Lottie James

Last year, you saw my highs and you saw my lows. Being a Sabb isn’t an easy job; even when people run for the bullet point on their CV, it’s hard work. I know what it’s like to be a Sabb, I know what it’s like to fall off course and feel like you’re achieving nothing, I know what it’s like to want to do your best but have limited resources, I know what it’s like not to be allowed to be transparent. I know what it’s like to have students assume you want to put a murder weapon in the Library. 

But Sabbs need people on their side. Sabbs aren’t the dragons you need to slay. They need comfort, reassurance, and someone they know who will hold them accountable but won’t rip their heads off if they don’t get something right. There’s no prior experience to being a Sabb because every day is different, and each role contains bias, assumptions and breakable routines. I know the realities of being a Sabb, how realistic manifestos and quickly changed goals are, and how much one Sabbatical Officer taking on an entire role can complete in one (1) year. 

Angry emails don’t work, and Crushampton II doesn’t work, so let’s try killing the bad energy with kindness. Elect me as a Senator and I will be your Lottie in Shining Armour. I will work to squash this divide of Sabbs VS the Students, I’ll be your messenger and put myself at risk, and I will, most importantly, be a friend to you (the students - I’m not trying to impress the Sabbs here) and be a friend to the Sabbs (because sometimes we just need to know someone is in our corner). 

I will be a student next year, so whatever this Sabb team get up to, it might not affect them but it will affect me and it might affect you (I don’t know who you are, sorry). The last thing I want is a terrible team of Sabbs leading with no positive change and goals incomplete. I have a degree to complete, you know? Things to do, and that. I can’t have anyone getting in my way of being Dr Lottie (not James because I did this degree, NOT my dad). 

I want you to know that I will cause disruption if I have to. However, my goal is to keep things on track and to keep things realistic. When you’re running for these roles, you have this big dream that after two weeks of induction, you’re not sure anymore and it can be difficult to limit, but I’ve literally got the hoodie and I want to make sure that SUSU stays for the students, and not for quick wins to make it look like things have been achieved (when no-one actually asked for them). 

I want to rip apart Sabb plans. I want the Sabbs to work for us. More importantly, I want to be your Senator.