Hi there. I’m Anthony.
As a PhD student, I’ve been here for eight years – long enough to know how things work. For the past few years, I’ve been trying to give back to the Union that helped me so much.
You might know me already – maybe I was your course or department rep, served you at our venues, led a society you’re in or helped deliver a module you took. If so, you can guess how this manifesto will go.
I’m a problem-solver – an experienced one. And solving problems is what our SU is here for.
The first part of good problem-solving, and the easiest to overlook, is finding the root cause. Most major problems at Staffs are down to three things: communication, funding, or respect. We’ve all seen the e-mail updates this year; little substance and even fewer answers. We’ve all felt the underfunding, from resource access to support structures. We’ve all felt as though our university is willing to keep us in the dark and speak over our concerns.
As we finally overcome the CoViD-19 pandemic, we need capable and experienced leadership to get back on our feet. We need to be able to deal with problems quickly and decisively without compromising on detail and nuance. In the coming year, it will be very easy to slip back into the way things were instead of learning the lessons the pandemic has taught us: students can work from home, lecture recordings are a necessity, and no student deserves to be left out in the cold. This year has proven we have the means to achieve unparalleled accessibility. It's time to provide it.
Our SU exists to solve problems. I have the experience and skills to make sure that happens.