Fourth year psychology student Georgia Laverick sat down with Brig to explain why she should be the next president of Stirling Student’s Union.
With four candidates in the mix, the race for the union presidency is the most hotly contested in this year’s elections.
Laverick ran for Vice President Education last year, but lost out to Daniel Wright by a heartbreaking eight votes. I asked her why she decided to run for a different role this year.
She replied: “I’ve been heavily involved in the union this year, by attending higher up meetings and I’ve became aware of more widespread issues, that don’t necessarily involve just education. I think I would make a great president because I have a great dynamic.”
Laverick’s manifesto contains five key points: Student support, space and accessibility, safe community, transport and accommodation.
Laverick was quizzed about her opponents. She believes that Charlene is her biggest competition and that Nelson has the weakest manifesto.
She said: “I think Nelson’s manifesto is too confusing and a lot of the voters have felt lost reading it. I think my biggest competition is Charlene because we have similar personalities and we’re both quite big names on campus.”
Laverick very much describes herself as a mental-health advocate. As well as founding the mental well-being society, she has also been involved with musical theatre and has been the faculty officer for psychology in her time at university.
I asked Laverick about her statement at the election hustings, when she said that she was unsure if awareness is an issue with disabilities.
She was keen to defend herself. “I worded it badly. I’m not saying that disability awareness isn’t an issue but first and foremost, the accessibility needs must be put before everything. If a student can’t physically get to class, then that’s more of an issue than raising awareness.”
Laverick spoke about the difficult decision she had to make when deciding whether or not to run this year. “I was very much up and down but the more I spoke with people about my manifesto, the more encouraged I was to go for it.”
I asked her whether she, if elected, would do anything differently in the role from Astrid Smallenbroek, our current union president.
She replied: “I think it’s about having alternative plans in place if you can’t push your ideas forward. Through no fault of her own, Astrid was unable to secure an extra counsellor for the university due to lack of funding.”
She added: “It’s about having a plan B, and I would look to make use of the facilities and services that are already in place and working to improve them.”
One final question for Laverick, “Why should our readers vote for you?”
“You should vote for me because I’ve been so involved in student life over the last four years. I have represented students already at a divisional level, faculty level and university wide, so I am the most experienced candidate with the most in-depth knowledge of how to help students, and direct them to where to get help if they need it.”
Laverick is quietly confident that she is going to come out on top. If you think she is the best candidate for the job, you can vote for her or view the manifestos of the other candidates on the Union website. Voting closes at 6:15 pm tomorrow, March 12.
Fourth-year BA (Hons) Journalism Studies student.
News Editor, Sports Editor and Head of Proofreading for Brig Newspaper.
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