Sabbatical Officers – have they fulfilled their promises?

**Daniel Stevens – President**

Stevens’ manifesto was by far the longest and most detailed of any of the Sabb’s manifestos.

It had over twenty separate promises, ranging from the broad, (“Make the Union a democratic platform and encourage moderated debate on topics that divide the community”), to the very specific (“Provide students with 100 free printing credits”).

This meant that it would certainly be a challenge to fulfil all of these promises, and unfortunately this resulted in over half of them being either unfinished at the time of writing or not done at all.

Stevens himself is proud of what he has achieved this year, citing the “change in focus” of the Union towards international students, his involvement in the national campaign against tuition fee rises, putting student employability “high on the agenda”, sitting on various committees to represent student opinions and the ‘Taken for a Ride’ campaign as being particular highlights. Jonathan Barnes is supportive of this, saying that the campaign was a “particular area of success”.

Stevens is “disappointed” at the clear rejection of his policy of “ethical sponsorship only” by the student body in favour of a more open system in this spring’s referenda, but is quick to point out that “the Union has to act democratically”.

When asked about some of the promises he was unable to fulfil, Stevens often claims that they have been achieved in other ways, or were impossible. When asked about his plan to “establish a chippy” on campus, he is keen to point out that while that did not happen, he managed to get the burger van to sell chips – a personal success that he feels he “did not get credit for”.

Converting the “abandoned Grad Club” into a “media centre” did not happen due to lack of funds, neither has his plan to “convert the atrium” to a “massive relaxing lounge”, though he assures us that it will happen over the summer.

Acknowledging that the Sabbatical Officers were “sidetracked” by the Browne review, he says that this is a reason that he was unable to “focus” on projects from his manifesto. As well as this, he has faced criticism that he could have done more, with one international student, who wished to remain anonymous, saying that he “can’t remember there being a Students’ Union presence at orientation week”.

One sentence summary: “This year has been a rollercoaster – it scares the hell out of you, there’s thrills, there’s drops and when you think it’s all over there’s one more loop – but at the end of it you say it was one hell of a ride.”

**Sean Ruston – Education Officer**

Ruston’s Manifesto was balanced between practical promises (“Short Use Computers in the Library”) and points of policy (“Opposing any rise in tuition fees”).

It was of average length, with about 12 promises on it and roughly two-thirds of them have been completed or acted upon.

When asked about his main achievements for the year, Ruston initially points out to his lobbying on both a “local and national level” in opposition to the rise in tuition fees and the cuts in funding to universities. He then goes on to highlight the success on “intercalated year fees”, and the success of his lobbying about the “feedback and assessment” methods at the “undergraduate and postgraduate taught” level. Finally, he says he is “proud” of his “individual casework”, which involves helping students, and his expansion of the INSPIRE programme which is “very rewarding”.

Ruston acknowledges that this has been “dominated by the fee issue” – even though stopping the rise “was never going to happen”. He points to the “opportunities” provided by the second term discussions with the university over the “student experience”, but accepts that things like his opposition to increasing international fees had “taken a back seat” to the domestic fees issue.

When asked what he wishes he could have done, he says he was “really annoyed” by the increase in tuition fees for part-time and Centre for Lifelong Learning students, as these are “much more damaging” than an “increase for your standard undergraduate”.

While a key point in his manifesto was to increase “Accessibility” to the Sabbs, and this was acted on in part by the ‘Sabbatical surgeries’ in term one, which “nobody came to”, and the ‘Sabbs on a sofa’ in term two which was done “ a few times”. However, Ruston agrees that the Sabbs still need “to get better” at it.

Some students are supportive of Ruston’s work this year, with one first-year Law student saying that he did “as good a job as could be expected” under “the circumstances [of] a difficult year”. However, some students disagree with this view, with one first-year Maths student pointing out that “the focus on the fees demonstrations” led to everything else “taking a back seat”.

As Ruston is remaining education officer next year, he says that he plans to continue to expand the INSPIRE scheme, have a “big push” about getting more study space on campus, and focus on personal tutoring which he hasn’t “tackled this year”. He says that the experience this year has helped him, and taught him the usefulness of “well put together, evidence-based work” which “goes a long way” with the university.

One sentence summary: “Trying to adapt to fundamental changes in higher education that is intended to put students in the driving seat, but in reality necessitates students to fight for their rights harder than ever.”

**Chris Luck – Democracy and Communications Officer**

Luck’s manifesto was one of the more sparse manifestos this year, and was definitely the most holistic.

It had two specific practical promises on it, (a “You Say, We Say” board and an “Online Calendar”), and the rest was made up of items such as “Accountability” and “Accessibility”. This means that is it harder to quantify whether the promises that he made have been met or not.

When asked what his main achievements were this year, Luck highlights the election turnouts “going up so considerably”, the referenda all “reaching quorum”, the ongoing Democracy Review and the “feedback measures” that have been introduced.

When asked about what he wished he could have done, Luck points out that he is “here next year”, and says that he hopes to complete the Democracy Review, as he “naively thought” it would be a quick process.

The “You Say, We Say” board did not appear, though Luck is keen to point out that it instead “turned into” the entire feedback system that has been implemented such as the comment section in the Bubble giving “different avenues” for feedback. As for the lack of detail, Luck points to his previous Union experience which allowed him to know what he could “actually achieve”.

A key criticism is the question of why turnout and participation are still so low – surely a good indicator to the success of any Democracy and Communications Officer. Luck disagrees that it is to do with student apathy or disinterest, rather a “lack of understanding” that the elections were happening and why they are important.

First-year Economics student Margot List supports this view, pointing out that she “still doesn’t really know what the Sabbs do”. First-year Law student Thomas Messenger disagrees with this, saying that “with the amount of advertising” it was “impossible to be unaware” that the election was happening, and through “speaking to people personally” I could tell that a lot “simply didn’t care”. Another student, who wished to remain anonymous, pointed out that “surely” it is “Luck’s job” to communicate with the student body and that the fact that he still sees it as a problem indicates “failure on his part”.

As Luck will remain Democracy and Communications Officer next year, he feels that this is a definite “advantage”. He points out that with four sabbatical officers returning, the Union will not “pause” during the summer months.  He does not know what he is planning to focus on next year, as he is waiting for the results of the Democracy Review, but sees getting people to engage more with democracy as being key.

One sentence summary: “Amazing with amazing people – some huge successes, a lot more work to do – I’ve loved every second of it.”

**Stuart Stanley – Finance Officer**

Stanley’s manifesto was quite rounded, with seventeen points on it, ranging from the specific, (“Open the room two chill out space in the day”), to the holistic, (“More transparent finances and decision making processes”).

This led to a manifesto that was quite heavy on practical commitments which were not entirely fulfilled.

When questioned about his main achievements in the year, Stanley points to the book sale in term one and the “annual allocation” from the university – neither of which were manifesto commitments. When asked what he wished he could have done, Stanley says that he wishes that the book sale “had gone a bit smoother” as there were problems with “some of the computer systems”.

However, again some of the main specific policy areas in his manifesto were dropped due to unfeasibility subsumed into other initiatives or possibly weren’t done. One of his key manifesto points was to provide “better value for money” in Union outlets – which addresses a constant student criticism. However, this criticism remains, with first-year Maths student Michelle Parker saying that prices are “too high” for places that “mostly students go to”.

Stanley points out that the Union outlets “contribute” to the Union, and that they are “competitive” on price – even though he acknowledges that “it would be nice” to be cheaper. When asked about the low attendance at the copper rooms, which Stanley promised a number of measures aimed at improving, (such as “More varied provision”, and the ability to “Pay for entry at the Copper Rooms by Eating @ Warwick”), he points out that the local clubs in Coventry and Leamington have “stepped up their game”, and also says that students “aren’t actually going out as much” and don’t “want to go to the same place every week”.

His plan to “Open the Room Two Chill Out space during the day” was unfeasible as it is a “licensing issue”, and his pledge to “secure funding for a media centre and SUHQ regeneration” could not be completed as funders did want to fund the Union for this. His plan to open an SU takeaway did not come to fruition, but he did work with Dan Stevens to get the university burger van to sell chips after “looking at what students really wanted”, though he admits its “not quite the solution we were looking for”.

Some of his pledges are still ongoing; for example, he is still looking into “cheaper use of the copper rooms” for clubs and societies. Also, his promise to find “a space for societies to practise and hold events” was successful, though its uptake “hasn’t been as great” as he would have liked.

One sentence summary: “Its hectic, its hard work but it has been really enjoyable. It’s been really valuable to me personally and I think we’ve managed to achieve some real positive changes for students this year. A bit of a difficult year with fees and funding and things like that, but I really enjoyed it.”

**Leo Boe – Welfare Officer**

Like Stevens’, Boe’s manifesto was one of the most detailed out of all the Sabbs, with 20 promises on it.

These again ranged from the broad (“Dialogue between students and local communities”) to the very focused (“More vegetarian options in the Duck”). However, the large number of specific points meant that large numbers of them were not accomplished, or changed from their original forms throughout the year.

With regard to his main achievements, Boe points out “hosting the highest number of sexual health clinics on campus”, the “success” of the Housing Day, the “Feel Good” campaign during the exam period and “engaging” with students through “kitchen touring”.

He is keen to highlight that speaking to individual students allowed to find out about issues like the residents of some Rootes blocks being forced to move to Cryfield over the Easter break – which he “only found out about “ through kitchen touring. However, some students are sceptical about this, with one Arthur Vick resident pointing out that no Sabb came to their kitchen “except for elections week”.

However, many of the specific and practical elements of his manifesto were not completed. For example, Boe’s promise to improve “Disabled Access” to the Atrium by changing the door at the bottom of the ramp has been delayed as it is a “legal issue”; and his promise to hold an “International Food Festival”  was dropped because it would “require a lot of time and energy” that was not available.

He cites the large problems with undergraduate accommodation at the beginning of the year – when over three hundred students were left with no accommodation – for offsetting his plans. He also points to the large “number of cases” throughout the year, which made up the bulk of his work.

Some things such as the “complaints webpage” and the “Housing Day in Leamington and Coventry” we subsumed into the general housing strategy and the Housing Day itself became a booklet that all new tenants were given on collection of their keys.

When asked what he wished he could have done, Boe says that he would like to have “known a little more” about the job before he started it. As he has become President for next year, he says that the “biggest problem” to face is the “lack of student engagement”, but that the knowledge gained as Welfare Officer would help.

One sentence summary: “It’s been extremely exciting and unexpected in every way, with its own challenges, and I’ve managed to get as much out of it as I think I can and I hope students feel that same way.”

**Andy White – Societies Officer**

White’s manifesto was one of the shorter ones this year, with only eight main points, though each one was expanded upon in detail.

His points were all fairly specific, ranging from the practical, (“Send an email out to students advertising upcoming society events”), to the more radical, (“Club smaller societies together to apply jointly for sponsorship”). Many of his practical pledges have been acted upon, but some of the others have not been done.

When asked what he feels his greatest achievements as Societies Officer have been, White points at the “societies fair and society awards”, “new computers in the socs and sports room” and “getting loads more ways that societies can advertise”.

As for what he wishes he could have done but was unable to do, White focuses mainly on finance – specifically his desire to “put everything to do with finance online” – which he was unable to do because of the massive investment needed to change the finance system.

The finance system itself was also a source of problem for many societies, with some laying the blame on White, with Second Year Maths student Mark Butcher calling the transition to the new system “farcical”, and pointing out that White “never really seemed clued up” on “the financial side of running the Union”.

When asked about his manifesto pledge to create “more collectives” in the model of the Dance and Drama collectives, White points out that he decided that this was not a good idea once he “took over”, as “setting up societies” that no one had “asked for” did not “seem like a particularly good idea”. However, he does point out that the inter-charity forum was set up this year, and “Warwick Hub” for charities and campaigning societies will become active next year.

As for the joint sponsorship pledge, this was a “non-starter” and there were “so many logistical issues that needed to be worked out”, though he has “centralised” the sponsorship for the top twenty graduate employers, and thus got more sponsorship in this way.

Even so, some societies disagree, with one member of the Sri Lankan society who wished to remain anonymous, saying that “smaller societies” haven’t “benefitted” from Union help.

In his manifesto he pledged “more storage space” for clubs and societies, and too help with this he has used the Grad Club more for “limited access” storage, and has “ripped everything out” of the society cupboards in the Union to create a lot more space. Even so, he acknowledges that it is still “a big problem”, and is something that he has “not been able to do”.

His pledge of “free advertising for societies via TVs in the Union” was not feasible as the screens had to “pay for themselves” and time given to societies is “taking away from money” they earn from companies. He points out that societies get a “massively reduced” rate for usage, and highlights the other ways he has created for advertising, such as “in the wall planners” and in The Bubble.

One sentence summary: “Really stressful, but I’ve loved every minute of it. “

**George Whitworth – Sports Officer**

Whitworth’s manifesto was the shortest of any of the Sabbs, with only five promises on it.

These were also fairly holistic in style, including “Better promotion of informal sport” and “Support for club sponsorship”. However, this has meant that he has been able to fulfil most of the promises he made.

Talking about his achievements this year, Whitworth cites Varsity, which Warwick won “for the twenty-first year running”, which was delivered “just about” on budget and had more spectators than previous years. He is also proud of working with Boe and Stevens on the buses, of which “half the improvements” are already here with more to follow “next year”.

When asked, Whitworth says that he wishes that he could “have got all the finance forms online” – a manifesto pledge – which was not accomplished due to the “substantial investment” needed in the finance system.

As the transport provided for the Union is on a “two-year rolling contract”, there was not much Whitworth could have done to “Stop transport from holding back sports societies”, though he points out that increased “awareness” has made this year “slightly better”, with less clubs in debt “as a result of transport problems”.

On his top pledge of “Better Promotion of Informal Sport”, Whitworth points out that a lot of clubs have “taken it upon themselves” to promote “semi-competitive” sport, and looks to the informal leagues that have been set up – such as the “lacrosse summer term league” and the “basketball 3 vs. 3 league” – to justify his success in this area. He also points out the increase in participation in the KPMG leagues, saying that they’ve had “quite a big improvement”.

However Ishan Islam, a first-year Economics student disagrees, saying that the while the “advertising did induce a lot more people to play”, the “actual equipment provision” by the Students’ Union was “horrendously” inadequate.

As for the simplicity of his initial manifesto, he says that he “never wanted to be someone” who puts down false promises, as it “undermines the whole structure of the Union”. In the face of the possible criticism that he could have pushed further, he points out that there were lots of things he looked “to change during the year” once he was incumbent such as “alumni membership for sports clubs” and a “fresher’s fest for minority sports”.

As Whitworth is returning next year as Union Development Officer, he thinks that his experience will help him as he is “still a trustee of the Union”, and that the “relationships with the people” he works with and his knowledge of “how to get things done” will aid him in his new role.

One sentence summary: “Good fun, hard work, but rewarding and obviously so much so that I still want to be here next year.”