Elisabeth Ounsworth
Candidates running for Vice President positions at Cardiff University Students’ Union spoke at Gair Rhydd’s debate on the 7th of March.
The event was initially intended for President candidates, but as the Students’ Union cancelled their Q&A session with short notice, Gair Rhydd invited candidates to discuss their manifestos; however, not all attended.
Four candidates running for VP Societies and Communities attended. Manala Aggour pledged more
funding to societies to help with integration and to tackle sexual violence from an intersectional lens.
Lee Walker aims to host LGBTQ+ events raising awareness and increasing wellbeing support and neurodivergent support.
Nodie Caple-Faye hopes to encourage postgraduate and mature students to engage with societies, saying that society tier systems should enforce inclusivity, and pledged to calculate an accessibility rating for university buildings.
Zohaib Tahir will tackle burnout on committees, make complaints procedures clearer, and work with VP Postgraduate to create shared spaces for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Mohamed Abdelsamad, running for VP International, said he would teach students how to get skilled working visas and speed up eligibility checks.
Lakshmi Sikha aims to improve mental health support and introduce specialised careers support for international students. Hanan Haliru, the current VP International, opened The Pantry, which provides free food and household items, and hopes to expand it.
She also aims to fix international fees on entry, either keeping fees the same for each year or allowing students to pay up front.
All three women’s officer candidates attended. Samantha King will advocate for a zero tolerance policy regarding sexual violence, and better support for societies.
Nia Montrose will work with LGBTQ+ and antiracism officers regarding safety measures, and introduce and enforce mandatory training on spiking, consent and sexual violence. Caitlyn Monks aims to improve period product accessibility & sustainability, and start open conversations around women’s health by creating an app.
Margherita Puccinelli, running for VP Sports and Athletic Union President, aims to improve varsity by providing free YOLO tickets to athletes and reducing fees to compete. She will also increase funding for teams, reform report systems, and give IMG teams designated space at Fresher’s Fairs.
Lola Lazzati pledged a more physical presence and will deploy anti-spiking scrunchies, create a new reporting system, and push free entry to YOLO to 11pm.
Lloyd Sibson Harris said he would make bystander training compulsory for all sports societies. He also proposed free varsity tickets and a YOLO queue jump for athletes, which will only be for athletes who played that day.
Sports candidates were asked how they would combat initiations and address cultures that perpetuate sexual violence.
Lola proposed having Let’s Talk Consent officers present in YOLO queues, while Margherita said she would train students to facilitate discussions around harassment, and create a contract between freshers and committees outlining conduct expectations. Lloyd would focus on first year students and introduce a zero tolerance policy for initiations, regardless of bad publicity.
Lizzy McLaughlin for VP Undergraduate hopes to improve the bursary scheme so funds are released earlier and do not decrease in years two and three. She will also tackle timetabling issues and improve wellbeing resources and wait times.
James Scott aims to encourage the university to comply with Cardiff Students for Palestine’s requests, and proposes a referendum of no confidence in the University Executive Board if they refuse. He will also improve support for neurodivergent students.
Sean Strong, the current VP postgraduate, was the only present candidate for this position. He pledged to expand postgraduate study spaces and improve wellbeing resources. He would also remove the 40 mark cap for resits, attempt to cap postgraduate fees, and tackle sexual violence within research and teaching contexts.
When asked whether they would support the creation of an SU-specific misconduct reporting system, candidates broadly supported this, stating that the current system is unclear and disregards different student experiences.
Manala said the system does not take into consideration contexts such as LGBTQ+ experiences, and Mohamed and Nia emphasised the need for multilingual reporting options.