‘The main reason I am running is my experience on the JCRs’. Hannah Prydderch is a former President of Cartmel JCR and NUS delegate. She is running for the role of Vice President Union Development. The VPUD is responsible for the Union’s commercial services such as Central, Living, and The Sugarhouse, and is also responsible for the development of the Union and working with JCRs.
‘ I found as Cartmel Pres that a lot of the time we didn’t get the support we needed and a lot of the JCRs felt especially in the smaller colleges that we were getting ignored.’ ‘I want to change some issues that existed when I was President and make sure that the JCR’s are supported and we grow democracy in the Union and make students relate to the Union more’. Her main problem with the Union is its attitude towards the JCR’s, believing they need more help and support. ‘I know when I underwent the training it was one day and didn’t really do that much, you basically learnt general things about the Student’s Union and not how to do your job’. ‘I think there is a long way to go before JCR’s feel comfortable and have the support that they need.’
To attempt to reach out to JCR’s she says ’If I were elected I wouldn’t come into post until July but I would want to get to know the JCRs before then’. ‘I would like to go on a weekly basis to see the JCRs and ask for their minutes so I’m well informed about what their plans are’. ‘I also want to look at reviewing when the elections are held because I’ve heard a lot of students disliking how the two elections are separate because it looks like the JCRs are second to the FTOs . I want to consider having the elections on the same day so it is a big celebration of democracy.’
In order to make the Union more transparent she wants to post minutes of meetings because she says it is a bit secretive at the moment. ‘I want to hold more public meetings like how MPs do their surgeries, I know the current FTOs do office hours but they are often in the same place. I want to go to each of the different colleges each week.’ ‘I also want to publish weekly reports of what the FTOs are doing, and look at having FTO Facebook pages rather than just the individual Union page.’
When asked about her skills she said leadership was her biggest skill, as well as negotiation skills from being a Law student, and being an NUS delegate. Hannah did however fail to mention what she ideas she had in regards to the Union’s commercial services such as what to do with The Sugarhouse on a Saturday now that it is no longer open in the evening.
In the trivia question Hannah managed to name 7 out of 9 college Presidents.
