Hi everyone, I’m Matilda running to be your next Student Life President. Most of you may already know me as the current Education President, spending the past eight months improving your academic experience. Before I was elected, I was a student here studying psychology.

Whilst working in the Student’s Union, I have noticed many challenges arising within student life, and I am genuinely passionate about making improvements in these areas. With my current experience, I believe that I have the knowledge, skills and commitment to ensure that student life is improved in all aspects.

Matilda's manifesto

1. Improving The Refectory and Affordability On Campus

• Push for more meal points for students living in accommodation as they currently don’t even cover the cost of 3 meals a day.
• Bring back meal points to be used in the Dolce vita café.
• Advocate for more support for commuting students and those on placement e.g. introducing ‘too good to go’, deals, vouchers or other practical solutions.
• Bring more snacks on points as you have to pay for most.
• Work with catering services and use student feedback to improve the variety and quality of food.
• Lobby the university to provide more money for the Refectory to reduce the cost of food for students.
• Have the Vital return bins around campus not just in the refectory.

2. Improving Safety and On and Off Campus

• Reintroduce a Wednesday social night bus to offer safe transport options for students to and from campus on a night out.
• Advocate for the university to have a duty of care for students experiencing cases like sexual assault off campus as well as on campus.
• Push for free protective resources such as drink-spiking prevention items, condoms and sexual health signposting.
• Work with campus security to improve response times and urgency when students report concerns, including having a security member down in De Marillac again as the security office is on the other side of campus.
• Organise safety workshops for student leaders and any interested students, covering personal safety and awareness.
• Identify and raise awareness of campus lighting and maintenance issues to reduce unsafe areas.

3. Improve Nightlife in The 1850

• Introduce competitive game nights such as pool tournaments and other forms of entertainment such as darts, table tennis, foosball table etc.
• Have the 1850 open on weekends.
• Play major sport games on the TVs such as Premier League Football and Six Nations etc if there is no event on.
• Ensure there are 1850 sponsorships for sport clubs who host socials there on a Wednesday.
• Support society-led social nights, helping societies take over the 1850 for themed events or socials, bringing together a wider range of students beyond just sport teams.
• Establish a regular schedule with a variety of events, moving beyond just karaoke and pub quizzes - by gathering student ideas and feedback to continually improve events and ensure nightlife is inclusive and enjoyable for all students.

4. Increase Support For Societies and Inclusive Activities 

• Run Give It a Go events regularly throughout each semester so students can try new sports and activities regardless of skill level or previous experience in an all-inclusive, pressure-free environment. E.g. Neon volleyball, dodgeball, archery etc…
• Open the PEC for more hours for sports students and promote ‘strength club’ for non-sports students who want to also get access to the PEC or learn to weightlift.
• Change the reimbursement policy so students don’t have to pay upfront for fees or travel to matches etc; Sport St Mary’s should cover costs in advance or reimbursement should be processed within the same week.
• Introduce a society development fund to help societies with less funds run events and help students struggling with money be able to afford to join societies.
• Reintroduce protected societies to ensure underrepresented communities feel supported, safe, and included e.g. African & Caribbean Society (ACS), Islamic (ISOC) society, LGBTQ+ society etc…).
• Increase awareness of Adopt a Society and run more society-pick-up days across the academic year, not just freshers.
• Offer 1:1, in-person support for students who want to set up new societies, making the process more accessible and less intimidating and proactively reach out to inactive societies to identify barriers and help them run more events.

5. Improve Communication and Accountability 

• Introduce a monthly events and campaign poster summarising events and activities so students can plan ahead and nothing is advertised last minute - this will be put up in hot spot places such as the Ref/Shannon corridor and online.
• Visit off campus study areas (E.g. Naylor, 60 Waldegrave & Ted Lock) more often to gather feedback and ensure the voices of all students are heard.
• Increase transparency and accountability through regular updates on the SU website or engaging videos on Instagram to share progress on petitions and current initiatives.
• Improve collaboration with different parts of the university to ensure students are clearly informed about what’s happening across campus and how they can get involved.
• Strengthen communication with Senior Residents as they can help promote SU events and initiatives.

Why Vote For Me?

I believe you should vote for me because I already have the experience of representing students at a senior level and delivering real change as your Education President. Not only do I understand how the Student Union is run but also how to challenge the university to turn student feedback into real action.

I am also extremely friendly and approachable making it super easy for students to come to me with any concerns. Finally, I have been actively engaged in different aspects of student life for the past 4 years from playing football to living on campus and using social spaces, so I have a very good understanding of what needs to be done and I am very committed to making student life better at St Mary’s. If elected, I will listen to your concerns and work continuously to make student life better for everyone by making sure your voices are heard.