The Students’ Union’s (SU) annual election hustings took place on Friday night (21/02). Candidates for the six roles available gave speeches and answered audience questions as they competed for support ahead of polls opening on Monday.

The roles up for grabs are: SU president (Undergrad), SU president (Postgrad), University Councillor, vice-president for liberation and welfare, vice-president for student community and societies, and vice-president for education and widening participation.

This is the first election featuring the three vice-presidential roles. The SU’s recent restructure abolished the BME, women’s, and disability officers. The briefs of these three roles will now all fall under the new role of the vice-president for liberation and welfare.

Two candidates, Matthew Copeman and Nesar Rafiq, are standing to be the SU’s undergraduate president.

Rafiq, a part-time mature student, previously ran for the BME sabbatical officer position in 2023. In his manifesto, he focuses on fostering social responsibility and University transparency. Copeman is a Bio-Natsci at Fitzwilliam College, and aims to re-open the SU bar and make lecture recordings mandatory across subjects.

In response to a question on how they would hold the University to account over ethical and environmental issues, Copeman stressed the importance of “empowering societies like Cambridge for Palestine, because that is where the real change comes”.

Rafiq said that “the only problem we’ve [Cambridge] got – these people hide behind lawyers”. “Change is non-negotiable, and it will happen,” he added.

The postgrad president role is more heavily contested, with five people standing for the role: Ada Onuigbo-Nwadigo, Augustin Denis, Chloe Hawryluk, Jing Zhang, and Nowsha Farha.

Denis, a student member of the arms investment working group, stressed how “students are an afterthought” for people on the University Council, who are taken to be a ‘juvenile nuisance’ by academics and staff”. In their closing statement, they said that “The liberation roles are dead: Long live liberation”.

Ada Onuigbo-Nwadigo, an “AI enthusiast”, who is also a childrens’ book author, focused on accessibility, sustainability, inclusivity, and representation. She also touted surgeries or town halls as solutions to the SU’s long-running problem with poor student engagement, most often captured by low turnout at elections.

Chloe Hawryluk, an MPhil Sociology student and campaigner for Cambridge Climate Justice, echoed that position. She has campaigned on a platform of increasing access and representation for working class students at the University.

Nowsha Farha, the current women’s sabbatical officer, meanwhile, focused on welfare and sustainability. At the hustings she emphasised the “connections I have already built” in her time in office. Farha was elected in October last year to fill the women’s officer post after a resignation had left it vacant for six months.

Jing Zhang was unable to attend the hustings, and did not submit a pre-written speech. In her manifesto, she focuses on inclusivity, mental health, career prospects, and financial and housing support.

The position of University Councillor is also being contested by five candidates: Chalo Waya, Chang Liu, Charles Chao Rong Phua, Damsith Wimalasena, and Darragh O’Reilly.

Unlike other posts being filled at these elections, the University Councillor is not an SU officer, and does not need to intermit to take up the role if they are a student. The Councillor is charged with representing students on University committees, and is a trustee of the University.

During the hustings debate, Darragh O’Reilly, who studied at Trinity College, Dublin, said that he “helped build that infrastructure of a pro-peace campus. Trinity College, Dublin, unlike here, did divest [from Israeli companies]”.

The position of vice-president for student community and societies was also competitive, with six candidates standing for the role: Evan Scott, Kate Austin, Olivia Ledger, Olivia Kelly, Grace Brookes, and Serika Siriwardhana. The first three were able to attend the event in person, with Olivia Kelly and Grace Brookes sending in pre-written speeches.

This comes after four of the full-time sabbatical roles were filled in uncontested elections last year. SU officers have been keen to encourage students to run for roles, with Sarah Anderson, the incumbent undergraduate president, making a speech encouraging people to run at SU Council on Monday (17/02).

This increased competitiveness did not extend to the role of vice-president for education and widening participation, however, with Jessica Asiedu-Kwatchey being the only student to run. In her speeches, she discussed the culture of overwork at Cambridge, and stressed the importance of an “equal student experience for all”.

The theme of overwork was also picked up by candidates for other roles, with Izzy Wyatt, who is running to be vice-president for liberation and welfare also stressing it as one of her priorities. The other candidates for this role are Amelia Dubin, Melanie Benedict, and Oscar Griffin. In their speeches, many candidates praised current SU campaigns, and stressed the need to continue supporting them.

The hustings event was sparsely attended, with around 40 people in person (at least 15 of whom were candidates or current SU officials). The YouTube recording of the hustings has 212 views as of 7:45pm on Saturday.

Voting for the candidates begins at 9am on Monday 24 February, and will end at 5pm on Thursday 27. The results are set to be announced at 7pm on the Thursday in the SU Lounge.

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