Key Points

• Lead, train, and have responsibility for student representatives like School Presidents and Class Representatives
• Be part of internal quality insurance discussions
• Research and respond to consultation documents
• Attend meetings of the University Court

• Maintaining current accessibility options forced on us by the pandemic, such as continuing the use of Panopto and expanding safe study spaces
• Create a new communications strategy that prioritises openness and transparency, as well as incorporating a more broad collection of feedback
• Make clearer the options available to students by streamlining the careers centre and setting up a more coordinated alumni network
• Prioritise an intersectional lens in teaching, including commitments to help diversify the curriculum

Candidate experience

Malin spent two years as a Class Representative in the School of Geography and SD, also occupying a role on the Environment Subcommittee. Her experience in these roles seems to have influenced her student-centred approach to the new position in the manifesto. Emphasis is placed on treating the DoEd role as a facilitator for the work of others in the organisation. Some policies to work towards this include centralising School President records to allow smoother transitions and communications between individuals, and creating training sessions for Class Reps to ensure motivation.

Impact of the pandemic

The first section of the manifesto is heavily influenced by the changes that have been forced upon the teaching and learning experience by the pandemic. Key policies in this regard include maintaining the use of Panopto for lectures after in-person has resumed (there is precedent for this at other institutions), expanding the quality of digital resources and making it easier to request sources from tutors, and expanding safe study spaces. The argument goes that, although accelerated by the pandemic, these policies have been possible for some time and should now be institutionalised. They provide greater access for students with disabilities, as well as those who study remotely or part-time, and make sense. How much of an impact Malin herself will make in the long term is difficult to determine, but the course of her first year in office will likely still be in the long shadow cast by the pandemic so prioritising ease of access to study spaces and resources is a positive measure.

Accountability

Her manifesto refers lots of policies back to the idea of transparency and accountability. This is mostly to be pursued through a new communications strategy which, in collaboration with other Sabbs, would reveal more clearly the daily workings of elected student officials. This includes a greater social media presence to broaden the content’s audience. However, it is unclear how far Malin is committed to the added accountability that comes with transparency. She mentions the commitment to increase visibility of the University Court decisions through the DoEd’s unique representative position, but does not provide much detail on how she will incorporate student feedback into her activities as a voting member of the Court. This will be interesting to observe.

Most of the policies in the manifesto focus on the optimisation of pre-existing networks and institutions. The section on careers and widening access has a commitment to create more clarity on the resources already offered by the Careers Centre. While a streamlining of such university resources as CAPOD would definitely be welcome, the manifesto could be more ambitious on this front. Some level of student feedback on the options offered by the Careers Centre may be more beneficial than simply providing information that is already available in the recesses of the website. Leonie’s commitment to greater communications between the alumni network and the current student body, as well as to incorporating postgraduate students more concretely into student life, are good pedagogical methods.

Intersectionality

The most original new policy in the manifesto is a commitment to apply an ‘intersectional lens to all matters related to academic representation’. Malin wishes to build a practical method to apply this lens to matters of education, such as diversifying the curriculum, but the shape that this will take is as yet unclear. Some smaller scale practical measures offered include a more interdepartmental approach to teaching, with the standout policy here being a new regular seminar series. Interestingly, there is no reference to the controversy surrounding the dismissal of Dr Alison Kerr, a specialist in Gender Studies at the School of Philosophy. While the DoEd role would likely have little impact on the dismissal, a commitment to raising the issue more strongly would further strengthen Malin’s credentials in the area and be a practical application of intersectionality.