Catch-up on what your SU President, Hannah Hockin, on what she has been up to this term. Hannah touches on campaigns such as NeverOK, Student Safety and Cost of Living.
Term two update
Student Safety
This term, I’ve continued to work closely with teams from the SU to implement the SU Security recommendations. Our research on student safety when attending SU events in our venues showed that the most conflicting and discussed topics were bag and person checks. We’re currently running a trial of 100% bag and person searches. During the time of the trial, if you attend one of our venues where we trial a 100% bag and person search as well as events with standard bag and person searches, you may receive an email asking you to complete a survey. The feedback we receive will directly impact our decision making so make sure you have your say.
I’ve also had the opportunity to shadow SU Security on a Friday club night. I was able to watch and learn about how the night functions from a security perspective, everything from the briefing session, body and person searches to how security and the event crew work together to ensure the safety of everyone on a night out.
Student Wellbeing
Nisha and I ran a Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week at the start of term. The week aimed to bring exciting events, educational activities and raise awareness about alcohol and drug usage. There was a range of activities including mocktail making, sober social and an awareness stall in the library.
This term, I’ve continued to lead the NeverOk campaign meeting with members of SU staff including staff from Trading, MarComms and the Advice Centre.
The NeverOk page went live this term. The page includes an action plan based on Union initiatives such as policy, late-night venues and education and University work. We’ve also included our Student Voice Research Assistant, Tessa Graftdijk's work that outlines the University's policies and ways to support students and staff as well as ten other universities' processes and policies. There are also support resources included on the page so do check it out.
I’ve recently met with the NeverOk campaign student working group to discuss the action plan, community, culture and conduct training. Last term, students from the working group and I delivered a consent and active bystander workshop. Societies and clubs that attended now have a badge added to their web pages, recognising that they've attended and engaged with the workshop.
During March, the Advice Centre and I supported the University’s National Student Money Week by talking on their Instagram live panel. We discussed budgeting, how to find affordable housing and how our wellbeing has been affected by finances.
The Student Voice team and I also put on a one-off free lunch event. This event was incredibly popular with over 150 meals going in less than 30 minutes!
The Sabbactial Officer team and I recently had a visit from Dr Ben Spencer, our local MP. One of the topics we discussed was Cost of Living. The MP agreed to write to the Education Minister on our behalf regarding the council tax payments for part-time students, specifically where they are in shared accommodation with other full-time students who therefore lose the discounted council tax.
Extenuating Circumstances (EC’s) Policy
In my manifesto, I promised to work with the university to ensure students are supported by policies for when things go wrong and they’re unable to sit assessments. I currently sit on the project board for the mitigation policy project and ensure students' voice is heard in this meeting.