(L-R) Matt Robinson, Amy Kittle, Danny Campbell, Jordan Stephen, Lewis Bartlett, Sarah-Beth Cooper and Ellis Michaels

By Helena Tomlinson
Photographs by Emma Simpson

On Thursday 19th March, the results from the strongly contested Student’s Union elections were announced at Manchester Metropolitan University’s (MMU) new Students’ Union building. ‘All-In’ had a resounding success across the board winning all the positions that were up for grabs. Jordan Stephen, outgoing Vice President (Cheshire), led the group to victory and is set to take over as Student Union President in July.

Jordan Stephen, President

Sarah-Beth Cooper and Danny Campbell also secured re-election as Community Officer and Activities Officer (Manchester). Both have been in their role for a year and will continue until the end of the next academic year.

Humanity Hallows caught up with Sarah-Beth and asked what she enjoyed most about her role and why she wanted to continue doing it. She said, “I think what’s most enjoyable is the experience of working within so many different areas. If I have to choose one, I definitely enjoyed working on the Sustainable Futures Fair and with the student societies that were involved! It was really important to me to have this activity-filled event in The Union, for people to come along and share experiences with sustainable communities, and simply to find out what is going on in Manchester! So many more events like this should take place and it would be great for our students to be able to share what their interests have inspired them to become active in doing!”

When asked about her plans for the next term she added, “My next term will be very much focused on getting out there and talking to students about the project ideas that are upcoming, their experiences of the year so far and how they see their community at MMU. So many students will have different ideas about what community means for them, but sometimes they don’t know who else is interested or even doing things in that area. If you’d like to find out more just come in to The Union and chat to me!”

The returning trio will be joined by new additions Ellis Michaels (Vice President), Amy Kittle (Education Officer) and Lewis Bartlett (Activities Officer, Cheshire). They fought off opposition from the 41 candidates to secure their roles as the 2015/16 Student Officers.

There was a huge twitter campaign by the Student’s Union to promote voting in the election, along with ‘All-In’s twitter campaign, which really engaged students in participating.

Sarah-Beth Cooper, Community Officer

Outgoing Union President, Mike Palmer will be stepping down along with Jennifer Adams, Becky Dunne who have worked at the union for the past two years as Education Officer and Activities Officer.

Humanity Hallows asked Mike Palmer if he was sad to leave his role as President and if he had any advice for the new President. He said, “I’m incredibly sad to be leaving such a wonderful organisation and people at a time when it is finally in a place it deserves to be and will hopefully continue to improve under new leadership. I think the new team have a lot to look forward to and with effectively four new people in roles, that will take time. However, they are joining the union at a time when there is more resources, more support and the chance to engage more students than ever before. My advice to Jordan is don’t be afraid. Sometimes you have to make a decision that will make you unpopular with a few but benefit many, so I guess always think about the bigger picture.”

For more information about The Union MMU and the new Student Officers of 2015/16 visit the website theunionmmu.org or follow them on twitter @TheUnionMMU @MMU_President @mmuc_vpcheshire @mmu_activities @mmuc_activities @mmu_community @mmu_education

Helena is her second year studying History and Politics. Follow her on Instagram @helenaftomo for fashion and beauty tips.