On Friday 17 February, the University of Sussex’s Students’ Union held its annual hustings, an informal event in Falmer Back Bar which gave students the opportunity to hear from all candidates for a range of full-time, part-time, and Student Trustee roles.
Each candidate delivered a two-minute speech outlining their manifesto pledges for each prospective Full-Time Officer. Furthermore, candidates were asked a series of questions, sent in by students through a Google form, with each candidate providing an answer about what they would do if they took on the role next year. Non-Attendees to the event sent in videos to answer the questions in advance, ensuring parity and equal opportunity to speak amongst all candidates running.
International Students’ Officer
The night kicked off with candidates for the role of International Students’ Officer. Running were: Grace Sahhar, Payal Singh, Porshia Farah, and Zarak Rais.
The candidates took questions on what they think that Universities in the UK can learn from how Education is done in other countries, and what the University should change to make the induction process for new International Students better.
Grace Sahhar’s focus is on two key areas: development of more employability opportunities for international students, and participation in more events and support services.
Payal Singh’s aim is to bring about an improved communication strategy, providing better information on students’ rights and getting to know campus, and plugging the belonging disconnect.
Porshia Farah is campaigning on ending the financial “international tax”, providing more support for international students in part-time employment, pushing for a more affordable campus, and making campus more accountable
Zarak Rais’s overall mission is to bring about more campus jobs that are available to international students, bring about a more transparent style of communication, and increase support for conflict-affected students.
Diversity, Access, and Participation Officer
Up next was the role of Diversity, Access, and Participation Officer, where incumbent Lyds Knowles was running uncontested.
The candidate was asked how they would aim to be intersectional in their work, and how they would give marginalised students agency and let them lead on liberation work, without putting the responsibility of doing all of the work on them.
Lloyds Knowles’s Manifesto pledges include expanding the Race Equity Advocate (REA) Programme, to continue to challenge inaccessible campus architecture and practices, making transport to campus more affordable and accessible, academic credit for reps and extracurricular activities, reorganising the part-time officer structure, and to review security services on campus.
Student Living and Sustainability Officer
Then came the role of Student Living and Sustainability Officer, where Chan G Lok Fergus, Erin Green, Jyothi Hanumantha, and Rees Lyon spoke about how their personal experiences at Sussex and in Brighton have influenced their platforms.
Candidates for this role were asked about what the best things are about being a student in Brighton, how they would like to help new students to engage with life in the city, and how they would engage students in sustainability initiatives when they have less time due to other commitments.
Chan G Lok Fergus’s policies include: tackling bus ticket prices, lobbying for lower on-campus rent, a guarantor scheme for international and estranged students, price controls on the campus Co-op, promoting tenants’ rights education to students, supporting activism, lobbying for divestment, and fighting hate on campus.
Erin Green seeks to improve renters education, embed climate justice, support migrant, low-income, and LGBTQ+ student interests, to start rewilding and food-growing schemes on campus, keep cheapest accommodation cheap, incorporate boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns, maintain cheap food options, support Pedal Point and start a bike hire scheme, and to promote activism and change making within the student community.
Jyothi Hanumantha is running on a platform to create dignity in student living, launch cost-of-living support initiatives, ensure inclusive representation for all, improve affordability for students and make the University of Sussex a more sustainable place.
Rees Lyon pledges to make it cheaper to eat on campus, to improve access to cheaper and more sustainable transport options, to provide personal support for all students facing housing issues, and to provide more support for student-led sustainability initiatives.
Sports, Societies and Events Officer
Up next was the role of Sports, Societies, and Events Officer, where Alex Mrema, the incumbent, Ella Goodchild, Nonny Corbett, and Robert Ivackovic all ran on strong platforms to improve the student experience for all.
Students asked the candidates how they make sure that societies feel heard, and that their team is able to support all of them, and what kind of events they think the SU should focus on outside of the freshers’ period.
Alex Mrema proposes that the university should aim for further investment in our pharmacy/ physio department to aid our students in sports teams/ societies, to diversify the ActiveUS space, as it is vital for the future of the programme, more society engagement with social media and the creation of SussexTV to stream sports games, to create an identity for sports teams, to integrate a wellbeing programme for the care of students who fail to make sports teams, fail to get leadership roles in societies.
Ella Goodchild’s focus is on fighting for more free events on campus, more funding for sports and societies, scrapping pitch fees, expanding room booking provisions, to get more development teams into BUCS, to bring back the entertainment committee, cuts to bus ticket prices, academic credit for student activity, to ensure funding doesn’t block participation, and the creation of a more inclusive sports programme.
Nonny Corbett’s priorities are to cultivate direct and active communications with society committees, to prioritise funding for societies through fundraising and sponsorships, to keep up with society events and follow their social media, and make sure societies are spotlighted on the SU website and Instagram, and to make sport accessible for everyone, striving for equity for all individuals no matter their economic or social background and inclusivity for LGBTQIA+ students.
Robert Ivackovic promises to streamline room bookings, revitalise varsity and accessible sports through an on-campus fan zone and a Union subsidised second-hand kit shop, create an inter-society collaboration grant, provide real safety solutions, provide storage solutions for society props, to lobby the University for subsidised funding and bus passes, to hold drop-in sessions and create a Committee hub for committee members to get instant help
Wellbeing Officer
Next to take centre stage were the candidates for the important role of Wellbeing Officer, where Mericia Morales Curie and incumbent Annie McEntee pitched their policies on how to make the University a better place to study.
Wellbeing Officer candidates were asked their thoughts on what they need to do to get ready to support the cohort who grew up during the pandemic when they arrive at University over the next few years, and asked what things the University does that can be detrimental to student wellbeing, and how they will get the University to do these things differently.
Mericia Morales Curie’s commitment is to nurture a Sussex where everyone is seen, heard and accompanied, to support all international communities by creating welcoming spaces where difference becomes belonging, rooted in a belief of wellbeing through culture.
Annie McEntee’s priorities for 2026/27 include creating a safer campus, delivering accessible workshops on rights, creating sensory spaces on campus, and reforming the University’s reporting and communication frameworks.
Education and Employability Officer
Rounding out the night for the Full-Time Officer roles were the candidates for Education and Employability Officer, Alex Samuels, Jay Lynch, Lee Benfell, Parisa Ho, and Tommy Ilgunas. The candidates outlined their ambitious platforms for working with the university to improve the educational experience and help students in increasingly competitive job markets.
Candidates were asked how they would work to understand issues faced by students in subject areas that are different to their own, and how they would balance challenging important members of university staff in the interests of students, while working to build relationships with them to influence things for the better?
Alex Samuels is running on his “36 strong and Sussexful policies” which includes pledges such as a resurrection of the old “major/minor” system, ensuring that Freedom of Speech applies to students work and submissions in the university, that controversial ideas are taught at Sussex, to have a national gap year, where students can spend another year in a different university in the UK, and rewrite the Gender Inclusive Language Policy.
Jay Lynch has a three-point platform aiming to tackle the cost-of-living crisis on campus, “so being a student won’t mean living on the bare necessities”, improving education by lobbying against tuition fees and cuts, and providing a strategy to protect the future of the Students’ Union.
Lee Benfell aims to improve learning conditions and ensure that student input is taken seriously, to prepare students for the workplace and support working students, to fight for an equal Sussex with an accessible, better funded Students’ Union, to ensure that any organisations that promote hate speech and discrimination of any form have no place in University life, and to work with the Union to support events and make student life rewarding for all
Parisa Ho’s priorities include pushing for better timetabling, improving feedback channels to lecturers and assignment feedback, more interconnectivity between schools, improving the quality of resources, work experience modules, more partnerships with Brighton-based businesses, more fundraising for the SU for better services and cheaper pints, and improving infrastructure on campus.
Tommy Ilgunas has three key goals they aim for in the role, transport to university, tackling affordability and reliability of buses and promoting cycling to uni, supporting students with uni life, not only in their degree but also supporting the social aspect and those that take on part-time work and staying accountable and representing the voice of the students, to provide the best Students’ Union for all Sussex students.
Several Part-Time Officer roles are also up for election this week. They consist of the following:
Women Students’ Officer
Candidates include;
- Livia Czechowicz
BAME Students’ Officer
Candidates Include;
- Eugenia Ubiahwe
- Iya Smith
- Molly Dixon
Postgraduate Research Officer
Candidates include;
- Marcela Gómez
The role of Student Trustee (who sit on the Board of Trustees) is also up for election, and the candidates include;
- AJ Chilvers
- Aberami Sivaharan
- Jason Aaren Lenz
- Jay Barile
- Lo Moore
- Olivia Iseli Lima
- Stuart Scott
This year’s hustings showcased an incredibly strong group of brave, committed candidates aiming to dedicate the next year of their lives to improving the lives of students at Sussex. Each candidate brings a wealth of different experiences and values which inform their platforms If you would like to hear more about the campaigns of this strong list of candidates, every candidate’s manifesto can be found in the following Google Doc: Candidate Manifestos Elections 26/27 and a video of Friday night’s hustings including each candidate’s full answers can be found here: Sussex Leadership Elections 2026 Hustings
Make sure to cast your vote before voting closes on Thursday, 5 March at 2 pm to make a real impact on the student experience. To cast your vote, visit https://sussexstudent.com/elections/list or you head to the in-person polling station in Falmer House.