After leading LUDans through a hugely successful year, President Emily Pollitt believes that she has the necessary abilities and skills to become a successful Activities VP. Having been a society President, as well as Furness Netball B’s captain, Pollitt believes that “sports teams, societies, and big events are integral to a fantastic student experience.” She sees the VP for Activities role as integral to that experience, and described herself as “determined to make the positive changes needed to ensure that we [LUSU] give students the greatest possible time at university.”
Pollitt draws upon her experiences with sport and dance, as well as being an Activities CCO, saying that these have allowed her to “see first-hand the work done by the Activities office.” This experience has allowed Pollitt to step back and approach the VP position with her own goals in mind; “I have experienced both positive and negative aspects of sports and societies at Lancaster, and understand the changes that need to be made to help all of our sports clubs and societies.”
With Roses being the key event in any Activities VP calendar, Pollitt once again draws upon experience, particularly her role as CCO, which she claims has allowed her to “work closely with the current VP Activities on a number of projects.” This has also seen her sit as a member of the Roses Executive, which has given her insight into the organisation that goes into the tournament, which she emphasis again as “a cherished part of our student life.” Pollitt believe that her past experiences in organising society events will aid her in the potential planning of this massive event. She also expressed desire to make the planning of the next home Roses a far more integrated affair, with input from various societies as well as sports teams.
When asked about the expanded remit for Activities, to include the organising and running of events such as Campus fest and the Christmas Market, Pollitt was eager to point out her enthusiasm for the roles new responsibilities. “rather than feel daunted by the larger remit,” she told SCAN, “I can see how the various aspects can work together to create events that have more student input, and clubs and societies that feel equally valued.”
One aspect of the Lancaster experience that Pollitt is especially keen to work on is inter-college sport, especially the Carter Shield. Although an eager fan of what the Carter Shield represents, Pollitt believes that it “doesn’t achieve what it should.” In response to this, Pollitt went on to outline various restructures, which if elected, she would like to implement upon the campus wide competition. These included the integration of better funding, bigger events in the calendar, as well as the possibility of moving a large portion of the competition to the summer term, with the purpose of providing, as Pollitt says, “a respite from revision and exams whilst maintaining the friendly college rivalry that can inspire people to take part in inter college sport.”
