The Full-Time Officer elections at BU are right around the corner, with applications for candidates closing today! Nerve Now spoke to the leaving SUBU officers to understand more about the roles and why these elections are important to students.
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What are the FTO elections?
The Full-Time Officer elections are where BU students and graduates can apply for one of the following roles: President, Vice-President Education, Vice-President Student Opportunities and Vice-President Welfare and Community. They each serve a term of one year and are responsible for representing every student at BU. They work with thousands of student volunteers within Clubs and Societies, Student Reps, and Union Officers, but they also have individual responsibilities specific to their roles.
“Student elections are important because the Students' Union needs to be represented by students who other students believe in.” – Current SUBU FTOs
Credit: Freya Griffiths
The President leads the pack. Their role is to make both strategic and executive decisions around campus, as well as being a promotor for all BU students to the university, locally and nationally. And the bonus: high salary of over £22,000!
Those roles underneath President are vital in the community: the Vice-President of Education supports the Student Reps and aids the student body in improvements with teaching. The Vice-President of Welfare and Community leads on wellbeing, equality, diversity and inclusion, sustainability, housing and community engagement, ensuring “each and every student has adequate support in these areas and proactively represent students’ rights on and off campus”. Finally, the Vice-President of Student Opportunities, guiding clubs and societies, volunteering, student development and employability.
Previous FTO’s have made many successes through SUBU and BU. With new initiatives such as ‘Say My Name’ pledge for additional support for students financially, and the No Detriment policy to help students not be disadvantaged because of the recent pandemic, SUBU has constantly evolved. New work from launching SUBU's first ever functioning BAME mentorship scheme and implementing the SU wide #NeverOK campaign to tackle sexual violence, harassment, and misconduct on campus that is a prominent issue.
Being an FTO has helped them to “define our own narrative as officers, to be decisive and be clear on what we want to achieve, celebrating our wins for students and our personal development”. For those wanting to be a candidate, the current officers say: “Be confident in yourself and your abilities.”.
So why not put your name forward and make some major changes at BU!
“It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. There is nothing like being a sabbatical officer.”
Sign up and find more information here: https://www.subu.org.uk/represented/dandc/elections/ftoelections/