Her Campus caught up with Naomi Armstrong, who won the position of VP Welfare and Diversity in the Guild elections last week!
First of all, congratulations on being voted VP Welfare and Diversity in the Guild elections! How did you find elections week?
Thank you! Elections week was one of the most tiring, stressful and fun weeks of my entire University experience. It was amazing to meet so many new people and there were great relationships between competitors – there was no hostility; we were all supportive of each other! I have huge amounts of respect for all the candidates.
There was always such a fun atmosphere on campus, this really kept me going throughout the week. Obviously, everyone had their ups and downs, and there were a number of times when I felt unbelievably exhausted and de-moralised, but my incredible campaigns team and people in other teams were so encouraging and supportive.
I honestly believe that being involved in elections week was one of the best ways to make the most of my final year at University. Especially on the Friday as voting closed, we all felt such a sense of achievement for making it to the end of the week and for getting enough votes to make these elections the most democratic student elections in the country. At this point, no-one knew what the results would hold, but regardless of the outcome, we had all achieved something outstanding.
Your campaign video and slogans were absolutely amazing- what was it like putting together a campaign?
Putting together a campaign was definitely one of the most challenging things I have ever done. It completely consumed my life for a month or so. It’s weird having non-campaign related conversations with my friends now – it was definitely all I talked about.
It was very stressful as there are countless components to consider, but I have great housemates and friends who were willing to help out wherever possible. The best part was making the video and coming up with all the ridiculous puns. We had so much fun with this, and hopefully this came across to other people as well. Making the rocket packs and other space props was also pretty fun. I never thought the arts and crafts skills I learned in primary school would be so useful!
What main policies would you like to implement next year?
I’m really looking forward to implementing all of my manifesto points and working as hard as I can in order to change the student experience for the better. I am especially looking forward to getting more healthy, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and dairy free food products on campus. I believe there is a huge demand for this and it is really important for all students to be able to purchase food that is suitable for them, on campus, if they wish to do so. I am also very keen to get leftover food donated to charities. We waste a lot of food, and it would be great to support our community in this way.
We are all aware that the wellbeing centre is under a lot of pressure, and I am really looking forward to working with other support groups to relieve some of this pressure and make students more aware of the other services that are available. The ‘#exeteris’ campaign that I mentioned in the debate is another thing that I can’t wait to work on, as I am passionate about ensuring that every student at this University knows that they are an Exeter student and that they truly belong to this University, regardless of who they are.
What is your favourite thing about being an Exeter University student?
I love the sense of community you get from being an Exeter student. There are so many great things to be involved in. I love the fact that our University really values its students and really cares about what we have to say. I also love that our campus and city are big enough that it is hard to get bored, but small enough that you will always find yourself bumping into people – reinforcing a sense of community. Exeter is great.
How did you find the experience of going on Take Me Out recently?
It was amazing! Probably the most surreal things that has ever happened to me, but also one of the best. It was such a different world, and nothing that I would ever want to be involved in long term, but it was incredible to have experienced it. Seeing it on TV is incredibly embarrassing though, and you never know how they are going to edit it. They have the potential to manipulate how you come across in any way they like, so that’s all a bit scary.
As a third year student, what advice would you give someone in their first year?
This is a really hard question, because every student has a different experience at University. But I think it’s important to remember exactly that. You will always have a different experience to other students, just depending on your situation. Don’t compare your experience to that of your friends at other Universities, or your friends at this University. I think it’s very easy to feel like other people are having a better time from what you can see on social media, but this can often be deceiving. Also, things can change a lot from your first year to your final year. My University experience changed a lot after first year, for the better.
There are a lot of things to get involved in at University and I really recommend this. It’s never too late to get involved or to do something you wish you’d done earlier.