Your Union

The problem with these elections is that I am really required to write 2 manifestos. One has to be concise enough to appear on posters, flyers and adverts but is insufficient to cover the big picture. These elections are your chance to have a big say in how your Union is run. Your Union currently does a lot of things well but during my time at Imperial the Union (and sabbatical officers in particular) has been seen as distant, aloof and unapproachable. I would like the opportunity to change this.
A lot of you are sick and tired with hearing the same promises from election candidates. For example, I would love to be able to say “As President I would cut bar prices” but having been heavily involved with the Union this year I know that it is not possible. When voters elect someone to do this they expect to see 10p off the cost of a pint across the board and will feel cheated if presented with anything else. If candidates were honest with everyone from the start then this would not be a problem. All I can do is promise to work so that bar prices remain as low as possible. It is simple economics that we cannot run a bar that sells drinks that lose us money and any candidate who tells you otherwise is either lying to you or is not being totally honest.
Union politicians need to accept that the vast majority of members have no interest in turning up to meetings, sitting on committees or filling in paperwork. As long as their clubs are well run and the bar doesn’t run dry they will be relatively happy. Time and time again I have seen sabbatical candidates promise to “reconnect” with students only to see them attempt to do it at a far too formal level. In addition to the usual “my door is always open” policy as President I would hold regular meetings with free refreshments (beer or coffee depending on the time of day!) where anyone who had a problem could come and know that my team and I would be there. The Union needs to demonstrate how we could benefit our members without them having to do anything on their part. Obviously those who contribute will gain far more than those who don’t but I am interested in the greatest good for the greatest number. Here are a few brief points that I think would be appreciated by the majority of the student body.

If elected President I would:-

1.) Negotiate discounts with local businesses so that your Imperial card will start to save you money.
2.) Sell the NUS Extra discount card for £7 instead of £10.
3.) Only send college-wide emails when I have something important to say, not regular spam that clogs up your inbox.
4.) Keep Union meetings and committees to a minimum. We will never engage with students if we continue to structure ourselves in the manner of a provincial golf club!
5.) Free beer and coffee sessions on a regular basis where you can come and voice your concerns to senior officers.
6.) Investigate how we could increase the quality and variety of food on offer in the Union. It has pretty much remained unchanged in the 4 years I have been here.
7.) Work to keep bar prices as low as possible.
8.) A greater variety in Union ents. Lets try new things but be prepared to learn from them if they don’t succeed.
9.) Negotiate with College so that more copies of popular textbooks are made available in both central and departmental libraries.