Record high of 130 candidates for Warwick SU’s Autumn Elections 2019

Candidates in the Autumn Elections for roles at the University of Warwick’s Students’ Union (SU) were released yesterday.

There are 135 candidates for the positions of: delegate at the National Union of Students (NUS) National Conference; EU and non-EU International Student Officers; Part-Time and Mature Students’ Officer; Women’s Officer; member of the Democracy, Development, Welfare, Postgraduate, Societies and Sports Execs; and representatives for Mental Health Awareness Campaigns as well as the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine, and Faculty of Social Science.

Nominations for the roles closed on Friday noon and voting for the candidates open at 9am on Tuesday 15 October 2019. There is an option to re-open nominations for each role.

This year sees the highest number of candidates since records began in 2014, an increase of 16 candidates from last year. Candidates can run for multiple positions, which are listed below.

NUS National Conference Delegate: 24 candidates

Six places are available for this position. Delegates will attend the NUS National Conference 2020 from 31 March to 2 April, and vote on NUS policies and for officers. The six delegates are “expected to vote in line with current SU Policy” unless “explicitly expressed otherwise” in the candidate’s election manifesto.

Moreover, given “requirements for a gender balanced delegation”, at least three delegates “shall be self-defining Women”.

The candidates are Maya Mannan, Mahnoor Shoaib, Fraser Amos, Rene Jean-Marie, Vaishvi Seth, Peter Barlev, Rohit Sanjay Talreja, Nazifa Zaman, Larissa Kennedy, Calum Paton, Dylan Jay Moody, Luke Shortland, James Butler, Rahul Budhan, Michael Valmas, Jacob Jefferson, Nathan Boroda, Gabriela Kadifchina, Mohammad Karim, Alexandru Fugariu, and Alice Dermody-Palmer.

Incumbent Education Officer and Deputy SU President Chloe Batten, Postgraduate Officer Alice Churm, and Welfare and Campaigns Officer Tiana Holgate are also running for this position.

International Students’ Officer (EU): Four candidates

One place is available for this role. As an unpaid part-time officer for EU students, the successful candidate represents the international community and will be tasked to raise awareness for issues affecting international students. They will run events and campaigns for issues relating to diversity and liberation, liaise with SU staff, and be “a full voting member of Student Council”.

The candidates are Talip Yaldaz, Andrei Vizireanu, Michael Valmas and Daniel Kallo.

International Students’ Officer (non-EU): 11 candidates

One place is available for this role, which entails the same tasks as the officer for international students from the EU, but representing non-EU international students instead.

The candidates are Dubaobao Huang, Victor Hugo Herrera Colorado, Sambhav Jain, Ali Atia, Rhea Kalra, Aditi Nath, Vinay Narayana, Zishi Zhang, Akniyet Auyeskhan, Matthew Kwan and Vu Luu.

Part-Time and Mature Students’ Officer: One candidate

One place is available for this role. The part-time officer will represent relevant students and communicate with staff, departments, Student-Staff Liaison Committees (SSLCs). They will campaign on behalf of part-time and mature students, raise awareness for liberation and diversity issues, and are “a full voting member of Student Council”.

The candidate is Alexandru Fugariu.

Women’s Officer: 15 candidates

One place is available for this role, but candidates can also run in pairs. The officer(s) will “represent all self-defining women” at Warwick, address “the needs of women students” and raise awareness of issues faced, through events such as International Women’s Week and anti-sexism campaigns.

The officer(s) will also “sit on the SU Liberation and Diversity Exec and be a full voting member of Student Council”, and is/are expected to carry out manifesto promises.

The candidates are Meghna Srivastava, Gnyanda Golchha, Meg Smith, Mahnoor Shoaib, Amy Porton-Bowden, Bernice Ackah, Karishma Kiran Shah.

Tara and Bede, Olivia Coster and Cecily Thompson, Lara and Bella, and Beatrice Taylor and Niamh Massey are running in pairs.

Democracy Exec Member: 15 candidates

Six places are available for this position. Members will ensure “the SU is fulfilling its democratic duties”, and the exec is autonomous. They will assist with the Union Democracy Zone, Student Council and All Student Votes (ASVs) and elections, among other tasks. They will work with the Democracy and Development Officer (DDO) Milly Last.

The candidates are Katie Duffy, Daniel Leung, David, Ryan Simpson, Akosua Sefah, Luke Shortland, Charlton Sayer, Oliver Barsby, Josh Coldspring-White, Nathan Boroda, Rattan Bhorjee, Kieron Warren, Dylan Jay Moody, Shradha Badiani and Marta Meazza.

Development Exec Member: 15 candidates

Six places are available for this position. Members will ensure “student projects are up to scratch by allocating funding” so that the SU “offers the best services possible. The exec is autonomous.

Also working with the DDO, members will oversee the Union Development and Environment Zone; promote the SU’s events, outlets and funds; share new commercial activities; “advise students on external sources of funding” and other tasks.

The candidates are Callum Mackie, Keshav Thakrar, Jay Popkin, James Butler, Neil Michael Beckett, Georgina Milner, Sebastian Maxted, Mohammad Karim, Fraser Amos, Declan Dadzie, Mr Sam Polhill, Shailja Dhanuka, Holly Warner, Roberto White and Edbert Emeka.

Welfare Exec Member: 18 candidates

Six places are available for this position. The exec is autonomous. Members will oversee the Union Welfare Zone support campaign leaders and student wellbeing on campus, organise welfare services and assist the Welfare and Campaigns Officer Tiana Holgate.

The candidates are Bailey Masson, Izzy Bourne, Gabriela Kadifchina, Ethan Honey, Ben Kinder, Fleur West, Will Hodgetts, Rohit Sanjay Talreja, Callum Doherty, Abid Rahman, Jacob Jefferson, Ria Malik, Fred Beach, Ollie Cranham-Young, Will Barber Taylor, Cameron Hall, Amin Loh and Jon Winfield.

Postgraduate Exec Member: Eight candidates

Eight places are available for this position. The exec is autonomous and will consist of two members each for postgraduate taught and research, in addition to two open postgraduate spaces. They will ensure the needs of postgraduate students are met and their student experience improved. Involved with the Union Postgraduate Policy Zone, reviewing the use of “The Graduate”, discussing “issues arising from SSLC meetings” and judging applications for the SU Representation awards, they will work closely with the Postgraduate Officer Alice Churm.

The candidates are Scott Dwyer, Elena Senica, Simone Constantino, Lukasz Kolodziej, Yeyao Tian, Vasu Sharma, Yige Yan and Sue Mary Lemos.

Societies Exec Member: 13 candidates

Eight places are available for this position. The exec is autonomous. Members will ensure “the needs of societies are being met and they are being supported throughout the year”, and be involved in the Society Awards, reviewing Societies Federation procedures, the Union Student Acitivities Policy Zone, deciding society applications, allocating emergency funding and other roles. They will work closely with the Societies Officer Luke Mempham.

The candidates are Toby Kunin, Stanley, James Hart, Adam Blunden, Charlotte Earl, Dan Rauf, Paul Swan, Isaac Loose, James Haigh, Samuel Baldwin, Olly Barron, Dan Sheldon and Berkan Marasli.

Sports Exec Member: Five candidates

Eight places are available for this position. The exec is autonomous. Similar to the role above, members will work to ensure sports clubs are being supported. They will work closely with the Sports Officer Charlotte Lloyd.

The candidates are Kash Kamaly, Lydia Lloyd-Bond, Araan Mohanadass, Jonny Hoile and Lizzie Roberts.

Mental Health Awareness Campaigns Representative: Three candidates

Two places are available for this position. Representatives work “alongside the Welfare Exec to develop campaigns relating to mental health”. Previous years have seen representatives running a Mental Health Panel. They will be in contribute ” heavily to the running of Mental Health Awareness Week” and work with Ms Holgate “to promote lesser known and more stigmatised mental health issues”.

The candidates are Niraj Shah, Joy-Ve Wong and Greg Clarke.

Faculty of Arts Exec Representative: Seven candidates

Five places are available for this position. Representatives ensure “academic interests are heard” within the faculty, sit on faculty execs in the SU and Academic Council, and work with course representatives.

There is one place researched each for undergraduate and postgraduate taught and research students. Two places are open to any student.

The candidates are Harry Russell, Alice Dermody-Palmer, Richard Seed, Jack Brailsford, Sidney Pycroft, Nazifa Zaman and Megan Clarke.

Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine Exec Representative: Eight candidates

Six places are available for this position. Representatives have similar tasks to the role above, but for the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

There is one place researched each for undergraduate, postgraduate, and postgraduate taught and research students. Two places are open to any student.

The candidates are Alex Baker, Dale Harding, Adam Jones, Valentin Mancas, Naveen Kumar, Mario Roberto Pinto Villar, Maya Alestwani and Rahul Budhan.

Faculty of Social Science Exec Representative: Nine candidates

Five places are available for this position. Representatives have similar tasks to the two roles above, but for the Faculty of Social Science.

There is one place researched each for undergraduate and postgraduate taught and research students. Two places are open to any student.

The candidates are Junting Ge, Jared Smith, Jay Kinsella, Michal Motyl, Metin Baki, Peter Barlev, Maya Mannan and Libby Clarke.

Names are ordered as listed on Warwick SU’s Candidate List webpage.