Elections Special Issue One

28.02.17

The Sugar Review Returns!

Whos standing for what?

Who actually is RON?

EDITORIAL
Loughborough
Overheard
Boy: Well, that didnt go in did it
Girl: Heh, thats what she said

You asked for a banger I gave you a banger

Design by Jessie Foxford

Youre getting way too big for your booze

Boy: Youre being very quiet

Girl: Im watching a video about Komodo
dragons thank you very much

Hello all! And welcome to this very special first Exec

Elections edition of Label for this year!
Got som
want to ething y
say abo ou
Now, Exec Elections are in full swing, and love them or hate ut this is
sue?
them they are here to stay for the next week. So, what do OVERH
we think of the candidates so far? SOMET EARD
HING?
Get in to
uch on
@LabelO Twitte
Far be it for me to pass judgement, members of my nline r at
committee have been working away on some manifesto
critiques, which might just resonate with you and all those
niggling feelings you have towards the candidates and their
plans for the future. This first mini issue contains critiques of

Illustration by Emily Forrester

TOP
arguably some of the most passionate candidates this year,
so it is well worth giving them a read, and seeing if all that
passion is likely to be all talk and no action?
T W E E T S
Our Head of Online, Marketing and Distribution, Beatrice
Quarshie, has also made her way to these pages with her
fabulous Sugar Review. At time of writing this editorial, I
dont know quite what it will include: probably some sweets, Jonathan Ako @President_LSU - Filmed my exec profile
certainly some dishy male candidates, and (without a for @MediaEO_LSU today exec of #ExecElections
shadow of a doubt) some big laughs. If I love Exec Elections
for one thing, this would be it!
George Hones @PostgradEO_LSU - For all the
candidates that may not be successful in these
So what are you waiting for, dive in and immerse yourself
#ExecElections - have you considered further study
in just a little more of this candidate-crazy world we are all
at @lborouniversity ?!
living in. If you cant beat em, join em!

Leanna Kightley JT @MediaEO_LSU - Excited to get started with Exec

Label Editor Elections media tomorrow... its been a long few
weeks of planning

2
 ACTION EO

CANDIDATE

Running for Action EO for a second year Anna has

amended her manifesto from 2016, learning from its
previous strengths and weaknesses. Anna mentions
the inclusion of postgraduate, international, college
and London students all of whom are students who are
often excluded from union affairs, and recognises out of
term time as an optimal period for engaging with them.
However, Anna fails to say how she will communicate with
these students and advertise the opportunities to them.
Although many will be in Loughborough out of term time
many are not interested, have busy schedules and do not
Illustration by Carla Borkmann

engage with the union or get involved. How would she

go about making these opportunities appealing to these
students?

Although her points are clear, many of them do not

expand on how she intends to solve the problems
within Action, for example, she mentions understanding
the student demographics better and creating a more
comprehensive handover process, yet does not say how

Anna Milewska
she will implement this. She also fails to mention the
financial restrictions within the section.

Having held the position of Action EO for a year, Anna

clearly knows the section and shows a dedication to
the role by aiming to reduce the amount of admin work
involved in the position to spend more time working
to improve the section for future years to come and
recognises the importance of the educational aspect
of Action, aiming to introduce co-curricular projects
that enhance the academic achievements of students.
/AnnaForAction
Overall, her passion for Action is clear and she makes a
promising candidate for the position.
@Anna_For_Action
Lydia Kah-Pavlou
Culture Editor
@am4action

@Anna_For_Action
3
 ACTION EO

CANDIDATE

Rorys manifesto follows a What? How? Why?

layout, showing he has a clear set of ideas and knows
how he wants to implement them. He shows an
understanding of the section by acknowledging the
financial difficulties within Action and by proposing to
work alongside the RAG EO he recognises weaknesses
in the section and knows how to develop improvement.

However, while his manifesto is easy to understand many

of the points are unclear and can be left to be questioned.
Although he acknowledges postgraduate students

Illustration by Carla Borkmann

the statistic he includes is incorrect as although 4,500
postgraduate students reside in Loughborough not all
of them stay over summer. Rory also mentions summer
incentives but how would this work? Postgraduates are
hard to engage with; how does he propose to advertise
these opportunities to them over the summer when the
union is closed? He also fails to mention London and
college students.

Rory Pears
Another interesting point is the mention of targeting
specific demographics with the right projects for them.
Although this is a good idea, the majority of students
who participate in Action already choose projects that
appeal to them, how would he make a difference to the
wider student population? Rorys final point about hall
committees also seems a bit irrelevant to the overall
manifesto as hall Action reps are already responsible for
effectively engaging the majority of freshers into projects
throughout the year.
Rory 4 Action
Overall, Rorys manifesto shows he has researched into
the section and seems dedicated to improving Action
making him a more than suitable for the position.
@Rory4Action
Lydia Kah-Pavlou
Culture Editor
@Rory4Action

4
 MEDIA EO

CANDIDATE

First and foremost, I was somewhat underwhelmed by

Gafyns manifesto. This is the primary opportunity for a
candidate to sell themselves to the voting population
of Loughborough, and with 90 of an available 250
words used, Gafyn could perhaps be considered to
be underselling himself. The mention of an increase in
the regularity of events such as Make Your Mark is a
reasonable suggestion to improve LSU Medias outreach,
though realistically how many more of these engagement
events are possible, perhaps an increase to one in
Semester 1 and one in Semester 2? I will be interested to
hear further about this in the Bubble Debate.
Illustration by Phoebe Logan

The YouTube viewership point was dissected in Gafyns

Label interview, if implemented this will detract traffic
from LSU Medias site and as highlighted by R.O.N
licensing issues are also a point of concern. The mention
of an improvement to the Hall Media marking scheme
is pragmatic and considered, though a degree of
specificity will be required in Gafyns Bubble Debate to

Gafyn Donald
justify its inclusion as 1/6th of a manifesto. Match Report
has been a huge success this year and the prospect
of creating more shows with a student orientation is a
promising manifesto point from Gayfn, I look forward to
hearing about specific show ideas at a later date.

Gafyns manifesto offers relative promise, though I feel

there are not a lot of original ideas. However, a strong
theme and notable social media presence are positive
signs to his campaign.
/GafynMcdonaldMedia
Tom Newman

McDonald4Media

@McDonald4Media

5
 MEDIA EO

CANDIDATE

Tom Stovells manifesto offered a four-fold systematic

structure, with an emphasis placed on training, an
improvement to the handover period for committee
members, alongside developing LSU Medias
recruitment and marketing strategies.

Training is of undeniable importance in improving

volunteers and allowing them to develop: this is a
promising manifesto point. However an all inclusive LSU
Media training programme would require collaborative
consistency across all sections, and with the inevitable
disparity in skill-sets required for differing sections,

Illustration by Phoebe Logan

e.g: LSUTV - Label, this will surely provide logistical
difficulties: Tom will have to expand on this point in
detail in his Bubble Debate.

The mention of handbooks is in principle a strong

point, though with handovers already existing between
successors, how do these books offer a different and
improved strategy? Are committee members keeping

Tom Stovell
weekly, monthly or termly entries? I would like to hear
about this further as it has potential, but also has
potential to be a waste of time. The implementation of
periodic workshops is a bright idea, though similarly
to my criticism of Gafyns first manifesto point, the
regularity of these events will have to be specified in
both temporal and logistical terms.

The mention of establishing a full marketing committee

is again promising from Tom, though acting as its own
section is potentially divisive. Marketing is an immensely
/TomAndMedia
effective tool for cross-sectional publicity, so whilst in
principle this point has its merits, it will require expansion
in the Bubble Debate to iron out a few creases.
@TomAndMedia
Tom Newman
@TomAndMedia

6
 SOCIETIES EO

CANDIDATE

Firstly, Sams manifesto is well-structured and broken

down into key issues that they wish to address. They
start by highlighting the need for more societies on the
London campus. Attention to the universities London
postgrad office has been and increasingly large issue in
recent elections and its inclusion here is predictable but
that is not to say it isnt relevant. The idea of working
with other branches to form a Societies Experience is
promising, but perhaps begs the question whether they
can form a model on their own. There is a lot that needs
elaborating, but it is a promising start.
Illustration by Lizzie Poole

The second point of a Societies Framework is very

encouraging. Obviously the desire to increase the
number of societies has always been a big issue for
Societies EO and the idea of providing a framework to
make setting up a society easier seems a logical idea. It
is unclear how the award scheme mentioned will work
but this is a great point.

Sam Hill
The personal development seems the most vague of
the candidates points. They say there has been interest
in some areas but fail to mention where his interest has
come from, or how it was expressed, perhaps something
that can be explained later in the campaign.

Finally, the summing up by building on the work of

previous EOs displays a good knowledge of the history
of the job, and what areas have had a long lasting effect
on LSU Societies. There is no mention of the Give It A
Go week however that ran in January, a new addition
/SuperSam4Societies
that the candidate will probably need to address.

Jamie Hutton
@SuperSam4Societieseo
Culture Editor

@SuperSam4Soc

7
 SOCIETIES EO

CANDIDATE

Nathan begins by drawing on personal experience,

something that Sam failed to do. They claim that many
students dont participate in societies, an observation
which seems unfounded and isnt backed up by any
statistics. However, this does display an enthusiasm
for involvement in the section and is a promising
introduction to their manifesto points.

As opposed to the other candidate, they do begin by

addressing the Give it a Go week straight away. The idea
to change the length and time of the event is basic but
also makes a good amount of sense. However, this point

Illustration by Lizzie Poole

is brief and doesnt mention if any changes would be
made to the way the actual event is conducted.

The idea of Swap Week is a promising one, and the

mention that it will be devised by the candidate
themselves does away with the collaboration that
Sam mentions, which could be troubling, but it does
display that the candidate has faith in their own abilities.

Nathan Parker
However, how the week is marketed and how students
will be encouraged to get involved is not mentioned.

The third and final point suggests a reward scheme to

increase involvement in societies. These kind of reward
schemes has often been mentioned by candidates in the
past, with varying success. The idea is well articulated,
but they may need to address whether it would
encourage a competitiveness that may cause tensions
within the societies.
/ParrotParkerSoc
Jamie Hutton
Culture Editor
@ParrotParkerSoc

8
 SPORT EO

CANDIDATE

Ashs manifesto is one the stronger statements that Ive

seen this year but, like many, has gaps in terms of clarity.
Ash claims that she wishes to increase promotion of
sport through the various media outlets within University
but does not specify how she will build upon current
efforts; efforts which are already quite substantial.

Ashs desire to improve training and resources for

coaches and volunteers is admirable as this is often
a less direct way of improving accessibility of sport,
but would require significant planning in relation to
budgeting. This could prove problematic, considering
Illustration by Emily Forrester

that she also wishes to implement a financial review

that looks to minimise costs but doesnt suggest a new
source of revenue. Furthermore, the other financial
promise of her manifesto looks at maintaining the status
quo of grant funding and Club of the Week schemes
rather than implementing new ways of making sports
clubs more cost effective.

Ash Prescott
In the Inclusivity section of Ashs manifesto she
proposes an increase in the visibility of disability sport,
an improvement in the quality of inclusivity amongst
clubs, and an increase in the availability of sport for
postgraduate students outside of term time. These
suggestions seem very reasonable as disability and
postgraduate sport take a definite back seat in terms
of prominence within the University. The main barrier
to these would, again, be financial as she does not
suggest how these could be funded, but it is hard to be
comprehensive on such a tight word limit.
/GottaCatchSport
David Boyden
Sport Editor
@GottaCatchSport

@GottaCatchSport

9
 The Sugar Review
2017: Day Two
In a never before seen Exec Elections special (well at least
in my Loughborough lifetime) and a campaign first for me:
CUPCAKES. Well put down the tub of Haribo and tickle me
pink. Did someone say free cupcakes in James France today?
Being a full time (and by full time I mean all 6 hours of my
week) Martin Hall resident the allure of free cupcakes in James
France courtesy of Tom for Media was somewhat tempting
mesmerizing grass skirt dance. Still no sugary goodies but
all will be excused in exchange for footage of that little
dance number.
Can I just put it out there that I love Fireman Sam?! The
cartoon leaves me undecided on the candidate himself
but the theme is genius.The amount of hosing innuendos

Design & Illustration by Carla Borkmann

and if you were lucky enough to indulge in one I hope you I want to make about him and Finance and Development
enjoyed it. Little word of advice for Tom for Media, if you that spring to mind are borderline crude and would
really want to go that extra mile feel free to bring probably see me banned from LSU Media so Ill leave
your cupcakes to the School of the Arts. it to your imaginations, but just know theyre good.

Super Sam for Societies has been sharing Plot twist: can Gafyn McDonald for Media
the Tangfastics love all over West hand out actual McDonalds? (Probably best
Park Teaching Hub. Kudos to all not to tell Union Affairs Committee) What
the candidates venturing out to better fix for a Stuesday than a Big Mac
West Park (an often forgotten and fries!
corner of the bubble), those
Engineers need sugary Cant forget to mention the love
loving too! child of Harry Potter and Steve
Jobs who more commonly
Leo and Stich ventured goes by iVoteKyle for Union
to Falk Egg supposedly President. Please make this
empty-handed to happen: VC Bob giving birth
amend this issue to Ako, whos giving birth
feel free to deliver to Kyle whos giving birth to a
a tub of Haribo to me sign that says Vote Kyle for Union
personally and all will be President, if that doesnt make you
forgiven. vote Im not too sure what will.

Rumour has it Rory the For more candidate spotting and

Racing Car for Action was Haribo sweets flocking check in with
spotted with Leo in a hula @LabelOnline on Twitter this week.
skirt performing what
can only be described Beatrice Quarshie Head of Online,
as a well coordinated Marketing and Distribution

10
WHY SHOULD WE GIVE
RON A CHANCE?
When Elections period swings around every year you can be sure of a few things:

- The BNOCs come out to play.

- Youll never want to see a Haribo again by the end of campaign week
(other sweet brands are - and will be in vast quantities available).
- RON will give it his best shot again.

But who is RON, and why should we give a flying you-know-what

about what he has to say?

RON stands for Re-Open Nominations (ohhhhhh I hear you

say). In other words, if you dont fancy the other candidates, RON

?
is your man. In the event RON was to be elected, there would
be a by-election (or similar) in which another candidate, or few
candidates, would come out of the woodwork and give Elections
a go, without the all-encompassing pressure of what to all intents
and purposes is the real deal: terrifying manifesto critiques,
exhausting Campaign Week, and the dreaded Bubble Debate.

Okay, so they wont avoid this entirely. A couple of years ago

when circumstances led to a Union President by-election for
example, the candidates did have to go through a lot of
this, but the pressure was felt considerably less. Not just
by those running for office, but by the entire student
community.

So, going back to my original question, why should

we give RON a chance? Well, it goes a bit like this.
Many people, from students to staff, will argue that Exec
Elections really are just a popularity contest. Whether this is
true or not, you decide, but you cant deny that the intensity
and very public nature of the Elections process might just put
off a wallflower, who although shy and retiring would be fantastic
at the job.

A vote for RON may just be a vote for these less-confident types,
so if you really cant choose, consider RON. He might just be what
YOUR union is waiting for!

Leanna Kightley
Label Editor

11
 VOTE HERE
FROM 6 TH
MARCH 9AM

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

/LabelOnlineLSU

@labellsu

@labelonline

Disclaimer: Label is the publication of Loughborough Students Union. The opinions contained are those
of individual contributors, not of Loughborough Students Union, the editorial team, or any other officer
of the Union unless otherwise stated.

Cover Photography by Elias Ruiz Monserrat

Additional Design by Jessie Foxford and Liam David Hopley