So you want to be a Sabb - early decision making for students thinking about running for the Sabbatical Election.

1. So you want to be a Sabb
If you’re thinking about running,
what do you need to know, to do,
to prepare?

2. So, you want to be a Sabb?
• Roles
• Experience
• Qualifications
• Involvement
• Popularity
• Winning
• What next?

3. Paid Roles
• Full-time paid Officers
– Guild President - lead student representative on
internal & external matters. Trading & Business’
– Athletic Union President - Leader of the AU. Sporting
student representation.
– VP Welfare & Diversity - Equality and Diversity.
Student Welfare.
– VP Activities - societies, student democracy and
employability
– VP Education - Research-led education. Student
partnerships in education.
• The four full-time Guild Sabb Officers are members of Guild
Council, and Officer Trustees of the Guild.
• The Athletic Union President is a member of Guild Council.

4. Unpaid Roles
• Part-time elected volunteer Officers
– Student Trustee – charity equivalent of company
board member. Does not deliver active policy.
– DVP International – represents all international
students and leads the International Students’
Council.
– DVP Campaigns – leads on student campaigns
and represents campaign groups.
– DVP Sustainability – leads on issues of
sustainability and globalisation, representing and
taking action for students.
• The three part-time DVP students will be members of
Guild Council and also chair mini-Councils.

5. Experience
• Being a student at Exeter
– Seriously, that’s all the experience you need.
– Your individual ‘student experience’ will inform
you on what things you want changed, and
that goes into your manifesto.

6. Qualifications
• None required…
– Previous Sabbs include students who’ve done
nothing more in terms of elected office than
being on a Society committee or using the
Ram on a regular basis.
– Yes – a lot of those elected have also been
Guild Councillors, or a part of Societies
Executive or ESV, but the point is those things
aren’t necessary.

7. Involvement
• None required…
– If you’ve bought a pint in the Ram, or been to
the Lemmy or eaten at Pieminister then
you’ve been involved with the Guild, whether
you realised it or not.
– But even if you’ve done none of these things,
and never set foot in Devonshire House,
never joined a Society, never spoken to a
course Rep…
– You can still run for Sabb office.

8. Popularity
• This isn’t Mean Girls
– Although people say that the election is a
popularity contest, it really isn’t…
– Any student taking part needs at least 1,000
first preference votes to win – that would
mean knowing (and being liked by) at least
1,000 students.
– Even BNOCs don’t have that reach.

9. Winning…
• Even if you’ve lost in the past
– Former President Nick Davies lost two posts
to different students the year before he was
elected…
– He beat both of those students in the
President election that year.

10. What Next?
• Training and Information
– There will be training for any student
interested in running from 11 January to 22
January.
– You can drop by the Sabb Office in DH1 any
time to talk to the current Sabbs about what
they do, and what you can promise to do.
– The training includes information on manifesto
writing, and you don’t need that complete
before nominations close on Thursday 28
January 2016.
– You must come to one compulsory meeting –