It’s coming up to that time of year again – the University of Leeds Leadership Race! It’s important for as many people to get involved as possible as when a person is elected, they have influence over the running of the Union. One of the candidates is Chris Berry who is running for Activities Officer and here are some of the reasons as to why you should consider voting for him.
The Activities Officer will have control over all the societies within the Union to make sure students feel happy and develop as people, work alongside the Activities Exec to make sure all the societies are relevant to the students, and make sure the sports and co-curricular activities are well supported. In other words, if you are part of a society, and especially if you are on a committee for a society, looking into the Activities candidates is important for you!
Chris is in his fourth year studying Sport Science and Physiology. He also works in the Union during the week, and every Monday he works to get international students involved in University activities as well as helping them to get part-time work. It was clear when talking to him for this article that he is really passionate about the work that he wants to do if he gets voted in, and that he is genuinely excited about what the job entails.
Chris has four main points for his manifesto, all of which are aimed to improve the quality of societies as well as make sure that societies have more ways of getting funding. The four main points fall under ‘The Great Rebate’, ‘24’, ‘Mentor Societies’ and ‘Skill Set’, however I find ‘The Great Rebate’ as the most important and most beneficial for all societies. He states in his manifesto that: “Every society will be eligible to sell tickets for Fruity and claim a pound per ticket” and a “two-way ‘Give It A Go’ policy” which will enable societies to send members to other societies’ ‘Give It A Go’ sessions, which will encourage involvement between societies as well as help increase funding. Being on a committee myself, this is one of the best ideas I’ve heard so far, as it encourages societies to use the Union, meaning money going into the Students’ Union, as well as societies being given a rebate which can contribute to them improving the quality of their society. It also provides students with even more encouragement to go and try new activities. The more money that societies can have will have a massive effect on the way in which societies run and what they can do for their members.
Through the research that Chris conducted when writing his manifesto, he found that Leeds students are seen by employers as being the least vocal when it comes to discussing extra-curricular activities. This has led him to have one of his main points focusing on looking towards a student’s future and providing them with the key skills that employers look for. In order to combat this, Chris has decided that he wants the union to make a package available for all committees that outlines the best way for students to promote themselves to an employer in the hope that it will advance future employment prospects. Being a third year student, I would find this package extremely useful! While there is the career centre and your personal tutor, having a less formal method will be extremely beneficial. After all, we are all at University with the hope of getting out in to the big wide world and entering the job market.
One of the main issues I have personally had with the union this year is being able to get in contact with people who work there. Chris has decided to tackle this problem by coming up with a 24 hour response policy. His manifesto states that “every LUU department will response to your first email enquiry within 24 hours to maintain a strong standard of communication that our union can be proud of”. Finally, someone has taken notice of the fact that our emails are not responded to when we need them to be! This will create a great relationship between the students and the union, as well as societies finally having some respect for the people working, instead of feeling resentment towards them for not replying to yet another email! Within this policy, Chris also wishes to tackle the problems that societies face with the cash office. There have been so many occasions when I have been up to the cash office and they have not been able to tell me exactly what I need them to. It has made it an absolutely pain when organising events, not knowing how much money we have in our account! Chris states that a “separate cash office for society enquiries to promote efficiency as well as enthusiasm within the union”. Once again, here is another sensible idea to help the running of societies and creating a relationship with the union that we can be proud of.
Finally, Chris has decided that there needs to be a mentoring scheme for students at the University who wish to set up new societies. This will help to encourage students who have a passion for something, to then turn this passion into something that will be fun for others. Within this scheme there will also be the opportunity for those who have been on committees for other societies to become a mentor for these new societies. All of this will help to create a sense of community within the union, as well as helping students to develop skills which can then be put on their CVs.
Overall, Chris’ manifesto seems as though it has all the important factors covered. He really does want to help students with their future and he also wants to help current students to get the most out of their unions and societies. If you do want to keep up-to-date with what Chris is doing throughout his campaign you can find his Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/BackBerryForActivities as well as follow him on Twitter: @BACK_BERRY. What helps a lot is that Chris is one of the most genuine and loveliest guys I have ever met, so no matter what happens with the votes and the leadership race, he has secured my vote!
Image Sources:
All Chris’ own.