Samyukta Vidyashankar analyses Amy Briggs’ manifesto for GUU President following their interview.
Amy Briggs is a third-year student Chemistry student who has recently been elected as President of the Glasgow University Union (GUU). She won uncontested which is unusual when it comes to elections at the GUU. Regardless, with two years of experience as PSM, Amy is optimistic about the future of the union.
When asked whether the lack of candidates for election at the GUU being alarmingly low was a cause for worry, Amy responded by saying that in normal circumstances, many first or second years would be involved in the Union either through debating or the many socials and quizzes held in the building. Amy went on to mention that due to the pandemic a lot of events were unable to take place, hence the lack of participation.
Her manifesto was not published on any social media platform due to the position being uncontested. When enquired, Amy was swift in responding with her 200-word manifesto. Her manifesto reflects her passion and enthusiasm towards making the union a safer and inclusive space for all.
In the interview, Amy emphasized on the importance of giving board members proper training and aims to introduce them to unconscious bias training which she hopes will result in the union being completely intolerant to any type of racist behavior.
When challenged about her plan to launch a sustainable strategy for the union to be carbon neutral by 2025, Amy was quite transparent with this ambitious aim. She recognizes that she may fall short of this goal, but reminds us that even if that were the case, she would still be well on par with the University’s goals. Amy is persistent and believes that being ambitious and setting a target will allow her to achieve more than what she planned for.
Amy envisions the GUU to be a sustainable and safe environment during her presidency and offers an extensive plan for the future of the union that is both practical and rational.
You can watch Samyukta’s interview with Amy here. Amy’s full manifesto is available here.
You can find more about GUU’s elections here.
