NEWS
23 MAR 2021 | EXEPOSÉ
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Margaroli wins first Zoom elections Pete Syme Deputy Editor
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ILY Margaroli was announced as 2021/22’s Guild President on Friday evening, beating second-place Lewis Martin by 675 votes. With the restrictions of the pandemic preventing the usual Forum Hill campaigns and in-person debates, turnout fell by one per cent as 4,744 Exeter students made their voices heard. Margaroli, the current Nightline President, addressed the reports of sexual assault on Streatham Campus in her speech: “In light of the news today, it’s clear that there are changes that need to be made. Right now, it’s important we look out for ourselves and our friends.” 3616 students voted for the role, with the preferential ballot system reaching six stages.
In light of the news today, it’s clear that there are changes that need to be made
Lily Margaroli, 21/22 Guild President
She also paid respect to her fellow candidates following a civil campaign: “Praise must go to every candidate the respect and compassion shown throughout this has been incredible and I hope that this precedent can be taken forward to years ahead.” A hate incident was filed with the police last year, following abuse towards candidates on anonymous confessions page Exefess. Marion Ojua will become the Guild’s first Black Sabbatical Officer, having won the support of 1,277 vot-
ers in the competition for VP Liberation & Equality. Her manifesto points include refining the process to report discrimination and sexual assault, as well as ensuring “funding and support for diversity and inclusion projects is continuous”. The position also saw the only instance of R.O.N. reaching the second stage. Next year’s Athletic Union President will be Lacrosse Captain Katy Dalglish, who won at the first stage of voting. She has pledged to work closely with the Equality, Diversion and Inclusion team, as well as “bridging the gap between BUCS and intramural teams”.
After numerous appearances in the national media, Students For Academic Mitigation co-founder Bella Enoizi was elected VP Education with the widest margin of any position at 1,672. “Students need to understand where to get support from and how to get the most out of their experience”, she told Exeposé. The VP Opportunities race was won by Drama student Izzy Harrison, whose pledges of diversity, safety and less bureaucracy proved to be popular with 1,376 voters. Her aims include shuttle buses at night and a “Night Walking Call Service” in collaboration with Nightline.
The winning College Officers are: Business: Prashant Nair; CLES: Manav Hartono; EMPS: Natalie Seal; Doctoral: Nadia Monaia; Humanities: Caroline Brodersen; Medicine & Health: Ferdinand Boucher and SSIS: Sho Taniyama. Exeter’s six NUS Delegates will be Penny Dinh, Scarlett Hilson, Nathaniel Hall, Willow Lloyd Payne, Zuza and Raitieli Cabebula. This year saw the Guild introduce incentives to encourage participation, with voters in with the chance of winning a Domino’s, Amazon or Deliveroo voucher. The first thousand were given a free sausage roll, but the higher offers of 25 Netflix subscriptions and ten
Airpods will go unclaimed. Current VP Activities Liv Harvey said of the results: “We are delighted with the results of Friday’s election and look forward to inviting a full-female officer team and our first Black VP Liberation and Equality Officer to lead the Students’ Guild next academic year. Each manifesto was written with care and compassion for our student community and we are so excited for the year ahead and to see what this incredible team do.” THE HISTORY OF ELECTIONS
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Over £750,000 distributed through Success For All Fund Emily Im News Editor
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ATA obtained using the Freedom of Information Act reveals that up to 15 January 2021, the University of Exeter had given out £757,000 to students via the Success For All Fund. The University has received 934 applications since the Fund’s official introduction on 2 September 2020. 639 applications have so far been paid and only 26 applications were rejected. The remaining applications are either awaiting assessment, require a response from students due to insufficient information or have been closed because of duplicate applications. The University did not reveal how much funding was currently available but stated that the majority of funding is taken from the University’s core
budget and the government has given around £348,000 towards hardship. An article published by the University on 1 February also shows that donations from Exeter alumni and gifts from Santander Universities UK contribute to the fund.
it completely saved me from having to drop out
Student
Emergency financial support, under the now-closed Emergency Assistance Fund, was initially made available last spring during the first UK lockdown. According to University emails sent in April 2020, 250 applications were received within the first three weeks of its announcement. £370,000 was given to students in the 19/20 academic year.
One student who applied to the Fund told Exeposé: “I applied for living costs as I’m on the minimum loan and struggled to find a job this year. I get no help from my parents so had to come up with £4000 to afford my rent and needed living costs above that. “Applying was very stressful and it took a long time to get a response. I’d say it took about two months. Every time I emailed about the application, I’d get an automatic reply. I later found out they had lost my application and only after Wellbeing looked into it for me did they realise this. It’s a bit annoying to apply for but it has made a huge difference to me. I think it’s plenty of support.” Another student said, “I applied for the living costs allowance and it took just under six weeks. The process was pretty smooth although there was initially some problem with the form as it
The Success For All Fund will remain permanent after the pandemic University Spokesperson
kept not working but they sorted it. It was just a tech error. “I think the Fund is amazing and it completely saved me from potentially having to drop out. I was over the moon with what the University did for me.” A spokesperson for the University said, ““So far this academic year we have given more than £1.13million to students and anticipate further applications for support over the remaining four months of the year. “The Success For All Fund will remain permanent after the pandemic as a one-stop shop for student hardship and other financial support. We remain
committed to supporting students in need, and their feedback shows the fund has been an important financial lifeline for them over the past year. “We encourage all students in need to apply. They are able to make multiple applications, but previous payments made during the same academic year may be taken into account when assessing new requests for funds.” Sunday Blake, Guild President, said, “Whilst we value the Success for All fund and its critical support for students during the pandemic, there is a wider concern nationally where the Government has not stepped up to distribute funds to HEPs. This week the Northern Ireland Assembly passed a motion to grant every full-time university student £500. “In Wales, students were given £40million in hardship - to put that into perspective, the same amount here, per Image: Harry Caton
