Name: Tom Traies
Hall: David Collet
Course: Industrial Design Technology
Running For: Head of Media
Tom Traies has already established himself as a competent and influential member of the Media Centre, currently serving as LSUTV’s Station Manager. While not looking forward to campaigning against two of his close friends and missing out on producing the media coverage himself, Traies is looking forward to meeting other students and finding out their views both on media in general and on LSU Media in particular. Traies aims to strongly develop the relationship with alumni, recognising the plethora of benefits this could bring to the Media Centre, as well as wishing to develop volunteer engagement even further through marketing and Fresher’s events. Something you may not know about this Exec candidate? Between the ages of 5 and 8 he took part in competitive First Aid!
1. Why are you running for this position?
I'm running for Head of Media because I think I can make a definite change, and a definite improvement to the way LSU Media is run, the way volunteers feel when they're getting involved, and if the volunteers want to, their employability levels for a media career. I think it's crucial that media comes first in house for Loughborough Student's Union, in terms of promoting the work that students do in terms of media, and that volunteer output is recognised, which plays into some of my manifesto points.
2. What makes you more suited than other candidates?
Since I've been in Loughborough, for my three years I've been involved with media on all different levels. I started off as a Hall Media Rep, where I gained valuable experience that then got me involved with the media centre. I started my way from the bottom up, and now being Station Manager of LSUTV, I feel I'm a good model of what can be achieved if you work hard, and you want media to progress. I feel like I have a lot of experience in how the media centre works, and I know the areas that need to be improved upon, which is what I hope to achieve. I feel I have had enough experience in my own section, and managing my committee and LSUTV volunteers, but also in terms of helping people out in terms of LCR, Label and Loop- It just comes naturally in the amount of time I give to this place, and the amount of time I'm in here!
3. Tell us a bit about your campaign theme.
So my campaign theme is Tom 'It's TIme For' Traies. 'It's Time' part features heavily in that I think it's time for changes in the media centre, and changes to the way Loughborough Students Media is perceived, and how our output is recognised, on a student and national level. It's going to be very much not one of the more gimmicky themes of past, and actually have some real backbone to it in terms of what I hope to achieve as Head of Media.
4. What would you say is the most important aspect of your manifesto?
I have three key points in my manifesto- To React, Restructure and Relaunch Loughborough Students Media. Out of all of those, I think relaunching is the most important, but all three come hand in hand, because the reaction is to listen to volunteers opinions and feedback, and take on board what they want to do and what they want to achieve out of their time with Loughborough Students Media. The Restructure is to break down the barriers that are there between media sections at the moment and to reform them under new links, such as Sports, Marketing, Music, The Arts, and relaunch this to give Loughborough Students Media a platform that they deserve, i.e. a website which is professional and recognisable, and is easier to get content delivered and consumed by Loughborough Students, and other people. It's really just to fit in with the values that Loughborough Students Media have, but I feel are sometimes hard to get across due to the current outlay of medias and how they are perceived.
5. In one sentence, why should people vote for you?
People should vote for me because I'm going to put Loughborough Students Media first, get the volunteers the recognition they deserve, and make a difference to Loughborough Students Union.
