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All the information on your candidates in our 12 page pullout - Pages 23-34
THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
SINCE 1987
Tuesday 4 February 2014 • Issue 619 • www.exepose.ex.ac.uk • Twitter: @Exepose • www.facebook.com/Exepose
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Students have their say
Exeposé’s exclusive poll highlights the issues that will decide the Sabb elections EXCLUSIVE Owen Keating News Editor
A POLL conducted by Exeposé in the run up to this year’s Sabbatical elections has revealed what Exeter students believe to be the key issues for each election race. Over 200 students responded to the online poll, which asked respondents to state which issue (from a choice of six) they thought the most important in the elections for Guild President, AU President, VP Welfare and Community, VP Education, and VP Activities. In the race for Guild President, 51.7 per cent of the 205 respondents privileged Exeter’s famed student experience above other issues, with second place going to value for money, with 49 respondents saying that this was their most important issue, constituting 23.9 per cent of the vote. Employability gained 8.8 per cent of the vote, with the nationwide representation of the University coming in fourth place, with 7.8 per cent. Local community engagement and University expansion received just over 3 per cent of student votes in total. In terms of a gendered breakdown, 54.7 per cent of men saw student experience as the biggest issue for the Guild President, compared to 51.8 per cent of women. 13.1 per cent of male respondents saw employability as the biggest issue, in comparison to only 5.4 per cent of the 112 females who responded to this question. Over one in four female respondents were most concerned with value for money, as opposed to only 11.9 per cent of males surveyed. One in three students asked about the AU President election said that the prices at the recently revamped Sports Park were the issue most important to them, while 23.5 per cent of the 196 re-
spondents said that membership fees for AU clubs concerned them the most. One in five were most concerned with intramural sport provisions, while just over one in ten (11.7 per cent) were most concerned with sports club culture. 14.5 per cent of female respondents expressed concern with sports club culture, in comparison to just over seven per cent of male respondents. 4.8 per cent of males cared most about coaching, in comparison to less than 2 per cent of female respondents. Nearly 35 per cent of the 199 respondents to questions about the Welfare election said that mental wellbeing was the most important issue in that particular election, while just over one in four were most concerned with halls and housing. 15.6 per cent thought student safety was the biggest issue, while just
It is important for Sabbatical Officer candidates to consider the issues that students identify as their priorities Hannah Barton, Guild President over one in ten saw that equality and diversity and student health were the issues which most vitally need addressing by prospective candidates. Only 1.5 per cent saw the welfare of international students as the biggest issue. Mental wellbeing was a bigger issue for females than men, with 36.9 per cent of females citing it as their biggest issue, as opposed to 32.1 per cent of male respondents. Nearly one in three males also saw halls and housing as the biggest
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issue for Welfare and Diversity candidates, as opposed to only 18.9 per cent of females surveyed. The quality of teaching and assessment was the biggest issue in the Education election, with 39.7 per cent of 209 answers stating this to be the biggest issue facing candidates. Just over 30 per cent were most concerned with study spaces, while just under half of that figure, 14.8 per cent, were most worried about contact hours. 7 per cent of males were worried most about out of hours timetabling of compulsory classes (including contact hours scheduled on Wednesday afternoons), in comparison to 1.7 per cent of female respondents. Finally, responding to questions about the VP Activities election, 45.5 per cent of respondents said that society funding and support was their most significant issue. 19 per cent were most concerned with employability support, with a further 16 per cent saying that society participation concerned them most. Only 2.5 per cent of students cited issues related to St. Luke’s as their most prominent concern. Hannah Barton, Guild President, commented: “As the foremost representatives of the student body, it is important for Sabbatical Officer candidates to consider the issues that students identify as their priorities. Of course these change over time but it remains the responsibility of the Sabbatical Officers to stay in tune with relevant issues”. A second year Economics student commented: “The student experience at Exeter is much valued amongst students, and the fact that over half of those surveyed saw this as the biggest issue for the new Guild President is a telling statistic”. Additional reporting by Jon Jenner and Louis Doré.
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