Westhead just president says UAL

by Ryan Wilkinson, Henrietta Hitchcock

UAL’s Secretary and Registrar Steve Marshall has confirmed to Arts London News that Student Union President, Ben Westhead, does not occupy two positions on the Union Executive Committee.

Westhead had previously said he was to continue as both President and Education Officer, and was quick to reassure students that he was capable of executing both roles to a high standard.

“It’s a lot of work but we have got great staff, a great team and I’m really passionate - I’m well prepared to put in extra hours after work,” he said.

In a statement Marshall attempted to put an end to speculation that Westhead had taken over from Alexander Rose as President, while still in his elected position as Education Officer, saying:

“Ben Westhead does not occupy two positions, he only has executive powers as the President.

“He does continue to handle issues relating to education largely because the priority campaign is so education focused, but he only occupies one position in all constitutional functions.”

Rose, who was elected as President in March, has since assumed the position of Student Engagement Officer, a role specifically created to keep him employed by the Union.

As Rose merely changed roles and delegated his responsibilities to Westhead, but has not left the Union completely, there will be no by-election to find a replacement as usually required by the SUARTS Constitution – should he have retired completely.

Marshall explained that, as the constitution does not account for circumstances where a President can leave office but remain on the Executive, it had to be interpreted in a new way:

“Alex has not stood down as a sabbatical officer so there is not a vacant position.

“There are no constitutional clauses that relate to a President remaining as a sabbatical officer but not as a President, so I advised that we needed to interpret the Constitution in this regard, and importantly, against the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act which require us to make reasonable adjustments in the light of Alex’s health.

“As such, he delegated his presidential duties to Ben Westhead, but retained his role as an elected student representative and his vote on the Executive and Trustee Boards so that he was still able to perform under these reasonable adjustments.”

Power to decide

Under the constitution, the Sabbatical Officers have the power to decide how they delegate responsibilities to the other members of the committee.

Penny Jerrum, Union Democracy Coordinator confirmed this saying: “Because they [Sabbatical Officers] are on the Executive Committee, they can choose how it runs.”

Last year’s president, Louis Hartnoll, believes that to follow the constitution word for word ignores the “spirit of the law” and that the constitution needs to be changed in order to cater for such circumstances.

Hartnoll supports the steps the Union has taken, saying: “They have not acted unconstitutionally but the constitution, in its letter, appears to be acting against them.

“This is a particularly difficult situation for all involved and I am not envious of them.”

Neither presidential runners-up, Tasia Fedorenko nor Nadia Witte, was informed about the changes to the Executive Committee.

Fedorenko, who came second in the presidential election, suggested that Westhead might have problems in following Rose’s manifesto.

"If Ben goes along with his own ideas that’s fine, but following Alex’s ideas, he might get them wrong," she said

“If it’s not like his own ideas, it would be tricky to do all those things because those things were supposed to be done by Alex with Alex’s attitude and Alex’s way.”