Hello everybody, I am Leo Buckley, and I would like to serve you as your Communities and Common Rooms Officer:
The Oxford SU is in a period of intense change. More than ever before, there is a need for Sabbatical Offices that represent the voices of Oxford’s Students, from Undergraduates to Postgraduates, making sure the SU works to serve them and their interests. To be up to the task, it takes someone with experience and competence to tackle challenges as they emerge, and it is precisely that competence that I think defines what I can offer you.
With my extensive experience, I am well suited to serve as your Communities Officer. Before I came to Oxford I worked for 18 months, for a Think Tank, two Startups, and as Director of Strategy for a Consultancy. Since Matriculating I have worked as the Producer for a documentary company, recently finishing a feature-length film on the history of the Middle East. This extensive professional experience uniquely positions me to serve as one of your Sabbatical Officers.
I am also well-equipped to work specifically within the Oxford SU since I have actually served the Oxford SU for the last two years, as an NUS delegate, representing Oxford at the National Union of Students since 2023. Before Oxford, I was President of my Sixth-Form college’s SU, scrutinising the College's multi-million-£ budget as a governor, and representing the student’s interests in policy meetings (such as canteen reductions & solar panels),
I have experience in other organisations, from Capitox, where I was a Director of Operations, managing logistics and events, to another major student society, where I served on the governing body for nearly a year. It is through involvement in these societies, and other aspects of University life, from my JCR to plays, that I learned first-hand that Oxford is also about much more than just academics.
MCR’s, JCRs, GCRs, Clubs, Sports groups and Societies make up the fabric that defines your Oxford experience; as your Communities officer, I would do everything I can to help enable them to get on with what they do best - providing for you. The SU should be about enabling the various communities of Oxford to get on with their agenda, helping to connect and platform these varied groups.
In this spirit, I would like to implement a mechanism to let societies be able to use the University facilities, for example being able to rent the Radcliffe Camera for events.
Many years ago I was elected as a Youth MP, advocating for electoral reform and an improved curriculum in the Houses of Parliament. I am deeply passionate about representing people, especially young people, who after all bear the burden of the future. If I can, as your Communities officer, do anything to alleviate any problems you face, and make your lives here easier, I will throw myself to the task with passion and drive.
It would be a privilege and a pleasure to serve you.
#BACK BUCKLEY