On 6 March, The Badger interviewed several candidates in the Sussex Student Unions’ Leadership Elections, including those for Education and Employability Officer.
This role will involve representing and supporting the student body regarding their education, ensuring that student views are heard by those making key decisions that affect the academic learning experience of students at Sussex.
Voting is open now on the Elections page of the Sussex Student Unions’ website until 5 pm on Friday 15 March. The results will be announced at 6 pm on Friday 15 March.
DISCLAIMER: The candidates featured in this article are the ones who attended The Badger’s media day on 6 March. You can see the full list of candidates and their manifestos on the Elections page of the Sussex Student Unions’ website.
Ani Kulkarni
Ani Kulkarni is a second-year student of Politics and International Relations who wants “better value for your money!” As the subject representative of Politics and chair representative for Law, Politics and Sociology, Kulkarni believes that he can “identify the problems” and ask, “Why hasn’t the Union done this already?” If elected, he would like to stagger assessment deadlines, push schools to provide more internship and placement support, and end classes at 9 am and 6 pm as part of the Curriculum Reimagined project.
Abi Bellis
Abi Bellis is a second-year Psychology and Criminology student who is also a student and chair representative for Psychology. If elected, she would like to introduce “introducing hybrid learning across all departments […], prioritising online learning for accessibility.” She would also continue the timetable restructuring project “with a particular focus on limiting early morning timetable slots for off-campus students in order to reduce the burden of peak-time travel.”
Abdullah Javed
Abdulla Javed is the current President of Wellbeing Economics and Co-President of Philosophy Society. His primary policy is to adjust curriculums to satisfy student demands. If elected, he plans to introduce “a more micro-friendly method of allowing students to have a say on their specific modules rather than just broad-based university scale reform.” Additional policies include no more weekend exams, and more employability workshops to prepare students for the working world.
Dani Marshall
Dani Marshall is an MA student studying International Education and Development who has been at Sussex for six years. They are also a part of the slate ‘Shake Up Sussex.’ If elected, Marshall intends to “break down the elitism of higher education through accountability, accessibility, and community engagement.” This involves “hold[ing] Sussex accountable to their Race Equity and Anti-Racist Charters.”
Nya Furber
Nya Furber is a fourth-year English student who would like to “ensure that the student voice is ingrained in the everyday uni experience.” Her policies include improving the experience of working students and those in financial difficulty, decolonising the curriculum, and restructuring assessment periods and timetables. Furber also believes that “we need to take real accountability in terms of […] how white Sussex really is.”
Lewis Wilson
Lewis Wilson is a third-year Law student and member of the slate ‘Strive’. If elected, he would work towards improving learning conditions, preparing students for the workplace, and creating an “equal Sussex” with an accessible, better-funded Students’ Union. His key policies include moving teaching from 9 am to 10 am, increasing office hours, and making sure students “know what their rights are, what they can do, what the Union can do for them.”
