Oxford SU has postponed its elections for the part-time officer roles created under its Transformation Plan, according to a statement released this morning. They will now be held in Michaelmas.
The roles, which include Equity Officers and Community Officers, have seen a “low number of candidate nominations” which the Student Union has attributed to Trinity being an “exceptionally busy term”. Nominations were open since the 25th April and the elections were also promoted through official University channels.
The SU had initially intended to include the elections within its 12-month Transformation, but said it recognised that “this work is too important to be rushed to meet internal deadlines”. The statement emphasised the importance of the roles for the implementation of their Access and Participation Plan.
The volunteer positions, which “require approximately 2-4 hours per week of term” according to the SU website, were created by interim bye-laws approved for Trinity Term by the SU’s Trustee Board. This followed consultation with stakeholders including PresCom, a grouping of JCR presidents.
Equity Officer roles include LGBTQ+ Officer and Black and Ethnic Minorities Student Officer, mirroring the recently abolished SU campaigns such as the LGBTQ+ Campaign and the Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality (CRAE). Equity Officers are to chair the respective RepCom for their marginalised community group.
Community Officers include an Environmental Officer, Societies Officer, and a Raise and Give (RAG) Officer. Cherwell understands that elections for Student Trustees will continue this term.
According to Article 3 of the interim bye-laws, appointment of the Part-Time Officers was originally envisaged for Hilary Term. They also stipulate that there will be a maximum of 30 Part-Time Officers at any one time.
Oxford SU was contacted for comment.
