The Union is not as accessible as it should be. Emails should be sent with a plain-text option and should contain important information not just advertising spam, officers should all have drop-in times when they are freely available to talk, core hours are there to ensure that an officer is available, not just for them to do their day to day work. I know from experience that it can be difficult to fit everything in and it is tempting to closet oneself away but this is not good enough, I used to work late into the night to ensure that I had windows during the day when I could drop what I was doing to help clubs and students, if elected I will continue to do this and will also spend time on campus with the students rather than tucked away in an office over the road.
A lot of students don’t want to sit through committee meetings to get things done, along with my plans to introduce an Officer Without Portfolio who can advise people on how to do things so they don’t have to be a hack to get a paper passed, I will re-invigorate the feedback system YourSay. This shouldn’t just be to give feedback on the bars but allow people to give ideas for improvements across the board from how we do things to things we should take a stand on. A man has two ears but only one mouth, therefore he should listen twice as much as he speaks.
The Union website is a fantastic and powerful tool and is used by a great number of people but it is not as easy to use as it could be. We need to get feedback from students on what they want to see on the site and then implement changes that will be of use.
The redevelopment will be another important step in maintaining a Union that is easily accessible to all. Last year, I co-proposed a paper with Eric Lai and Mark Flower to ensure that there will be more club space and also that the Union offices will be below the new Student Activities Centre to create a one-stop-shop for students, I will ensure that the ideas in this paper are enacted and that the redevelopment is of real benefit to students.
Another area of concern is disabled access through College; in the first phase of the redevelopment, a lot of work was carried out to make the Union more accessible but with the advent of turnstiles at all College entrances, disabled access to College buildings has worsened rather than improved, I will campaign to improve disabled access to all areas of College at all times, not just during working hours.
Elect me as President and I will:
1. Introduce plain text emails that are not just adverts but contain useful information.
2. Introduce proper drop-in times when officers are available.
3. Ensure I and other officers are available outside the Union as well as in our offices.
4. Re-launch YourSay with a wider scope for effective feedback on all subjects.
5. Make the Union website more accessible and easier to use.
6. Keep the plans to have the Union offices under the new SAC.
7. Campaign for better disabled access in College.
