Emma Brown - Union President

As Union President, I’ll tackle real issues - poor transport, overpriced food, unfair assessments, and unnecessary rules strangling societies.

Cheaper Buses, Better Routes

There’s no stopping students from going to socials in Jesters, Hobbit, and more. But why must they walk ~15 minutes from the U1C stop at night? It’s especially unsafe for those traveling alone, especially women. Many students live in South Portswood, yet the most frequent bus, U1C, completely bypasses the area. The U6 exists but is too infrequent and takes double the time to travel from Highfield interchange to Portswood Broadway. It just doesn’t make sense!

Winchester students are part of our university, so why are they paying £4 for a single journey to Southampton? Their bus route should be covered, or subsidised, by tuition fees.

Across the country, greedy bus companies are raising fares to £3. I’ll fight to keep Southampton’s single tickets capped at £2, or lower.

More Study Spaces

Wake up late, get to campus - no study spaces. The university promises more eventually, but we need solutions now because our exams won’t wait. I’ll ensure seminar rooms and study spaces are easier to book so students can find a seat. During peak exam season, I’ll implement regulations to reduce people leaving spots unattended for hours by leaving their bags.

Fairer Assessments

Some students excel in exams, others in coursework—yet some modules rely 100% on one or the other. A bad exam day shouldn’t mean total failure, and coursework-heavy students shouldn’t be forced into 100% exams. I’ll push for a balanced grading system so students aren’t unfairly penalised.

Deadline clashes are another nightmare. Two major coursework deadlines in one week? Exams on back-to-back days? It’s completely unreasonable. I'll fight for fairer scheduling to prevent this unnecessary stress.

Lower Living Costs

Rent keeps rising while student houses only get worse. Landlords take advantage of students who fear legal action, refusing to fix outdated houses. I’ll ensure students have university and SUSU support, including legal aid to fight unresponsive landlords and estate agents (you know the ones!).

Food on campus should be affordable for everyone. At least one cheap, healthy option should be available on every menu. If you oversleep and forget your packed lunch, you shouldn’t have to choose between overpriced, low-quality food or going hungry.

Save Our Societies!

MoneyHub. If you’re on a committee, you know the struggle. SUSU is forcing societies to use it despite constant issues. Worse, new requirements mean many small societies risk disaffiliation. Yes, we need regulations, but assuming all societies can conform to the same rules is completely unrealistic.

Societies bring life to our university, yet booking event spaces is harder than ever. As a committee member of four societies, I’ve seen these problems firsthand. Societies are the backbone of SUSU - let’s support them, not strangle them!

SUSU needs to do better and tackle more real problems affecting every student.

Vote for EMMA - I won’t settle for vague promises - I will fight for actual change.