SU22 – Emma Murphy for Students' Union president

Emma Murphy

This year I am running for president for several reasons. Having spent the year as Education officer I understand first-hand the issues that students are facing on a daily basis. Working alongside academic representatives and talking to students, it is clear to me that despite the return to campus, their experience is still being impaired by several issues.

This is why I want to liberate your learning from these stressors, and put power back into students’ hands. This year I have agreed with the University to implement assessment and feedback calendars across all Schools, which will give students the knowledge of when their deadlines and marks will be given to them. This gives them the power to manage their studies well, call out when there are clear bunched deadlines early in the semester and be able to hold staff accountable to feedback deadlines. I want to take this liberation further, by demanding that good quality lecture recording is available as a matter of urgency. As part of this, it is imperative that resources to access this online content is available for students. Students also need to be liberated of the burden of tuition fees, as the funding for postgraduate students is completely inaccessible.

Another area that I want to reform is accommodation. After the fiasco in September of so many students being left without a place to stay for the beginning of term, it is clear that new policies need to be put in place to ensure students have clear knowledge ahead of time if they have a room or not. Longer term plans need to be in place to build more student accommodation buildings as demand increases. In the private sector, more needs to be done to give students information about their renters’ rights and International students need provision to be able to gain a guarantor letter from the University to make private accommodation more accessible.

Alongside this work, I believe that sustainability is incredibly important. As a passionate climate activist, I don’t want sustainability to become another box-ticking exercise for the University. It should be built into your education and student experience, as it is an immediate global emergency. I want to ensure the progress and training of the Climate Action Group to build climate activism on our campus. I also think it is important to evaluate our own operations within the Students’ Union, and ensure that sustainability is being addressed within our new building and operations with continual assessment.

Finally, I believe that mental health reform is drastically needed for students. Students have been one of the groups hit the hardest by the pandemic in terms of isolation and stress impact. Instead of branding events as ‘Wellbeing’ focused, that the focus should be on the key issues that are impacting students and addressing them. Students deserve to have the proper resources behind them with more sessions available, and the process of how to apply for counselling more clearly laid out. At the heart of this work, I think a reform of exceptional circumstances forms is key as students rely on them in highly stressful situations and they should be as easy as possible to fill out. The digitisation of the process would mean that students would be reassured as necessary.

I believe that Queen’s students should vote me in as president as I am confident that I can deliver change in the areas that affect students the most. I already have experience of working within the Students’ Union and have made great progress within the Educational frameworks of Queen’s. I want to bring these fights to wider issues, and be a conduit between the University and students to represent your issues and views. Before my role this year, I’ve had a strong background of volunteering and engaging with students in societies, as a school rep and a peer mentor, so I believe I can lead a team informed by student voices. Entrust your vote with me and I will work my hardest to ensure that your Students’ Union is a community that represents you in key areas of your experience, and fights on your behalf.

To see all the candidates running, visit the QUBSU website.