Student Officer Elections: Go After Rory's Job!
It is that time of year again, you can now put yourself forward to be the next President of Liverpool Guild of Students!
As a Student Officer you will be representing 24,000 students as your full-members and another 8000 studying online all around the world. That is more people than most Local Councillors represent! I say this because being a Student Officer gives you a level of representative power beyond what many people believe. You will act as a voice for University of Liverpool student to the University itself, local and national government, the media and so much more. Whilst this may seem like a daunting task, during your time as a Student Officer you will have the support of the staff at the Liverpool Guild of Students and the resources available. And not only that you will have the backing of the national student movement. A movement which boasts 7 million students and dates back almost a century – and with support like this you can’t go wrong.
Universities are massive, powerful and fascinating institutions in this country. Higher Education is second only to financial services in contribution to UK GDP and they play a substantial role in the City Region as educator, employer, landlord and more. Alongside this, universities often play a key role in ‘soft power’ diplomacy, training and networking the powerful in our country and abroad. In short, universities are far more than somewhere you go for lectures.
In short, being a Student Officer is not like being a Head Girl/Boy. It is a role where you can affect substantial, lasting change for students and the wider world. You have the ability to change the Guild itself, lobby the University for change on everything from bursaries to lecture capture and even work with local government to do things like get cheaper bus travel! You can do this in lots of different ways; using University Committees, campaigns or just a bit of raw enthusiasm and belief will take you a long way.
When I decided to run I was the chair of the Labour Students Society which had really grown in size because in recent years, young people have become passionate about politics again! I was also involved in the referendum to mandate the Guild to run the NSS Boycott campaign. During this campaign, Liverpool joined with other campuses around the country and the NUS and it was a great demonstration of how the student movement could affect government policy on something as important as tuition fees.
As a History student I also found inspiration in the people that came before me, like George Bean, who was a Jewish President of the Guild in the 1930’s and, during his tenure, travelled to aid in the fight against Fascism and bigotry in the Spanish Civil War alongside famous Merseyside Trade Unionists like Jack Jones. George Bean would send a regular column to the student newspaper back in Liverpool describing the conflict and why students should support the fight against fascism and anti-Semitism in Europe.
The Student Movement is one based on altruism, all changes we fight for will not affect us, but the generation coming after. So, don’t miss out on the opportunity to be part of this movement. Nominate yourself to be the next Guild President. I continue to love every minute.
Nominations for the Student Officer Elections are open now until 2pm on the 15th February. Click here for more information and to apply.
