Felix Interviews Deputy President (F&S) Candidate: Elizabeth Campbell

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What made you run for this position?

In talking to friends on committees I realise that monetary issues and perceived fairness of allocated funds are a major point of contention among clubs. I’ve been chairing the skating society and have realised how much access to and understanding of budgets affects the success of a society. I feel that I can implement the most positive change to the way the union is run in this role.

What is the main change you would like to implement if elected?

I would reform the way that tour funding is done. Societies must book their tour before applying for the funding, and are later allocated an unknown percentage of their travel costs when all of the applications are in. I understand that this appears to be a fair way of allocating funds, but I think that the fact that the amount of money issued is an unknown until quite late in the tour planning process puts off some potential tour organisers. I would like the amount of money available for a club’s tour to be a known amount much earlier in the process, to make ticket prices/ activity planning easier, and to enable information to be given to club members earlier.

What is your favourite thing about Imperial?

By far the huge variety of clubs and societies and the awesome opportunities they’ve given me. I was never a sporty person at high school, and joining teams and competing internationally has given me a love of sport which will be with me forever! I’m very grateful for that.

What is the biggest challenge you foresee in the next year?

Balancing idealism and realism. I’m aware that the money available to the union is finite, and the amount I would like to give to societies is infinite, but I think I have the logical and mathematical capabilities to both improve the allocation of funds around the union and remain sensible about what cannot be achieved.

How exactly do you plan to “maximise” the amount of money available to societies?

As a union we have to be careful not to show favouritism to any societies. As a committee member to a couple of fairly niche clubs, I realise that sometimes it simply isn’t possible to become the financial behemoths that some of the very large societies are able to be. By encouraging societies to fundraise and/or seek outside sponsorship I’m sure it will be possible that societies’ activities aren’t limited by lack of funds. Of course every budgeting plan involves sorting the wheat from the chaff, but I plan to turn a critical eye to the union’s budget and streamline unnecessary expenditure so that every penny possible can go to the clubs and societies, which I believe should be our focal point.

What sort of compromise do you think can be made to justify a “small club” renting out a bar that has considerable overheads that have to be met to make it financially viable to open it in the first place?

I think a “matching” service between societies who wish to use spaces such as metric or the union bars could be very successful. If a club can’t afford the space alone, would they be willing to share the space with another club doing a similar type of event? Can the union facilitate these matches? Discussion is necessary between bar staff and club committees which I don’t believe is happening right now. For example, could clubs necessary to have more than one bartender at a small event, could they offer to clean the room after the event, and other things that would drive overheads down.

How do you plan to make sure that the bar “remains a pleasant space?”

I’ve noticed that stewards are no longer hired for large events in union spaces. I think that stewards played a vital role in ensuring safety, cleanliness and managing the general atmosphere of events in the union. I think that bringing back a small number of stewards to union events would improve relations between students and union staff by bridging the gap between the two. I would also like there to be more training for bar staff to speed up serving times.