It's been a great year

I just wanted to thank every one this year for a fantastically fun year. I wish every one the best of luck next year in Guilds.

Mark

Success

So the votes are in . And the vote went 155 for me, 78 for Rosie, 38 for Ron and 29 for Tom Greany.

Many thanks to all those who have help in the campaign and I look forward to working with everyone next year.

Mark

Manifesto of Promises

Firstly welcome to my Manifesto. This is where you can find out HOW I'm going deliver my promises.

On a side note, if I get elected I will laminate and pin up my main poster above my desk so that I will actually deliver.

I have a 10 point plan for my time as Guilds President. Go to About Me for more personal information.

1. I promise more events, more frequently and more varied.




2. I promise to protect the RSM identity and open up access to welfare and representation for Miners.




3. I have genuine, transferable experience from a wide range of Clubs and Societies.




4. I promise to be a strong voice for you, to college and ICU.




5. I promise more Inter-Faculty Competition.




6. I promise to work closer with your Department Societies and City and Guilds Clubs and Societies.




7. I promise to make City and Guilds better value for the ordinary student by listening to your needs.




8. I promise to be a President who is ready to commit time to making students proud of being and Imperial Engineer.




9. I promise to bring welfare back to the forefront of City and Guilds daily activities.




10. I promise to make the Guilds Office open and welcoming and install Scaletrix.

1. More Events, more frequently and more varied.

There needs to be more events!

Which instead of trying to bring hundreds of students together, attract twenty to fifty, which are better tailored to what students want and offer the bang for the buck that Guilds was one famous for.

There has always been enough enthusiasm in Guilds for events but this has often failed to be transferred in to doing. Also there sometimes is the feeling that Guilds does the same events year-in-year out, which bores people.

To combat this, as President, I will spend the Summer preparing an events calender for the whole upcoming year so we are poised to implement the greatest calender of events Guilds has seen in modern times, come the start of the new year.

2. Protect the RSM Identity, while opening up welfare and representation for Miners.

RSM is as historically rooted as Guilds and Guilds must recognise that RSM is still relevant today, with a strong identity, close knit community and huge ability to run event within ESE and Materials.

What I will strive to do, is protect the RSM identity and work closely with the committee to find the best future for them, be it an independent Faculty Union or remaining in their current state.

In the meantime I will open up RSM access to Guilds academic and welfare representation facilities so no longer are students disadvantaged by a rivalry that should stay on the playing fields and in the bar.

3. Genuine, transferable experience from a wide range of Clubs and Societies.

No one can deny the huge burden of responsibility that comes with being Guilds President and so it is vital that the President has experience in organising events, academic representation and financial responsibility. These are experiences I have gained from working in a range of clubs and societies.

Over the last year I have been a Chair, a Treasurer, a Secretary, a Trustee of a Charity and a Mascot Bearer. So I've seen all the workings of the Union.

As Council Chair I have had to keep people's temper down, steer debate, have deep understanding of the issues at stake and wait 75 minutes for a pizza. On this job I have learnt vast amounts about the Union, about how people debate and how not to submit reports.

Being Snowsport's Treasurer this year gave me a full understanding of the Union finances and how do get things paid fast. Ask anyone on the Christmas Ski trip, 112 cheques and claim forms had to be written. Obviously along with the budgets I wrote I am completely capable of ultimately being financially responsible for this our Faculty Union.

I also organised the Easter ski trip which required not only similar organisational skills that I would use as Guilds President, I also had to be the pastorial point of contact for all those on the trip.

In my role as Council Chair I sat on the Trustee Board of the Union, which gives one an overarching view of the Union, and how to look at it in the long term.

Officially I have been only Spanner Bearer in Guilds this year, but this hides what else I have done. I been at the core of the revival of the last term. participated heavily in RAG week, even organising one very large part of it. I also know what happens in Guilds, why this year it hasn't worked all that well and what potential it does have.

4. Be a strong voice for YOU, to College and ICU

In the past there has been a growing trend of Faculty Unions not taking advantage of the opportunities provided to them by ICU and College.

As President I will strive to not only attend all the meetings required of the post, but maintain an effective dialogue with ICU and College so engineering students get the best possible deal on offer.

5. More Inter-Faculty Competition

The Historical origins of the faculties at Imperial are entrenched with competition, competitions that has all but disappeared in recent times. I am going to recreate the inter faculty rivalry of times past, by using not only the bar night setting but promote sports competitions between faculties and departments.

I will also look into setting up and Grand Inter-Faculty Competition where all events that are run between faculties will count points towards a final prize. These would include bar nights, paint balling, sports matches, mascotry, "Challenge the Execs", karting and other such competitions.

6. Working Closer with your department societies.

One of the greatest strengths of engineers and Imperial, is the fantastic Department Societies and extra-ordinary Societies (such as the Motor Clubs). Instead of having Guilds compete with it's own societies for event, I will work with them, help provide support and advice, as will as promote experience sharing, so things like the EEE Christmas Dinner and the CivSoc International Trip are not just unique to one department.

I will see that all the Guilds clubs get full access to the office regarding space and facilities, and receive the amount of time, respect and energy that they deserve and require.

7. Making Guilds better value for the ordinary student.

Expensive, poorly planned and low turnout event are squandering the money set aside for the ordinary student. I am a President who can offer true value for money, listening to real students, not just traditional Guilds hacks, and provide a range of diverse activities that appeal to a wide audience, not just bar nights. I will also always look for the cheapest value for all moneys spent. So there can be more money for you.

8. A President who is ready to commit time to making students proud of being an Imperial Engineer.

The Engineering Faculty at Imperial is one of the greatest engineering faculties in the world, and something we should be proud of.

As Guilds President I will look to instill a sense of pride, create an Imperial Engineer identity and bring our great faculty together with a single identity, something the Medics have been benefiting from for years.

I will also look to run campaigns of famous alumni, important happenings in the Faculty and emphasis to my officers the importance of taking pride in all they do.

9. Bring welfare back to the forefront of City and Guilds daily activities.

Over the past two years welfare has slipped off the Guilds agenda, leaving students without proper welfare representation. This has been down to a combination of poor welfare officers and insufficient drive from the President to make sure welfare is not forgotten.

I will resurrect Guilds activities in welfare, work hard with the welfare officer and promote campaigns of ICU with engineering while investigation possible campaigns specifically for engineers. No longer will engineers be subject to shabby representation.

10. Open Office and Scalextrics

Guilds is an organisation for the students but of late it has become rife with cronyism and has lost its openness to the student body. the office is central to the workings of Guilds and it needs to be a place where any student feels free to come in.

Where previous Presidents have failed to create an open office to all students, I will succeed by installing a scalecrtix track, enforcing an open door policy and making sure there is always a Guilds officer in the office over lunch breaks.

About Me

Hi I am Mark Mearing-Smith, 2nd Year Mechanical Engineering. I am currently Council Chair, Treasurer of the Snowsports Club, Secretary of the Conservative Society and Spanner Bearer for CGCU.

My interests are: the piano (badly), reading trashy fiction, an appalling interest in music ranging from Club music through to experimental jazz and back to baroque church. I also enjoy watching rowing.

I come from Esher in Surrey, but went to a military college (Pangbourne College) near Reading, Berkshire.

At school I was a rower, competing in the 1st boat at Henley Royal Regatta, reaching the Semi-Finals in L6th then the quarter-finals in my final year. I was also captain of boats in my final year.

I was also heavily involved with the CCF (Combined Cadet Force), were as a school we where lucky enough to have a Royal Marines section which only 17 other schools where allowed. In the CCF I was promoted right up to the top to Colour Sergent and become Detachment head.

To fill up my spare time I played music, piano, percussion, bassoon and singing. Which meant I was in all the music groups like Choir (Chair Captain in my last year), marching band, orchestra, etc.

In my gap year I worked for a computer software company. As that this was my first job and I was living away from home for the first time it was quite challenging. After 11 months there I traveled around India for a month, which seeing my mothers birth place for the first time in Mumbai/Bombay (as she knows it) made me fall in love with the country.

In my first term at Imperial I rowed. Which if you know any rowers took up nearly all of my time. Sadly university rowing was not for me, so in the second term I skied with the snowsports club.

This year I have still been involved with the snowsports club, while also playing rugby. Annoyingly I injured my back, so I will not be able to play any more.

Links for me.

Facebook Profile. and Facebook Group