Student Senate is the Students' Union's policy-making body (alongside the Annual General Meeting and Referenda), and any student can run to be a Student Senator. Student Senate has the power to make and review policy, ensuring the Union works to reflect the values and ideals of the student body. Policies passed by Student Senate provide the framework within which the Union and its Elected Officers operate.
Any student can submit an idea to the Ideas Platform to be discussed at Student Senate. This process helps to ensure that the services and activities we provide are in line with student values and ideals.
Meet Your Student Senators
Chair: Rebecca Hardy
Vice Chair: Tanisha Kohli
Elected Student Senators:
Aby Anderson-Peled
Amelia Hamilton
Andrew George
Anna Kiddier
Gabriela Dimitrova
Gokula Krishnan Kelambakkam Rajendiran
Jay Goswami
Jonathan Williams
LI Zhang
Maria Pollard
Masud Rahman
Raashi Khanna
Sastivel Preetham.B.R
Shane Toner
Sinthia Debroy
Sushama Swathi
Taimur Khan
Umar Shahid
William Golding
Zohaib Tahir
Gulshanbanu Ansari
Sandhya Ayar
Taniya Hasan
Sabbatical Officers:
Angie - SU President
Noah - VP Undergraduate Students (Education & Welfare)
Madison - VP Societies & Volunteering
Alex - VP Heath Park Campus (Education & Welfare)
Georgia - VP Sports & Athletic Union President
Micaela - VP Postgraduate Students (Education & Welfare)
Deio - VP Welsh Language, Community and Culture
Two Sabbatical Officers have voting rights at each Student Senate meeting. The rest are welcome to attend as observers.
Campaign Officers:
La'Shaunna - Anti-Racism Officer
Rebecca - Mental Health Officer
Elle - Estranged Students' Officer
AJ - LGBTQ+ Officer
Matilda - LGBTQ+ Officer
Hanna - Students with Disabilities Officer
Finnerty - Student Parents and Carers Officer
Sweezel - Mature Students' Officer
Nathan - International Students' Officer
Trystan - Ethical and Environmental Officer
Daisy - Women's Officer
All eleven Campaign Officers are part of Student Senate.
Each meeting, 10 Student Academic Reps and 9 students are randomly selected to join Student Senate.
How does it work?
Student Senate has over 50 student members and is made up of elected Student Senators, Sabbatical Officers, Campaign Officers, randomly selected student academic representatives, and randomly selected students. This make-up is designed to ensure that Student Senate is as representative of the general student body as possible.
Student Senate has a range of responsibilities which include noting the Union’s budget, receiving reports from the trustees, working with the board of trustees to approve the Union’s governing documents, and voting on the policies put forward by students.
To put forward policy all you have to do head to our Ideas Platform to submit an idea or vote on existing ones. This platform allows students to 'up vote' or 'down vote' your idea. If a 'down vote' is received, that means the total number will go down i.e. if you have 0 votes and someone 'down votes' it will become -1 votes.
Student Senate will then debate the idea and vote as to whether or not it will become Students' Union policy. If your idea has an operational component (for example, "the Students' Union should serve more vegan-friendly options"), it may not need to be discussed at Student Senate, and instead may be better achieved by providing feedback directly to our Sales and Customer Services team.
If you would like to talk about an idea further, contact Democracy@cardiff.ac.uk.
Agenda and Minutes
2023/24
Tuesday 4th June 2024: Agenda / Minutes (Upcoming)
Tuesday 23rd April 2024: Agenda / Minutes (Upcoming)
Tuesday 13th February 2024: Agenda / Minutes (Upcoming)
Tuesday 5th December 2023: Agenda / Minutes
Tuesday 7th November 2023: Agenda / Minutes
If you would like to attend a Student Senate meeting as an observer, please contact Democracy@cardiff.ac.uk.
Become a Student Senator
Any student can run to be a member of Student Senate. Elections for Student Senate happen at the beginning of the academic year.