SU22 - Our questions to Education officer candidates

Questions to Education officer candidate, Beth Elder

What’s your number one priority?

Beth: My number one priority has to be the improvements on blended learning. I think it’s the policy that can have the most impact- on mental health, education and on improving the university experience in general. There is so much work that can be done, and I’d like to do it.

In 6 months’ time, what real differences will Queen’s Students see in their blended learning?

Beth: I’m under no illusion that things can change overnight- I think its going to be a long and rigorous process with many conversations between staff and students. My main priority is to make sure those conversations happen. In 6 months, I’d like to have the staff of every school actively in contact with their students, finding out what they can do to alter the blended learning model to better suit their educational needs. Ideally, we’ll be seeing some of these changes too. No two subjects are the same, so no two learning models should be the same.

Reducing tuition fees has been promised by numerous Education Officers with no success. How will your approach be different?

Beth: We are in a unique position with the government instability, and the media attention around the notion of a 59% tuition fee increase by September ’24. I cannot instigate change as one potential student officer. The student body needs to come together en masse both within Queen’s and on a national level to push against this, especially while the government is weak. I won’t just focus on lobbying myself, but rather on encouraging and educating the student body on why THEY should lobby, and I’ll work to bring Queen’s to the conversation on a national level.

How have your personal experiences shaped your manifesto?

Beth: I’ve spent the past year as the School of Pharmacy rep, and this is really what’s pushed me towards the theme of blended learning. I’ve spent this past year creating that open dialogue between pharmacy students and their lecturers and created some tangible action. This included the movement of a greater proportion of lectures back on campus, social events to improve isolation from peers, additional exam support and improvements on scheduling of certain classes. My time as course rep, and presently as school rep allowed me to listen to the thoughts of a large body of students, and I’ve taken all of these things into consideration within my manifesto. I know how the Union and its rep system works, and I know what can be done to improve these things.

If you could have dinner with three famous people, dead or alive, who would they be?

Beth: George Lucas (huge star wars fan. If you know, you know), Jimmy Page (Founded my favourite rock band Led Zeppelin), and Rosa Parks (a civil rights icon).