Candidates for Activities Officer

Alex Theodosiou (she/her) Dan Paston (he/him) Ethan Graham (he/him)

I’m Alex, I’m a third year

Combined Honours student and I’m campaigning to be your next Activities Officer! I want to continue working towards improving societies and hosting great events, making them more accessible in light of the pandemic and cost of living crisis. My goals include;

Improving society training

Working together with the Welfare and Equality Officer, I will aim to improve Committee training when it comes to welfare, harm reduction and EDI - having been in eight societies and five committees over the years I’m aware there are many internal issues not often acknowledged.

Promoting engagement and accessibility I want to introduce a ‘Society Spotlight’, one society selected each month to host a free event open to all students, advertised and endorsed by NUSU - like a large scale taster event. This would promote engagement past freshers week, be counted for the NCL+ award, and allow students to participate without worrying about the cost, also allowing societies to prove their accessibility to all students and further their eligibility for Earn Your Stars. ..and more! Representing the university through societies is something I’m passionate about and well suited for, and your vote secures it!

Jade Wang (she/her)

Hi, I’m Jade and I’m running to be your next ActivitiesOfficer.

Eyesonme!I’llshowyouwhatIcando!

AboutMe?

Outgoing,easytogetalongwith.

Good listener, open to being judged and makingchanges.

Hobbies:

Singing,playingguitar. Chinesecalligraphy.

Cooking, especially various classical Chinese food.

Handcrafts,DIY.

Trynewthings,havenewideas. Enjoydifferentlanguagesandcultures.

Myresponsibility?

Maintain communication with each society, makeeveryonefeelpartofthestudents’union family.

Foroldersocieties,keepthemalive.Alsoopen newonesaccordingtostudents’interests.

Attractmorestudentstojoinin. Involved in each society's activities, help with planningandunderstandtheirwork. Meeting regularly but not too frequent to shareexperiences. Getmorefunding.

Newtobring?

Highlight: Allow each student to discover their own valuesfromactivitiestheyenjoy. Doesn'tmatterifnotgoodatitornotdoitwell, justmakeeveryonehaveagreatmemory.

Newthings: Music Festival, Street Dance competition, Singingcompetition. WorldFoodFestival.Food-relatedsocieties. Paintingexhibitionandcompetition. Chinesecalligraphysociety. Throughvariousevents,givestudentsfrom all countries the opportunity to share their culture.

Hi, I'm Dan and I want to be your activities man!

You may recognise me from my failed presidential campaign, but I’m being serious this time. Having founded SockSoc last year, I’ve spent considerable time working with the SU; I have enjoyed the way it works but have also thought of many ways it could be improved. Therefore, I believe I will bring my own fun spin to the role!

I want to focus on three things: Inclusivity, Inter-connectivity, and Charitability.

Inclusivity: Expand the role of a society's welfare officer , offering in depth training and advice. Push the ‘Earn your stars’ campaign.

Inter-connectivity: Act as a liaison between societies wishing to collab. Organise more campus wide events, which societies will be invited to attend.

Charitability: Incentives for societies doing the most for charity. Organise a charity week where campus wide events will be run, and societies will be encouraged to run their own.

I also intend to make it easier for societies to work with the union. Committee training will remain accessible on your student dashboard, and I will also be available as the first point of contact for queries.

Don't forget– VOTE DAN FOR ACTIVITIES MAN.

Hey there, I’m Ethan!

Currently I’m studying a Master’s in Data Science after completing my BSc in Maths and I want to be your next Activities Officer. Since day one studying at Newcastle University, I have been involved in societies. It has been a continued highlight of mine getting involved with them. They are an incredible creation, allowing for great opportunities amongst students to embrace themselves in pretty much anything!

I want to improve this further though; how can we make societies better while keeping the fundamental principles behind them? I want to highlight three main areas which I would like to improve upon if elected:

• Communication – The way information is conveyed to societies

• Control – Giving societies more authority

• Collaboration – Providing opportunities for societies to work with one another Having been involved in several committees of varying roles and with my knowledge of how the SU operates, I believe that I have the experience to be the right candidate for your next Activities Officer! I have so much to bring and offer, so vote Ethan number one for AO!

Yanan Zhang (he/him) Yancy Zhang (she/her)

Hi! I am Yanan Zhang (Alex), a postgraduate student of Applied Linguistics and TESOL in the School of Educational Communication and Language Science. During my study, through participating in various activities, I believe that I am very suitable for the Activities Officer.

I am passionate about Activities Officer because I also have rich experience in organizing activities. As a member of the society's executive committee, I review all decisions and implementations of the society. As a course representative, I organize students to participate in the workshops. I participated in the Tennis Society and NEST volunteer activities. As the administrative assistant of the

Confucius Institute at Newcastle University, I organized a series of activities.

If elected, I will strive to organize more attractive and colorful activities

• Provide more than 180 societies with the support and benefits they need.

• Organize annual Societies Awards and develop policies to incentivize society member welfare and support.

• Organize and deliver more inclusive and accessibility training for society committee members.

• Provide more relaxation and stress relief extra-curricular activities unconditional support for all students and engage them to join us.

Hi, I'm Yancy and I'm running to be your next Activities Officer. I believe that I’m the ideal candidate for this position as I’m someone who enjoys a challenging and fresh approach to life.

If elected I’ll strive to:

• Put more emphasis on the links between societies and those outside of them, ensuring that every student has a full experience and understanding of the societies they may be interested in, so that they don't miss out on the opportunity to join.

• Organise more unique and exciting events in Freshers' week, society activities and ball, conceiving the format from the students' immediate perspective and aiming to make it memorable for everyone who attends.

• Take a greater interest in working with the Welfare and Equality Officer to get more budget for student welfare and mental health, and fight for every student to have the same experience at Newcastle.

I hope you consider giving me your vote this election season! By choosing me you are choosing someone representative of a cosmopolitan and progressive university who can empathise with many of the issues we face.