bryce- Member for External Campaigns

Daniel Johnston- Member for External Campaigns

Lindsay Hamel- Member for First Years

Joshua Carlton- Member for First Years

Michael Thadani- Member for First Years

Ben Isle- Member for First Years

Fay Morrice- Member for Students with Disabilities

Laura Ann Wigley- Member for Students with Disabilities

Hope Gaffney- Member for Widening Access

Ben Anderson- Member for Widening Access

PJ Choi- Member for Widening Access

Lauren Hossack- Member for Gender Equality

Ali West- Member for Gender Equality

Tom Whitehead- Equal Opportunities and Welfare Office

Hibak Mohamud Yusuf- Equal Opportunities and Welfare Office

Soraya Walli- Member for Ethnic Minorities

Abel Rangel- Member for International Students

Caroline Rhoads- Member for International Students

Andrew Malcolm-Neale- Science/Medicine Representative

Peter DaBell- Science/Medicine Representative

Sophie Grace Kelly- Arts/Divinity Representative 

Ruth Cunningham- Arts/Divinity Representative

Sadie Hochfield- Association Community Relations Officer

Anna Kennedy-O’Brien- Member for University Accommodation

Ruth Cunningham- Member for Private Accommodation

Scott Taylor- Accommodation Officer

Ondrej Hajda- Education Officer

Josh Gumbley- Education Officer

SSC Positions

David Patterson- Performing Arts Officer (President of Mermaids)

Cameron Kirby- Performing Arts Officer (President of Mermaids)

George Parker- Charities Officer

Katie Yule- Charities Officer

Shelley Talbot- Volunteering Officer

Robert Dixon- Member for Societies Elections

Will Lord- Debates Officer

Chase Hopkins- Debates Officer

David Norris- LGBT Officer

Anna Merryfield- Music Officer (Music is Love)

Oscar Swedrup- Broadcasting Officer (STAR)

Keith Cordrey- Member Without Portfolio

Maia Krall Fry- Film Officer (Re Pictures)

Heather Curtis- Societies Officer

Courtney Lewis- Societies Officer

Emily Laura Dick- Member for Societies Grants

Connor Dowd- Member for Societies Grants

 

Check back with The Stand throughout the week for exclusive interviews, video segments and more!

Images courtesy of the candidates, headline courtesy of wdet.org