Westhead handed presidential role

by Henrietta Hitchcock

UAL’s Student Union (SUARTS) has confirmed that Ben Westhead has taken over as President of the union for the rest of the academic year, after the shock resignation of Alexander Rose due to health issues.

Rose stormed to victory in last March’s student elections following an unprecedented high turnout at the polls however, ill health forced him to step down at the start of term and he will now take up the less demanding and newly created role of Engagement Officer.

According to SUARTS constitution, the President has the right to delegate their powers and Rose has done so by selecting Westhead to succeed him.

There had been calls for a fresh presidential election to take place, however, Westhead told Arts London News this “would not be a viable option” due to the financial and organisational difficulties it would pose in order for Rose to remain part of the sabbatical team.

With Rose taking up his new role, bringing in a new President would mean increasing the union’s budget by £20,000 - the annual salary for a member of the sabbatical team.

Logistically, it would also be difficult to find someone outside of the existing team to take up the full-time role at short notice.

"If we were to elect another President it would have to be internally in order for Alex to remain involved or the Student Union would have to find more finances in order for us to make adjustments for him,” said Westhead.

“We want to make reasonable adjustments to make sure he can remain an active member of the team - it is Alex's constitutional right to delegate the role,” he added.

Constitution

A statement from SUARTS on the role change read: “The Constitution of the Student Union does not make provision for this particular situation, therefore the Student Union is required to follow the law and is making reasonable adjustments to support Alex to continue as a student representative on the sabbatical team. 

“To ensure that the Student Union retains its key function of representing the student body to the highest levels of the University, Alex is using his constitutional powers to delegate the role of Acting President to Benjamin Westhead.”

Nadia Witte, who came third in last year’s presidential elections, thought SUARTS were doing the right thing in creating an alternative sabbatical role for Rose.

“I feel really sorry for Alex but he is such a strong person – very engaging. I think it’s fantastic that the union has recognised this and created a position for him,” she said.

 

However, Witte felt that the role of President should have been awarded to Taisia Fedorenko, who finished as runner-up to Rose in the election.

“I think the next step would have been to contact the girl that came second,” she said.

“He [Westhead] didn’t run for it so it’s democratically questionable but he’ll probably do a good job as he’s extremely suited to it,” she added.

Westhead insisted that the principles Rose outlined in his campaign manifesto will still be the foundation for decision making within the union.

Some students seemed unaware that Westhead had replaced Rose, such as 18-year-old Graphics Design student, Oliver Tucker, who said: “I wasn’t even really aware that the Student Union President had changed.”

Westhead, who will balance the role of President with that of Education Officer – the position he was elected to in March, fronted the union’s presence at Wednesday's National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts protest in London.

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