Emma Gowling and Dom Casoria are running as co-President for Grizedale College. Dom was unable to attend the interview, but in my interview with Emma, when asked why the pair were running for the position of President, she said that herself and Dom both had considerable experience on the Grizedale JCR having both held positions since their first year of university. Dom as Socials Officer and then Community Inclusion Officer and Emma as VP Welfare and then as General Secretary. She mentioned wanting to put their own ‘stamp’ on the college and make the university experience as fun for everyone as possible.
In terms of building on their experience on the Grizedale JCR, Emma says that between herself and Dom they have 4 years of experience, working closely with everyone on the JCR and thus this has given them a rapport with other members. She says, “we get on really well with everyone and everyone respects each other, which I think is imperative.”
In their manifesto, Dom and Emma clearly set out their aims for Grizedale College, including making sure GZ is as inclusive as it can be; bringing the fun back to the college; having regular events throughout the term and ensuring Freshers Week is enjoyable, regardless of the circumstances.
With regards to Welcome Week, Emma outlines the contingency plans herself and Dom have come up with should Welcome Week have to be conducted online. They want to make Welcome Week as inclusive as possible to include all students. Additionally, depending on the circumstances surrounding Covid-19, Emma outlines an idea for having a Freshers Weekend at the end of Michaelmas Term, should circumstances allow it. This would allow Freshers to still engage with the events they would usually be attending at the start of the term and give them a chance to enjoy themselves going into the Christmas break, Emma says.
There are also plans to host some outdoor events using the Grizedale Quad Space. Emma said this will hopefully be possible as the outdoor space can allow for events to still go ahead whilst also complying with social distancing measures.
Another focus Emma discusses is consolidating the team in the initial stages of the term. She wants to focus on ensuring the new JCR work well together and have the same core values going into the new academic year. Additionally, she realises that one of the important jobs of the President is to delegate to other team members in order to ensure the workload is shared equally and to ensure no-one gets overwhelmed.
Returning to Freshers Week, when asked for plans should Freshers Week remain online in the new academic year, Emma said that there were plans for many events to take place online. For instance, hosting regular weekly quizzes, including the Grizzle Quizzle, as well as online music events and DJ sets.
As Emma and Dom are running as co-Presidents who are also best friends, so naturally there will be a boundary between personal and professional conduct. When asked how she would maintain these personal and professional boundaries, Emma said that as herself and Dom have worked together for the past few years, the professional and personal relationship is something that has been established. She also said that the two complement each other as they work together so well as a result of their friendship.
