News Editor
Manifesto Analysis
Hannah-May Todd’s manifesto offers a mixture of annual unsolved problems and popular new ideas.
Todd’s proposal of a 24-hour access study zone is ambitious, yet her investigation on the matter has proven that it may in fact be feasible. This zone would cater to those with atypical schedules and benefit many students if it was actually put in place. She also aims to continue the past work of her predecessors by pushing for more accessible feedback for students and regularly promoting underused study spaces around campus to prevent saturation of the library during exam leave, although this promotion does come around every year, with unproven results.
A popular topic on campus is the idea of lecture recordings for all courses. In her manifesto, Todd does not explicitly state that she intends to make this happen, but she aims to hold workshops and collate a report for members of staff on why lecture recordings are helpful. Arguably, the majority of staff are engaged and aware as to why students want lectures to be filmed and these workshops, while well-intentioned, may end up being redundant. Students at the University of Glasgow have demonstrated that they need lecture recordings and if that is the case, a stronger stance must therefore be taken on that issue.
Todd’s idea to address the Moodle interface is a welcome one, as a complaint common among students around September is the overly-complicated enrollment system on My Campus. Formulating a clearer and more concise enrollment procedure is key and will be well received by the student body if it were to come about.
Todd did not address the late publication of the exam timetable in her manifesto as a priority which is questionable as, year-on-year, this remains a relevant concern for a large division of the student body. Although this is now an annual problem for VPs for Education, the lingering issue should perhaps be prioritised for it to be finally amended.
Todd is a strong candidate with experience in addressing problems in higher education on the SRC. Her ideas are evidently quite viable and she is aware of how to go about addressing the priority issues that she has pinpointed in her manifesto.
