In a world of contentious and polarised politics, this year’s Student Union elections showed just how compassionate and friendly it can be here at the University of Sussex. Monday evening’s results announcement came with a brilliant atmosphere, a buzz in the air with everyone eager to discover the outcomes of the previous week’s voting and incredible campaigning from all candidates. As each position was announced, the cheer from the crowd and fellow nominees demonstrated how much appreciation everyone had for each other and the hard work that had been put in.
The ball got rolling with the results of the Part-Time Officer roles and Student Trustees, with Avery Lin, Lilly Cattini Collins, and Jason Lenz all appointed as next year’s trustees. The first competitive election to be announced was for Trans and Non-Binary Students’ Officer, with Fergus Chan re-elected, stating that they are ‘happy to serve the community once more’ after their win. Next up was the new Women Students’ Officers, with Lotts Holmes and Caelan Ballard sharing the role. The final PTO, Disabled Student’s Officer, went to Lydia Petch, who made use of the time allocated for a speech to note the hateful comments left on some of their campaign posts, with the powerful message ‘there’s more of us as allies than there will ever be of them’, which was met with rapturous applause from the Room 76 crowd.
The first of the Full-Time Officer positions to be announced was for Diversity, Access, and Participation Officer. With it only being a two-horse race, Lyds Knowles – current Disabled Students’ Officer – won in the first round, thanking their ‘Get Sussex Sorted’ slate upon their win. The sports, Societies, and Events Officer was up next, with Ella Goodchild also winning in the first round. Having fallen short of winning previously, Goodchild stated that running again was a ‘big deal, so thank you all so much’. When asked for a statement, Goodchild had this to say: ‘I am super grateful to win this position after working at the student’s union for three years! I am super excited to create more of a community on campus and bring students together around issues they care about! There are so many great opportunities already for students on campus. I want to bring attention to the hard work that societies and sports committees do so that more people can attend their events and fundraisers! I am also super excited to work alongside the other officers to push the bus company to get us the free transportation we deserve and help create an all-around more accessible university life for working-class students!’ The race for Student Living and Sustainability Officer followed and was easily the most competitive of the year. Incumbent Officer Elena Southard – also part of the ‘Get Sussex Sorted’ slate – won again, with it coming down to a winning margin of only ten votes. The narrow nature of the result heightened emotions in the room and led to a short break in the announcements. Still, the compassion previously mentioned shone through at this moment, with the support shown to those who had fallen short of victory demonstrating this.
The short break was followed by the announcement for International Students’ Officer, with Esther Adeyamo, the current officer, seeing victory again. The race was one of the most anticipated of the night, with it coming down to fourth preference vote, the only one to do so. The penultimate announcement of the night was for the Education and Employability Officer. The last of the ‘Get Sussex Sorted’ candidates in the running, Lewis Wilson, also managed to win re-election, completing a clean sweep for the slate. When asked for a statement about the result, Lewis had this to say: ‘I want to thank everyone who voted, and all of the great candidates this year- so many brilliant people this year! I’m very grateful for the chance to be representing Sussex students again and hope I can do everything to help make the Students’ Union even better.’ The final result of the night was for the Wellbeing Officer. After slate partner Phoebe Purver’s narrow defeat earlier on, the cleverly named ‘Phannie’ pairing came out on top at the end, with current LGBTQ+ Officer Annie McEntee being appointed to the position. During her winning remarks, she exclaimed that, ‘Phannie lives on!’ which was met with loud cheers and applause, showing the comradery and friendly atmosphere of the event, with everyone showing their support for the pair of them.
Lastly, it is of the utmost importance to note the effort and tireless campaigning that all candidates put into this year’s student elections. Everyone put their all into trying to get as many votes as possible, whether standing in Falmer Square all day or creating innovative (if slightly embarrassing) social media clips. Their hard work should be appreciated, and it is great to see how many people care about the well-being and livelihoods of students here at Sussex.
By Jamie Gilbert