Elected Officers And Their Manifestos

Previously known as the Sabbatical Officers, your new Elected Officers will soon take office!

They were voted in by you - the student body!

Have a read of their manifesto points and what they want to achieve for you this year!

Rama is your Learning Experience Officer.

Rama's Manifesto:

My manifesto points tackle issues that resonate with all student’s learning experience at university. Research illustrates that only 7% of students attest that their university has discussed the attainment gap with the student body. My aim is for students to lead the effort in tackling the gap, contributing to the projects that the university is leading. This expression of their experiences in meetings enriches the data that is already available.

Secondly, differing methods of assessment is something that universities shy away from. However, the anxiety that comes with exams and its effect on students’ needs to be challenged, rather than normalised. Finally, a lot of students have become disengaged with study support, which raises the questions as to whether it still caters to all students ne

eds and what can be improved. Being Education and Democracy officer has developed my experience in lobbying the university, understanding what students want improved through feedback systems, and implementing change. Black History Month was a success, with activists such as Akala and Stormzy’s projects/books contributing to cultivating the students’, educating them on current and past social injustices within their communities and diasporas.

Additionally, I was able to secure funding for the BAME Ambassador scheme, which is running in September, to involve students in the effort of tackling the gap. There are multiple other concerns I aim to tackle within my wider manifesto points.

Due to previous experience, I understand how key it is to bridge the gap between the university and its students. The new framework which restructures the role of a personal tutor and getting students more involved in feedback are just two of the projects I’ve contributed to. My next two projects tackle printing credit services accessibility and quality, as well as integrating international students into the course rep scheme.

Hayley is your Welfare Officer.

Hayley's Manifesto:

I want to let students take back control of their education by allowing them to be in charge of their own timetable schedule. The current system only records attendance if you have tapped-in to the session you’re scheduled for, and you risk low attendance even if you’ve caught up in another session or at home. Paying students should not face barriers to education, and I want to make sure that students benefit from their learning experience.

Re-introduce drug-testing kits to encourage a culture of safe drug-taking and education around harm reduction. By allowing free and easy access to drug-testing kits, students will be educated and empowered to understand the potential risks of taking drugs and know how to take drugs in the safest way possible. 

Fight period poverty amongst students by allowing access to FREE sanitary products in ALL university buildings, including sustainable alternatives that are often too expensive, but help reduce plastic waste. Since I was elected as the Welfare and Community Officer in 2019, I have successfully increased access to free sanitary products in The Union, now I want to continue this work and reach it out even further! 

About me: I am a recent Sociology and Media Studies graduate who has worked with The Union throughout my entire university experience — from being a faculty rep, working in The Union Shop, and I was the Sabbatical Officer for Welfare & Community. I want to continue the work I have achieved in the past year, including: introducing a recycling hub in The Union, creating a Renters Rights Pack for students, working with the police and council on addressing student safety, and contributing to the successful work on the reporting procedure for sexual violence.

Destiny is your Democracy and Campaigns Officer.

Destiny's Manifesto:

Wider manifesto points:

Lobby to increase mental health resources and decrease waiting lists.

Improve relations between the union and students by creating focus groups concentrating on wider issues such as climate change.

Implement methods to get democratic processes known by students and assess their impacts.

 Growing up within a minority community inspired me to fight for student equality. The Union’s role in establishing democratic freedom for UoP students, through being their voice, has driven me to pursue this role. My passion for global issues stems from feeling deep empathy and seeing it as my duty to enforce change. Previously, I was elected as BAME Officer in my constituency, bridging communities, acquiring cultures and targeting youth engagement to contest the idea of 'youth apathy'. UoP’s BAME attainment gap is 22%, affecting 29% of students who are BAME.  

Education is a right not a privilege, therefore, I will create a diverse student-led campaign to tackle this. I aim to develop library study spaces by introducing a system showing the amount of spaces, computers and laptops available. Experiencing the Stanhope House delays developed my ability to lobby effectively in tackling ineffective landlords and advocating against injustice faced by students within housing in Portsmouth.  

Mental health, climate change and improving democratic processes are just as important. UoP practice the ‘fit to sit’ policy where students are only physically assessed before entering examinations. I want to scrap ‘fit to sit’ in favour for more assessments, have more mentors and shorten waiting lists. Improving relations between the Union and students by creating focus groups is essential to empower students in being proactive. I will develop democratic processes such as the ‘Have Your Say’, StART talking tool and union actioning body to ensure problems of students are legitimately upheld. 

Mike is your Development Officer.

Mike's Manifesto:

As your Development Officer I want to enhance Committee and Welfare training for all sports clubs and societies. This training will be delivered by sport and recreation and wellbeing staff. Training can also be provided by exclusive training by the new mind hub. The committee training provides essential training to societies provide them with long term solutions.

Additionally, I want to push the promotion of society development with recognition. Recognition throughout societies needs greater celebration which can be achieved by a vaster social media presence. The University currently has students performing at the top of their field both in sports and education, these students should be celebrated to encourage further participation and development.

Assist societies by providing scholarships to incentivise development throughout societies. With the new facility coming soon, greater emphasis needs to be placed on coaches and player development to further increase the standard of sport offered to students.

Furthermore, increasing participation with volunteering in schools to benefit the local community and the University creating greater links between the two. Volunteering can be encouraged in local schools as well as joining in with the council to help the community. This will benefit students by giving them experience and life skills to use in the future. Moreover, it will increase the enrolment from Portsmouth based students.

I have pushed myself in various roles, currently I am the Purple Wednesday manager, and Vice Chair of the Sports Executive. I have also been President of American Football for 2 years, being involved with the Union and the transition to Sports and Recreation. These roles have enabled me to view multiple levels of both organisations. It will further help to assist pushing clubs and societies to advance and achieve what every president wants to.

Edward is your Academic Representation Officer.

Edward's Manifesto:

Student feedback tells us; clarity, support, and practicality are three major recurring principles students look for in their teaching and course structure at Portsmouth. As Academic Representative, these will be the founding principles for my campaign.

I will bring clarity to assessment criteria by ensuring that all assignments are accompanied, when set, with coherent and direct marking rubrics with as little margin for misinterpretation as possible. I understand how it can be a source of great frustration to put hours, days, or weeks into coursework only to find that the work you have produced was not what the lecturer was expecting. Instructional ambiguity is something I am dedicated to eliminating.

I aim to increase the support provided by lecturers by introducing more scheduled contact hours outside of lecture time, allowing more time for students to discuss coursework, future prospects, and any concerns they may have. Mental health is a very serious issue and I recognise the importance of lecturer support in assisting students that may be struggling with the demands of their course. I believe it is imperative that there are times lecturers and students are able to meet to discuss mental health, assess options, and decide how to progress.

I will also work to create more practicality and convenience within the timetabling system to avoid overly-clustered lectures and attempt to reduce overly early or late lectures to help reduce lecture fatigue and other inconveniences to both students and staff. As a course and faculty representative, I am used to collecting and acting on student feedback, and this manifesto has been generated from issues raised by real Portsmouth students. I will continue this and will act on any future feedback.

Want to get in touch with any of the Elected Officers about their campaigns or manifestos?

Email them at electedofficers@upsu.net.