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STEVE MARTIN, FARNHAM CAMPUS OFFICER

Hi I’m Steve, I’m 26 and if I had to some myself up in two words it would be “ranting geek”

I studied on the BA Animation course at Farnham (hence the geek part) and became involved in the union right at the end of my third year after a few years of feeling quite politically subdued.

When I was first elected to this position in the union, I remember having a conversation with my dad about trade unions. As a union member for many years my dad talked extensively about what he considered to be the collapse of the trade union movement. He talked about elected reps that did things that benefitted themselves and were too desperate to reach compromise rather than truly fight for something the members wanted.

This shaped a lot of my attitude to how I do this job. I believe in fighting for what the students here want and deserve, even if this makes me unpopular with some of the university staff. I believe that the voice and opinion of students is so important in education because the university or college they are at ultimately belongs to them, without them it wouldn’t exist. This is why the Students’ Union movement is growing ever stronger whilst, unfortunately the trade union movement winds down.

Students should be aware that Students’ Unions have become reasonably powerful within universities and that if students utilise them, there is so much more we can achieve.