Byron Lewis

In recent years, SUSU has been getting increasingly irrelevant and unpopular with students. It’s a massive shame that SUSU is going this way… but it’s really not hard to see why. Society budgets have been slashed. The price of food and drink has gone up, way above inflation. Thousands go into venues like Below Deck - but there’s no signage showing you how to get to it. And when you do have questions, it feels like you can never get a straight answer - if you’re lucky to get one.

I’ve been a Society President for 2 years now and I’ve finally had enough of all these things rubbing my members up the wrong way – how are we meant to get new members when they can’t even find the rooms we meet in?

It’s time to fix all these little things! As your next President, I will be the best chance we have to sort out SUSU!

Since I took over Surge, I have brought it back from total collapse, and rebuilt it into a thriving media community. We’ve had successes and failures along the way, like any project. But we’ve made it work and brought back radio to campus.

Dealing with SUSU and representing my members interests has shown me the best and worst our SU has to offer. It’s clear to me that SUSU just needs to be honest and realistic. It’s not one person’s fault, it’s a cultural problem; there’s a culture of denial when things go wrong, taking corporate failings personally, and avoiding difficult discussions. Nothing will improve if you can’t admit you have a problem. But nothing will improve if you just slag things off and aren’t constructive either. And together, we can change this.

I have an actual vision for a realistic SUSU that plays to its strengths and gives students what they want. An SU that puts in the effort, support the projects that work, funds our excellent sports teams and societies, offers quality services at affordable prices, that works with local businesses. That means putting price caps on food and drink, and cheaper pints now. That means more frequent safety buses. That means fixing the broken website. That means accessible signage everywhere, and so much more.

I managed this with Surge - we know we’ll never compete with Radio 1, but we’ll give you the skills needed to get on Radio 1 one day! Similarly, we all know SUSU can’t compete with Shooting Star or Jesters - but Jesters can’t run SUBLDS or Vixens! Let’s stop wasting your fees on trying and put it back into your team!

Voting for me is voting for reform - together we can start to turn SUSU around! The SUSU of previous years may have let you down - I’m not going to. This is our chance to send a message – SUSU needs a new direction. And the best chance to make that happen is a vote for me - Byron!