Activities and Engagement – Sarah Carlisle

Let’s make Queen’s a place where everyone is excited to engage!

Tell us about yourself and your campaign.

My name is Sarah. I’m running for Activities and Engagement Officer. Throughout my entire time at Queen’s, I’ve gained so much from my engagement with clubs and societies. I’ve represented Queen’s on University Challenge with my fantastic teammates. I’ve been a part of the orchestra, and I’ve engaged with various other clubs and societies, both as a member and on committee. So I would love to see members and student committees recognized and rewarded for all of their hard work.

Through all of this experience you’ve had with the various clubs and societies in Queen’s, was there any society experience in particular that stood out?

I can’t not give a shout out to the Quiz Society, I really can’t, but, um, I also have to give a massive shout out to the very recently ratified QUSO Queen’s University Symphony Orchestra. They run an absolutely fantastic operation. Everything goes so smoothly. Um, and they are playing to a professional standard. Even though they’re mixed ability, anybody can join. I would just love to give a massive shout out to them. And any students who play instruments can can check them out!

Through all of this experience that you’ve had with these societies, what would you say are the biggest problems that you’ve encountered that you’ve seen facing students in these societies?

Some of the biggest issues are to do with handover and committees, people not really knowing how to actually go about things. And then it can be quite daunting. So for instance, accessing finances, and room bookings. So I believe I can bring experience to that and help them. I’ve recently discovered as well, I’m not really an athletic person, if you couldn’t tell. But from speaking to sporting clubs, I know that a big issue is the PEC charges £5 per entry for people who don’t live in Queen’s accommodation or who aren’t members of the gym. So a class that’s maybe a pound ends up costing someone six pounds if they don’t live on campus and they have to pay into the gym, which I think it’s a fairness issue, and it’s an accessibility issue, which is really important to tackle. And I think the SU can do that.

How do you plan to go about then tackling these problems?

I think the main thing to do is actually shine a light on them to start with. Make sure that people are aware of them and of the effect that they’re having. Then the main thing is that the clubs and societies themselves maybe can’t change anything, but the students union can. They have the power and they have the reach to be able to reach out to bodies like the administration or the PEC, and bring to light some of these issues and find ways of working around them.

Why do you think that it’s so important for students to have these societies, especially, run to the level that you would like to see them run?

Well, for me and for every student, I think university isn’t just about class. Or at least it shouldn’t be. It should be a place that you can feel at home. And I think that’s what clubs and societies are. It’s your home. At Queen’s, it’s where you’re going to meet the people who, for the next fifteen years are inviting you to weddings and baby showers. It’s where you’re going to find your people. So I think clubs and societies are incredibly important. They can’t be protected enough. And I think that they should be promoted as much as possible. And students should be able to access events all the time.

In your manifesto, you’ve mentioned things like hosting more events in the student union bar, providing free period products for societies on trips away and things like that. When you are implementing these policies, how do you plan to navigate pushback from the SU or even the university?

There certainly could be pushed back on some of these issues in terms of free period products. Essentially, the SU has done incredible work the last few years about bringing in period supplies on campus, but not all events take place on campus. So there could be formals, pub crawls, bus trips that are not actually in period friendly venues. That can be really off putting for attendees who maybe don’t know people. Maybe it’s their first kind of venture into societies and that can be really anxiety inducing experience. So I think that actually that’s a really, um, low cost, low effort way of reducing anxiety and promoting inclusivity. I think, in terms of sort of the financial pushback to that, which is the only one I can really envision it. It is an incredibly affordable initiative that would make a huge impact. In terms of hosting events in more, you know, on campus, that’s really an affordability issue for me. A lot of people complain that formals, for example, are incredibly expensive and that can put people off going even if they are an avid supporter of the society and have been a member for years. So I’d like to see the SU Bar used to its full potential in things like formal after parties, um, more laid back social events so that people have the option to do something that feels special but doesn’t need to set them back forty, fifty, sixty pounds.

How would you describe your campaign in five words or less?

Find your home at Queen’s.

Last of all, what is your favorite quiz show?

It’s The Chase!

You can read Sarah’s manifesto here.