Nominations for the new Students’ Union Part-Time Officers opened this week on 26 April and will close 7 May. These new roles were formed as a result of the Referendum held earlier this year, to ensure that underrepresented groups of students are heard during their time at university.
The Part-Time Officers will work alongside the 7 Full-Time Officers, who were elected in March. They are responsible for implementing or campaigning for the changes which students want to see, and standing up for what students need. They will also work alongside the recently elected full-time Liberation Officer, Shona Tulloch, to ensure that the rights and needs of underrepresented students are listened to and acted upon.
Part Time Officers are paid £3,335pa to work part time from 8 hours per week during term time, starting from 16 June 2021 until July 2022. The student officer roles available are: Women students, BME students, LGBT+ students, Disabled students, Mature students and Postgraduate students.
Eligibility for who may stand and vote in the Part-Time Officer elections is based on self definition – whether you identify as a member of the group which the Officer position in question represents.
Lily Grimshaw, SU Women’s Officer, said she would encourage students to nominate themselves for these roles as they present an important opportunity for students who face the biggest barriers to participation at University to be represented more effectively.
The students who are elected into these roles will also have the chance to campaign for positive change while they study.
Grimshaw said that these roles “will also significantly strengthen our student communities and create efficient working relationships between the full-time and part-time roles.
“These factors are all fundamental to having an effective and flourishing democracy at Sheffield Students’ Union.”
The BME students’ committee are excited about the new changes to the SU officer team and said:
“These part time roles are super important in ensuring diversity in leadership, and we are so glad that future officer teams are now required to include at least one BME student.
“Too many of our students have struggled to see themselves represented by those in positions of power, and this is a necessary step in the right direction.”
The BME Students Committee encourages all fellow BME students and students from liberation backgrounds to run in these part time officer elections and said “we can’t wait to see which candidates will be adding to the fantastic diversity of our 21/22 SU officer team.”
They have also expressed that if any BME candidates or students would like any extra support in this time, they can contact them on social media or email at bmesc@sheffield.ac.uk
Campaign officer the Disabled Students Committee, Lauren said to Forge Press:
“Having a representative that disabled students will now be able to contact directly and express their concerns will make a significant difference in how we address and improve support for disabled students.
“We are overall really glad that this role has been finally introduced as disability activism and representation is the key to making change.”
However Lauren also said that further steps need to be taken within the university to better address concerns that disabled students face in education, accessibility and welfare. They suggest having a disability student representative in each academic department to ensure all aspects of the University understand disabled students’ experiences.
She added: “We are looking forward to working closely with our disabled students officer and we can’t wait to discuss the manifesto of what they plan to do over the next academic year.”
Voting will take place 10am 17 May and will close 5pm 19 May. The results will be announced on 20 May.
