Jack Karimi

Hello! I’m Jack Karimi and I’m a third year Politics student. You can usually find me in the library procrastinating, but I'm always down for a board game, and will one day write the sci-fi novel I've wanted to write for the last decade.

In my time at Keele I've run a society, been a Student Trustee and a NUS Delegate, and worked alongside two UDDs to make our SU better for students. Last year, I was awarded Outstanding Student Achievement for my role in making the 2019 Democratic Review.

I love our SU. They've helped me when I struggled with mental health problems and nightmare off-campus accommodation, and have been where I made great friends and amazing memories. However, we deserve better. We deserve an SU on our side, tackling the issues that matter head-on.

Being UDD is a tough job, but I have the experience and the plan to do it, and I'll be ready to tackle problems from day one. I will a different, more open UDD: all my spare time will be spent walking around campus listening to students about what matters to you, and I'll always ensure that you can hold me to account.

1. Tackling First Bus, Parking and Laundrette Failure

Keep the pressure up on First Buses. I will campaign for better ticket prices and decent service for students, and call for equal physical and digital ticket prices.
Ensure the parking permit system is fair and transparent, and that non-permit students aren’t left out. Campaign for more parking locations.
Campaign to freeze Circuit laundrette prices. Ensure that the better service they’ve provided this year is maintained.

2. Action on the Mental Health Crisis

Campaign for additional funding for university support services and mental health training for all frontline staff.
Empower all SU staff, full-time and part-time officers to address mental health as part of their role. For example, the AU & Sport Officer has a unique position to act on male mental health.
Protect SU support services, and ensure wellbeing is top of the agenda.

3. A Better Deal for Off-Campus Students

Campaign for a better Keele StudentPad, or make our own with ASK. Dodgy letting agents and landlords should not be able to use an official Keele site to advertise to students.
Demand inclusion of off-campus students in events on campus, and demand off-campus events to tackle isolation and loneliness.
Create an Off-Campus Officer role, so that off-campus students have a representative and a point of contact in the SU.

4. Loving Our SU Building

Campaign for better investment from the university, with a detailed proposal for how investment would be spent.
Demand air conditioning in the Ballroom. The dark days of sweat dripping from the ceiling and walls must end.
Turn K2 into a flexible venue. K2 is perfectly placed, with its bridge to the library, to be effective study space, but is currently hampered by a lack of lighting.

5. Building A Stronger Democracy

Ensure that university leadership, who decide how your tuition fees are spent, are accountable to you by continuing public Q&A sessions with the Vice-Chancellor.
Empower part-time officers to do more, including better training and more opportunities to work on their pledges.
Publish a 2021 Democratic Review, assessing whether the changes made to Union Council and UGMs in 2019 are working, and tackling new issues such as full-time and part-time officer roles.

My work as a Student Trustee means I know how our SU works, and what we can do with our collective power. You deserve better from all of us in this election, and that means hearing real promises from candidates that will keep to them. I promise to be a different kind of UDD, one that is always on the side of students, and easy to contact and hold to account.