This year’s SABBs. Image credit: Exeter Students’ Guild
The announcement of the full list of candidates running for Sabbatical Officers has shown an approximate 50% increase on last year, after 31 students put their name forward.
VP Education and VP Welfare & Diversity have the largest number of nominees – 8 – with VP Activities having 6, AU President 4 and Guild President 5.
The group will now be involved in ‘information week’, which ends on Friday and have until Wednesday to submit their manifestos.
Candidates for each of the roles will be involved in debates between February 1 – February 5 and the results will be announced on February 7th. A full timetable is available on the Students’ Guild website.
Last year, 21 students vied for the sabbatical positions while in 2012, 22 students stood. The elected officers will spend next year leading the Guild in full time positions, representing Exeter students.
Exeposé will be providing extensive coverage of the elections over the coming weeks, using the hashtag #ExeterVote.
A full list of candidates is available below.
Guild President Candidates
Ajay Gaur
Rachael Gillies
Ronnie Henderson
James “The Goat” Hitchings-Hales
Joel Smith
AU President Candidates
Ali Borland
Andy Higham
Indigo Hull
Emily “Robbo” Robinson
VP Activities Candidates
Matthew Bate
Kit Fortheringham
Daniel Richards
Michael Smith
Douglas Statt
Sam Woody
VP Education Candidates
Hannah Barr
Holly Collenette
Jessica Fenlon
Meghan Honeysett
Matthew Mackenzie
Charlotte Rush
Ben Street
Matthew Thatcher
VP Welfare & Diversity Candidates
Charlotte Cooper
Kate Hawkins
Charlie Mackay
Lydia Popiolek
Jaz Sansoye
Katherine Sladden
Spike van der Vliet-Firth
Disun Vera-Cruz (Dis)
Harrison Jones, Online News Editor,
Additional Reporting by Tom Elliott, Online News Editor
In her first column of the term, Thea Osborne looks at the current situation in Egypt for Exeposé Features.
Cairo protests Image credits: Gigi Ibrahim
It has been particularly difficult to ascertain a clear understanding of the situation in Egypt since the overthrow of Mubarak in 2011. The old regime, secularists, Islamists, military and international powers have all tried to place their stamp on Egypt’s future resulting in chaos, dissatisfaction and further splintering within all sides. Furthermore, it appears to have become even more confusing since the overthrow of the democratically elected Muhammad Morsi in July last year after his brief 13-month rule. It is estimated that over 1,000 people have died since Morsi’s overthrow and many, particularly those in the Muslim Brotherhood to which Morsi belonged, have claimed that his overthrow was a coup against the democratically elected leader and that there have been systematic attacks on the Brotherhood ever since, including branding them as a terrorist organisation. It is the role of the army which seems the least transparent and yet most constantly powerfully part of Egypt’s post-revolution history and the recent constitutional referendum seems to be the latest twist in reinforcing their power.
To many the latest constitutional referendum is seen far more as a vote as to whether Morsi’s overthrow and the power of the military has been approved, then anything relating to the text that it contains. It was announced on Saturday that 98 per cent of participants voted ‘yes’ to the new constitution This could potentially have the power to pave the way for new elections and provide a legitimacy to the military’s handling of the state since helping to topple Morsi last summer. However, there are large criticisms of the campaign, particularly the government’s arrests of ‘no’ campaigners along with the voting turnout of 38.6 per cent despite the government having desperately urged people to vote as part of their ‘patriotic duty’. The turnout is not as low as that for the constitution voted for under Morsi’s rule but still indicates that much of the population does not have confidence in the current political system and as a result is either boycotting or feeling apathetic towards the vote. There were geographical divides between north and south in voter turnout; the more traditionally Islamic south appears to have primarily boycotted the vote as a protest against the crackdown on Islamism and Morsi’s overthrow.
The constitution generally strengthens the military, the police and the judiciary; key points include: the president can serve only two four-year terms, the defence minister must be chosen by the military, Islam is the state religion but freedom of belief is “absolute”, the state guarantees equality between genders and no political party can be based on “religion, race, gender or geography”, protests are still subject to strict laws and civilians can still be tried by a military criminal court. Despite certain liberal appearances the constitution has many critics within liberal groups, such as the 6 April Movement who were very involved in the ousting of Mubarak and who consider it as a return to the days of military leadership under Mubarak and simply a legitimisation of the powerful and unquestioned position of the army’s power. The Muslim Brotherhood is also understandably critical of the constitution particularly as its rules concerning the role of religion within political parties destroy its legality.
Parliamentary and presidential elections are now due to take place within the next few months and there seems little doubt that General Al-Sisi who orchestrated the coup against Morsi will run for president. If successful, once again a military strongman will be in charge of Egypt and there will be little room left for doubt as to the power of the military within Egyptian politics. The authorities have insisted that the country is on the road to democracy, others though are predicting mass revolt and another revolution. Whatever the case it is unquestionable that the military has an unrivalled position that they are very unwilling to jeopardise and many direly predict that oppression, censorship and violence are already and will continue to be used.
Online Comment Editors James Bennett and Dave Reynolds provide five policy proposals to guarantee your success in the upcoming Guild elections.
The position of Guild President is always hotly contested at our university. Forget about promising a cash machine in the Lemmy and abolishing library fines, your manifesto is going to need to stand out from the crowd. As any Tottenham Hotspur fan will tell you, “To dare is to do”. (“Audere est Facere” for the Latin fanatics.) Here are our five suggestions for policies to ensure that you win the Guild presidency.
1) A waterslide from the top of Amory
Inspired by the Barclaycard advert from 2008, we believe that a waterslide from the top of Amory is sure to be a vote winner. Admittedly there are some initial start-up costs, but once it’s built, students will be able to spend a larger amount of their time studying rather than risking injury and getting lost walking back down the stairs.
2) Guaranteed Firsts
For too long, students have had to put in far too much work for their degrees. With copious amounts of reading, essay writing and revising, we need more acknowledgement for our efforts.
Guaranteed first class degrees will take the pressure off students while their studying. Another positive is that Exeter students will be much better placed when it comes to applying for graduate schemes. With their top notch degrees in the bag, Exeter students will reign supreme over those foolish people who worked hard for their 2.1 at Durham or Bristol.
3) Free Tuition
This one’s deadly serious. It got the Liberal Democrats into a coalition! Just make sure not to have a photo taken of you signing a pledge to carry it out when elected…and definitely don’t agree to treble them!
If this doesn’t get you elected then you have to start looking at yourself. There is even research to back up this proposal. Students work a lot better in the afternoon. This makes 9 am lectures utterly pointless. You wouldn’t have to worry about waking up in the morning after a heavy night out at Cheesy Tuesdays. Time could be spent doing what all students do best…sleeping!
Often promised yet never successfully implemented, free printing costs would solve a lot of student problems. Given the extortionate amount that we are paying to study here and the muli-million pound investments made on campus in recent years there really is no excuse as to why we are paying to print out our essays. The Guild President that is first to successfully implement this policy will go down in Exeter history.
What policy would guarantee your vote for this year’s Guild president? Leave a comment below or write to the Comment team at the Exeposé Comment Facebook Group or on Twitter @CommentExepose.
President of Freedom Society Liam Taylor responds to a climate of political apathy and puts forward the case for the importance of voting, despite or even especially because of anyone’s hatred of politicians.
“If we simply don’t tolerate their spin and PR we’ll get leaders who have genuine policies rather than mere catchy headlines.” Photo Credit: _Hadock_ via Compfightcc
Nobody likes politicians. I’d be the last person to defend them. Indeed I have written before about why you should hate them. It’s perfectly natural to look at the bland, interchangeable options presented to you and ask, “What’s the point?” I understand perfectly well the instinct to declare a plague on all their houses and go back to watching TV. It’s no wonder many people don’t vote. But here are a few reasons why, instead of giving in to apathy or heeding the incoherent revolutionary cries of Russell Brand and his comrades, you should vote – especially if you hate politicians.
1) You Can Punish Them.
Kick ‘em out! If they break their promises then don’t buy their snake oil next time around. If you hate a politician then vote against them, or even go out and campaign against them. Even if you live in a safe seat. How can you expect change to happen if you don’t do anything about it? It’s the prospect of losing power, and the access to all those lavish expenses that come with it, that keeps politicians awake at night.
If you don’t vote then as far as they’re concerned you don’t count. If you don’t vote then they have no reason to listen to you. If you’re tired of spineless liars who don’t have a principal between them then don’t vote for them. Take satisfaction as they squirm, desperately trying to claw your vote from you, and enjoy the look on their face when they lose. Putting Nick Clegg on the dole will make those £9000 tuition fees go down a little easier.
2) It’s The Only Way They’ll Learn.
Politicians need us a lot more than we need them. How do we replace incompetent empty suits with men and women of integrity? Simple: if you want to get rid of spineless flip-flopping career politicians then don’t vote for them. How do we make sure that the people we put in charge put our national interests first? By kicking them out if they don’t, when they break promises or are otherwise incompetent. Either their survival instinct will kick in and they will give you the policies you want or they’ll lose and be replaced by someone of principal.
If we simply don’t tolerate their spin and PR we’ll get leaders who have genuine policies rather than a torrent of catchy headlines. If politicians know that a broken promise will mean they’ll be out of the job by the end of the week then they’ll be less likely to do it. The reason they keep breaking their promises is because they know they can get away with it. That we’ll still begrudgingly vote for them, moan about it in the pub but ultimately do nothing about it. Which brings us onto…
3) Don’t Waste Your Vote.
So goes the rallying cry of the crawlers running scared. “If you don’t vote for us then you’re wasting your vote.” You’re not. If anything, voting for them is wasting your vote. If you’re fed up of the mainstream parties letting you down, breaking their promises and putting their own interests above those of the country then vote for someone else. Anyone else. Whether it’s the Raving Loonies or the Beer, Baccy and Crumpet Party that stood in Exeter’s last election. It can be surprisingly effective. An Italian comedian’s protest movement became the largest party in the Italian Parliament and The Polish Beer Lovers Party managed to win 16 seats in the Polish Parliament a few years back. There are dozens of parties out there to cater for just about every taste.
Don’t listen to the scaremongering, protest votes do matter and are an important part of democracy. Without it, politicians can just rely on people voting for them through gritted teeth, purely out of fear of the other lot getting in, and its business as usual. All three of the parties depend on it. And they don’t have any incentive to listen to you until you deny them your vote. People have fought and died for the right to vote. Don’t waste yours. Don’t waste it on the same old backstabbing liars and cheats.
How much difference does voting actually make? Is the problem with politicians or our system of government? Leave a comment below or write to the Comment team at the Exeposé Comment Facebook Group or on Twitter@CommentExepose.
The University of Exeter have announced plans to pay their employees the Living Wage.
This will see the University ensure that employees are paid a minimum of £7.45 an hour, a figure that has been calculated according to the basic cost of living, including necessities like accommodation, food and clothing.
In an email to all University staff, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Steve Smith said: ‘We have decided to press ahead with our plans to pay the Living Wage. This has been discussed over recent weeks, including informal discussions with the unions in September. We will now be commencing more detailed discussions with trade unions.
“The University is committed to providing pay and conditions of employment and a working environment which maintains our position as an attractive employer, locally, nationally and internationally. We are very aware of how wider economic conditions have affected people’s standard of living and hope this will go some way towards helping our lowest paid members of staff.”
The principle has cross party agreement in Parliament and boasts David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Boris Johnson as vocal supporters. At the weekend Green Party leader Natalie Bennett tweeted her support of Exeposé’s investigation, saying “hope they win that battle soon”.
Various other Universities, including Loughborough, Queen Mary and UCL, have also voluntarily agreed to pay all of their staff the living wage, alongside numerous higher education colleges and student unions.
Alex Lewers, a second year History and International Relations student welcomed the announcement. He said: “I think it is great that the University are planning to introduce the Living Wage. It is good to see that they are considering all members of staff and also making sure that they are an attractive employer.”
A poll running on the homepage of the Exeposé website for the last week has also found that 81 out of 121 voters wanted the University to pay its staff the living wage.
To find out more about the Living Wage click here.
After a staggeringly low voter turnout in the recent county council elections, Comment editor Dave Reynolds wonders why it is that students consistently waive their right to have their voices heard, even at the expense of their own welfare.
With voter turnout in the recent county council elections in the heavily student populated area of St David’s and St James down at an appalling 22.5%, young people only have themselves to blame when they find themselves on the wrong end of political decisions. Young people not voting is a trend, not solely in Exeter, but nationwide. In the 2010 General Election, turnout among 18-24 year olds was just 44%, well below the average of 65%.
“In the 2010 General Election, turnout among 18-24 year olds was just 44%, well below the average of 65%.” Photo Credit: Alan Cleaver via Compfightcc
While the coalition government looks to cut public spending, targeting young people seems to be the easy option, as you won’t be punished at the ballot box because students can’t be bothered to take 10 minutes out of their day and take part in a democracy that many people have died in the name of. In November 2010, we saw tuition fees almost trebling from £3,290 year to £9,000. With more and more people being priced out of higher education, applications have dropped nationally by 8% in the last two years (although the University of Exeter has seen applications rise by 25% this year). Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) has also been scrapped, leaving many 16-19 year olds students undecided on whether they should carry on their education or find a low skilled job and lower their career prospects in the long run. On the other hand, pensioners, who turn up to vote en masse (76% at the last general election) get to keep their winter fuel payments, free bus passes and TV licenses and a whole host of other perks.
Some say that because students move so frequently between different areas of the county, the decisions they make at the ballot box don’t really affect them in years to come. While this is no doubt true, it only goes some way to answering why students can’t be bothered to vote. Is it because they don’t know enough about politics? I find this unlikely. With students spending most of their time trying to avoid doing any work and rolling news on the TV, most young people should have a fair idea of what is going on in the world.
It seems that the only way for students to get a better deal from the political parties is to go out and vote more. If they see turnout among people of student age at 70%+, politicians may be more inclined to try to incentivise young people. If more students voted in the 2010 election, Nick Clegg may have been more likely to keep his promise and not put up tuition fees. Similarly, if young people voted more, politicians may even attempt to deal with the current youth unemployment crisis. 993,000 people under 25 are currently out of work, yet nothing is being done about it. We can’t be treated like this by our politicians. Go out and vote and maybe they’ll do something for us! At the very least, can we please get the wealthier pensioners to give back their free bus passes and TV license fees?
Dave Reynolds, Comment Editor
Is poor young voter turnout at least partly to blame for the government’s decisions regarding tuition fees and youth unemployment? Do students leave themselves poorly represented by choosing not to vote? Leave a comment below or write to the Comment team at the Exeposé Comment Facebook Group or on Twitter @CommentExepose.
Following last week’s election for the print team, today Exeposé held the second annual election for the online team. After an afternoon of speeches and questions with very strong candidates, the committee is delighted to announce the results:
Olivia Luder & Liam Trim – Site Managers;
Harrison Jones – News;
Dave Reynolds & James Bennett – Comment;
Imogen Watson & Meg Lawrence – Features;
Emma Brisdion & Ben Gilbert – Lifestyle;
Ben Clarke & Callum Burroughs – Music;
Jess O’Kane & Shefali Srivastava – Screen;
Rory Morgan & Sophie Beckett – Books;
Bryony James & Giverny Masso – Arts;
Jon Jones & Hernán Romero – Games;
Jamie Klein & Matt Bugler – Sport.
Craig Browne, who will be stepping down as Site Manager, said ‘I am proud to leave the future of the website in the very capable hands of Olivia and Liam, who made an invaluable contribution to the team as Screen Editors. I’m sure that, while working in cooperation with the new print Editors, Meg Drewett and Jon Jenner, they will continue to develop and improve Exeposé in leaps and bounds’.
Yesterday, the Forum was awash with budding journalists as the Exeposé Online team took over the Forum. With plenty of free cake, celebrity impressions, finger-painting, Guitar Hero, and quizzes, there was plenty of Exeposé madness to join in with. We here at Exeposé Online Books had a great time meeting fellow book-enthusiasts, discussing the work that we do here at the website and letting students know about the various ways in which they can get involved. We also met some of our editorial candidates who will be running for the position of Online Books Editor on Wednesday March at 3.20pm in the Forum Exploration Lab 1. Some students were brave enough to take on our tricky Books Quiz – congratulations to the lucky winner who has bagged a £20 Amazon voucher! We’ve picked a selection of our favourite tie-breaker responses…
Who is your literary hero and why?
“Mr Darcy because he knows how to treat a lady”
“Mr. Tumnus and the Mad Hatter because they epitomize English society with their impeccable table manners and legendary hosting skills”
“William Brown (Just William) because he is such a rebel, and I think of myself as one…”
“Katie Price’s Angel. She has so many dimensions. A true inspiration.”
“Dobby because he is a house elf.”
“Christian Gray because he’s made s&m socially acceptable”
“Captain Hook for providing inspiration to amputees, as a succesful and powerful indivudual in the work place.”
“Artemis Fowl because he hangs out with elves and a farting gnome.”
“Robert Frobisher in Cloud Atlas, for committing suicide without making a mess”
“Sherlock Holmes – he successfully accomodates a serious drug addiction with a full-time job.”
Thanks to all those who took part in the quiz, and congratulations to the winner!
Don’t forget to email any article ideas or book reviews to the Exeposé Online Editors at exepose-books@xmedia.ex.ac.uk
The newly elected sabbs spoke with Exeposé Online this week, to reflect on their successes and thank their supporters. Hannah Barton, the new Guild President, expressed her shock at being elected, telling Exeposé Online:
“It’s hard to describe how it felt to win it was all such a blur. I just listened back to the radio podcast and most of what Welshy said I can’t even remember from the night I was so nervous.
“It was so close which really reflects how strong all the candidates were and how good everyone’s campaigns were, but I am completely elated to have been elected… I can’t wait to work with such a great team of sabbs.”
Chris Rootkin, elected VP Welfare and Community, celebrating with friends. Photo credits to Joshua Irwandi
VP for Academic Affairs, Alex Louch also praised his opponents, commenting : “The other candidates were absolutely fantastic and they made this week the testament to the guild and to the unique engaged student body which Exeter must celebrate.
“The feeling to become a sabb is absolutely incredible.The week has been an extreme test of endurance for every candidate and I know that I completely owe my success down to the efforts of those who helped me, for hours and hours every day.”
Both Jak Curtis-Randall, the new VP Participation and Campuses, and Alex Powell, the new AU president, described themselves as overwhelmed with emotion on election night. Jak admitted there were “some happy tears”, while Alex said that her ” knees were shaking non-stop”.
Hannah Barton, elected Guild President 2013-2014. Photo credits to Joshua Irwandi
Jak went on to tell Exeposé Online: “I really am looking forward to representing the students of Exeter, and listening to them to make the changes they want happen. I am determined to give this role everything I can for everyone, and implementing my manifesto in full. “
Alex suggested the tireless campaigning had been worthwhile, explaining:
“It was an incredible feeling when they announced the result. All the hard work and running up and down Stocker Road in a wetsuit had paid off.”
Last but not least, VP Welfare and Community, Chris Rootkin spoke of the long wait to find out the winner :
“It was such a great feeling to win. I’d expected the Welfare results to be announced as one of the first so when I found out mine was the penultimate result to be announced, it gave me even longer to gather nerves.
“I think we’ve got a great team so bring on July!”
The final instalment of the election debates kicked off this evening in the Alumni auditorium, with six hopefuls vying for the role of Guild President. The nominees were Kathryn Jarvis, Nic Craig, Stuart Still, Bella Berngart, Hannah Barton and Hugh Blackstaffe.
Photo credits to Guy Janaway
After a late start due to technical issues with the live Xpression broadcast, the candidates were each invited to speak for two minutes, before facing a round of questions from the audience and listeners at home on Twitter.
First up, Kathryn thanked everyone for coming before insisting she was not one to “passively sit back and complain”, vowing to enact positive change if elected. She went on to stress the importance of issues such as student safety and housing.
Nic also used his opening speech to highlight key points of his manifesto, proposing the recording of all lectures and a booking scheme for computers across campus.
Next it was Stuart’s turn, as he promised to match the University’s academic ranking with graduate prospects, while Bella wants to see a greener campus.
Hannah’s campaign is focused on a refurbishment of academic buildings as she describes herself as “passionate, particularly about representing students”. Last but not least was Hugh, who used three “E”s- Experience, Enterprise and Employability- to sum up his ideas.
First to quiz the nominees, the current Guild President Nick Davies asked how they planned to distinguish their duties from the other SABBs. Most of the candidates claimed it was a case of “working together”, with the president acting as a figure head for the sabbatical team as a whole.
Bella suggested she would “participate in every society” if elected, to find out what students required, while Kathryn stated a president should operate “an open door policy”, promising to go out and talk to students about what they want.
The topic of SSB reared its head again, as the candidates were asked whether the popular student event would be back for another year, in light of the recent CCTV controversy. Most of the nominees reminded the audience about the ball’s charitable cause, while conceding that “spotlight has been placed on the event for the wrong reasons.” Hannah suggested that the focus next year should be on “continuing the great work that RAG do” and “tightening up security. Bella took a different stance, asserting “there should be no future for SSB”, due to unfavourable reports in the national press.
Hugh then defended his promise to provide all students with internships, stating he hoped to “put down the foundations” for such a plan, as he referred to a government initiative which supported his idea.
When asked by Exeposé Editor Tom Payne, on where candidates stand on clashes between Xmedia and the Guild, Nic said it was not case of taking sides, while Hugh suggested he would “take the time to formulate the best possible answer”.
The nominees were then grilled on whether their policies were too ambitious. All seemed confident they could carry out their pledges, with Stuart stating: “everything on my manifesto is possible.” Nic and Kathryn went on to say that they had seen some of their ideas implemented at other universities, insisting that such schemes could also work in Exeter.
The next question posed by an audience member focussed on expanding the Exeter experience to the other campuses. Nic recounted a story of a St Luke’s student who said he “wouldn’t have known there was an election going on” which highlighted Nic’s suggestion of talking to students from all campuses. Kathryn pushed for her idea for a shuttle bus between Streatham campus and St Luke’s which could improve relations. Stuart explained that all his manifesto points should be applied to “all campuses” while Hugh told the audience there was a “risk of homogeneity” if all campuses lost their unique values.
Next, a comical yet dangerous question to answer was asked, inquiring to know which VPs the candidates would rather work with. Kathryn, Bella and Hugh approached it in a diplomatic fashion explaining they would be proud to work with any of them. Stuart relied on a previous Guild President’s catchphrase of “no comment, no comment, no comment”. Nic Craig ended his answer with “it would be stupid” for him to answer that question.
Five of the candidates seemed to agree that their manifestos were applicable to postgraduate students. However, Bella believed that these students only stay at the university for one year so do not vote as much as undergraduates.
The final question asked the six candidates to sum themselves up in five words. Kathryn went for “fun, effective, confident” and “your president”. Nic quickly reacted with “because I care about you.” Stuart was “easy to get on with”. Bella miscalculated her “passion, representation, equality, good facilities, vote”. Hannah opted for “passionate about you want”. Hugh reminded the audience of his 3 “E”s and “vote Hugh”.
Elections close at 4.00 pm on Friday afternoon and the results will be announced in the Lemon Grove from 8.00pm.
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