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DISCLAIMER: All presidential candidates that could be contacted were invited to take part in interviews with The Witness for the Election Week Special.
Amidst campaigning and canvassing, Guild President candidate Alex Martin sat down with Senior Editor Ciara Howard to discuss his experiences during his time at Exeter, his vision for the Guild, and how it can be a potent force for change.
Currently a Middle Eastern Studies Masters student, Martin has been heavily involved in student politics throughout his History degree, something that has not changed since he embarked on his postgraduate studies. Despite being co-president of the 400-member Debating Society which runs three events a week, an Exeter delegate to the National Union of Students (NUS), sitting on the Gender Safety Working Group, and a student trustee of the Guild, Martin seems excited and ready for a new challenge. Originally, he considered running for a different position but soon realised that the presidency was the position that would benefit the most from a candidate with extensive Guild experience, given that it is the role with the largest capacity to evoke change. Undeterred by the increased workload, paperwork and responsibility that this will bring, Martin sees it as an opportunity to bring about real progress concerning issues he is passionate about.
Housing is one of Martin’s biggest concerns for our city, an area which he is determined to improve upon winning the election. He understands that university expansion is an inevitable aspect of the future of Exeter, but is clear that issues such as the availability of housing and its pricing will have to be addressed in conjunction with this. Treatment of student tenants is another aspect of Exeter’s housing problem that Martin is determined to tackle, as well as the mass panic induced by landlords and letting agencies releasing listings only a few weeks into term. Martin knows all too well how the housing problem – despite being a national issue – is especially acute in Exeter, putting this at the heart of his campaign. Gender safety is another important part of Martin’s platform. Through his work within the Gender Safety Working Group, he has been pushing to get that group to meet more regularly and is hoping to expand training courses available to committees, in an attempt to make our campus safer and more inclusive.
Martin makes it clear that he does not see himself as “special” in wanting to tackle these issues in Exeter. He explains how students themselves are all too aware aware that these problems are significant, and need urgent attention. However, in his opinion, the person who is best able to deliver is the candidate who has the best understanding of the Guild, and the experience of seeing how changes end up being made. Through his detailed explanation of his CV, it is clear that Martin sees himself as this person.
As Martin explained, his role as Co-President of Debating Society has helped him hone his skills as a mediator, leader and organiser. He has been in many of the rooms where the Guild president is expected to be, albeit in a different capacity. An example of this being that he has experience representing the university as a delegate at the NUS, and is keen to seamlessly transition from that to leading the delegation himself as president. He is a Guild trustee, and in this new role would be expected to chair those same trustee meetings. Martin believes he is uniquely positioned in comparison to the other candidates, as he sees his experience as a tool that he can use to enable him to begin working as soon as he takes up office, rather than having to start from zero. He emphasises the power that the Guild has to do good and change the lives of the Exeter student body with good leadership but is aware that there is room for improvement. Hence, he hones in on the importance of knowing how to use that power properly, rather than just having a theoretical idea of how the organization is run. In his opinion, his existing working relationships with current Guild trustees give him the capacity to be able to deliver for the university cohort, who need their officers to advocate for them and protect the Guild as students’ only real collective voice.
Overall, Martin’s overarching message is clear: housing and gender safety are big problems facing university students, and the Guild functions best when it is led by those who understand how it works. Through his various experiences working within the organisation, Martin clearly sees himself as the right candidate to take up the mantle of the presidency, and endorsements by several current officers have positioned him as the Guild’s favourite to replace Emma de Saram in the next year.
Campaign page: @alexforguildpresident
Image: Ed Barradell (2024)
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