Plymouth Gazette are working with UPSU during this student election cycle to bring the candidates to you in their own words, unedited and unabridged to represent their true personalities and passion. These are Emi Dowse’s answers to our questions. Emi is running for President.
Why are you running for your role?
I’m running for President because I’m passionate about implementing positive change for our students. I believe the SU can be doing more to empower our students. During my time as VP Education I have noticed that many of our students don’t feel safe enough, valued enough or comfortable to speak out on matters which affect them. It makes me angry that there is an environment within the University where some students would rather suffer in silence than speak up and I want to change that. I want to get to the root of the issues of why students aren’t speaking out and then work with the University to change that. I want to equip students by giving them the tools to advocate for themselves. This year we have seen how passionate our students are and how much they want to fight for change, so I want to use the role to enable our students to do this in a way they are more likely to get results.
Finally, I am running because I change the SU’s and the Universities attitude of keeping things the same way they’ve always been. This approach prevents much-needed change and it’s time it stopped.
What makes you different to the other candidates running?
My experience as VP Education has given me a unique insight into how the University and the SU run and how best I can deliver my manifesto points. I have also gained valuable connections in the University which will help me to achieve my goals. This puts me in a unique position to the other candidates because I don’t need to build a relationship with the University or learn how things operate. During my final year of Uni, I was President of Raise and Give, where I lead a committee of over 20 individuals and was responsible for over 100 fundraisers. Running such a large club taught me important leadership and teamwork skills which will be necessary for leading the Sabbatical Officer team and taking the SU to a new level. My experience working with a range of charities, companies and students in RAG has also taught me how to effectively communicate with a variety of people.
During my time at University, I was also diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and went through the Universities disability services. My experience with the condition has given me a unique viewpoint and a passion to change things for our most disadvantaged students.
In what way will you improve the influence of the student voice on the way that the university and SU operates?
I believe the first step to improving the influence of the student voice is to increase student awareness of the SU and the fact it is there for them. My first goal would be to increase students understanding of the representation systems that are already in place and how they can get the most out of their reps. This will enable the SU to have an accurate understanding of the issues students are facing. I will also try and make the democratic processes that are already in place within the SU more accessible and easier for students to understand. Examples of these include what Union Council is, how to hold a referendum and how to pass policies. I want to get to a place where students feel comfortable and empowered enough to come to the SU on issues where they may otherwise create a petition. By working with the SU on these issues students are more likely to get results instead of an empty response. Finally, I would like to improve the collaboration between Sabbatical Officers, Union Council members and students, by working collaboratively we will create a stronger voice and be able to push through positive changes.
If you could only pass through one of your policies this year, what would it be and why?
If I could only pass one policy it would be to increase students understanding of the representation systems in place within the SU. I want students to know their representatives are and how they can get the most out of them. I also also want to show students how they can hold their representatives accountable. I will do this by creating an officer communications strategy, ensuring that the SU is proactive about sharing what the Officers and School Reps are doing and holding regular representative drop-ins and Q&A’s to ensure there is consistent dialogue.
The reason I would priorities this point is that the Union should be run based on the views of our students and currently not enough students know that it is there to represent them. For the SU to be effectively running on the student voice it needs to have input from a wide group of students throughout the year and not just when things are at their worst. This is the basis for all my other points to build upon, until we have a student body that is actively engaging with their representatives and the democratic processes, we can’t fully represent their views.
What approach are you going to take this year regarding working virtually and in person during your time in office?
I am really hoping that we will be back in person next year so that we can have more flexibility in the way we work. I would like to have all the Officers back in the office most of the time, ensuring students can access them on a drop-in type basis. This is important in making the representation systems more accessible. This is key for students who have anxiety around booking appointments and will find it easier to just drop in and have a chat, and for those who may just need to come in and ask a quick question. With that in mind, I still want to take the positives from what we have learnt this year and ensure that the Officer team is also accessible virtually. This will ensure students who may not be able to get to campus due to having a disability, being part-time for example can still access the Officers. It’s important for the SU and the university not to revert to the old normal once we return to in-person learning. There have been so many benefits that online learning and working has given us and these need to be kept in place next year.
Do you think there should be more emphasis placed onto students to either get their work and research published in academic journals or to compete representing the university in their sports clubs/societies? Why?
Personally, I don’t think it should be one or the other. The university experience is about trying new things and finding something you are passionate about. For some competing for the university or researching will be key, but students who attend a society or take part in student-led volunteering can get just as much fulfilment out of their time and still gain transferable skills which they can use after university. By empathising one thing over the other we are ignoring the incredibly vast and valuable opportunities in between. Often you will also find that the students who want to get their research published are not the same ones as those who want to compete for the university but they both should be encouraged on the same level if it’s what that individual student wants. I also don’t think any student should be pressured into competing or publishing if that’s not what they want or would get value out of, even if they are amazing at what they do. Students should be given the opportunity to spend their time at University in whatever way they think is best for them.
How will you improve the university services digitally and in person?
I would start by lobbying the university to put more resources into their mental health and wellbeing services. The effects of the pandemic on mental health have been significant and these are not going to disappear when students can return to campus life. I worry that student mental illness is only going to be escalated when we are all back in person together again, so the university needs to put measures in place to address this. I would also want to continue to ensure that there is still a digital wellbeing service provided for students, not everyone can make it to campus to access these services and they shouldn’t be left out.
I would also like to focus on improving the Universities disability services. The number of students with disabilities has increased over the past few years and the University need to make sure they are increasing the amount of funding and resources to support these students.
Students can vote from the 26/02 – 05/03 on the UPSU website