We’re at the end of term two and it’s been a busy one! We’ve had a successful term from LGBT+ History Month to visiting parliament, and everything in between.
Sharanya Sivarajah
VP Eductaion
We’re at the end of term two and it’s been a busy one! We’ve had a successful term from LGBT+ History Month to visiting parliament, and everything in between. I attended a University Council Strategy Discussion, to explore what RHUL’s 2030s will look like. We discussed our priorities, and how to maintain a nurturing environment for our students whilst preserving a sustainable impact on the world.
LGBT+ History Month
The theme this year for LGBT+ History Month is Medicine #UndertheScope, focusing on the experiences of queer people with healthcare and the inequalities they face whilst accessing it. We had a packed agenda full of fun but informative events from speed dating to our annual Queer Creativity Showcase.
We held an extremely successful LGBT+ Speed Dating event with over 60 participants. Everyone left with a smile on their face and whether or not they met the loves of their lives, they had an incredible time! We collected donations throughout the month, and these were deposited into the RHUL Transition Fund which aims to help Transgender students at RHUL with private healthcare costs – an initiative which was started by the LGBT+ Society and the LGBT+ Community Officer. I think this ties in really well with the theme, especially considering the treatment we have seen of transgender people within the media recently.
Our Advice Centre now contains tailored support towards LGBT+ Health and Wellbeing support, and Safe Sex from LGBT+ Foundation - ensuring that any student that walks into the Advice Centre can get the help that they need!
And finally, our third annual Queer Creativity Showcase was a massive success. It was an evening where our poets, musicians, artists and creators blew us away with their talent. The night was incredibly wholesome with over 50 attendees all there to support our queer creatives. Check out some pictures on our Facebook.
Student Employability
In my manifesto, I pledged to improve your student employability. Careers and Opportunities was a massive priority this year and I have been working closely with the Careers Service to ensure we support your futures as best as possible.
Nisha and I worked alongside the careers service to launch their Summer Skills Placement Programme. This is a programme with Pathway of Careers activities, helping students secure a short placement in a sector of their interest, with a grant of £400 or £650 depending on the duration. This also tied into my manifesto aim of inclusivity and accessibility as this pathway is aimed at students from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups to ensure they have the best possible chance at exceeding in their careers.
I also have just completed my ‘Grad Week: Next Steps’ Campaign which is aimed at helping students feel a bit more confident about their next steps. We had a week full of career skill-developing events such as our Alumni Panel, our Student Futures Fair, and our International Student Futures Q&A session. Overall it was a really exciting week and I hope to hold similar events in the future!
National and Local Picture
This term I’ve been very focused on the national picture for students. I recently attended an All-Party Parliamentary Group on the student housing crisis. While we discussed topics that we were already familiar with, dodgy landlords, unaffordable accommodation, lack of accommodation, and low-quality housing – it was an eye-opening experience to see how students were impacted differently due to intersectional experiences across the country. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done with student housing and though the Rental Reform bill seems to protect students from no-fault evictions – there are still cracks in the system that students could fall through and this needs to be addressed. Hopefully, the discussions we had in parliament should help feed into government policy to ensure there’s a sustainable solution for the student housing crisis.
We also met with our Local MP, Dr Ben Spencer with some concerns that we had regarding the student experience at Royal Holloway. This included the housing crisis, funding & fees and cost of living, lack of support for the LGBT+ community (particularly for Transgender students and support for student wellbeing and international students. There were some very interesting conversations and some movement on issues – particularly around one of my manifesto points for next year (safety around Egham and Englefield at night).
Next year, you ask? I’m so excited to announce that I have successfully been elected as your next SU President. We have an incredible team for next year and I’m looking forward to the year ahead!