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My name is Gio Bains and I am a first year maths student. I joined debating the first week after the give it a go session and immediately, after attending my first session, fell in love with the society to the point where I have never missed a single casual or competitive session. As you can probably tell debating has simply become a part of my weekly routine.

Since I was such an active member within the society last year I have gained an understanding of what makes the society great and what is lacking from said society. In order to improve on what was made last year I will make 4 casual debate motions, just as the previous president did, but I felt like one aspect that could be improved on is making it so that we have motions that are accessible for anyone to debate about regardless of having in depth knowledge on a certain area. One thing that I enjoyed about the casual debates was the fact that there was seemingly a pattern every week where 2 motions included an info slide and 2 topics did not. This idea added a lot to debate and if I was voted as president I would build upon this idea by making it such that we have one topical motion, one wacky motion, one accessible motion and one motion that includes an info slide. Furthermore I think that the themed causal sessions like for Christmas and Valentine’s day really made debate society interesting and added a much needed mix up to the standard casual sessions. If I was voted as president I would continue this tradition. The only major thing that debate society was lacking compared to the other societies was the socials. If I was voted as president I would attempt to increase the amounts of socials offered by the society. I would do this by keeping a track of what the other committee members are planning for the society and suggesting new ideas for socials to the social secretary as I have done this year for other societies like the badminton society which has increased the amount of socials to almost one social a fortnight. Ideally I would like debate soc to meet a similar threshold to what badminton has achieved. I would also like to have more society crossovers and increase the overall amount of drunk debates the society offers to once every semester. I felt like the social media aspect of the society was really good but it did have a key problem. Many members of the society did not know that the debate society has its own social media and to fix this I will actively promote the socials during the casual sessions as that is where the society has the biggest turn out in numbers. The final issue I would like to address is the competitive sessions. The competitive session were fantastic and really beneficial and it is where I learned the most. However, I know for a fact that most people are quite afraid to go to the competitive sessions as they feel like they are not experienced enough and I feel like we could attempt to fix this issue by having the competitions officer explain the competitive sessions twice per semester during a casual session. I feel like overall the current committee did a fantastic job with the society overall and these criticisms are more of personal things that I feel like I could improve upon. Over the year I have gotten to know the current committee members pretty well and I feel like I can fill their shoes when they are no longer on the committee.

I honestly believe that I am the ideal candidate for this role. This is because I am a consistent and hard worker who will always be there for the society. I am also a friendly and sociable person who will always welcome and encourage new people to join the society. If you do not decide to vote for me well fair enough but think about what is best for the society when making your decision and think about who can get the society to where it needs to be. Vote Gio Bains for growth, stability and accessibility and thank you for reading.

(Please note: Any confirmed voter for Gio Bains is entitled to a free meme. To receive your entitlement simply dm @GioBains (Insta) with confirmation of voting and wait for the meme to appear in your dms.)

I’m Jocelyn and I would love your vote to become your next Debating President! I truly believe that I have the skills, enthusiasm and dedication to make this role my own and help this society to provide the student experience that you deserve.

With my extensive involvement with the Debating Union throughout my university journey, and my previous experiences as both a committee member and a debater, I believe I acquire the skills to further the Debating Union to be one of the best University Societies with its amazing inclusivity and socials!

Marwin and the team led the society through some of its worst times and not only recovered but grew the Debating Union to a new level. Having worked closely with Marwin and the debating team this year has allowed me to gain first hand insight as to how debate topics are picked, how competitions are judged (big thanks to Izzy and Kate for the help 3), and most importantly how to step up to different roles through effective communication to achieve success!