How To Vote Online

SU Elections – How to Vote Online

I have screenshot the process of taking part in the SU elections so that you can see how it works before you take part and/or make sure you have completed it correctly.

If you have any problems please contact Vicky on vicky.grant@cssd.ac.uk.

Happy Voting!

STEP 1

You will need to find the email you were sent inviting you to take part in the SU elections, read it carefully and then select the link. You can only access the page using this link as it is individual to you!

STEP 2

You will need to choose a password for yourself so that you can log out and then log back in if you are not finished voting.

STEP 3

You can read more about the positions and the candidates before making your decision by clicking on the Post list and Candidate List. Manifestos are also available in paper copies in the atrium or the bar and if you speak to candidates they will be able to give you more information about their campaigns and answer your questions. I have more info in other posts on this blog...

STEP 4

You will see the positions you are eligible to vote for. It is common practice across a lot of union that for Liberation roles (Black and Ethnic Minorities, Dyslexia and Disability, Gender and Sexuality, International and Women’s) only people who identify into those groups can vote in that election. That is not the case here but you don’t have to vote in all of the elections if you don't want to.

When you are ready to start voting, hit the green button and you will get taken to the President Elections page. 

STEP 6

When you are ready, just order the candidates with your preferences, 1 being your first choice.

If you are unhappy with any of the candidates, you can choose to vote to re-open the nominations by putting that as a higher preference than the candidate(s) you are unhappy with.

Once you are happy with your choices click the no further preferences button.

STEP 7

You will be given the chance to review your decision to make sure it is right! If it is all ok you can click Cast Vote. It will automatically take you to the next candidate but you can use a scroll bar at the bottom of the page if you want to select certain elections to vote in.

 If you have made a mistake it will let you know!

Repeat this process until you have voted in all the elections you choose to take part in. If you want to log out and then log back in to continue voting you can.

My Hustings Speech

This is not going to be a speech about all the things I have done this, or all things I would like to with another. 5 minutes is not enough time for that and you can quiz me about that later. This is a speech about what I believe and the future I see for our union.

I have been your SU President for almost a year now and it has been one heck of a learning curve. Central is full of incredible people, both staff and students, and I have really enjoyed representing you.

Unfortunately I have also realised how difficult it can be for us to have our voice heard.

 I sit in all the right meetings. You elect course reps to represent your views and opinions about your university and education. On the surface it looks great

But I have sat in meetings with staff members who have laughed at requests for microwaves because they think we have run out of serious things to ask for. Who have said that if a student takes issue with the way they are marked they can like it or leave. Who have told me that I can’t run a check in session with course reps to support them in their role of representing students because they are part of “Central Quality Assurance Processes” I left that meeting very confused because I was under the impression they were people

This year there have been a number of occasions where I have seen student voices be silenced, belittled and manipulated.

We saw how long it took to get any sort of response from management about Gavin’s expenses and even then it included outright lies and we still don’t really have a satisfactory answer.

As arts students we are facing a triple attack. Higher Education is being turned into a market and we consumers. The arts has been hacked and funding slashed. Efforts to oppose this have seen students threatened, bullied and even assaulted by the police on their own campuses. University management taking their students to court following protests is becoming a far too familiar scenario.

Our voice is under threat from so many different angles and we need to fight back.

If we want to be taken seriously we have to demand it. We will have to push harder. It won’t be over night. It will take perseverance and determination. It will take fine-tuning our democratic structures so we can make decisions easily and efficiently. It will take demonstrations and protests, whether that’s fighting for change on our campus or for free education on the streets. It will take me as your Student Union President.

I have started these fights this year but they are far from finished. I am far from finished. I have learned so much about the way Central works and so much about myself this year that I am more prepared than ever to take this on. I am backing myself to finish what I have started and I am asking  you to do the same.

Don’t Back Down, Back Nat

Visibility

One of the points on my manifesto is about transparency and visibility.

As we all know “full time course” really does mean full time at Central so it is difficult trying to juggle your studies and remain visible. The reason I wanted President so badly last year was because I would have so much time to dedicate to the SU and I, rather naively it turns out, thought I would easily get all of the things done that I wanted and be really visible and accessible to everyone most of the time.

Not exactly.

I have spent this year learning the ropes and they haven’t been the easiest of ropes to learn. And so much of work goes on behind the scenes because it has to. I work with a lot of students in a range of ways and that, for obvious reasons, has to remain confidential and discreet. A lot of the work goes on in meetings and a lot of it ends up being much duller than I want to bore you with. Sometimes it feels like I have bureaucracy coming out if my ears.

But I have already started working really hard this year on finding ways to ensure that the important bits get to you and that we are more visible and more accessible. I wrote a motion to remove the role of publicity officer and am now working with Vicky, our part-time member of staff, to develop her role to include publicity and engagement. This means that communication will be much more consistent, and it will be so much easier to engage with the union in a range of ways. Vicky and I will be working on this for the rest of this term ready for her to take on next year but I want to see it through and support this huge change.

I also plan to carry on this blog so that people can see what I am up working on. I will encourage officers to write posts for this so that their hard work is communicated effectively and so that you can hold us to account.

I would also like to work much more closely with the course reps so that I can get feedback about the union straight from course committees and be able to keep you updated on any changes we have made as a result. This worked really well with 3^rd Year TPs this term and I would like to encourage other course reps to feel they can do the same.

I am very proud of all the work I have done this year and I know that if you re-elect me I will see these plans through and next year you won’t be able to miss us.

Don’t Back Down, Back Nat

Don't Back Down, Back Nat

This year as President has been incredible. Sometimes, literally and for so many reasons.
I never dreamed it would be so difficult or so rewarding.

But, I think it is time for more difficulty and much more reward for all of us.

At Central, having time to eat or sleep can sometimes feel like a luxury, especially during show weeks or when you are in the depths of your dissertation. As a PHD student, you often have to tread a blurry line between staff and student and as an MA student, you are probably trying not to blink and miss your time at Central (at least that's how I felt only having a guaranteed year in office).

So drumming up the energy and focus to think about the multitude of annoyances and frustrations that can come from studying at Central, living in London and dealing with the repercussions of another five years of Tory government can be really tough.

That is why we need to get organised. We need to learn how to make democratic decisions easily and efficiently. We need to find a way that you can easily communicate your problems to those representing you, whether that is course reps, SU officers, your local MP or David bloody Cameron.

Too often this year I have heard the student voice be belittled, undermined or manipulated.
Too often this year, I have been belittled, undermined and manipulated.
But I am ending this year much stronger and much more determined to make sure we are not only heard but listened to.

We need SU officers and course reps who are supported to make the changes you want to see.
We need online referenda so we can make quick decisions when we can't get in a room.
We need a fighting union that refuses to back down.

For all that, please Back Nat.