{"id":57905,"date":"2026-03-26T12:30:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T12:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/?p=57905"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:44:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T12:44:07","slug":"su-presidential-candidates-speak-at-gair-rhydds-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/news\/su-presidential-candidates-speak-at-gair-rhydds-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"SU Presidential Candidates Speak at Gair Rhydd’s debate"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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By Elisabeth Ounsworth<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Cardiff Students\u2019 Union President candidates were questioned in Saturday\u2019s SU Election debate,\u00a0<\/span>hosted by Gair Rhydd. Maria Pollard, Joshua Tandy, Callum Thompson and Alex Portman Ross\u00a0<\/span>discussed their manifesto aims and issues including support services.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Alice Nicholson was not present following controversial comments made in her interview with Gair Rhydd regarding victims of sexual violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Candidates were given two minutes to summarise their goals. Maria Pollard discussed her experience\u00a0<\/span>delivering manifesto points as President and aims to tackle timetabling issues, improve consent\u00a0<\/span>education, and introduce a karaoke night in the Taf.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Callum Thompson emphasised diversity, inclusion and mental health, claiming his experience as both student and staff over eight years gives him insight into where the university must improve. Alex Portman Ross said he is \u201cnot afraid to step<\/span>
on toes\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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He aims to establish CCTV-monitored safe zones and introduce a ranking system for housing\u00a0<\/span>based on students\u2019 experiences. Joshua Tandy, currently VP Heath Park, pledged a zero tolerance\u00a0<\/span>policy against sexual violence, a reduction in mental health waiting times, and a Student Protection\u00a0<\/span>Bill.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When asked about stopping \u201cextreme costcutting\u201d, candidates outlined different approaches. While\u00a0<\/span>Ross argued cuts should be fought and management called out when necessary, Tandy pledged to\u00a0<\/span>work with management – but asserted that students should be able to protest in support of\u00a0<\/span>academics affected by cuts.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pollard described this issue as personal, as Swansea University cuts have\u00a0<\/span>affected her parents.<\/span><\/p>\n

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She has met with trade unions to express solidarity, and stated that students \u201cshould be able to study all the subjects we want to\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thompson agreed that the university should offer a wide range of subjects, and said he would focus on signing contracts efficiently to increase income.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sexual violence was a major topic, with Time To Act committee members present. Attendees said\u00a0<\/span>support services often aren\u2019t effective, and asked candidates to outline \u201cmaterial plans\u201d. Pollard said\u00a0<\/span>student conduct procedures are \u201ctoo harsh on protestors and not harsh enough on rapists\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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She aims to improve Freshers\u2019 Week with consent stalls at fairs and a \u201csafer nights out\u201d guide, and create a peer-led network for survivors. Thompson pledged to bypass the system wherever possible, urging\u00a0<\/span>the university to \u201cput victims’ needs before processes\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ross proposed a \u201cwalking bus\u201d to escort students home during Freshers\u2019 Week, and criticised Cardiff University\u2019s review policy as being below the standard of the court\u2019s judicial system.<\/span><\/p>\n

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He also condemned sports committees not attending mandatory consent training, stating \u201cif something\u2019s mandatory [\u2026] it\u2019s f***ing mandatory\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tandy focused on improving current policies with a survivor-focused approach. He aims to deliver every<\/span>
Time To Act commitment, and implement a working group that brings survivors and the University\u00a0<\/span>Executive Board \u201cface-to-face\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Candidates were also asked how they would reduce mental health support waiting times. Pollard\u00a0<\/span>agreed wait times are too long, and said new staff have recently been hired to relieve pressure, but\u00a0<\/span>that the issue is a \u201cwork in progress\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thompson said he \u201cwouldn’t be running if it wasn’t for the\u00a0<\/span>services\u201d and pledged to research which areas of service are struggling or underfunded.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ross\u00a0<\/span>acknowledged the role of societies in supporting people, and said preventative work is important.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tandy proposed a university-wide wellbeing campaign focused on prevention, and introducing a\u00a0<\/span>triage team to lower waiting times.<\/span><\/p>\n

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One attendee discussed the presence of Starbucks in the SU, referencing accusations of financial\u00a0<\/span>involvement with the conflict in Palestine, and asked whether candidates support ties with\u00a0<\/span>companies believed to be contributing to a genocide.<\/span><\/p>\n

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All candidates were open to removing the company if students felt uncomfortable, with Thompson stating he would explore replacing it with a system where profits could be reinvested into the university. Pollard also suggested replacing Coca-Cola with Gaza Cola in The Taf, whose profits go toward rebuilding hospitals in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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By Elisabeth Ounsworth Cardiff Students\u2019 Union President candidates were questioned in Saturday\u2019s SU Election debate,\u00a0hosted by Gair Rhydd. Maria Pollard, Joshua Tandy, Callum Thompson and Alex Portman Ross\u00a0discussed their manifesto aims and issues including support services. Alice Nicholson was not present following controversial comments made in her interview with Gair Rhydd regarding victims of sexual violence. Candidates were given two minutes to summarise their goals. … Continue reading SU Presidential Candidates Speak at Gair Rhydd’s debate<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":509,"featured_media":57906,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[8286],"tags":[285,288,547,1630],"class_list":["post-57905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-cardiff-students-union","tag-cardiff-university","tag-election","tag-students"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSU Presidential Candidates Speak at Gair Rhydd's debate - Gair Rhydd<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/news\/su-presidential-candidates-speak-at-gair-rhydds-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SU Presidential Candidates Speak at Gair Rhydd's debate - Gair Rhydd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Elisabeth Ounsworth Cardiff Students\u2019 Union President candidates were questioned in Saturday\u2019s SU Election debate,\u00a0hosted by Gair Rhydd. 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in Chief","author_link":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/author\/editorinchief\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Elisabeth Ounsworth Cardiff Students\u2019 Union President candidates were questioned in Saturday\u2019s SU Election debate,\u00a0hosted by Gair Rhydd. Maria Pollard, Joshua Tandy, Callum Thompson and Alex Portman Ross\u00a0discussed their manifesto aims and issues including support services. Alice Nicholson was not present following controversial comments made in her interview with Gair Rhydd regarding victims of sexual…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/509"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57905"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57917,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57905\/revisions\/57917"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/gairrhydd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}