Written by Ann Vu
With the voting period for the annual LSESU Election commencing at 9am on 18th March to 4pm on 19th March, the LSESU held a Candidate Question Time for the roles of four full-time Sabbatical Officers: General Secretary, Activities and Communities Officer, Education Officer, and Welfare and Liberation Officer.
The General Secretary leads the Student Union and is responsible for representing the student body and acting as the primary liaison between the LSE and the Student Union. This year’s Question Time for the position was joined by Christy Horgan and Tito Molokwu.
Re-running for the position as the current LSESU General Secretary, Tito emphasised that she has the knowledge and experience to truly transform the LSE to meet her pledges in ending bureaucracy, increasing efficiency in providing support to all students, and increasing transparency of the SU. She hopes to mobilise students and lead campaigns tackling systemic “wicked problems” such as divestment and decolonising the curriculum.
Amidst Christy Horgan’s comedic run for the General Secretary position with proposals such as banning eye contact at the LSE Library stairs and the “Kramer plan” to build an overpass between Sway and the Marshall Building,. He pointed to the issues of wheelchair accessibility on campus, and the potential that people with disabilities are being pushed towards the High Holborn accommodation as reasons for his campaign.
Prakriti Dhakal is also running as a candidate for the position of General Secretary.
The Activities and Communities Officer helps create and sustain the LSE community, which involves supporting campaign groups, helping develop sports clubs, societies, and organising events. Sachin Bhopal-Myers joined this year’s Question Time, re-asserting his pledges for “making activities work for you”, empowering clubs and societies, and “stamping out” problems and discrimination that divides the LSE community while recognising the distinctions between controversial and hate speech. He also highlighted the need to consult with and recognise student leaders to represent a diverse student body.
Vishal Nath is also running for the position of Activities and Communities Officer.
The Education Officer is responsible for leading change in teaching and learning within LSE. Candidates joining this year’s Question Time for the position include Chidinma Onyebu, Moe Cherry, Nooralhoda Tillaih, Rachit T.
Chidinma Onyebu emphasised the necessity to share the burden of education across students, the academic team and departments, and from all resources made available by LSE. She hopes to address departmental disparities and the racial attainment gap, enhance career support, and see the effective provision of resources and implementation of academic accommodations as the top priority for an Education Officer.
Moe Cherry re-asserted his pledges to expand career opportunities, improve study spaces, ensure the affordability of food on campus, and enhance academic feedback while stressing the importance of inclusivity that underscores all of these policy proposals. He sees the discrepancy between the time students have available and the opportunities LSE offers as one of the biggest issues impacting students’ experiences and hopes to address it through a curated centralised system.
Nooralhoda Tillaih emphasised her aims to decolonise learning by diversifying the Eurocentric curriculum, addressing departmental disparities, and enhancing student support and access, including for graduate teaching assistants. She pointed to the wide resource availability and opportunities to engage with local and wider communities as reasons towards improving access to higher education.
Rachit T called for diversifying the curriculum, ensuring students’ ability to dictate what they learn in classrooms, improving the assessment system, and providing more career opportunities as a tool not only for employment but also liberation. He also hopes to create more interaction between students as he sees that students are able to learn more from peers than teachers.
Debbie Afflu is also running for the position of Education Officer. Although she did not attend Question Time, her manifesto pledges to decolonise the curriculum, create equal opportunities for all, create a bias-free environment, and reduce workloads for students.
The Welfare and Liberation Officer is responsible for leading initiatives that advance and support student welfare, particularly for those marginalised within their education experience and across wider society. Candidates for the position joining Question Time included Isabel Howe and Zoë Mann.
Isabel Howe emphasised her pledge to humanise welfare processes to ensure the campus is a safe space by reforming reporting processes and strengthening networks and outreach for student support. She also hopes to address attainment gaps and harness the fundamentals of well-being. To her, liberation is understood in terms of hope, and she wants to address it within interpersonal interactions and structures and by ensuring resource accessibility.
Zoë Mann looks to make campus a safe space by creating solidarity spaces, as well as providing practical resources such as legal signposting and counselling. She also pledges to develop food programs and deals. She sees liberation as enabling marginalised students to feel empowered, as a collective act, and listening and cooperating to make tangible change.
Saira Ghani is also running for the position of Welfare and Liberation Officer as part of the Student Alliance ‘For Change, For Real’, although she didn’t attend Question Time. Some key aims in her manifesto include expanding support for accommodation and financial hardship.
This upcoming election will also determine the representatives for the Democracy Committee, Member of Trustee Board, and Part-time Officers, including the Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic Officer, Ethics and Sustainability Adviser, Class Liberation Officer, International Students’ Officer, Neurodivergent and Disabled Students’ Officer, LGBTQ+ Officer, Women’s Officer.
A full list of the candidates and their complete manifestos are available on the LSESU website. Voting will be both online and in on-campus voting booths.
