Hello Southlands,

My name is Shay Patel and I am running for Southlands President.

Choosing to live on Southlands was the best decision I have ever made. If it wasn’t for the College, I would not be the person that I am today. I feel that I owe it to the College to return the favour and ensure that every student that joins Southlands has as unforgettable an experience as I did.  

Having already been your College President this year, I have extensive experience and knowledge of this role. By building relationships with members of the RSU and University staff, we achieved a great deal as a College.

Some of these achievements are:

• Instillation of the suggestions box in the Reef
• Increased social media for Southlands, E.g. College Instagram
• Study rooms open in Queens building
• Addition of the college cup committee

But that was last year, and I wish to focus on what we as a College can achieve this year to make Southlands even greater.

My Ideas:

• Washing rooms that accept card payment (I won’t leave Roey until this happens!)
• Lobby estates to improve Wi-Fi around Southlands
• Refurbishment of the reef - including a new pool table
• Creating a College tie
• Continue to keep students up to date about the college through social media
• Work with local homeless shelters to reduce food waste   

As well as improving College life, I aim to work closely with the Deputy President to put on a wide variety of events tailored to suit all residents and students of Southlands.

Currently being in this role has enabled me to have a wider understanding of how the University works. Therefore, I firmly believe that I am the strongest candidate to continue shaping Southlands into an even more outstanding community.

I am fully aware that this role will require me to be the voice of Southlands students, the College team, and the RSU. I want this voice to be as loud as possible. I am aiming to do this by hosting bi-termly flat rep meetings to ensure that any opportunities, ideas or concerns are either exploited or dealt with.

I will also encourage everyone to continue using the suggestions box I have installed in the reef, so that any ideas or thoughts about the college can be written down anonymously for myself to discuss and potentially implement at meetings. Following this, I will make myself as accessible as possible (I’m very easy to spot) to help solve any problems that students may face during their time at Southlands.

Finally, I would like to work with the RSU to create bigger and better events in order to gain more Southlands spirit for the College cup. On that note, it only feels right to have the College cup safely back in the hands of Southlands. I will work with the deputy, flat reps, and students of Southlands to ensure that we can, once again, bring the cup back to its rightful home.

RE-ELECT SHAY, TO HAVE YOUR SAY