Statement from Helena Carver on her decision to enter the Presidental election fray.
“As the only woman running for the presidency, I am committed to leading the Students’ Association in a fresh direction.
I aim to challenge the masculine politics of the Students’ Association, turning it on its head and allowing the organisation to take a critical stance on the university and student life.
I am a firm believer that student housing is a right and not a business. Homes are for people, not profit. I will lobby the university for more alternatives to combat the ongoing housing crisis in Edinburgh. I will offer a vision to push for a restructuring of the exploitative student housing system, which affects not only students but local residents as well. I intend to open official dialogues with Living Rent and the Edinburgh Student Housing Cooperative to fast-track housing solutions to the top of the Students’ Association’s agenda.
Next on the list is the impending collapse of the climate. I will facilitate discussions between environmentalist groups and the Students’ Association to push for structural changes within the university. The depth and breadth of climate change must be taken seriously and discussed properly. The University of Edinburgh must be held accountable for their compliance and contribution to the carbon-fuelled systems from which it profits.
I believe this presidency needs not one single individual, but many. The office of the presidency should instead be a collaborative effort, encompassing radical and committed minds from across the university.
All of this cannot be achieved without the liberation of marginalised groups on campus. I pledge to work closely with all Liberation Officers (BME, Disabled, LGBTQ+, Trans and Non-Binary, Women), environmentalist groups such as People and Planet, sex-positive groups like Sexpression, and others. I believe the presidency must be shared across these groups if change is to be attained. Recent activism carried out by these groups is evidence that students want to engage with real politics and question the hierarchies within the university. We will work to have the University of Edinburgh recognise the imperial legacies that have gone unnoticed and unchallenged for too long.
I am the only candidate proposing to build a collaborative, critical and caring the Students’ Association. Something to think about…”