The countdown to the big reveal has begun. On 27 February, you'll find out who is running for our Sabbatical Officer, School Rep and Community Officer roles in the Leadership Elections. Find out what the roles entail and why you should check out the candidates!
Nominations for the Leadership Elections have officially closed and we’re now counting down to the start of the campaign period and the big reveal to find out who your 2024 candidates are.
You might be wondering what all the fuss is about. Why should you care about the elections and who your leaders will be next year? Well, read this blog to understand the importance of the Leadership Elections and why you should spend the time checking out the candidate manifestos and voting!
Sabbatical Officers
The Students’ Union is led by four elected Sabbatical Officers who work full-time in the SU for a year. They are student representatives who are responsible for ensuring students are at the heart of everything the SU and University do. They are also trustees of the Students’ Union.
Sabbs get to run campaigns and lobby for changes that impact the lives of students, and often these campaigns are based on what is listed in their manifestos. This could be on various issues, such as cost of living, wellbeing and mental health, student safety, and accessible education.
They also sit on various University committees where they act as student representatives. The officers can then hold the University to account by ensuring decisions made are in the best interests of students. This includes some of the most senior University meetings such as College Council and Academic Board. As well as this, the Sabbs are trustees of the Students’ Union, alongside three student trustees and five external trustees. This means they are legally responsible for everything the Union does as well as setting out the SU’s strategic direction. The team also sit on subcommittees such as the Management Committee where they can feed into decisions made by the Students’ Union.
They are essentially the people actively working to make your student experience better. From 27 February, you’ll be able to view the candidate manifestos and understand what they want to focus on if successful in their role.
In the meantime, check out some previous officer wins!
School Reps
There are six School Reps that represent each of the Schools at Royal Holloway. These are voluntary roles that students take on alongside their studies and are there to represent the students belonging to their respective School.
School Reps work closely with the VP Education to ensure the experience within each School is the best it can be. They attend School Boards and other University meetings where they can feedback on any issues raised by students. They also support other academic reps by ensuring they feel confident in gathering feedback from their peers and taking this to the Staff-Student Action Meetings. This is also an opportunity to identify any issues that may be arising across multiple departments, so they can raise this at School level.
Community Officers
There are ten Community Officers who are elected to represent underrepresented groups on campus and lobby for change. They work closely with either the VP Wellbeing and Diversity or VP Education to plan campaigns to improve the experience for their relevant group of students.
Community Officers also collaborate on the SU’s liberation history month campaigns and run their own campaigns and initiatives. They can put on events and activities to help build a sense of community. Community Officers are also put in contact with relevant members of University staff to help improve services based on student experiences.
Save the date(s)
On 27 February, you'll find out who is running for our Sabbatical Officer, School Rep and Community Officer roles in the Leadership Elections! Make sure you head to our elections minisite to check out their aims and goals before voting online between 5-7 March! Once all the votes are in, we'll be announcing the winning candidates at Results Night on 8 March and you're invited. See you there!