STUDENT TRUSTEE

Candidate Handbook

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 Contents
Be part of something great...
3. Introduction
5. Important dates
6. Message from the SU President
7. What positions are available?
9. Campaigning and manifestos
11. The rules
15. Nomination form
16. Declaration of interest form
19. Equality and diversity form
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Introduction
What is this pack for?
This pack is a guide for people interested in running in the Student Trustee
elections. It should give you everything that you need to be a candidate,
including information about the positions and how to nominate yourself.
This nomination pack is for elections taking
place on 13th & 14th November 2019.
To nominate yourself, fill in the online form at
www.uwlsu.com/yourvoice/elections. You can also fill in the form at the end
of this pack, print it out and hand it in at the SU Reception at the St Mary’s
Road campus or email it to su.elections@uwl.ac.uk .
What are elections?
UWLSU is run by students for students. Every year, we have elections to
determine which students lead the Students’ Union and represent student
views.
 Continued...

You have the opportunity to vote in every single one of these elections. This
Important dates
is where you use your power as a member of the Students’ Union to choose
the people who you think represent you the best. You could even choose to
stand for one of these positions – elections are open to all students at UWL. Key election dates...

Eligibility to run
Nominations opening date Thursday 24th October 2019

2PM
UWLSU members, as defined by the UWLSU constitution, are eligible to
Tuesday 5th November 2019
run in the elections, including Further Education and International students. Nominations closing date
There will be three eligibility checks - first once nominations are submitted, 4PM
again if you are elected and finally at the start of your term in office. You
“How to win your election” Wednesday 6th November 2019
have to be a UWLSU member throughout all checks. If you are worried
training session
about your UWLSU membership status, you are obliged to tell us - failure to 11AM
do so could be a breach of rules. Students running for Student Trurstee will
Thursday 7th November 2019
also be subject to eligibility checks for becoming a charity trustee. “How to win your election”
training session 11AM
If in doubt, write to su.elections@uwl.ac.uk
Monday 11th November 2019
Manifesto and publicity
final deadline 4PM
Publicity collection Wednesday 13th November 2019

10AM
Wednesday 13th November 2019
Voting opening date
12PM
Thursday 14th November 2019
Voting closing date
4PM
Thursday 14th November 2019
Complaints and expenses
final deadline 4PM

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 Message from the
SU President
Jacob Pepper, UWLSU President
Hey!
I genuinely believe that UWL students are special. We come from
different backgrounds, different countries and have lived varied
experiences. The opportunity that we get to learn from people that are
different to us is what makes us stand out from many other universities
across the country. It gives us a well rounded perspective that makes
our role nationally, so important.
Running in the election this November will give you the opportunity
to represent your peers on the Trustee Board, the Union’s most
powerful committee. It will also give you the opportunity to hop out of
your comfort zone and have a pop at campaigning in a really lovely
environment. Good luck and give it your best!”
Jacob Pepper
UWLSU President
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What positions are
available?
Student Trustee
Every year, two students are elected to sit on the UWLSU trustee board.
They lead and influence the direction of Student Union.
As a student trustee you will have roughly about seven meetings or
activities a year. You can hold this position for as long as you are a student
here at UWL, to a maximum of two years. You have to be a current student
at UWL during the elections. You’ll also have to be eligible to be a charity
trustee,
The trustee positions are key decision makers in the students’ union. They
form part of the trustee board, which scrutinises how the organisation is run
and makes key strategic decisions on the future of the students’ union. Not
only that, they ensure that the students’ union follow the correct financial
procedures.
This is your opportunity to enhance the experience of future students.
 Student Trustee
Trustee eligibility and responsibility Campaigning and
Manifestos
Once elected, you will be required to make a charity trustee
decleration that you:
Are willing to act as a trustee of the organisation named above

Understand your organisation’s purposes (objects) and rules set out in its
governing document
Are not prevented from acting as a trustee because you:
Have an unspent conviction for one or more of the offences
Have an IVA, debt relief order and/or a bankruptcy order
Have been removed as a trustee in England, Scotland or Wales (by
the Charity Commission or Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator)
Have been removed from being in the management or control of any
body in Scotland (under relevant legislation)
Have been disqualified by the Charity Commission
Are a disqualified company director
Are a designated person for the purposes of anti-terrorism legislation
Are on the sex offenders register
Have been found in contempt of court for making (or causing to be emailing su.elections@uwl.ac.uk or calling 020 8231 2276. You wil recieve
made) a false statement
Campaigning
“How to win your election!” training session
Wednesday 6th November SMR SU Conference Room and
Thursday 7th November Paragon SU Conference Room
Time: 11am
In this session you will gain skills and knowledge on how to win an election.
You will learn about the role you are nominating yourself for and you will learn
about what happens if you are elected. This session will be free, interactive
and helpful.
It is mandatory for all candidates to attend this training session as it will
give you guidance on how to run your campaign, how to win your elections
and it will cover all of the rules of the election you are running in.
Please confirm on the nomination form that you can attend this training
session. If you cannot attend this training session, please let us know by
further training once elected to prepare you for your trustee role.

Have been found guilty of disobedience to an order or direction of the

Charity Commission

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 Manifestos

When writing your manifesto make it one side of A4, but also think about
The Rules
what qualities you would bring to the role and why you’d be a good fit for
it. Think about your stances on different issues like education and social
policy, and changes you’d like to see at UWL and in the Students’ Union.
Manifestos are about a page in length and aim to convince students to vote
for you – but make it realistic!
Keeping elections fair...

Keeping elections fair is our top priority, and these rules are designed to
ensure that no candidates get an unfair advantage and that voters have
an equal opportunity to elect their representatives. We’ve done our best
to make sure there’s no reason for anybody to feel discouraged from
participating in the elections.

Breaking a rule is very serious – if any of these rules are broken, the
Returning Officer and Deputy Returning Officer will act to ensure the
elections are fair, which can include disqualifying candidates or stopping
the election. We don’t want this to happen – please follow these rules, and
remember that winners have positive attitudes!

Please note, that this list of rules is not exhaustive, and it will be up to the
Returning Officer and Deputy Returning Officer to decide if candidates or
campaign teams have broken rules. Please make sure you campaign within
the spirit of these rules:

When & where you can campaign

You can only campaign between

12pm Wednesday 13th November and 4pm Thursday 14th November
2019.
No campaigning inside voting zones, in the library or in Villiers House. The
SU office is a campaign free zone, however the SU conference room at SMR
is campaign HQ where the returning officer will be based and you can pick up
your material.

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 Access to resources must be
Be considerate when asking people to
open to all
vote for you and respect their choices

- For example, any student who is a member of a student group (such as

Always remember to:
a sports team or society) must have fair and open access to the student
group’s resources to use for campaigning, including Whatsapp and
- Let them vote in peace and decide for themselves.
Facebook groups.
- Don’t vote on their behalf.
- Only UWLSU members (UWL students and current elected sabbatical
- Don’t campaign to a voter who is in the voting area (note that being officers) are allowed to participate in the elections as candidates or
inside the voting area may be considered campaigning activity). campaigners. Candidates may decide to support each other’s campaigns
- Don’t campaign to students who are using a computer or tablet device. and run as a ‘slate’ (a team). You may not have non-members (anybody
who is not a current UWL student or sabbatical officer) on your campaign
- Don’t campaign to students who are voting on their phones. team.
You may use your connections through student groups to support your
- You may use social networks such as Facebook and Whatsapp groups to
campaign, but you and your campaign team members cannot use any
ask for support with your campaign or for votes, but respect the choice of all
committee positions or other positions of power to pressure students into voting
students to not support you or vote for you.
for you.
For example, you can message a Facebook group with a campaigning
message. However, if you are the President, a committee member or otherwise
have a position of power within the student group, you can’t command other Rules apply to campaign teams, too!
students in the group to campaign for you or vote for you.

- A list must be provided stating the names of all campaign members that
Be considerate of other candidates will be taking part in the elections. If anybody acting on behalf of your
campaign breaks a rule it means you have broken a rule.
Always remember to: - You are responsible for making sure your team understand and follow the
- Respect their campaign materials rules. Campaign teams should attend training from the Deputy Returning
Officer, and if you need further support with this then you should ask the
- Don’t make it personal Deputy Returning Officer for help at the earliest opportunity.
- Bullying & Harrassment are unacceptable
Bye-Laws
Stick to the budget (£15)
- UWLSU Elections are reference in the UWLSU Bye-Laws and all rules
- Keep your receipts - you’ll need to hand them in by
from the Bye-Laws apply. Bye-Laws can be found online at uwlsu.com/
4pm on Weds 14th November.
about/find-us/
- If all candidates could get a material for free, it doesn’t cost you
anything.
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 University Rules and Regulations
and the law apply, too!
- Please ensure that you campaign within the university’s rules and
regulations and that how you and your team campaigns is not illegal.
- Be aware that the university do not want any posters or helium balloons in
the new Heartspace on campus. (Posters may be put up on pin up boards)
Voting will be by alternative vote
- This means voters will number their candidates by order of preference,
and candidates will need to meet the quota to win. For more information,
please visit https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems/types-of-
Returning Officer
- Peter Robertson from the National Union of Students is the Returning
Officer in charge of making sure the election is fair, so their say will be
final. Matthew Myles-Brown is our Head of Membership and Deputy
Returning Officer, so will be acting on NUS’ behalf in the first instance.
Complaints
- If you are worried that a rule has been broken by another candidate,
email su.elections@uwl.ac.uk with the details of your complaint and you
will receive a reply within 24 hours.
For complaints about the election, the deadline is 4pm on Wednesday
14th November. Any requests for a re-count must be submitted within 24
hours of the verbal announcement.
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Things that you don’t need to submit
receipts for...
- We want you to be able to spread the word about your campaign to
the best of your ability. So for the following items, which we feel no
candidates would have trouble accessing in reasonable quantities,
we won’t need you to submit receipts and they won’t form part of your
budget.
- Cardboard, Paper, Paint
- Sheets (e.g. bed sheets), String, Sticky tape (not to be used on the
walls!)
- Cable ties, Glue (not to be used on the walls!), Pens
- Blu Tack, Scissors, Paintbrushes
- 4 T-shirts for your campaign team
Any other reasonable craft materials (if in doubt, ask!)
How you can campaign
- No balloons on campus at all.
- Under no circumstances are posters, stickers or anything allowed on the
walls or floors. You can campaign there, but you need to keep the space
new and fresh. You can put posters on the SU display boards we will have
there.
- Do not interrupt a class with campaigning. You can ask the teacher if you
can speak for 30 seconds at the beginning of classes. If the teacher says
no, you must not campaign to that class.
- Do not put campaign material on fire exits, fire extinguishers or anything
that puts students’ safety at risk.
- Nothing permanent can be used. For example you cannot glue posters to
the wall, or put anything up that leaves a mark.
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 I have read the nominations pack
Nomination Form for Student Trustee
I confirm that I have read the nominations pack

Full name I have filled out all sections of this form

I confirm that I have filled out all sections of this form

Student number

I can attend candidate training on 06/11 or 07/11

UWL student email

YES on the 06/11/2019

Alternative email
YES on the 07/11/2019

Mobile phone number NO (please email su.elections@uwl.ac.uk immediately)

Course name

Year of study (tick)

1st year undergraduate Foundation Year

2nd year undergraduate Masters

3rd year undergraduate PhD

4th year undergraduate FE Signature

Position Nominating for:

Print name
Student Ttustee

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 Declaration of Equality and
Interest Form Diversity Form
Information regarding the form Information regarding the form

Before you run for election, we need to know about any interests you have.
Telling us won’t stop you from running in election or put you at any
disadvantage. Actually, we want to help you win your election within the
rules, so we want to make sure you understand how the rules apply to
your interests.
I am involved in/with/run...
Please be aware that “involved in/with” can mean employment, directorship,
committee positions, personal relationships, business relationships or any
type of membership.
UWL Local or national government
UWLSU is committed to ensuring that its services are accessible to
everyone regardless of race, gender, ability, religion, sexual orientation
or age. The information you give on this form will help us comply with our
policy of ensuring equality in our services to you.
We recognise that some people may regard some of this information as
personal and we have, therefore, included an option in most questions for
‘prefer not to say’. You do not have to complete all of this form but it will help
us improve our services if you can complete as much as possible and
return the form.
All information UWLSU collects around equality and diversity will be treated
confidentially in accordance with the Data Protection Act and will be stored
on the UWLSU database. Access to this information will be restricted to
staff involved in the processing and monitoring of this data. It will be used to
provide statistical information only.

Please give your consent below for your information to be stored and used
UWLSU UWLSU sports club or society
in this way.
NUS Celebrity or well-known person

Any other organisation or individual that may be relevant to

Signature
students (e.g. an events company)

If you have ticked one or more boxes, please given details:

Print name

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 Mental health condition, such as depression or
A. Your age
schizophrenia

What is your date of birth? Learning disability/difficulty, such as Down’s syndrome

or dyslexia or a cognitive impairment such as autistic
spectrum disorder
DD/MM/YYYY Prefer not to say
Long-standing illness or health condition, such as cancer,
HIV, diabetes, chronic heart disease or epilepsy
B. Your disability
Other (please specify below)
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) defines a person as disabled if
they have a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long
term effect (i.e. has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months) on the
person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Do you consider yourself to have a disability C. Ethnicity

according to the terms given in the DDA?
What is your ethnic group?
Yes No Prefer not to say

These are based on the Census 2001 categories and are listed alphabetically.
If you have answered yes, please indicate the disability/disabilities that
apply to you. If your disability does not fit any of these types, please mark Asian, Asian British, Asian English, Asian Scottish, Asian Welsh or
“Other” and specify. Asian Irish

Physical/mobility impairment, such as a difficulty using Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi

your arms or mobility issues which require you to use a
Other Asian Background
wheelchair or crutches

Visual impairment, such as being blind or having a serious Black, Black British, Black English, Black Scottish, Black Welsh or
visual impairment Black Irish

Hearing impairment, such as being deaf or having a Caribbean African

serious hearing impairment
Other Black Background
Please continue on the next page...

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 Chinese, Chinese British, Chinese English, Chinese Scottish, Chinese Do you identify as transgender?
Welsh or Chinese Irish
For the purpose of this question “transgender” is defined as an individual who
identifies as a gender different to that which they were assigned at birth.
Chinese Other Chinese Background
Yes No Prefer not to say
Mixed

White & Black African White & Black Caribbean

E. Your religion or belief

White & Asian Other Mixed Background Buddhism Christianity Hinduism

Other Judaism Islam No religion

Other (please state..............................................................) Sikhism Other Prefer not to say

Prefer not to say If you have ticked “other” please specify below:

White

White - English White - Welsh F. Your sexual orientation

White - British White - Irish Bi-sexual Gay man Other

White - Scottish White - European Heterosexual Gay woman Prefer not to say

White Non-European Other White Background If you have ticked “other” please specify if you wish:

D. Your sex G. Student status

What is your sex? FE HE Postgraduate Apprentceship

Male Female Non-Binary H. Fee status

Prefer not to say Home EU International

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