SU Elections Candidate Booklet

TE A D I D N A AC G N I E B TO E D I U G A ROUGH

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T N E D U T S THE S N O I T C E L E

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WHAT POSITIONS KEY DATES ARE AVAILABLE?

NOMINATIONS CLOSE: 20th February

Students will be voting for: • President • Activities & Volunteering Officer • Culture & Diversity Officer • Education Officer • Vice President Camberwell, Chelsea & Wimbledon • Vice President Central Saint Martins • Vice President London College of Communication • Vice President London College of Fashion • 8 students onto SUARTS’ Democracy Scrutiny Committee • 3 SUARTS Student Trustees • 6 delegates for NUS National Conference

POTENTIAL CANDIDATE SESSIONS: 8th February | 14th February | 15th February CANDIDATE BRIEFINGS Tuesday, 21st February 5:30pm, High Holborn Wednesday, 22nd February 12pm, LCC CAMPAIGNING CAN START: Monday, 27th February

To be successful in any election, you’ll need to convince the majority of voters that you are the best person for that role. The opportunities you get when you are elected make the election incredibly exciting. Even if you don’t win you will make loads of new friends, learn new skills, discover a lot about yourself and the University. There is plenty of support on offer, and we want to make sure the election is as fun and relaxing as possible – although it will be hard work!

VOTING OPENS: 2nd March 12pm VOTING CLOSES: 8th March 12pm

This booklet will give you a flavour of the information that candidates ask us, so if it’s not in here, let us know and we can have a chat.

RESULTS NIGHT: 7pm Kings Cross

CONTACT Pop into our High Holborn office.

Penny Jerrum, Democracy and Campaigns Coordinator: 020 7514 6270 | p.jerrum@su.arts.ac.uk

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FIRST OF ALL

Every candidate is given the opportunity to meet with SUARTS staff who will help them throughout the campaign. Please make use of this and us. We look forward to meeting you!

Good luck, Penny & Dave

HOW DO I WIN? The aim is to get as many people to vote for you as possible. This will involve talking to people about your ideas, opinions or vision. Different students vote for different reasons and its through a combination of talking to people, having a good manifesto and being enthusiastic.

If a potential voter knows one thing about you and what you stand for when they go to vote, then you’re doing a good job! Have a think about issues which: • You feel passionate about • Will appeal to a wide range of voters • Can be easily communicated • You can do something about if you were elected These issues and ideas will be the main focus of your election message.

ACTION

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HOW SHOULD I SPEAKING COMMUNICATE IT? Think about who wants to hear your message.

Where are they? How might they want to hear about it? Like any good marketing campaign, have a think about where you’ll get the best impact for your messages and your ideas, and consider the range of things out there.

VISUAL IMPACT You’re competing against lots of other messages in your bid to get people’s attention. Just think about all the visual material you are bombarded with every day – what sticks out? What do you remember?

Students want to know what you plan to change and how it will affect them. Simply saying ‘vote for me’ isn’t enough, you need to tell them why.

Showing them something you’re already doing (before you’ve even been elected) is a great way to show them you mean what you say.

Students are more likely to vote for you if you have spoken to them. They can ask you questions, and can see you really want the role. Talking to people doesn’t mean shoving a flyer in someone’s face; it means dialogue, asking questions and relating your policies to them. But don’t forget to balance the need to engage with the need to be quick – you’ll need to reach a lot of people in a short space of time. This is where slogans can come in handy, especially if it jogs someone’s memory when they’re looking down a long list of candidates’ names when voting.

GLOSSARY OF WORDS SUARTS

Students’ Union at the University of the Arts. Independent Charity from UAL, representing all students across the 6 colleges

Executive (Exec)

8 students who are the leaders of SUARTS

Vice President (VP)

Currently studying at that college, represents the views of students on a day to day basis to the College

Sabbatical Officer (Sabb)

Works full time for a year in SUARTS

Trustee Board

Responsible for the legal and financial health of SUARTS

Student Trustees

Students who take part in discussions setting the strategic direction of SUARTS

Democracy Scrutiny Committee (DSC)

8 students who tell the Union how it can be more democratic and representative

Manifesto

A collection of ideas that you would implement if you were elected

National Union of Students (NUS)

The national voice of over 7 million learners in the UK

Delegate

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A student who goes to National Conference of NUS, representing all the students at UAL, and votes on motions and elections

WHO TYPICALLY RUNS FOR THESE POSITIONS? There is no typical person for these roles. People run from all colleges, years, courses, backgrounds.

All you need is to be a current student and have lots of enthusiasm!

Here are some of the requirements that we have for the roles: Vice President: Need to be a student in that College next year.

Trustee Need to be a student at UAL next year, and not be disqualified from being a Trustee (e.g. convicted of fraud!).

Democracy Scrutiny Committee Need to be a student at UAL next year Sabbatical Officer Need to be a current student at the moment but be graduating next year or willing to take a year out from your studies to work for the union full time.

QUOTES FROM PREVIOUS OFFICERS “Running in the elections was one of the most fun weeks in my third year. To take a short break from my course, again, to spend time talking to students in all the different sites, visiting halls, really getting to know the student body is a fantastic feeling. I loved it and would do it again any day.”

Benedict Butterworth – Current Activities and Volunteering Officer

“Being a Vice President makes you stand out. It’s a role that demonstrates a wide variety of skills and gives you something interesting to say about yourself. I’m the only one for my course who got interviews for all placements that I applied for!”

Billie Pearson – Current Vice President of LCF

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HOW TO APPLY Nominations are now open! Please nominate yourself online at: www.suarts.org/elections Nominations close on the 20th February.

If you don’t have access to a computer or are struggling with the form please come into our office at High Holborn or get in touch with our Democracy Coordinator on: p.jerrum@su.arts.ac.uk or 020 7514 6270

RULES We need some rules to make sure the election is as fair as possible, and that everyone has some understanding of what they are able to do to win.

We really want your campaign to be as creative as possible, so we try to keep the rules as brief as possible. They were written to make sure the election remains as inclusive, competitive and accessible as possible.

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Our rules are online and every candidate has to agree to follow them if they want to stand. If there are any issues, then the people involved will be asked to comment and the Returning Office will make a decision about what, if any, action should be taken.

If you are doing something you aren’t sure about, then you should ask someone in the Democracy Team.

FAQS I am international student; does being a Sabbatical Officer affect my visa?

No, sabbatical officers are covered under a specific category of UK Border Agency’s Tier 4 immigration rules.

How do I win?

A combination of good ideas, enthusiasm and talking to other students Are the roles paid?

The Sabbatical Officer positions are full time and paid £22,000 pa.

The Vice President, Student Trustee and Democracy Scrutiny Committee roles are all on a volunteer basis, however you will receive volunteer vouchers and all expenses will be covered.

Will I receive training?

In all roles you will have receive lots of training and all kinds of support and other opportunities.

MORE INFORMATION This booklet is only intended as the beginning to help you understand what its like to be a candidate, and whether it’s the right thing for you. Some students don’t think its for them – but if you are thinking that something at College or UAL could improve, that you have some ideas about a new project or approach that should be implemented, or you want to gain new skills and meet new people - then please consider standing!

You can arrange to meet Penny at anytime through the week, but if you just wanted to drop-in and find out more, then come along to our office in High Holborn.