Oxford University Student Union elections have kicked-off with technical difficulties as election candidates’ lists have not been e-mailed or published online.
Although OUSU candidates lists were released this afternoon, these have only been available in OUSU offices. Ollie Linch, the returning officer of the 2010 Statuatory Annual Elections, has admitted that his computer has suffered a “technical gllitch” and thus the lists have not been e-mailed or put on the OUSU website until the next day.
This means that the vast majority of students will still be unaware who is running for the elections.
Joseph Renzullo, a second year student at St John’s admitted, “I have no idea who’s running for the OUSU elections.”
However, students have accessed the information through facebook, where groups in support of candidates have appeared. Renzullo confirmed, “I have just seen on facebook that Daniel Lowe is running for VP Charities and Communities.”
Last year, OUSU elections were plagued by technical issues. The manifesto of one presidential candidate was omitted from the Joint Manifesto Booklet and many students did not receive their online voting code until the last few hours of voting time.
Current OUSU President Stefan Baskerville stressed the importance of OUSU’s engagement with students. He said to Cherwell, “Engaging with the process is crucial in making sure it leads to the best outcome. Students should read candidates’ manifestos, attend a hustings, and make an informed choice about who they want to lead their student union.”
Cherwell has obtained the full list of candidates for OUSU elections. There are three main slates with David Barclay and Jake Leeper competing for the position of OUSU president. The third slate is named Another Education Is Possible (AEISP) and comprises students linked to the Social Workers’ Party.
Below is the full list of candidates for all positions. Slate affiliations are denoted in italic.
President
David Barclay, Worcester
Jake Leeper, LMH
Vice President (Welfare and Equal Opportunity)
Tom Perry, St John’s
Vice President (Women)
Leanne Price, CCC – Leeper
Katharine Terrell, St Hilda’s – Barclay
Vice President (Graduates)
Vice President (Access and Academic Affairs)
Alex Bulfin, University – Barclay
Vice President (Charities and Community)
Daniel Lowe, St Edmund Hall
Will McCullum, Wadham – Leeper
Health and Welfare Officer
Eleanor Hafner, St Catz – Barclay
Access and Admissions Officer
Maryam Ahmed, Christ Church
Nathan Jones, St Catz – Barclay
Academic Affairs Campaign Officer
Hannah Cusworth, Brasenose – Leeper
Women’s Campaign Officer
Fraser Anderson, Sommerville – AEIP
Yuan Yang, Balliol – Leeper
Rent and Accomodation Officer
Charlotte Carnegie, Wadham – Leeper
Simon Spencer, Oriel – AEIP
International Students Officer
Ben Kindler, Mansfield – AEIP
Xiaowei Xu, University – Barclay
Common Room Liaison Officer
Jack Matthews, St Peter’s – Barclay
Environment and Ethics Officer
Ben West, St Anne’s – Barclay
Community Outreach and Charities Officer
Claire Handel, Hertford – Leeper
Students with Disabilities Officer
Danielle Fraser Solomon, Queen’s
Black and Minority Ethnic Students and Anti-Racism Officer
Matthew Tye, Exeter
LGBTQ Officer
Jasper Minton-Taylor, St John’s – Leeper
Mature Students Officer
Rainbow Chang, Wycliffe Hall
Graduate Academic Affairs Officer
Ian Lyons, St Edmund Hall – Barclay
Graduate International Students Officer
Deeksha Sharma, Exeter
Graduate Welfare Officer
David Bowe, Sommerville
Graduate Women’s Officer
Nishma Doshi, Linacre – Leeper
NUS Delegates
Preeti Dillon, CCC – Leeper
Ann Don-Bosco, St Catz – Leeper
Ricky Ghosh, University – Barclay
Amy Gilligan, Exeter – AEIP
Elliott Golend, Pembroke
Will Hartshorn, Hertford – Leeper
Rebecca Hay, Magdalen – AEIP
Jason Keen, St John’s – Leeper
Emily Keenan, St Hugh’s – Leeper
Ben Lyons, St Catz – Barclay
Harriet Maltby, Magdalen – Barclay
Sanjay Nanwani, St Peter’s – Leeper
James Norrie, Wadham – AEIP
Jim O’Connell, University – Barclay
Aled Owen, University – Barclay
Zoe Tyndall, Magdalen – Barclay
