Student Elections: The Nominations

As an unprecedented situation has caused the university to close its doors, the student body is left with uncertainties including how the student elections will be running this year. 

As of yesterday nominations for the executive committee of RGU's student representatives closed with a reputable amount of individuals proposing to run for the different roles. 

RGU: Union has stated that due to the coronavirus pandemic and new social distancing restrictions put in place all campaigning and voting will henceforth be done online. 

The three President roles are full-time paid positions and will consist of the individuals working as part of the Union team for 39 hours per week.

Seven nominees have taken the chance of running for Student President of Communication and Democracy. 

The candidates are: 

Lauren Taylor

Maaz Vohra

Nathan Mcnaughton

Raheem Lawa

Ross Leven

Stanley Okonu 

Ursula Ojiji 

Each candidate is running for the chance to be "the primary spokesperson for the Union. They are responsible for ensuring the Union is acting in the best interests of its membership. They are the primary link between the Executive Committee and the student membership."

Two nominees have put themselves forward for the Student President of Education and Democracy. 

The candidates are:

Emmanuel Akerele

Jade Robertson

The role consists of being "primarily responsible for safeguarding the academic interests and personal welfare of students. They are responsible for ensuring that the Union is acting in a way that promotes the academic interests and welfare of students to the University."

The third and last presidency role is President of Sport which has 3 candidates: 

Bart Grabski

James Bishop 

Jordan Moore

The successful candidates will oversee the "encouraging of student participation in sporting and physical activity. They are responsible for overseeing and developing the sports teams and encouraging the growth and development of new teams."

Moving on from presidency roles comes the candidates for the multiple voluntary vice president options. Each of the part-time roles asks the student to commit 3 hours per week and they must be fully matriculated students during their tenure in office. 

The Vice President for Education sees only one candidate: 

Samuel Adebiyi

This role asks for its candidates to be "responsible for representing student feedback in partnership with the university to make sure students have a high-quality learning experience."

Next is the Vice President of Societies which also has one nominee:

Lemuelle Assuncao

The candidate for this position will be the "lead representative for societies and student groups and is responsible for supporting and developing societies and ensuring they are engaged in the activities of the Union."

The last lower presidency role is Vice President of Sports which has one nomination: 

Cian Gullen

The role requires the student official to be the "lead representative for sports clubs and competitions and is responsible for supporting and developing clubs and ensuring they are engaged in the activities of the Union."

Lastly is the part-time voluntary Governor roles which both seek an individual candidate who can commit to 4 meetings per year with the Board of Governors and will remain a fully-fledged student until July 31, 2021. 

The Postgraduate Governor has 4 nominees: 

Chantay Pinas

Rachael Folake Adedokun

Raheem Lawal

Stanley Okonu

The Undergraduate Governor has one candidate: 

Ross Leven

Both Governor positions ask the same requirements which are, "The Board of Governors is the governing body of the University and is comprised of a maximum of 18 Governors, which includes the Principal, members of staff and 2 student members. It is in overall control of both the strategic direction and management of the University and is supported in this role by a number of committees. The role of the Postgraduate/Undergraduate Student Governor is to bring the full range of their knowledge and expertise."

All roles also provide the option to vote for Re-Open Nominations so students may ask for the position to remain unfulfilled in case they find the nominees unsuitable and wish for more choice. 

Manifestos and campaign videos for each candidate will be made available over the next 3 days and can be found through here: https://www.rguunion.co.uk/elections/candidates/25/

All students are asked to remain vigilant of the upcoming dates: 

Monday 23 March 12pm - Candidate Question Time

Monday 23 March - Friday 27 March: Voting Period

The Question Time will be broadcasted through all of RGU Union's social media pages and on their website. 

Cast your vote as of Monday through this link: www.rguunion.co.uk/elections