18:45 – Summary

We’re signing off for today! We’ll be back tomorrow at 12-ish. Here’s a summary of what happened today:

• Again, no drop outs today – day three continued without any changes to the playing field.
• We caught up with some more candidates, who have reported to be in high spirits on the third day of campaigning.
• The Blackwell’s policy has been doing the rounds, with suggestions that the bookshop ‘funds UKIP’.
• There were a number of issues concerning representation of members of the LGBT+ community, including insufficient marketing for the LGBT+ Women’s position, and only displaying the gender of voters in demographics in terms of the gender binary.
• Someone got Meerkats and Squirrels mixed up.

Scroll down for all 2700 words of today’s campaign trail, and we’ll see you tomorrow afternoon!

17:40 - Students with Disabilities candidate Diana Isajeva chats to GR

This evening we managed to squeeze in an interview with Students with Disabilities candidate, Diana Isajeva.

We spoke to Isajeva about her views on a motion that was passed at the last Student Senate meeting to change the name of the position to Accessibility Officer. In response to this, Isajeva said that she believes it’s “not the name that is the issue but it’s the work that we do.”

She commented that she hopes to eliminate the negative associations with the word “disability”.

Citing her own experiences as a student with a disability she said that she wishes to focus her attention on raising awareness for different disabilities.

Isajeva said: “a lot of people don’t know what my condition is. I’d like to have more days dedicated to educating students on different conditions.”

Speaking about her experience of the elections more generally, Isajeva said: “I expected it to be more competitive. It’s been really nice, there’s such a chilled atmosphere at the moment.”

17:30 – Tom Tollefson on postgraduate life

VP Postgraduate Students candidate Tom Tollefsen chatted to us in the Union this afternoon as day 3 of campaigning was drawing to a close.

Tollefsen, Chair of the Postgraduate Association, was involved in the creation of the position and said that he hopes it’s introduction as a full time position will “give postgraduates a voice”, as they “tend to be forgotten about”.

He hopes that through “providing fairer pay for research students” who also teach at the University he will be able to benefit both postgraduate and undergraduate students.

Tollesfen believes Cardiff University should follow in the footsteps of other universities, such as Liverpool University, in providing discounted postgraduate study for students who choose to stay on at the university at which they completed their undergraduate degree.

Generally he said his experience campaigning has been very positive and he has learnt a lot from it, adding: “It’s been good being able to tell people about things they don’t necessarily know about.”

17:20 – Chloe Richards’ first day on the campaign trail

Chloe Richards has enjoyed her first day campaigning at Park Place today. ┬á”There’s a lot more students down here so there’s been more people to talk to”

Other Heath candidates, including some who have withdrawn, highlighted the difficulty of running in the elections. Richards reports that she is taking a break between her second and third year, and thus isn’t experiencing those problems. “Nursing students sometimes unable to run in elections because of March in take […] They would have to change placements around because course doesn’t finish until July.”

She was joined by Hannah Sterritt, Olivier van den Bent-Kelly, and Sam Cook.

Van den Bent-Kelly said that he was “loving every second.” “Radio 1 producers have been in touch having seen my campaign video so it might be featured on the Scott mills show.” As of yet, it hasn’t been broadcast on air.

Cook reported that lecturers have been “very keen” to speak to candidates. But disillusionment is a problem. “I’ve come across a lot of students who say they won’t vote because they hate student politics but they know all the reasons they should be voting.”

Sterritt said that societies have been less than welcoming. “I’ve found some of the societies to be less welcoming which is a real shame. They don’t want people interrupting their events which is fair but I thought they would be the ones most interested in my position [VP Societies].”

16:30 – Jake Smith “doing his own thing” over campaign week

VP Welfare candidate, Jake Smith spoke to our reporters later this afternoon.

Smith commented on what he described as “a lot of camaraderie between candidates” adding that it’s “taxing campaigning by yourself.”

Smith, who’s campaigning against 11 others for the position, said it’s “strange not knowing how you’re getting on […] you could be first or you could be last, there’s no way of knowing.”

“There’s so many people running, you don’t feel as pressured by the competition. I’m just one of a large group doing my own thing.”

“It’s good to see so many people running for Welfare as it has been a position that has previously been neglected in elections.”

Smith said within his manifesto he is particularly pushing for non-alcoholic events in Freshers week, adding that, at present, “so many people feel left out and the Union needs to reach out to those people.”

Smith, like many of the other candidates, spoke about the relief of being over halfway through the campaign period.

Unlike the majority of candidates he said he will not be attending Union club night ‘YOLO’ tonight. His reasoning for this was that it’s not something he would usually do and he believes it’s important to stay true to yourself.

16:20 – Campaign activity “scarce” at university halls

Continuing to talk to First years at Talybont, it appears that campaigning at the university halls has been scarce. “I haven’t seen many candidates about” one student commented.

Students also voiced increased frustration at candidates interrupting lectures, resulting in “lectures starting at least five minutes late each time”.

“I feel bombarded with people trying to talk to me and throwing sweets” one first year explained, “it puts me off from voting for them.”

According to residents of Talybont, very little information was given about the elections prior to the start of the week. “I have no idea what is going on and didn’t know it was going to happen,” a student admitted.

16:15 – Campaign fatigue setting in

Everybody loves cute animals! And yesterday evening, we spotted this post:

Erstwhile Gair Rhydd editor Michael O’Connell-Davidson pointed out that those aren’t squirrels.

To Jenkins’ credit, he fixed it within five minutes, and it prompted a little giggle from us. Obviously, this is no indication of Jenkins’ aptitude for the position, and we’d like to use this opportunity to encourage you to take a gander at his manifesto.

16:00 – LGBT women’s officer not given T-Shirt

Candidates have reportedly been given t-shirts to signify what positions they are running for. However, the LGBT+ Officer (Women’s) candidate Elouise Utley hasn’t received one.

The reason? Apparently, nobody bothered giving her one, as her position is uncontested. We’ve reached out to the SU to confirm.

15:30 – YouTube video roundup

So, you’ve seen candidate videos posted around over the last few days. We’ve found as many as we can, and we’re including them on this blog for your convenience. If someone isn’t on this list, it’s because they’ve not made a video, or we just can’t find it. Interestingly, it doesn’t look like any Heath candidates have made videos yet.

We’ll kick off with the SU Presidential candidates

Claire Blakeway:

Barney Willis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSH85jCDJfU

VP Education candidates

Livi Gilbert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjSBJgoebsU

Will McLoughlin’s video isn’t on Youtube as far as we can see. But it’s on his Facebook:┬áhttps://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153662693809418

Sophie Timbers:

Olivier van den Bent-Kelly

VP Postgraduate Students Candidates

Katie Kelly:

MJ Melissen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmaMH3ZcB1o

VP Societies Candidates

James Clarke:

James Ledward:

Hannah Sterritt:

Claire Wisener:

Sam Parsons:

Steph Pugh:

VP Welfare Candidates

Sam Cook:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eb3OcAnuZM

Thom Davies:

Kate Delaney:

Jake Smith:

Eliza Walwyn-Jones:

And, finally, the Ethical and Environment Officer candidates

Sam Jenkins:

15:20 – First years feeling “harassed” by candidates

Some first years have spoken to our Gair Rhydd reporters about the Election campaigns.

One felt that they hadn’t been told what the Elections were or what they were about. They felt that they’d been harrassed by “candidates in costumes”.

Another only knew about Elections through lecture shoutouts, and didn’t mind people campaigning. However, they did not intend to vote.

15:00 – Union ‘misgendering’ update

Elliot Howells has been in touch regarding the misgendering issue we highlighted on the blog earlier. Here’s a statement we’ve been sent:

‘Our website currently has a section which displays the demographics of students voting in our elections across various variables. These demographics are shown in a graphical format which comes from data inputted by students on their student record.’

‘The output of that data is ‘male’ ‘female’ and ‘other’

‘Given these graphics represent the numbers by percentage, it takes a fairly sizable number to display any sort of section of the graph.’

‘As a result, any gender other than ‘Male’ or ‘Female’ isn’t displayed as the demographic is so small. We are currently working with those students affected to gauge what the best route forward is.’

14:00 – Sam Parsons on lad culture and why you should vote SP

We caught up with candidate for VP AU Sports candidate Sam Parsons.

Given the intense competition created with only two candidates running for SU President, we asked Parsons for his view running against one other person.
He explained that it was certainly ÔÇ£a different experience from other candidates running against lots of other peopleÔÇØ.

ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a two horse race,ÔÇØ he explained, ÔÇ£I know exactly what IÔÇÖm running againstÔÇØ.

According to Parsons, ÔÇ£you need to treat the elections just like an interviewÔÇØ.

Talking about the current situation of sports facilities at the University, he explained that a lot of students ÔÇ£disengageÔÇØ with sports at University due to its high costs.

ÔÇ£AU costs fall at the same time as other costs in FresherÔÇÖs week, including course expensesÔÇØ.

To tackle the issue, Parson proposes changing gym membership to become monthly, given that many students leave Cardiff during the holidays.

ÔÇ£Cardiff University has state of the art sports equipment, used by international sports teams. Why can we have the same access to these facilities?ÔÇØ he questioned.

For Parsons, campaigning for VP AU Sports is all about talking to people who arenÔÇÖt currently engaged in sport in University. With only a small proportion of Cardiff students enrolled in University sports clubs, he explained that it was essential to try and engage everyone at campus.

13:45 -┬áTIMBER! Sophie Timbers on Blackwell’s

We interrupted Sophie Timbers, candidate for VP Education, and┬áasked her about one of her more weighty manifesto points: removing BlackwellÔÇÖs from the SU. She explained her reasons for wanting to remove the bookshop include:

• It takes up much needed space in the Union
• Blackwell’s is more suited to literature and humanities students and doesn’t always serve students from other subject fields.
• The space could be replaced by a second-hand bookshop, or to move University offices on Newport Rd into the Union.
• “We’ve still got Waterstones.”

Timbers remarked that the idea to remove Blackwell’s is “not as controversial” as she thought it would be, and suggests running a student survey on what should be done with the space. She said: “I’ve spoken to a lot of students who find it so hard [to get the books you need].”

But VP Education doesn’t have the power to remove an external company from the SU, and Timbers realises this. She is hoping to open up discussion about the possibility of moving the only bookshop on campus, saying: “with regard to whether it’s possible, I think when you have the contacts, it’s possible.

“These are all ideas, you work out how to do them when you’re in the position.”

Timbers claims to have “had a really positive response from people” and talked about how “it’s encouraging to speak to people who share the same viewpoint.”

13:30 – Ledward’s third day of campaigning going well

Gair Rhydd caught up with James Ledward on the third day of campaigning.

Despite stating on Monday that there was little point going to Heath Park due to its lower voter turn out last year, Ledward spent time campaigning at the heath the morning.

ÔÇ£It was great to see the campus for the first time,ÔÇØ he said. ÔÇ£My policies focus on improving greater interaction in societies between students at the Heath and main campusÔÇØ.

According to the candidate, the campaigning period is an ideal time for discussing and improving manifesto points since when writing policies ÔÇ£you canÔÇÖt cater for everyoneÔÇØ. Ledwards explained that talking to Postgraduate students has emphasized the need to encourage greater participation with Postgraduates through more non-alcoholic socials.ÔÇØ

ÔÇ£Generally undergraduate socials tend to focus on drinking socials whereas postgraduate students donÔÇÖt necessarily want thatÔÇØ he continued.

Ledward also said that targeting lectures that would benefit from his policies has worked well. This has included speaking about greater Welsh language integration in societies during Welsh lectures.

13:15 – MJ Melissen on why she’s the right candidate for VP Postgrad

Gair Rhydd News team cornered candidates at the SU, including VP Postgraduate Officer candidate, MJ Melissen, who has decided to ditch the gimmicks and costume in favour of a more serious approach when trying to reach out to her postgrad audience.

Melissen has favoured her signature glasses and lipstick over pun-filled gimmicks. “I figured it’s a serious position and that I should take a serious approach,” adding, “it’s just me, no gimmicks.”

When asked about the low number of votes cast for VP Postgraduate Officer compares to other positions, Melissen acknowledged that it’s a brand new position so it’s to be expected, but thinks this year will pave the way for postgraduates’ invested interest in the SU, leading to higher voter turn out in the coming years.

According to Melissen, postgraduates aren’t as engaged with the elections as undergraduates, commenting “they’re pretty far removed from the SU as a whole”, but hopes this will change with the establishment of the new VP Postgraduate role.

13:10 – Thom Davies counting down to halfway

VP Welfare candidate Thom Davies spoke to Gair Rhydd this afternoon. Davies was in high spirits, seemingly enjoying campaign week a great deal. “I love competition – I think it’s healthy.” He added that he really liked reading everyone’s manifestos.

But he added that his stood out. “I’m punching higher than everyone else’s. I want a pharmacy to join the GP service.”

“It’s ridiculous how expensive lunches are. I really will make them cheaper.” He says these policies have got a good response from students. Davies plans to head to YOLO tonight (candidates have been invited down to campaign during the popular Wednesday club night, as has happened in previous years), and adds that he hasn’t gone to other club nights as he didn’t want to harass students too much.

Davies also posited that there is a “silent understanding” among candidates that nobody plans on going out every night. Instead, they’re all campaigning early.

Like many candidates, Davies is pleased the weather has improved. “Day one was the hardest. During Day two, though, I was like ‘I’ve got this’, I’m ready to go on until Friday.”

13:00 – Union demographics ‘misgendering’ students┬á

The SU calculates its Election voter demographics in many different categories, one of these being by gender. However, some students have expressed their concerns over the way these statistics are being handled.

Cardiff Student Emrhys Pickup is concerned that students who identify as neither male nor female are being represented properly by the statistics, which currently only display these two categories. They said: “Last year only one voted from the ‘Not Known’ category, whereas I know for a fact more than one non binary person voted. So many people are clearly being misgendered and underrepresented.”

This is seemingly out of keeping with the organisation’s commitment to offer representation to all students, regardless of their gender identity. Emrhys Pickup: “When we are trying to change forms, introduce gender neutral toilets and just generally make uni life more accommodating for everyone, it seems the SU is still enforcing a gender binary. Elliot is however listening to any feedback I give and is looking into making this more accurate.”

We’ll reach out to the union for comment and update this blog when further information emerges.

12:25 - Welcome!

Hello Cardiff! This is the first post of the day 3 liveblog. We’re approximately half way through elections, now, and events continue to trundle along. Here’s what’s on the agenda:

• There’s been some controversy over the way the SU calculates demographics, as it forces all voters into the categories of the gender binary.
• A candidate got meerkats and squirrels confused in an entertaining Facebook gaffe
• It seems some candidates are rescinding pledges to shut down Blackwells…

More soon!