Lucinda has been heavily involved with the Union whilst at Lancaster University, which has formed her motivations for running for VP Education. She believes her experience as the disabilities PTO was valuable, but there was limitations in what she could do in a part-time role. The issue of accessibility is her passion and she wishes to bring it to the sphere of education, in order to consequently improve the quality of education for all.
“I currently think there is a major issue around the image of the Union and communication”, argues Lucinda. She admits she was not greatly aware of the Union in here first year, so has seen the issue from both sides. During her time as a PTO, she worked with the SU President and VP Education to assess where the problems with communication were. Lucinda would seek to implement new mediums of communication, for example, using WeChat to target Chinese students, following the success of its use with County’s JCR.
To ensure student voices are heard, Lucinda would continue to promote academic reps, as the main channel for educational problems. He would also continue the FTO office hour system held in an accessible venue. She would bring a proactive approach to this, in “opening up and actually showing that [she] is interested in what is wrong”- aiming to find the root cause of issues with education at the University.
When asked about the main student worries concerning education, Lucinda talks about the issue of value for money, especially after last year’s strikes. Though, she admits her manifesto contains nothing to address this, since it’s “more of a wider problem”. However, a manifesto point she is very passionate about is improving library provisions, by bringing in a more diverse range of resources, and she would speak to departments to reflect this within degree courses.
Concerning the worrying rise of student fees, Lucinda states she would fight against this issue in the academic boards, and she would put a policy in place within the Union to campaign against any further fee increases. She would also run an awareness campaign to show students that debt “is not a big black hole”, since students are not fully aware of how the repayment process works; Lucinda believes it is no longer a “life-long debt”.
One of her main manifesto point surrounds the introduction of off-campus study space. She believes this would improve accessibility and lead to fewer issues with buses. Lucinda would like to extend the space in The Storey, so it becomes a study space for undergraduates also.
Finally, when asked if the current academic rep system is underpromoted and underutilised, Lucinda denied that it is. She believes it is a “continue rather than change” exercise, by carrying on its promotion through hoodies, the Alexandra Square big screen, and through departmental mailing lists.
Trivia: Lucinda could name all 4 educational faculties
