Meet your 2024 Students’ Union Presidential Candidates
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
After over a month of nominations, the final candidates for the Students’ Union Leadership Race 2024 were announced last Wednesday. One of the most significant outcomes will be the election of a new Students’ Union President, following in the footsteps of Mary McHarg.
The President acts as the main ambassador and spokesperson for the student community. Responsibilities include chairing board meetings, communicating with the UCL Provost, and leading the team of six sabbatical officers. It is a full-time role, vital to the success of all Students’ Union strategies.
There are four students who have put themselves forward for the position this year. We had the opportunity to meet three of them during a PiTV interview segment, and learn more about them and their campaigns.
Goksu Danaci is currently a third-year Politics, Sociology and East European Studies student.As the President of the UCL Turkish Society, herfavourite thing about UCL is the diversity across its student body.
One of her main goals is advocating for a Union building, while also improving the standards of existing facilities around campus. Danaci hopes to implement an ‘action not reaction approach’ and is ‘dedicated to building the ideal UCL of tomorrow, today.’
Jenny-Ann Windbrake studies Philosophy and is also in her third year. For her, extracurriculars have been the most significant part of her experience at UCL. She has had various committee roles in the UCL Film, Musical Theatre and Drama societies, as well as being a member of UCL Volleyball and Football teams.
Fittingly, Windbrake says her favourite thing about UCL is the Students’ Union and the great opportunities it creates. If elected, she plans to improve the sense of community across campus through setting up a student feedback hub and utilising the alumni network.
Nick Miao is also a third-year Philosophy student and has been heavily involved with the SU since joining UCL. He is currently the two-time president for the Juggling and Circus Society, SU Correspondent for the Cheese Grater Magazine, and Societies Rep for Student Media. His past positions include Housing Officer and NUS (National Union of Students) Conference Delegate.
For Nick, the best thing about UCL is the people. Nick believes that ‘getting students to care and participate is the first step to the success of the SU.’ He therefore strives to create ‘a reason to care’ through a range of policies, from fixing the Student Centre hot water tap to awarding funding for the uptake of Active Bystander training in societies.
Christian Playford, a second-year History student, is the fourth and final presidential candidate. He was unable to attend the interviews, but his policies and profile can be found on the Students’ Union website.
Voting closes on Friday 15th March at 12pm. This includes the elections of all other sabbatical officers, student officers, and society committee positions as well.