Forge Press sat down with the candidates who applied for officer roles to discuss their plans and goals if they were to become successful in their applications.
Amelia Desouza, running for the Wellbeing and Sports Officer role, explained why she feels it’s such an important position.
She said: “I think wellbeing can include a lot of things. It can include your mental wellbeing, your physical wellbeing, all of that sort of stuff that plays into how you feel on a day-to-day basis.
“I think for me my aim is just that… if I can get someone who doesn’t do anything at the minute and is struggling… if I could get them to go on a coffee and pastry walk once a week, and them to go ‘actually, yeah, this is I do feel better for it’ then that’s such a win.”
She then went on to explain her four main points in her manifesto.
- Driving Excellence in Clubs
“I found that on committee, sometimes I do wish that there was that little extra bit of support, just whether that is with managing leadership, how to delegate even, things like that.
“And especially now that I’m coming to the end of my degree, I’m finding that what is important is giving the committees the opportunities to boost their CV. We do all this because we love the club, great, but actually how can you use your skills to make you more employable?
She also described plans to involve more clubs at educational panel talks, as well as the introduction of an ‘Alumni Varsity’ for those that have left uni, and setting up an inclusive working group within club sport, gym goers,the Campus League and societies
2. Let’s Get Active Together!
Amelia explained: “I think this massively does lean into well-being. Do you ever go for a run and think ‘I really don’t want to do this’? And actually when you come back you feel so much better for it?
“It’s so much easier said than done to go, ‘just go out and get active’! So actually what my role or what I would look to do is just how can I help someone get into just a little bit of physical activity.”
She also outlined plans to expand Development Varsity and Wellbeing Wednesday – as well as a change to Campus Leagues so that you can sign up midway through the year if you missed the September slot
3. Your Wellbeing Matters
“I struggled quite a bit in my second year, I went to my tutor and the thing is, tutors aren’t trained.
“My tutor literally just said, ‘oh, well, everyone struggles’. And I thought, ‘where do I go from here?’
I would really love to push for the mental health training within tutors and also within that, then, because obviously you need people to train your tutors, part of that would be really actively campaigning against this recruitment freeze that the uni has at the minute.
“Obviously we have our one-to-ones and stuff, but that’s very academic. Actually, can we introduce wellbeing check-ins for your mental, emotional, physical health? Then we can see who is struggling.
4. The three Fs: Funding, Facilities and Future
“People join a club to play sport, and if the club can’t even afford to hire the pitch, that’s very sad, I think.
“So actively making sure that students, as a community where we come together and we say, you know what, we’re sick of this, we need to actually do something about it.
“Then the next thing is obviously Goodwin Gym. We know Goodwin was made in the 60s. It’s not what the clubs deserve, it’s not what any student deserves.”
“I’m club captain for women’s rugby now and I feel like we’ve had such a successful year. We’ve boosted engagement, we’re like 200 members.
“But outside of uni, in high school I was head girl, in sixth form I was president, I’ve always gone for these types of roles that, it might push me out of my comfort zone a little bit, but I do find that I thrive in that area. I’m just very passionate about all of this.”
