Emma Burnett
A group of Impact Magazine writers have looked over the candidate manifestos for this year’s Student Union Elections. Harry Chapman, Katie Sullivan, Emma Burnett, Oli Harris, and Hannah Walton-Hughes summarised and discussed each candidate’s main manifesto points, and gave their views on the manifesto overall. Voting closes on 15th March 2024 at 2pm.
Charlotte Spencer:
Main Manifesto Points:
- Women* supporting Women*
- Women* in Sport
- Women* at Work
- Building on the existing initiatives
Charlotte is a third-year Chemical Engineering student. She promises to “represent and listen to all women* regardless of their age, sexuality, gender identity, nationality, race, religion, or background.”
A safe space to discuss taboo topics such as menstrual health and sexual health
To encourage women* supporting women*, Charlotte wants to create a safe space to discuss taboo topics such as menstrual health and sexual health. She wants to make an anonymous platform for women* to discuss certain topics, and to then implement some in-person talk shops about subjects that are common on the platform. She will also work alongside other women*-focused societies.
Charlotte also wants to empower women* in sport at university by introducing events to watch sport with other women* at Mooch, implementing workshops with women* at the front, and making the annual ‘Girls Night In’ event more sport focused.
In terms of supporting women* at work, Charlotte wants to work with relevant societies to ensure women are empowered by their subjects, particularly in more male-dominated areas. She wants to work with lecturers to ensure that groups for projects, for example, properly represent the general population of the course.
Wants to build on established initiatives such as […] ‘Reclaim the Night’
Charlotte also wants to build on established initiatives such as ‘Women’s History Day’, ‘International Women’s Day’ and ‘Reclaim the Night’. She wants to make sure that sanitary products and safety alarms are freely available and accessible across all campuses.
Charlotte wants to build on her experience of being a woman in a male-dominated degree course and of being a woman in sport in her role as Women*’s Officer. She has been part of the SU Student Events Team for two years. She says her “passion for this role comes from a very personal and empathetic perspective”.
Charlotte’s manifesto clearly sets out the key areas which she wants to focus on in her role – for example in leading initiatives such as ‘Reclaim the Night’. She has strong initiatives and shows she can build on her own experiences and expertise as Women*’s Officer. Charlotte could, however, build on her ‘women* at work’ initiatives by collaborating with Union and University staff to improve the student experience for the members they represent, such as the Athena Swan Institutional Self-Assessment Team.
Women* = anyone who considers womanhood to be part of their identity, inclusive of trans, non-binary and intersex inclusive people, and anyone who experiences oppression as a woman.
Full officer manifestos can be read on the UoNSU website.
Emma Burnett
Featured image courtesy of Korng Sok via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
For more content including Uni News, Reviews, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Features and so much more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to get involved.
To keep up to date with all the latest Impact News, you can also follow us on the Impact News’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter page.
