Siena Parker for Director of Representation

[sienaparker]

I am Siena Parker and I am running for DOR on Friday. Here are my policies in some detail..

THE LIBRARY
- It is looking very likely that the current redevelopment scheme will be shelved or postponed to the tune of several years.The last meeting of the board was in December; it is not March and I believe that this shows that this university does not see the library as a priority. It is fantastic that our union and our Bute have been updated, this now needs to happen for the library too to make it the pleasant working environment it should be and make it of a standard suited to a world class university.
- If elected DOR I want to pressurise the university into realising that redevelopment is necessary NEXT year. They need to finalise plans, allocate funding and review architects. I would also fight for the survival of the class libraries, which are under threat of closure next year due to funding issues; I see them as an integral and special part of St Andrews academia.
- I have the ability to motivate people, and want to start a petition for library redevelopment to be signed by the entire student body, and delivered to the Principal.

ACCOMMODATION
- The never ending high demand for housing in St Andrews means that with the redevelopment of Fife Park going ahead, affordable accommodation will be even more restricted than normal. In order to provide equal opportunities for everyone, from whatever background, to come to this university we need to provide cheap accommodation, there are no two ways about it
- The university needs to begin a long term strategy. The obvious solution may appear that the university needs to build new accommodation but not only is this unrealistic when there are so many other expensive redevelopment projects on the cards but it wouldn't actually solve the problem. It only makes financial sense to invest in building accommodation which will last for 30 years or more; and that is never going to be affordable.
- I think that whilst the situation is particularly bad in St Andrews mainly because we are such a small and relatively isolated town, by campaigning on a more national level to increase awareness of the problem in universities throughout the UK this will put more pressure on the university to commit to a long term strategy. I envisage this long term strategy to be the false deflation of one of the halls. This would mean for example that Andrew Melville would become much cheaper and ease the pressure on Albany Park.
- In order to do this I would want to work alongside existing student pressure groups such as Lower Rents Now and the SRC Accommodation Officers to get more students involved in these groups, more petitions, and more surveys to demonstrate to the university that this is an incredibly important issue and one which I believe every student feels very strongly about
- Alongside these more long term campaigns, I would take care of students needs in the here and now by introducing Accommodation Bursaries to target those who need it most.
- Review the private sector to make a more public system of landlord rating to encourage estate agents to take better care of their tenants

ACADEMIC SUPPORT
- Whilst the Teaching Awards introduced this year have begun to increase the transparency tutor and student, and introduced a more public means of student feedback, I don't feel that this goes far enough to fairly represent students in academia.
- I think this is particularly important in the case of students feeling unhappy with marks awarded, or their tutors' teaching methods in general. Whilst the current class rep system is supposed to provide this network of support and a means of communication in reality the vast majority of students are not aware what class reps do, who their own rep is, or why they would ever need to go to them.
- I propose to introduce a system of School Representatives which would in effect be team managers of the class reps for a particular school. I envisage a School rep being an honours student, elected into the position by members of that school, and acting in a position of communication and diplomacy between the students and the Head of Teaching. They would offer confidential advise and support as well as increasing the cohesion of the class rep team, and their training and responsibilities.
- I also think that this would mean the academic support system would be specifically tailored to account for the differences between schools, especially between arts and science, and would increase a sense of teamwork between class reps as well as making them more public.

SEMESTER REFORM
- The current antiquated semester system is both unfair to international students, who represent 1/3 of the student body, and environmentally unfriendly
- Many students frequently have to make flights home for the Christmas holidays, back for exams, return home for Ski Week before flying back to St Andrews for term to begin. This includes not only international students but also students who live elsewhere in the EU but are counted as ‘home students’
- This provides unfair financial pressure on students who have to travel long distances and increases the carbon footprint of the university as a whole, with so many members of its community taking flights more frequently than they otherwise would have to do so. Moving the exams would also mean halls could close during the most energy intensive month of the year.
-The recent survey showed that 71% of undergraduates want semester reform to happen. However another survey needs to be conducted to gauge exactly when the majority of students want exams to happen. The current academic staff are seriously considering all the exams to May, which I believe puts an incredible amount of pressure on students at the end of the year and leaves a huge gap in learning particularly for students who study other languages in semester one, and then have to wait several months before being examined

[Kegrad]

A Question for you (and any other DoR candidate watching for their own thread): Should the library redevelopment be prioritised over the union redevelopment?

[sienaparker]

Thank you so much for your question; I would really encourage others to ask similar!!

The union redevelopment has been finalised this year. The redevelopment is happening. Andrew Keenan has the signed letter from the university allocating the £10 million needed framed on his wall.

I agree that the union is also a priority; the university has already recognised this and responded as such.
Now it's time for the library. We are here to study after all; whilst redevelopment IS being discussed, in my opinion we need to put more pressure on the university to ensure that these plans are not put on the backburner but are being discussed and finalised NOW.

[Impreza_Noobie]

Hi Siena and other candidates who may be reading this

I will be matriculated on September to read for M.Litt International Business. I hope my enquiries are relevant to your commitment towards accommodation in St. Andrews.

I have not had an opportunity to explore or discover the potential mind puzzling problems because I have yet to start my course. However, I am facing a difficulty in securing a preferred place to live in. What I find interesting is the fact that accommodation providers - be it landlords or the like - hold a large portion of power in deciding the price and selecting potential tenants. It is almost impossible to negotiate for a suitable price especially if there is an 'international' transaction involved. The availability is another issue. I have listed potential places to stay in St. Andrews and by the time I get a chance to contact them, they are either reserved or occupied. In fact, overseas students find themselves frustrated with the accommodation process; they have very little support in finding their right place to stay. The aforementioned sentence has raised my awareness in adding a suggestion to your campaign: finding a pragmatic approach in helping overseas students to secure their preferred accommodations.

I understand it is possible to confirm a place to stay by simply contacting the university itself. But fact of the matter is each individual prefers different, or rather non-traditional, lifestyle. "Right, you are on your own then," is an implied quote most of us are getting when we decide to 'diversify' our choice of living. Should this issue be accentuated in order to bring about a positive change?

By making this suggestion heard, I hope I have contributed in speaking out for many, if not, majoirty of overseas applicants who have been given uncoditional offers and are in the process of searching for ideal accommodations.

As of now, I would be left homeless if I were to arrive in St. Andrews.

[David Bean]

Hi Siena, good of you to engage with us here. However, I'm a little stumped by your point about semester reform, and was wondering whether you could go into a little more detail on a few specific points.

Firstly, why are you claiming that international students have to make two expensive trips home and back again for Christmas and the post-exam break: surely they can just as easily stay in St Andrews for either or both of them (in the case of students in private residences) if they want to, if the expense is a problem or if they're concerned about the environmental impact of the journeys? Personally I can't remember ever going to my mother's for ski week, and she only lives in Perthshire, so it can hardly be a matter of compulsion. Also, I would venture to suggest that closing the halls of residence to students may not realise quite the energy savings you envisage, because the halls would still have to be heated to some extent to accommodate the wardennial staff, who are very likely to remain in the halls during that period even if the rest of the student body. Lastly, how valid do you think the survey of student opinions on semester reform can have been if no alternative options were put at the time, and did the survey make any attempt to gague how strongly those who expressed a preference for reform actually felt about the issue?

Thanks!

[David Bean]

Apologies, Siena, I also meant to ask (as I traditionally ask all candidates for sabbatical positions, given the chance): could you share with us your views on the National Union of Students, and in particular will you take this opportunity to offer an assurance that if elected you will neither propose nor support any move to affiliate St Andrews to the NUS?

[sienaparker]

Thank you so much for you questions and interest in the matter.

Firstly to accomodation; the issue in St Andrews is that there are too many students and too few beds, especially affordable ones. The private sector in particular is overstretched which means that students in St Andrews already often have to queue. My proposal to attempt to regulate this situation is to make student responses to their private landlords more public with a rating system. This will encourage the estate agents to take better care of their residents.

In terms of pricing, the only way to have a knock on effect on the private sector is for one of the halls of residences' rent to be reduced. This would need a considerable amount of funding for the university, but I believe that with the demolition of Fife Park this summer, it is more than necessary - it is essential.
After working in Accomodation Services during Freshers Week this year, I experienced first hand many international students arriving in week one without anywhere to live; which is entirely unacceptable.
I think that the university needs to do more to provide good and clear information for students applying from overseas as to simple steps to find accomodation, and estate agents to contact. This means they would have more information about CHOICE as opposed to just being given university owned accomodation as options.

In terms of Semester Reform, although international students are given this option to remain in the UK (of course) during inter semester break in reality, because our Christmas holidays are so brief, many wish to go back home and spend time with their families after exams. In reforming the current system this would mean Christmas was much longer. A recent survey found this was a popular choice with 71% of undergraduates in favour of some sort of change. I believe another, more conclusive, survey needs to be conducted to properly gauge student opinion on this matter. I strongly believe that heating, and lighting costs would be dramatically reduced if halls are closed; research has been done into this matter by the SRC and found to be a viable solution to reducing the university's carbon footprint. I certainly take your point that the wardennial team would have to be looked after, but this would only involve a small portion of any hall. You are right that the survey did not go far enough to assess opinion and this survey needs to be repeated and better publicised as soon as possible.

In terms of the NUS I realise this is a very controversial subject. A current member of the SRC will be assessing the pros and cons in a voluntary internship this summer of joining the NUS and of how to invigorate CHESS (the Scottish wide body). I think that until this research is carried out no decision or stance can be taken. Personally I would want to have a student wide referendum before making any decision to join the NUS because of the issues involved, and the financial commitment.

I really hope I have helped to answer both your questions, and please please feel free to come and talk to me in person today at various polling stations!

PLEASE go and vote today. It really is important.

[Fawksie]

My proposal to attempt to regulate this situation is to make student responses to their private landlords more public with a rating system. This will encourage the estate agents to take better care of their residents.

I'm not sure that this is a logical progression. The fact that private accommodation in St Andrews is heavily overburdened has made the letting agents very complacent. Why should they bother to improve their quality of service when they can absolutely guarantee that they will successfully let all their properties year after year no matter how poorly they do their jobs?

Warning them "if you're naughty we shall probably send you a very strongly worded letter and not give you any gold stars" won't worry them when desperate students will rent their properties as a last resort. Sanctions with real teeth need to be put in place, for example, referring cases of persistent failure to perform maintenance to the Private Rented Housing Panel so that rent can be legitimately withheld.