Guild President: Hugh Blackstaffe

First of all, tell us about yourself. Where are you from? What are you studying?

Hi, I’m Hugh Blackstaffe . I’m a 3rd Year Film Student from South East London.

What made you decide to run for Guild President?

I decided to run because I want to use my experience of working extensively with the Guild to give our students the best possible experience at University and in doing so make them as employable as possible when they graduate. I’m a proud member of Welcome Team and currently leading the organisation of the 40th National Student Television Association Conference and Awards (NaSTA 40) which is being held in Exeter this April. Through my work with both these fantastic opportunities, I’ve learnt so much about what our Student Guild offers our student community, how it works and how I can improve it to give our students the best possible experience during their time at Exeter and to make them as employable as possible. Through their experiences and involvement in our Students Guild, I want to give students the transferable skills and opportunities for personal development they need so that within six months of graduating university, they will be in employment, putting their time and experiences at University to the best possible use.

What could voters expect from you if you win?

That work begins from the instant I take office and that whenever I am on campus, they can feel they can come and talk to me about anything they like, regardless of what stage of their university career they are at. As President, I will be approachable and I will listen to every single student who wants to voice their ideas and opinions. I was honoured to be awarded the ‘Most Professional’ team member during Welcome Week by my fellow Welcome Team Members, so students can rest assured that I will be a fantastic representative for them. Be it a small problem for one student, or a larger issue bothering hundreds of students, I will be sure to represent them to a professional and confident level to ensure they get the best responses.  While building up to the official launch of my Presidential Campaign, I did a lot of research. As well as talking to students, I spoke to numerous Guild Staff, including the Chief Executive, and learnt about the new schemes and ideas that the Guild is launching this Academic year as well as in the 2013/14. This means that I am already well positioned to start my term in office with an understanding about what the Guild is doing with their own schemes, how my ideas can be integrated into them and start turning my own manifesto points into reality. As soon as I am in office, me and my team of Vice Presidents will start work instantly to give our students the most exciting and beneficial experience at our University.

Be honest here, have you voted in all the past Sabb Elections?

I first voted in my second year at University. I didn’t really know what was going on when I was in my first year, and once being asked to get involved with a friends campaign in my second year, I realised just how big a deal Sabbatical Elections are for all our students at every stage of their University career. I made friends for life, and they helped me make the decision to run for President. I got to know President Davies very well during the course of the year, and he was instrumental to me running this year. He has been very supportive and even gave me some very encouraging words when I decided to run, from Barack Obama: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek”. I have every intention of living up to those words.

Have you been able to catch much live music while you’ve been here in Exeter? Any highlights?

I haven’t been to many gigs, but I have been to lots of open mike nights, particularly at The Firehouse. I have friends who have performed there on numerous occasions and it was brilliant to see just how many of our students who make the effort to perform, developing their music and making something of themselves. I actually presented an evening of live music for Children in Need, which was great because there were several student acts from various genres, meaning I got to see lots of different stuff. It was also great as it raised money for charity. Whilst volunteering on the Welcome Team’s for the Fresher’s Ball and SSB, I was able to see a little of the stage acts during the evenings as and when I was required in those areas. I always try and go to nights in clubs when student music societies are performing, because it’s always a little bit more special than just the usual DJ’s. Beats and Bass Soc, for example have done amazing things despite being relatively new. I’ve seen them a few times, and occasionally caught a few other groups like EUJO and Big Band, though, with my workload (as I’m sure all students, especially third years, will appreciate), and with the things I am involved with, I sadly miss out on many opportunities to see our students, some of them my friends, perform.

Can students expect to meet you at the Vote Fest events?

They certainly can! It’s going to be a brilliant opportunity for students to directly engage with candidates, as well as a fantastic chance for us as candidates to engage with the students, just as campaigns week starts.