#Lead LUU

Candidate Checklist: Lead LUU

We are looking for the next leaders of LUU – the six Student Executive Officers and the Gryphon Editor. Could this be you?

LeadLUU nominations are in full swing. Being an elected Officer provides a different opportunity to continue to help students love their time at Leeds whilst developing your communication and campaigning skills and growing your network. But what does it mean to be a candidate? It’s not as scary as it sounds – just follow this step-by-step guide!

Expressing your interest

  • Start by filling in a short form to nominate yourself. This might seem particularly daunting but the form should take no more than a few minutes to complete, at this stage we only need to provide basic information such as your contact details. You don’t even need to indicate which role you’re interested in running for; this is essentially to express your interest in one of the seven positions and does not commit you to become a candidate.

You have until 31 January 2025 to nominate yourself!

  • Book a meeting with our Political Engagement Team (PET). Once you’ve submitted your nominations form, PET will get in touch to offer you a half an hour session. During this meeting, you’ll discuss the roles and the election process, take a tour around the building, and meet LUU staff.
  • You might also like to speak to one of the current Student Executive to find out more from them about the realities of their day to day lives. If you wish to do so, please email the Political Engagement Team (luu.pet@leeds.ac.uk), outlining your availability and the Officer(s) you’d like to speak to and we will schedule a meeting on your behalf.

This will take place between 20 – 31 January.

Becoming a candidate

  • You will be asked to confirm your participation in LeadLUU by 2pm on Friday 31 January. This will require completing a form, signing some documents and providing a headshot which will be used on campus and online. We have headshot guidelines which might be useful.
  • In order to support candidates throughout the process and ensure you understand what is required of you, candidates are required to attend the Candidates’ Academy – a two-day training course on 6 – 7 February.
  • The initial part of Creation and Campaigning Week (w/c 10 February) is your chance to get creative; what can you do to stand out and make your campaign memorable? How can you reach voters on campus and online?
  • You need to create your candidate statement and a one-page poster. Your statement should communicate what you intend to do if successfully elected and what change(s) you’d like to make in LUU to improve the student experience. You can also come up with a fun and catchy slogan to make your campaign memorable.
  • The most common campaigning materials are banners, posters, and videos, but there’s so much more you could do!

Tip: Find your unique selling point: select a colour or a symbol to use in all your campaigning materials to unite them!

  • You will be allocated a LUU mentor who you can talk to about anything elections related including the role, your candidate statement, your photos, etc.

Campaigning

  • Campaigning opens at 10am on 10 February. This is the time to make some noise! You will be promoted by LUU and hopefully engage in opportunities facilitated by LUU Media Groups to promote your candidacy, including Candidates’ Question Time.

Tip: Talk to as many students as you can – explore new spaces to reach new people!

Voting

  • Voting Week is 17 – 20 February, and this is the time to really give it all you have. Every moment and every vote counts – get out there and be loud!

Tip: Worried about approaching people? LeadLUU is a good opportunity to step out of your comfort zone but if talking to strangers feels too stressful, you can still reach people with noticeable posters and on social media. You can also encourage people to approach you first – just wear a t-shirt with your campaign’s slogan, and hang around busy spaces (with a smile)!

Good luck!

Still got questions? Contact Political Engagement Team at luu.pet@leeds.ac.uk.