By Ike Idikakalu, First Year Politics and International Relations
Along with other full-time officers, the Union Affairs Officer role is up for election this year.
Union Affairs Officers act to represent the interests of Bristol students to university management, ensuring communication between students and the university, and to support student societies in their activities and democracy as well.
This year, three candidates are running for the Union Affairs Officer position within the Student Union: Katie Poyser, Jamie Druce, and Isobel Foster.
Katie Poyner
Poyner is the incumbent Union Affairs Officer, and is running for re-election. She wishes to continue making progress on her prior policies working on better living costs for students.
A large part of Poyner's campaign is a new TEA model. This stands for: Transparency in Student Union affairs, keeping decisions student-led; Empowerment for students, increasing study spaces and social areas, and improving student support; Affordability, aiming to lower costs for students to engage in student life.
Jamie Druce
Druce is our second candidate. Among his policies include expanding access to university spaces for students and simplifying the room booking process; expanding the activity hardship fund, increasing access to financial advice for students; expanding opening hours for university social spaces like the balloon bar, and mandatory active bystander and consent training.
Druce also advocates for companies better suited to students in our career fairs.
Isobel Foster
Our third and final candidate is Isobel Foster, running on a platform of Support, Space, and Strength.
Support aims to advance support for student groups. Space expresses her desire to increase usable spaces for student activities, be it societies, or for studying. Strength wishes to further communication and transparency between the SU and students.
There seem to be common trends between our candidates; all three candidates wish to address the problems around the lack of student spaces. This concern is centred around study spaces, as during exam periods it can be difficult for students to find places to study, which Epigram have covered before.
Transparency is a running theme across campaigns, too, with both Katie Poyner and Isobel Foster wanting to increase visibility between relations SU and university relations.
Voting opens at 9am on Monday, 10 March, when candidates begin their official campaigning, and closes at 9pm on Thursday 13 March.
To vote, and look at candidates across all officer roles, visit https://www.bristolsu.org.uk/elections
Poyner, Druce, or Foster? Who has your vote for Union Affairs Officer?
