The position of Guild President is hotly contended each year, and 2021 is set to be no different. The role of the President is to lead the officer team throughout the academic year, ensuring Guild democracy procedures are maintained, and acting as the face of the student body in the media.

Of eight candidates, four attended Media Day interviews with Redbrick. Aseam Din, Adebayo Adekanla, Ryan Hayward, and Joe Crossley did not respond when contacted for an interview.

Students will be able to vote in the officer elections for full-time and part-time positions between 22nd and 26th February, on the Guild Website.

Each candidate is listed below alphabetically by surname.

Mikey Brown

 

A second year Political Science and Social Studies student, Mikey Brown believes that the role of the Guild President is to act as a ‘challenging partner’ to the university, leading the officer team in an effort to ‘fight for students’ rights’. Brown also highlighted the role of President as a leader of campaigns, both locally and nationally, and the role of the Guild as a campaigning organisation.

In terms of his manifesto, Mikey named three key aims for the next academic year should he be elected: To set up an activist network to encourage a new generation of student activists; to ‘call time on dodgy student landlords’ and set up a tenants union; and to get people the support they need. With regards to this support, Brown broke it down further into expanding the role of Guild Advice, making Guild communications more accessible and pressing for fully funded mental health support rather than ‘gimmicks’ such as ‘therapy animals’ or ‘yoga.’

speak truth to power when something isn’t working for students

Brown’s background in activism is one of the reasons he believes he would succeed in this role. His previous support for lecturers during UCU strikes, alongside his recent vocal efforts on the Facebook page Fab n Fresh to lobby the University for a no-detriment policy are a few of the reasons he listed. Mikey also notes that his age, being a little older than other candidates, would be a benefit due to the skills developed during his time as a litigator and his job at a large car rental company.

Reflecting on the relationship between full-time and part-time officers, Brown explained to Redbrick that it was all about empowering the officers and figuring out how the ideas of the officer team can be made to happen. He said its ‘not about being a dictator,’ but instead understanding the need for balance and communication.

not about being a dictator

Naming the ‘COVID pandemic and all its effects’ as one of the biggest issues faced by students, Mikey believes that students have been neglected by both the University and the government. If successful in his election campaign, he believes he will make an effort to ‘speak truth to power when something isn’t working for students’ and that talking to the University will require a ‘bit of give and take.’

Talking about Guild transparency, Brown said: ‘there’s some good work happening right now in the new year,’ but that he thinks officers have to get out there to get feedback on student issues.

 

Smiling Man

 

As the name suggests, a key component of Smiling Man’s campaign is smiling. In his interview with Redbrick, Smiling Man stressed the importance of a positive outlook, stating that smiling and laughter are the best medicine. If elected, changes would be made to university life in the form of a ‘five-minute smiling time’ to be enacted each day. This compulsory period of positivity would, according to Smiling Man, have the benefit of making people appreciate things more. His campaign is inspired by Smiling Man’s great uncle Gordon, a tugboat captain who always had a smile on his face.

I’ve never frowned once in my life

In addition to this, Smiling Man wanted to emphasise the healing power of smiling. He says that biologists and sociologists ‘all point to the same thing, which is that smiling can cure pretty much every disease out there.’ He also noted: ‘I’ve never frowned once in my life,’ even in the face of harsh university deadlines. ‘Students have a lot of stuff on their plates at the moment,’ and ‘the world can be a scary place,’ but Smiling Man says that smiling will may your day better and will improve your life by 100%.

smiling can cure pretty much every disease out there

To get his officer team onboard, Smiling Man would tell jokes to break the ice. His smiling policy would also be extended to communication with the University, as he maintains that if you smile at people they will be a bit more ‘fair dealing’, making it a good approach to negotiations and democratic processes.

Taking a rather more out of the box approach to Guild Election campaigns, Smiling Man pondered the wonders of the universe: dark matter and extra-terrestrials. His theory is that appreciating the universe and smiling will spread positivity and encourage great strides in science, positively influencing and future contact with aliens.

One final policy from Smiling Man’s campaign is the introduction of smiling UoB facemasks, which would spread positivity to everyone around campus.

 

Holly Sambridge

 

Holly Sambridge, a final year Business Management student, is running as ‘HERO Holly’, centring her campaign around four key points: health and wellbeing, environment, recruitment, and overseas.

Expanding on these policies a little more, Sambridge explained that she really wants to focus on mental health as ‘students are suffering more and more and the current provisions are not enough.’ Holly believes the best ways to approach this is through encouraging the University to liaise with NHS and community services so as to make the most of each other’s unique services. In terms of the environment, Holly’s focus is on making campus plastic free, as well as reducing food waste and encouraging more sustainable modes of transport such as cycling. Recruitment for Sambridge means making sure that students work with the allocation of the new Vice Chancellor, as well as making sure that staff are allocated to meet student needs. Finally, her overseas policy is aimed at increasing inclusion for international and year abroad students as they have been ‘really hard hit.’

students are suffering more and more and the current provisions are not enough

She believes ‘the President wears many hats at [the] University […] they do so much,’ which means that they have to be a strong figurehead and understand all aspects of university life. Students face a lot of issues that are not always expressed through the available social media channels; Holly notes that a ‘huge chunk of the university population is missing out,’ namely international and postgraduate students. Other major concerns for students right now include issues with rent and study spaces, and the return to what she calls the ‘new normal’ which will require UoB to adapt quickly.

the President wears many hats at [the] University

In her current role as an Undergraduate Rep for the College of Social Sciences Holly believes she has developed the necessary skills to aid her throughout the next academic year if elected. Her experience running meetings and collecting feedback from students, as well as sitting in high level meetings with senior members of staff, has meant she has ‘learnt well to communicate and to lobby my ideas.’ This experience is supplemented by her appointment as President of the Business Society for two years running, which she says has led to the realisation that ‘what the members and societies need is often different to what the Guild perceives they need.’ Sambridge also said that she sees herself as a ‘future inspirational leader.’

To improve the relationship between the Guild and the University community, Sambridge suggests that improvements to communications are essential. She would organise both group and individual meetings with the rest about the officer team and work with everyone on an equal playing field. Feedback from students would take priority, and Holly wants to encourage students to ‘make it change’ rather than relying on social media to vent their frustrations, highlighting that she wants to be approachable and no problem is too small. Sambridge further states that Guild transparency would be very important, and familiarising herself with Guild democratic processes would be a priority. Looking to the future, the move to this ‘new normal’ is ‘a really great opportunity for the Guild to reassert to the university that students are at the forefront of whatever they do.’

 

George Westwood

 

George Westwood is a final year Sociology student at the University of Birmingham. If elected as President, Westwood wants to encourage students to feel comfortable to use their own voices and to speak out about what they believe in. His manifesto covers a wide range of topics, from renters’ rights to inclusive sexual health provisions. Westwood wants to work with tenant and student unions nationally to campaign for flexible contract agreements, as well as putting together a handbook on tenancy rights, stating ‘COVID-19 has really highlighted how messy student accommodation is and can be.’

Feeding into his campaigning for sexual health outside of his studies, George’s focus on inclusive sexual health includes the reintroduction of SHAG week (Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance week), as well as expanding the Not On campaign and breaking down stigma associated with sexual health.

One of Westwood’s more fun manifesto points is the introduction of free Fab on your birthday (or an alcohol free alternative from Joe’s Bar). Other policies include a smooth transition back to campus life with clear communication from the University, and accountability to students through potential collaboration with student media groups to produce informative podcasts or newsletters to keep students up to date. Also on the to-do list in the event of his election is the reform of the Student Support Fund. Westwood acknowledges how ‘messy’ accessing hardship funds can be and therefore wants to make the process easier: ‘I think that the fund needs to cover 52 weeks of the year because students exist for 52 weeks of the year and have things to pay for 52 weeks of the year.’ His final manifesto point is to make sure that following the future appointment of the new Vice Chancellor, student voices are listened to and represented in the most senior decisions.

I think that the fund needs to cover 52 weeks of the year because students exist for 52 weeks of the year

Westwood’s attitude to leadership is one of collaboration, and he highlights the need for other peoples’ ideas to be fairly represented. Experienced in leadership roles, George has previously been Chair of Valefest (and is Vice-Chair for this year too), a large society within the Guild which has led him to gain knowledge of leadership meetings with the University. Talking about working with the other officers, Westwood says its about ‘making sure that you’re in the room when you need to be in the room’ whilst also understanding what everyone wants to achieve. Making sure that part-time officers are supported by the full-time roles will ensure group goals can be achieved. Working alongside the University will require further collaboration, as he states it is ‘not about going in there and butting heads […] you can’t make effective decisions if you are fighting with people and you are disagreeing with every single move’ but instead ‘making compromises without sacrificing student voice.’

Discussing the transition back to campus, Westwood notes that while mental health is not an explicit manifesto point, it is a ‘massive thing’ but is ‘often used as just a token’ policy. Instead, George explains: ‘‘I don’t think mental health should be a policy I think mental health should just be a given right,’ something that should be continuously worked and improved upon.

I don’t think mental health should be a policy I think mental health should just be a given right

On issues of Guild transparency and democracy George highlights the need for a proactive approach, believing that students have the right to openness and honesty from their officer team whether the information is good or bad.

Overall, George wanted to emphasise the fact that his policies are a mix of university and guild led targets, chosen because the relationship between the University and Guild is ‘paramount’ and he aims to encompass every single type of student, ensuring inclusivity in an effort to re-engage students with the Guild.

 

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