Image Description: a picture of the six people competing for the Student Union Presidency.Â
Update: this article was updated Wednesday 9th February to include Marcin Pisanski’s answers, as well as confirm that Enrico Pelganta has withdrawn from running. His answers are included at the bottom of the article.
Voting for the upcoming Student Union election has opened, with the candidates beginning to campaign and to spread their message. The candidates stand on polarised platforms, calling for fundamental changes they would enact to as President, or whether there should even be a president full-stop. The President of the Student Union is a full-paid job with a one-year salary of over £21,000. The candidate elected taking a year out of their studies to act as a representative of the student community. Campaigning for the Oxford SU election begins on Friday 4th February, with the results being announced on the Thursday 10th. The Student Union acts a representative body for the whole student community, acting in their interests and supporting them in their academic and general life. We spoke to five of the presidential candidates in the Oxford SU Election who told us about themselves, their platforms, their views on the SU, and why they believe they are the ideal candidate to bring about change.
Kelsey Trevett
Why would you like to be President of the Student Union?
 After two years of disrupted education, Oxford SU ought to be at the forefront of fighting for all students, ensuring that wellbeing, and fair treatment, are the basis for all university decision-making. With experience as Co-Chair of the Young Greens of England and Wales, including serving as a member of the national executive of the Green Party, I have the skills to represent students in a way which doesn’t disempower the collective student body, but moreover fights for its platform and strength
What are the problems with the SU and what needs to change?
The SU feels detached from so many students at the university. With individual college JCRs and MCRs, and the challenges of the past two years, it’s crucial that the SU is proactive in its activities, meeting students where they are and engaging them with SU projects, campaigns, and the broader student movement.
What can the SU do for students?
The SU has the potential to be a powerful force, fighting for the rights of students in an increasingly marketised higher education sector, from which Oxford is not exempt. Free and fair education isn’t a commodity, and we are not customers: the SU has a duty to stand up for the welfare of students in this current environment. I believe that with our liberation campaigns, SU projects, sabbatical officers, and the diversity and energy within the student body (both undergraduate and post-graduate), we can deliver meaningful change to improve our university.
 Why do you think you are the right person to be SU President?
As a queer disabled student, I know both the challenges I’ve had to face and overcome whilst studying at Oxford, but also that these experiences are contextualised by so many others; I would be naive in saying I understood perfectly all the difficulties faced at Oxford, but being able to listen and engage with students is how we deliver change.
Describe yourself in five words.
Committed, approachable, and a laugh
Marcin Pisanski
Why would you like to be the President of the Student Union?
Everyone who has been at Oxford for at least one term can see that the SU is only visible to most students on two occasions: at the freshers fair and during its Annual Elections. Despite all the work done by the Officers behind the scenes, including securing an additional £400,000 for the Counselling Service or pressuring colleges into fossil fuel divestment, most of their works remains unnoticed. I want to change it by applying two-way communication into practice and making the SU representative of, and answerable to, the JCRs and MCRs it is composed of.
What are the problems with the SU and what changes does it need?
The SU is mostly managed by unelected bureaucrats who never went to Oxford and who form a majority of its full-time staff so it’s not surprising that the Student Union cannot truly understand its constituents! If we want a truly representative SU run by and for students, we must start by making sure that students are driving all its operations and making all the decisions. I’m running for SU President to do just that.
Once we free some of the funds currently going on sizeable staff salaries, some 4 of 5 times the size of the SU President’s pay, we can properly fund our societies (like most SUs in the UK are already doing!), work on access and equal support across the colleges, lobby for graduate and international students, reform our exams and rewrite the way Oxford approaches mental health.
What ultimately do you think the Student Union can do for students?Â
SU Officers should support the work of the Common Rooms at the scale of the federal University and work on policies that cannot be addressed at the college level, such as returning to Oxford during the pandemic or the question of mitigating circumstances. A lot of that work is already happening but will never be truly representative of the students’ needs and preferences if there is no constant, two-way communication between the SU and all Oxford students.
The SU also needs to intervene on behalf of students whenever they are threatened by their colleges, treated unfairly, or discriminated against in any way. From NDAs pushed onto survivors of sexual assault by their own colleges and tutors, to academics abusing their power over their students, Oxford needs to change. I will make SU resources available instantly and put enough pressure on the colleges and the University to stop their harmful practices whenever and wherever they occur. This is, after all, the spirit, and the most basic function of a properly functioning Student Union: putting the combined strength of all students behind every single undergraduate or postgraduate in need.
Describe yourself in five words.
Committed, energised, forward looking, and progressive
Michael-Akolade AyodejiÂ
Why would you like to be the President of the Student Union?
Because I’ve been fortunate to have others help me through the tricky situations at uni and I think I have the sense of perspective, competency and will to do my bit and help others. I started University as a mature student, estranged from family support, financially in a tricky spot and learning to adapt to living with disability diagnoses in what seems a fastpaced-DIY environment. Overcoming obstacles emanating from these particular circumstances would’ve been beyond achievable had it not been that I was blessed with understanding tutors at my college and the goodwill of friends that helped lobby for support from university staff. But I’m sadly aware that others haven’t had it so lucky. Some issues are seemingly too complex to tackle or so niche that there isn’t the will to. From my third year friend who appears to be a middle class on paper and thus falls through the eligibility criteria support they legitimately needed; to estranged first years that are finding it difficult to access support, not because it does not exist but due to bureaucratic barriers and disparity of support amongst different colleges or students studying with disabilities that have SSP which is not properly implemented. In short, I’d like to be president of the SU precisely to champion support for students from diverse circumstances dealing with issues that sometimes fall between the cracks of recognition or lack the volume to compete with the ruckus.
What are the problems with the SU and what changes does it need?
Recent years has actually seen the SU respond to problems students have highlighted which I think is good and should be celebrated. Our recent sabbatical officer teams are nothing short of iconic in my view. This is not just limited to their make up but also in their achievements; from Nikita Ma’s valiant effort to leading the SU through its first pandemic and responding productively but sensitively to the issues of most student minds; Mental Health and Racial equality, to the current Sabbatical Officer team delivering projects that makes a real impact such as Safa’s sub-fusc reimbursement to the Sabb teams facilitation of protest and campaigns that are close to the hearts of different communities. However, I must admit that the wider student population’s engagement with the SU ned to improve and that start with the SU working closer with JCRs and MCRs both to help tackle rising matter but also ensure awareness of the SUs achievements and purpose. The apathy towards the SU amongst the wider student population not only perplexes student of its purpose but more damningly, weakens our ability to ensure the university take student and campaign concerns seriously
What ultimately do you think the Student Union can do for students?
I think ultimately the Student Union can be a platform from which the main stakeholders (us students) feel our voices are not only made audible to in the ears of decision-makers at the university and college governing body level but also a policy laboratory with the skill, will and tenacity contribute to tangible changes being made. I believe the SU can do this for students firstly building trust with students and the uni itself. With the students by reacting to issues raised and implementing pledges made. With the university by engaging in constructive criticism and recognition of strides made during negations. Secondly being accessible. This can be achieved in a number of ways not limited to sabbatical officers that are approachable but also sensitive and cognisant of the needs of different people, with varying abilities and from different backgrounds.
Describe yourself in five words.
The Beret Wearing Camera Man
Richard Mifsud
 Why would you like to be the President of the Student Union?
I wouldn’t! If you vote for me, I will do my upmost to make sure that the Oxford University SU president role is NOT filled next year, by not taking up the post, hence the phrase “Empty Chair Campaign”. I will instead say that the whole salary (of over £21,000) should be used for other projects, such as scholarships or charityWhat are the problems with the SU and what changes does it need?
Outside of this election campaign, no one really notices what the SU do. So why are we spending so much money on the SU? Most of the traditional roles an SU does at other university is undertaken (incredibly well) by the JCRs and MCRs of each college, and it leaves the SU being out of touch with most students, and with relatively little influence. I therefore think that having non-salaried officers would be much better, with the money used for salaries diverted elsewhere.
What ultimately do you think the Student Union can do for students?
I think that over £21,000 not being spent on a salary for a president would do a world of good in say funding student bursaries, or financing Freshers’ Fair. I have run this campaign for the past few years (last year getting 489 voting for me), and I still haven’t seen the presidents (and the SU) make a noticeable impact on the student experience. Therefore I think that this is the year to change that!
Describe yourself in five words.
RON personified, yet thoroughly electable
 or
Dude who photographs empty chairs
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Otto Barrow
Who are you?
Otto Barrow and I’m at Magdalen studying PPE in my third year.
What are your interests:
I enjoy walking, travelling – especially in Eastern Europe, all things deer related, most things Russian related – I taught myself Russian, and music, especially Simon and Garfunkel.
Why would you like to be the President of the Student Union?
I really love Oxford. The Societies, reading, sandstone quads, but above all the people who I have had the pleasure of meeting and befriending along the way. But in my time here I’ve also seen the ways it really needs to improve. Since I was young, I’ve had an outlook to always try to make the world a better place – and that’s continued at oxford. I think the SU has the potential to radically improve the lives of Oxford students – and from my lengthy first-hand experience in Oxford societies and the SU in particular, I think I’m the right person, with the right passion, to make that change for the better.
I’ve really grown to care for the Oxford community – and I think that shows. There are other more prestigious, far far better paying positions that I could move into following graduation. But it’s my passion for improving a place I love that makes me want to run for president of the SU.
What are the problems with the SU and what changes does it need?
I think the SU has three key issues facing it. Ignorance, inefficiency and a mixed reputation. Not enough people know what the SU is, and how it can help them. The SU is inefficient – it’s filled with people doing great work, but many projects are stuck in the pipeline without results. And the SU is not taken as seriously as it should be – frankly stupid policies like the ban on clapping and recommendation of jazz hands instead, undermine its credibility.
So the SU – which has the ability to greatly improve the lives of Oxford students through facilitating inter-collage collaboration with JCR’s and MCR’s, and with the National Union of Students – needs to be better presented as a serious and effective organisation, and its many services and support system advertised to the students it could help. The SU needs to refocus on the issues that matter, prioritising problems ranging from Sexual assault to the Environment, while also solving issues with simple solutions that have obvious answers, but that people aren’t engaged with – such as the ban on trashing.
What ultimately do you think the Student Union can do for students?
Improve their experience of Oxford. Everything from coordinating collage level campaigns with JCR’s and MCR’s, to policies like increasing visibility of exam access arrangements, or publishing league tables for Collages adoptions of anti-sexual harassment policy are things the SU could do to make Oxford Student’s lives happier, and better.
Why do you think you are the right person to be SU President?
I’ve been though a lot, but the profound family tragedies, the death of my mother and sister, and my father’s dementia diagnosis, that have overshadowed my childhood have given me a drive to, wherever I can, improve the lives of others, and instilled me with a real duty of care. I have worked in the SU for nearly three years, so I know how it works, and how to get things done efficiently and effectively. So, I have the dedication – I have the compassion, and I have the competence.
Enrico Pelganta
Why would you like to be the President of the SU?:
I wish to re-establish the prioritisation of students over bureaucracy and political divisions. SU exist to serve its members, not the opposite way round. I feel that this is not true anymore, and I want to change that.
What are the problems with the SU and what changes are needed?
The SU needs reform. Although some good initiatives have been promoted over the years, the way the organisation is run gives the impression to many people that divisive political ideology is pushed at the expense of the common person. Change is needed to reconnect the SU to its members. This means getting the SU out there, and its future President, to re-connect with students from all walks of life and an array of different concerns. There is also a feeling among many that the SU financial resources are not allocated in a optimal way. increasing efficiency through a no-nonsense approach is key in increasing the SU reach and benefit as many people as possible who feel left behind by the way the organisation is run.
 What ultimately can the SU do for students?
The SU should facilitate the expression of full potential of all its students. The organisation cannot rely on inertia, neither it can afford that if it wishes to stay relevant. We need to make sure that rational problem-solving gets precedence over political ideology.
After two years of disrupted education, Oxford SU ought to be at the forefront of fighting for all students, ensuring that wellbeing, and fair treatment, are the basis for all university decision-making. With experience as Co-Chair of the Young Greens of England and Wales, including serving as a member of the national executive of the Green Party, I have the skills to represent students in a way which doesn’t disempower the collective student body, but moreover fights for its platform and strength. As a queer disabled student, I know both the challenges I’ve had to face and overcome whilst studying at Oxford, but also that these experiences are contextualised by so many others; I would be naive in saying I understood perfectly all the difficulties faced at Oxford, but being able to listen and engage with students is how we deliver change. The SU feels detached from so many students at the university. With individual college JCRs and MCRs, and the challenges of the past two years, it’s crucial that the SU is proactive in its activities, meeting students where they are and engaging them with SU projects, campaigns, and the broader student movement. The SU has the potential to be a powerful force, fighting for the rights of students in an increasingly marketised higher education sector, from which Oxford is not exempt. Free and fair education isn’t a commodity, and we are not customers: the SU has a duty to stand up for the welfare of students in this current environment. I believe that with our liberation campaigns, SU projects, sabbatical officers, and the diversity and energy within the student body (both undergraduate and post-graduate), we can deliver meaningful change to improve our university.
Note: as of Tuesday 8th February, Enrico Pelganta has withdrawn from running.
