As the candidates and their campaign teams arrived, it was clear how much it meant to each of them. The atmosphere was understandably tense and thick with suspense, everyone keen to get the results out in the open.
The night was expertly hosted by Aarya Shenoy and Callum Borkowski, who were able to cut through the nervousness and bring the energy to the night. Their dance breaks, drum rolls and fabulous outfits lifted the tone and animated the audience, striking the perfect balance between humour and sincerity. After some wise words from the current Sabbatical Officers and Chair of Scrutiny, and a total of 19,783 votes placed by 4,295 students, it was time to find out who had won.
The first results to be announced were for the Liberation Officers, Chair of Council, and Chair of Scrutiny. Though the majority of the newly elected Liberation Officers ran uncontested, and some were not there to accept their positions on the night, the crowd were equally supportive and recognised the commitment shown by each candidate.
Some Liberation Officer roles remain unfilled, including the Ethnic Diversity Officer, Faith and Belief Officer, and Ethics and Environment Rep. Students wanting to run for these positions can attend Student Council on May 7, held in the Venue, starting at 5:15pm. Please email council.union@newcastle.ac.uk if you would like to stand for one of these positions, and if you can attend, then councillors will vote.
The tension ramped up for the announcements of the International Students Officer, with two candidates in the running, and Working-Class Students’ Officer, with four candidates. Newly elected International Students’ Officer, Samantha Burgos, expressed her excitement to be ‘immersed in new cultures and new points of view’. She wants to use her position as an opportunity to encourage other international students to be proud of where they are from, just as she has done through her campaign.
Next year's Working Class Students' Officer, Hibah Hussein, showed her excitement and disbelief on stage. Both her acceptance speech and bubbly campaign shone through, and her excitement on the night was infectious and set the tone for the rest of the officer positions to follow.
Next was the highly anticipated NUS Referendum. Students campaigned and voted to either leave or remain affiliated with the National Union of Students (NUS). This year's referendum came earlier than expected, only a year after the previous vote to remain. The referendum was triggered by a motion passed at Student Council. Students at Newcastle voted to remain with a 61.9% majority.
The following announcement that students had voted to remain in the NUS was met with a surprisingly negative reaction from the crowd. Aarya Shenoy was quick to note that, as only 4.9% of a necessary 5% of the student body had voted in the referendum, the decision would be subject to ratification by NUSU’s Trustee Board.
After a quick break, once everyone had caught up with the first set of winners and got a drink to calm the nerves, Callum and Aarya moved on to the main event – the Sabbatical Officer election results.
Up first was Sports Officer, which went to Jack Bond. As Aarya announced his name, Jack’s friends and campaign team exploded, jumping out of their seats to hug him. Heading to the stage, Jack was in disbelief, and delivered an emotional speech thanking his friends, the other candidates and current Sports Officer, Alex Duggan, for her support. Commenting after the event, Jack described it as a night of ‘camaraderie and support’, in true sportsman style.
Next came the result for Opportunities Officer, won by Kyi Nue Phyu Sin, who has expressed her excitement to ‘have conversations with societies to help them grow and run smoothly’. Then, Academic Officer, which saw Anushka S. elected, a moment she described as ‘special’. After the event, Anushka said: ‘As an international student from India, being elected as Academic Officer is incredibly meaningful. It’s an honour to represent such a diverse student community and work to ensure every student’s academic voice is heard.’
The Student Media Officer position was the most competitive of all positions elected on the night, with five candidates running for the role – the most for any role in the elections. The position went to Trinity Eadie, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience after her emotional acceptance speech thanking all of her fellow candidates from the close-knit student media team, promising to ‘carry them with (her)’. Trinity is excited to fulfil her agenda and introduce a magazine to student media, something she's already working on alongside Ella Rose, the Editor-in-Chief of Newcastle University Fashion Society’s magazine, The Edit. The magazine is set to release its summer edition in the upcoming months, and a collaboration with student media is in the works.
The penultimate announcement was for the Wellbeing and Communities Officer, which went to Emma Monaghan, who ran on a campaign championing support, safety and representation within wellbeing with a Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally theme. She ended her acceptance speech by thanking the Student Media, a place where she found her own community.
The final announcement saw current Academic Officer Gina Tindale elected as President with a landslide victory of 1,456 first-choice votes, thanks to her memorable Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad-inspired campaign and unbeatable experience as the only current Sabbatical Officer to re-run. Gina described the result as ‘bittersweet’, as her excitement to step into her new role also signals the end of a ‘great year with her current Sabbatical Officer team’. Nonetheless, Gina is excited to work with a new team of ‘motivated individuals’ and excited for a new venture into a new role.
As the results came to a close, all candidates alike gathered in Luther’s to celebrate each other and the end of this year’s election season at NUSU. Speaking to the elected officers afterward, it was clear how much each one had valued the experience of running alongside their fellow candidates. Working Class Students’ Officer Hibah Hussein recalled a moment when ‘one of the student media officer candidates said, "If you ever think you aren’t doing enough, just remember that your personality shines through everything you do, and nobody else has that charm.”’
This is demonstrative of the supportive relationship between candidates; as Hibah said in her acceptance speech, win or lose, all of the candidates have come out of the experience with a new group of friends.