As part of the Leadership Team for the Students' Union I get asked random questions all the time. You wouldnt believe the amount of rumours and random things I have to find the answer to, so I thought since elections are coming up I would debunk the myths of being a Sabbatical Officer!

You can get married in the cathedral

I've heard this rumour a million times. Also people say if you get a first class honours degree you can get married there too. WRONG. You can get married in the Crypt or at Canterbury Cathedral Lodge which is inside the grounds, but to get married in the actual cathedral you must be a member of the Foundation of the Cathedral and have special permission from the Archbishop.

You get free parking/food

As a non-profit organisation we don't actually get a free parking space or free food in the Lounge/Barista & Baker. This would be an unnecessary expenditure and we'd rather spend that money on investing in our student services.

You get to go out and party and that's pretty much all there is to the job

As a Sabbatical Officer you're lucky enough to attend fresher's week and many other events during the year, however it is a full-time job and we have to make sure we're available during the day for our normal day to day business. We still have to go to meetings and work on our manifestos, there is so much more to the job than just the fun stuff!

No one can fire you

As a democratic organisiation our members can vote us out of our position, so although we are in charge of our own day to day work our ultimate boss is you, the student body. We are held accountable by Union Council and various othe student representative bodies.

You have to be really popular to win the election

When I ran for Vice-President (Student Activities) in 2013 nobody knew who I was. I was the underdog and there were other candidates who were clear favourites to win. It doesn't matter if you know a lot of people or not, it's about your ideas and if people think you're up to the job!