Manifesto

Candidate for the position of Student President

Image for Christina Schmid

Christina Schmid

Standing for Student Voices!

Introduction

Hey, I’m Christina, currently a 4th year Politics, Spanish and Latin American Student and currently on the Student Council as Vice-Chair Communities. For me, being political means empowering people and building power from the ground.

What are your three priorities for the year?

1. A Student Union for All

  • I want to establish weekly drop-in sessions to generate feedback from students and make their needs the centre of student campaigns. Regular Open Assemblies and strengthening the Student Council’s position. To improve transparency I want to restructure the homepage and provide working reports online.
  • Facilitating bottom-up campaigns: provide resources and spaces for students to help you engage with i.e. the Borderless Campaign or Save our Scottish Universities
  • We need to improve anti-discrimination practices at university, offer meaningful training to committees and the student community to create an inclusive University for all.
  • All faculties should provide self-managed study rooms for the students and societies in their buildings.

2. Pushing for Just Transition

The climate crisis will be part of our future but no student should struggle to live sustainably.

  • Sustainable Transport: Prioritising mobility, I aim for £1 student bus tickets and a late-night Hillhead-Campus connection. I want to work on bike priority roads on campus and safe bike lanes on student commuting routes.
  • Zero Waste: I aim to implement a reusable cup system on campus and student frequented cafés. A bring-your-own-box initiative can reduce single-use waste.
  • Green Energy Capital: With the Schools, we need to establish interdisciplinary progammes and internship opportunities in the green and environmental friendly sector.
  • End Student Poverty: Combating poverty is essential for Just Transition. I support a rent freeze in University halls and reinstating the £1 Soup and Breakfast Club.

3. Reimagining University Governance

  • Build power: Build strategic alliances with the other unions on campus to continuously work together. Use the leverage effect from #saveUoAlanguages and further politicise student engagement.
  • Transparent Governance: Court, Senate and Student Council need to be accessible to all students and minutes of any committee except sufficiently justified. Reviewing the governance structure at university and implement efficient democratic leadership system in all levels of the institution.
  • Meaningful Impact: Steering Groups must include at least 50 percent of union representation, divided amongst the respective unions active on campus. All Head of School Executive Teams and Head of Departments must have constant elected student representation.

What unique skill/knowledge can you bring to the role to stand out from the other candidates? 

I‘m a passionate activist with deep knowledge in political strategy. Through the #saveUoAlanguages initiative I got familiar with the governing structures at university and worked on possibilities to influence their decisions.

What do you think is the biggest issue that students are facing at the moment and how do you plan to tackle it?        

Through the Cost-of-Living Crisis students face hardship, having to work 20+ hours on top of full-time studies to make ends meet, while international students have limited working hours. This structural issue needs lobbying towards the government and working together with NUS and other unions on campus needs just as much a part of the way forward as local initiatives.