VOTE MO, BREAK THE STATUS QUO
If elected I will:
- DEFEND the right of students and staff to solidarity and strikes.
- BUILD for a mass student campaign in favour of mental health support that meets demand.
- ADVOCATE for a green solution to Stirling Uni's car parking crisis.
DEFENDING YOUR RIGHTS TO SOLIDARITY AND STRIKES
Protest plays a significant role in any healthy democracy, and the failure of our Student Union to support striking lecturers and defend the rights of demonstrating students speaks volumes.
I will speak for the students, from fresher to PHD student. You will have my unwavering support in your collective struggles against the socioeconomic troubles we face in Stirling.
I will speak for staff, from lecturer to cleaner. You will have my support on the picket lines, and my absolute backing in any industrial action which may arise during my term and beyond.
BUILDING A MASS CAMPAIGN FOR MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
Stirling's suicide statistics revealed last semester by The Brig shocked us all. For anyone else who has experienced counselling at the university, or counselling as a result of the university, I need not mention how poor the provisions for mental heath support are. Not only is this unfair on students, but on our student services, who are overworked and underappreciated.
It's time to set this record straight and build a student campaign to change the way our university treats our wellbeing. It's time the university made sure that provision meets demand, for staff and students.
ADVOCATING FOR A GREEN SOLUTION TO THE CAR PARKING CRISIS
Car parking at the university has reached tipping point. We're at a stage now where parking spaces can be as difficult to find as the union's support for striking lecturers. This is not acceptable. I won't pretend I have the answers, because I don't. Nobody does. And it's not within any Union officer's ability to wave a magic wand to fix this crisis.
I won't offer any pie-in-the-sky solutions to this problem, and instead will initiate a consultation (WAMPUS) with students and staff, aiming for a solution which reduces car usage, promoting instead a green alternative which doesn't hit folk in their pockets.
STUDENT COLLABORATION AND EMPOWERMENT
There are plenty of other pressing issues we face in our university, such as the sky-high costs of student accommodation and the rights of LGBTQ+ students. I fully intend to collaborate with fellow Union officers to ensure that student interests are best met, however it would be unsuitable for just myself to take on the burden of these tasks.
If we're to see REAL change in this university, the driving force must come from the students themselves. No one student may conquer the challenges faced by us all, however with collective grit and determination we can and will be the difference.
On the 9th of March, vote Mo and break the status quo.