YUSU go into final term with a mixed record on manifestos
Nearly a year after being elected, how have the current YUSU sabbatical team managed to deal with the pressures of their jobs and have they fulfilled their promises?
President Anne-Marie Canning has worked hard to fill the Union with “enthusiasm, energy and experience” ; although it seems as if the notion of “a clean, well-respected Union” has been rejected by her other team members leaving Canning’s “all for one and one for all” ethos redundant.
Canning did not bring a pharmacy onto campus, but she has stuck by other welfare campaigns such as the promotion of the YUSU minibus. She has continued to fight the threat of higher tuition fees and has been a strong student voice on Heslington East discussions.
Services and Finance Officer, Matt Burton has created a more efficient Union, increasing YUSU’s turnover by £20,000. He has kept his pledges of hosting all websites in-house, simplifying ticket sales in Your:Shop and online voting for students living off campus. However, plans for a future student venue in Heslington East have rendered Burton’s promise of a venue in the city superfluous. Other unfulfilled promises include the expansion of Your:Shop and better online payment support for JCRCs and societies.
Academic and Welfare Officer, Grace Fletcher-Hackwood’s election motto of “time to take welfare seriously” fell on deaf ears after she faced a motion of no-confidence for hitting a student and was forced to resign. Nevertheless, Fletcher-Hackwood maintained her pledges of working closer with campus media, Facebook campaigns, sexual health testing and working towards fighting slipping academic standards in certain departments.
Student Development and Charities Officer Joey Ellis’ highlights include raising the profile of RAG and Student Action on campus through charity fairs, a revamped website and successful student volunteer recruitment. However, Ellis failed to reach international and mature students as she had promised, and was unable to hold more big, one-off events in town due financial restraints.
Society and Communications Officer, Sam Bayley began his role controversially having been instrumental in providing the sexist goodie bags during Freshers’ week. However, Bayley has kept to his pledges of providing better start-up support to new societies and overhauling the website to improve communication between YUSU, students and the University.
AU President Jo Carter has held to her promise of running the London Marathon and has done much to encourage sports clubs to raise funds for charity. However, despite having only three pledges, Carter was unable to fulfil the other two, namely to raise the status of Varsity on campus and to get more value for money for members of the Athletic Union.
