Warwick SU Question Time Day 3: Full-Time Officers

The Full-Time Officer candidates faced a series of questions last Friday to mark the final day of this year’s Students’ Union (SU) Question Time events.

Presidential candidates Enaya Nihal, Molly Palmer, and Marie Vengerov faced questions ranging from how they would improve the accountability of the SU to what made them well-suited to the role. The other candidates were not present.

They also faced a question about their opinions on the University’s relationship with arms manufacturers and how they would address it.

Nihal stated that her opinions were well-known and that “the University needs to divest, we know what’s happening, we know it’s horrible”.

She added: “We need to make sure that our voices are heard and that the University has to listen to us.”

Palmer said that she had been “actively involved” in demilitarisation efforts at Warwick and that she had “recently got flagged up for speaking about it on a climate panel”.

She also spoke of how it was important to support STEM students who did not want to go into careers that were military-based.

Vengerov said that students could not ignore the “military past” of the University and the fact that “we had begun to tackle it was already one big step, but it’s not enough”.

She added: “We should maybe politicise it even more and push for the fight.”

When asked what the biggest issue facing Warwick students is, all three believed it to be the cost-of-living crisis.

Vengerov cited the “monopoly” that one company had over bus travel to and from campus and the high prices at Rootes Grocery Store as key reasons why student budgets have had to increase.

Nihal promised that if she was elected, she would ensure that the real Living Wage was provided to all SU staff. She also promised to continue the End Period Poverty and Free Breakfast Club campaigns.

Palmer described the prices at Rootes as “soul-crushing” and stressed that the cost-of-living crisis creates barriers that prevent students from doing things they are passionate about.

Both candidates for Vice President for Sports, Ben Tweedle and Louis Gosling, attended the event.

Both were asked what they would do to promote transgender inclusion in sports at Warwick and at the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) competitions.

Tweedle responded that it was important to “use our voice” to encourage change within BUCS and that a lot more could be done on campus to “make sure our sports clubs are as welcoming as possible for transgender and non-binary students”.

Gosling said that it was a “sensitive subject” and that it was “important for clubs to have the ability to provide inclusive opportunities for transgender students”.

The candidates were also questioned about the criticism Warwick Sport clubs had faced for their focus on BUCS and how they would encourage all students to participate in sport.

Gosling replied that success at BUCS is how Warwick gains a sporting reputation but emphasised that this was not the only way that sport should operate at Warwick. He argued that making an active lifestyle more integral to student life would bring about other benefits such as improved quality of life and fitness.

Tweedle praised the recent increase in the amount allocated to the University’s BUCS Sports Fund. However, he went on to stress the importance of increasing funding for non-BUCS sports. This, he said, would help increase activity and engagement amongst all students at Warwick.

Muneeba Amjad was the only one of the three Vice President for Education candidates to attend the event.

When asked what made her personally motivated to increase accessibility and diversity at Warwick, Muneeba said: “As a disabled student myself, I think it is important that education is accessible to all students.

“I’ve seen things such as lecture rooms that aren’t directly accessible … and I’ve also seen students have difficulty in getting extensions or mitigating circumstances, and that’s something that should be improved.”

The only candidate for Vice President of Societies, Joe Stanley, was asked how societies that operate on tight budgets could be supported. Joe aims to increase the ways in which funding could be accessed and hopes to “get more sponsorship options”.

He added: “There’s a potential with local businesses to get further funding into societies.”

Joe also stated that he would like to “promote welfare as much as possible” but conceded that he “didn’t have anything formal as I don’t fully know the details of it”.

Naomi Carter was the only candidate for Vice President for Welfare and Campaigns who participated.

When asked about the increase in Report and Support disclosures, Carter responded that harassment was a “pretty big problem” and that she planned to “lobby for a resource pack in halls during freshers’ week … so that people understand what is out there and what support is available”.

In response to a question about how different departments had different approaches to welfare, Carter said that there was a problem in larger departments such as Economics and Engineering, which has seen students struggling to access the support available to them.

Carter added that she was in favour of a “standardisation across departments” of personal tutors and other staff on how they could signpost to students the help available to them.

A full recording of the Full-Time Officer Question Time event can be found here, courtesy of RAW1251 AM.

A list of all candidates and their manifestos can be found here.

Voting closes at 4pm on Friday 8 March.