Courier 1300

Page 1

www.thecourieronline.co.uk Monday 17 November 2014 Issue 1300 Free

The Independent Voice of Newcastle Students

JOE McELDERRY BIZARRE BAZAAR A big chat with the The weirdest stuff Grainger wee lad from South Market has to offer p. 15 Shields p.28

Est 1948

BLIND DATE

They’re in love now apparently p. 13

American Road Trip storm race to be Freshers’ Week Organisers 425 votes separate new FWOs from second place

NUS delegation and Students with Disabilities Officer picked

The American Road Trip team (L-R: Chris Iyer, Oli Bate, Alyssia Rawlins, Tom Newell) Image: Emily Rooms

By Antonia Velikova and Tom Nicholson

Last week’s elections ended with The American Road Trip, with members Alyssia Rawlins, Tom Newell, Oli Bate and Chris Iyer, winning by a stretch to claim the title of 2015’s Freshers’ Week Organisers (FWOs). The American Road Trip came out on top after a tough competition with the two other contestantING teams, Fresh to Impress and The ProFRESHionals, with 1168 votes to Fresh to Impress’ 743 and The ProFRESHionals’ 683 in the first round of voting. After Re-Open Nominations and the ProFRESHionals were knocked out and their votes redistributed were according to the alternative vote system, Fresh to Impress had 901 votes compared to the American Road Trip’s 1353. “I cannot believe I’m standing here as an organiser,” Bate said immediately after the announcement of the winning team. “We were always the underdogs, we always knew we had to work harder.” “We just wanted to shake things up a bit in terms of our campaign,” Newell added. The team extended their thanks to the two other teams, saying, “It’s been a really friendly and fair campaign.” The FWOs will be in between November 2014 to October 2015. The successful candidates are paid a full time salary from late June to early October and they are expected to be full-time members of staff at the Students’ Union during this period. The American Road Trip won the hearts of their supporters by putting forward their project for a six-day Freshers’ Week - upping the ante from this year’s five days. Within their manifesto, Bates, Rawlings, Newell and Iyer suggest that there will now be more events open to students of all stages within the University. The American Road Trip are also promising to use new and alternative venues, later hall pickups, a redesign of Freshers’ Fair, as well as free food for all Freshers’ Crew members every day. Freshers’ Crew interviews will commence in Easter, the winning team confirmed. They’re well aware that more nights means more work and they are very much set on making next year’s Freshers’ Week one of the biggest and best the University has ever seen.

Additionally, five delegates have been elected to represent Newcastle University Students’ Union at the annual conference of the National Union of Students. Feminist Society President Lucy Morgan, Saman Khalid, Eve McGeady, Max Thienel and Courier Editor Tom Nicholson will be joining President Claire Boothman in Liverpool as the voice of Newcastle students at the conference. The delegation was elected in accordance to the motion of “Fair Representation on NUS Conference Delegations” which was passed at the 2014 conference and requires at least 50% of all delegates from all delegations nationwide to consist of self-defining women. Morgan said: “I am thrilled to have been elected as an NUS Conference Delegate. Seeing as only two women applied we were effectively uncontested however I still campaigned regardless of the policy and got enough votes to get in on merit alone. I am incredibly grateful for the support of the Feminist Society and anyone else who voted for me, I intend to repay them by diligently listening to their views and making sure they are represented at the NUS conference. I am very excited to work with Max, Tom, Eve and Saman and think we will make a great team for the rest of the year.” Charlotte Maxwell, President of the Mind the Gap mental health society and beauty editor of the Courier, stood head to head with Dejean Easmon to be the Students with Disabilities Officer. The competition was tough, but Maxwell emerged victorious with 937 votes compared to 338 for Easmon. When asked about her win, Maxwell said: “So happy that I’ve got this position, it’ll be a great pedestal for something that I’m passionate about and for me to implement changes and improvements. Very excited for campaigns planning and meeting so many more students. Big thanks to everyone who voted, it really does mean a lot.” Part Time Officers are a crucial part of the Students’ Union, as they support and represent students while working closely with the Welfare and Equality officer. Additionally, part time officers sit and vote on Student Council meetings.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Courier 1300 by The Courier Online - Issuu