As a new university year begins, the newly elected Guild Executive take their positions within the Executive Team. With less than a fortnight before Freshers’ Week kicks off Aspects was eager to hear their plans for the coming year and how they plan to make the Guild a better place…
Profile
Name: Colin Shaw
Guild Executive Title: President
Course: Computer Science
Year: Graduate
Contact: guild.president@aston.ac.uk
Colin - elected President following his enthusiastic campaign across the campus with the slogan 'Vote Irish Colin!' - is keen to make the Guild a better place for students. One of his priorities is to increase the level of feedback between the Guild and its students, enabling big changes to be made. Colin told Aspects, 'As a Student Governor, I sit on both the University Council and Senate. This is an excellent opportunity for me to voice the feedback and opinions of students on what could be changed and to offer suggestions for improvement.'
Profile
Name: Sarah Long
Guild Executive Title: Vice President Finance & Communications
Course: Accounting for Management
Year: Graduate
Contact: guild.treasurer@aston.ac.uk
Sarah plans to 'give the students the Guild that they want'. Responsible for the Guild website, Aston Times and event coordination for both freshers week and throughout the year, she plans to fill the year with a variety of events to suit all students. Sarah said, 'I want to help increase communication between the Guild and its students. I think it’s really important that the students are involved as much as possible for the Guild to be a success.'
Profile
Name: Rehana Yasin
Guild Executive Title: Vice President Education & Welfare
Course: Human Psychology
Year: Graduate
Contact: guild.welfare@aston.ac.uk
'Go Bananas, Vote for Rehana!' was the campaign slogan students remembered as they elected Rehana Yasin as Vice President Education & Welfare. The Psychology graduate is responsible for looking after relations between the students, the University and the Students’ Guild. This ranges from issues students may have with their course, to welfare issues such as housing, money, health and safety. Talking about her plans for the year, she said, 'I intend to run a number of campaigns across university to help increase awareness of a variety of issues. These include awareness about Lymphoma Cancer, drink and drugs issues, depression and sexual health awareness.'
Profile
Name: Luke Chadbourne
Guild Executive Title: Vice President Student Involvement
Course: Business Computing & IT
Year: Graduate
Contact: guild.activities@aston.ac.uk
Holding this role within the Guild for the second year running, Luke told Aspects, 'Since I am well experienced and familiar with the role already, I will be able to continue my efforts to aid student involvement. One of the main things students will notice this year is how the Guild has changed aesthetically.' He went on to explain, 'My main responsibilities are helping to coordinate all the sports clubs and societies and keep them running efficiently. I organise all weekly sports fixtures including transport and make sure students are getting the most they can from each club or society. With Aston scoring high in the academic league tables, we want to match this when it comes to the sports tables.' Unable to run for VPSI for a third year, Luke told us he is considering sports coaching as a future career.
Aspects wishes all of the Guild Executive the best of luck for the coming year and look forward to a newer, brighter Students' Guild!
Words by Munira Jasat
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