Image Credit: Ellie Hammond
Ellie Hammond, a sabbatical officer for the university who graduated from her combined English and Film & Media honours degree last summer, is running for Union President. She spoke to Brig about her candidacy and what she hopes to achieve if elected.
Ellie’s passion for her involvement in the union started from her dedication and involvement in different societies, such as Drama, True Crime, Air3 and AirTV since her first year, and she was President of the True Crime Society in her third and fourth year. Ellie also founded the Green Society.
Ellie is the only candidate rerunning for a second year. She was the Vice President of Communities (VPC) in her final year.
Q. Why are you running for this position
A. “Societies were such an integral part of my student experience. I don’t think I would have loved my degree as much as I did without societies.
“I was always very involved in the Union, and I knew I wanted to give back to the Union.
“There have been some things I have wanted to do as VPC that I have not been able to do because they sit within the President’s remit, so that is what has prompted me to run for Union President.
“I really enjoyed getting into the university governance side and the Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) side as well.”
Q. If elected, what is the first thing you will do in the union?
A. “The first thing I would like to do, alongside the campaigns I ran last year, is to create a centralised EDI working group.
“Right now, the EDI working groups we have in the university are very much faculty and division-based, and I realised very early on into being VPC that I didn’t like that.
“[I want to] focus on campus accessibility and also bring in counterparts like the new VPC, Sports President and Vice President of Education [to create a centralised working group].”
Q. What are your long term goals for this position?
A. “My long-term goal for this position is very much encouraging a culture shift within the university, specifically in terms of communication.
“The university is very good at making decisions that impact the students and the sabbatical officers are at the very forefront of that.
“One thing the university is also very good at is communicating these decisions in a process that doesn’t truly reflect the processes or the true position of the university.
“We see this many times with the financial state of the university and the staff cuts. I believe the university does not help itself with the way it communicates things to students.
“I really want to work with the university to create a long-term culture shift, where the university is more transparent and more accountable.”
Q. What did the current person in this position do well?
A. ” I have had the absolute pleasure working alongside Justine [Pédussel]. This year, we were the two sabbatical officers that sat on university court.
“One thing [that] Justine herself, as Union President, has done which I think she has done incredibly well is her student housing campaign.
“Justine has done so well in this because of her passion for it, which I think is the most important thing for being a sabbatical officer.”
Q. What did they do that you would like to emulate in your own work?
A. “One thing I admire and would like to emulate is the work Justine has done on accessibility, especially with societies.
“Justine has created accessibility descriptors for societies to use for their events. That is something I would really like to emulate in my own work, especially coming from a societies background.
“We secured a grant for sensory awareness training for societies this year. That was a really great opportunity and something I would like to carry on if I am successful in this election.”
Q. What in the university inspired you to run?
A. “Originally, my inspiration was to give back to societies and support societies, but something I have focused on in my last year was tackling gender-based violence. I think it is the thing people most recognise me for, and [it’s] a very notable point in the work that I have done.
“I really wanted to work on gender-based violence because I really want to highlight the support and advocacy that is available within the university. I wish that I had in my first year.
“I really wanted to be a sabbatical officer to advocate in a way that I wish someone had when I was in first and second year. I have very much built on my skills for advocacy in the past year.
“A lot of what I have done in the past year has been student case work and student welfare, and it is something I wish I had.”
Q. What makes you right for this position?
A. “I have the very hands-on experience of what it means to be a sabbatical officer.
“I have also worked very closely with Justine, knowing what it takes to be a Union President.
“Helping students is something I am so truly passionate about because I have seen what happens when someone doesn’t get the support that they need, and I think that’s what drives my passion for it.
“I want to empower students; I want to advocate for students. I want them to have the best time that they can because I thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and I have even more enjoyed my time as a sabbatical officer. ”
Ellie is running her campaign for Union President around accessibility, inclusion, and support, aiming to continue the work she has done within the Union. Her manifesto can be found here.
Featured Image Credit: Ellie Hammond
