Cassie Cooper hopes to become the next Education Officer following this year’s SU elections. Last week Forge Press sat down with her to discuss her plans for this role if she were elected.
As a Student Rep Facilitator this year, Cassie says she has seen the needs of students not being met and has felt the empowerment of making positive changes in this area. She said “I’m a first generation uni student from a very poor area – barely anyone I went to school with ended up at university – so I know the struggles. And I think there should be some more representation, particularly on a higher level of education, for these very unique struggles that people like me go through.”
Cassie’s manifesto is “very focussed on saving student money and on the community” and aims to make sure that “every student is leaving with money in their pockets and friends around them. She aims to strengthen the sense of community within school structures by encouraging collaboration between academic departments and academic societies, meaning that “students can use their course to build relationships … not only with other students but with the professionals who are teaching you. This is really important especially after graduation!” In addition to this, Cassie hopes to ensure all voices are heard, but especially those who may be underrepresented or disadvantaged, in spaces like academic forums, such as by having a sub-committee for these groups during meetings.
In terms of saving students’ money, Cassie would like to work to lessen the burden of “hidden costs of education, such as textbooks and field trips that are essential to your degree … but quickly add up”. This includes an academic SwapShop where students can exchange course-specific resources rather than buying them brand-new, as well as working closely with the Council to provide students with travel passes and/or free parking on and around campus to support commuting students. In particular, she reflected on the rising cost of public transport, saying “In my first year I remember a bus or tram ticket costing 80p. Now it is significantly more and current first years have no idea! We already pay to attend this university, why must we also pay to travel or park here?”
We then discussed Cassie’s vision for the next year if she were to become Education Officer, where she said she’d start with any “immediate quick wins” she could quickly put in place, such as the SwapShop, before focussing on more deeply-rooted issues that may take longer to resolve but have long-lasting impact.
“I know that the current officers are working really hard, but there is still a lot of uncertainty with everything and I feel like students deserve to know what is going to happen year by year. And I know not everything can be predicted like the pandemic, but it’d be nice to know if their course is still going to be around, if their academic tutor is still going to be around and things like that.”
For her campaign, Cassie plans to make herself visible and heard, available around campus to answer any questions as well as posting online; “I have an instagram and hopefully will be all in your faces around campus – follow the purple stars and you’ll find me.”
