As part of our election series this year, we have created a rundown of all the key things you need to know about your candidates and potential SU officers for next year
Next up on the Bath Times election series, we will be looking at our community officer candidates and manifestos. Once again, voters are presented with a straight contest between two candidates for this role, so here is your breakdown.
Dhanishtha Upadhyay
A fourth-year Psychology student aiming to provide “Empowering, Ethical, Inclusive Representation”, Dhanishtha, the former committee member of the year in 23 –24. She emphasises her other committee experience and hopes that being Community Officer can allow her to make a meaningful impact.
Focusing on four key areas, Dhanishtha lays out her priorities. Firstly, accessibility and safeguarding by wanting to create a safe space for all students, particularly those who are underrepresented. Dhanishtha would do this by having clear ways to report accessibility issues and tracking of these issues, as well as supporting SUmmit with their transgender inclusive policy. Furthermore, she especially mentions that students seeking asylum are estranged or have financial difficulty.
Moving to the cost of living on campus, she proposes policies to reduce transport and food costs and expand options for students with dietary requirements. On sustainability and ethics, Dhanishtha would challenge Bath's partnerships with fossil fuel and arms companies. Additionally, she would give resources to student-led projects that help the environment.
Finally, then on representation there would be formal recognition of cultural and religious holidays and ways for celebration and representation. More student groups would also receive representation on Summit, particularly those based on faith and culture.
One significant oversight in Dhanishtha's manifesto is a lack of clear policy on student housing, which, in the cost-of-living crisis, presents one of the largest issues. However, aside from this, the manifesto presented is wide-ranging and has significant offerings, particularly for students from minority or religious backgrounds.
Tash Moscuzza
Tash currently serves as the welfare and inclusivity officer for football and has previously served as the social sec. These opportunities have shaped her experience at Bath, and now Tash states she wants to give back as Community Officer.
Her straight-to-the-point manifesto begins with affordability. Offering to price-lock £1.50 meals, secure more funding for the SU pantry, reduce the price of the munch box initiative and increase its visibility. Then, finally advocating for a SU-run space in the city with similar prices to campus.
On safety, Tash would tackle discrimination and harassment, particularly in nightlife. There would also be the introduction of “shag week” to promote information on healthy relationships and sexual health. A welfare officer position would also be made a compulsory role within student groups.
For accessibility, Tash has pledged to implement optional digitalised library cards and use student feedback to improve sensory rooms across campus. This is followed by housing pledges, improving support for students suffering issues. This would centre around weekly advice drop-ins and anonymous reporting of landlords.
Finally, on connectivity, there would be lobbying for improved buses with a focus on running the U4 later and matching the morning timetable more closely to sports training times. There would also be more promotion of charity events, making student group activities more visible.
While introducing a welfare officer to every society is a worthy goal, it must be considered that some smaller societies, at times, struggle to fill all their committees each year. Through adding another mandatory role, the effects on smaller societies must be considered and the strain it could put on them. On a more positive note, there are solid commitments on housing and the cost of living, two areas students are most worried about moving into the future.
These are both very strong candidates, but their pledges focus on different aspects, so it would be up to students which manifesto brings up points that they care about the most.