Your Sabbatical Officers are here to represent you and make your student life better. Sharanya, Madelaine, Bana and Olivia tell you more about their plans, campaigns and progress in this blog.
Your Sabbatical Officers are here to represent you and make your student life better. They run campaigns and events throughout the year, so make sure to frequently check our website and social media for updates!
Sharanya Sivarajah (SU President)
This year, Sharanya’s focus will be student safety. As part of this, Sharanya will be leading a year-long #NeverOK campaign, aimed at tackling harassment, sexual misconduct, and supporting the mandatory consent module under OfS conditions.
Sharanya is leading a Drug and Alcohol Harm Reduction campaign, as well as coordinating a survey to identify and champion safe routes for students around the Egham campus.
Additionally, Sharanya is prioritizing student celebration with Campus Unity Week and developing the Student Rewards and Recognition System (STaRS). Alongside the Student Voice and Sabbatical Officer team, she is launching a Policy Inquiry into the Commuter student experience, and Insight Reports on International Students and Sport at Royal Holloway.
Madelaine Gray (VP Education)
Madelaine has been part of the annual NSS Review process, sitting in the meetings for each school and providing student insight. She has been prepping for her first campaign in October, focused on developing the extent to which students feel career-ready at the respective stage of their journey. All year long, she will deliver initiatives to empower students to understand and articulate their skills. This is one of her main focuses for the year, along with ensuring that commuter students feel included on campus and able to participate in student life, supported by the Commuter Student Experience Policy Inquiry.
Additionally, Madelaine is focusing on how departments, schools, and wider university services communicate with students. She will be exploring this over the next few months, discussing with different university groups how students can best be made aware of important information.
Olivia Davies (VP Wellbeing and Diversity)
One of Olivia's main areas of focus is improving student wellbeing through initiatives and increased support. One of the ways that she will achieve this is by the implementation of 'Wellbeing Workshops’ which will cover a variety of topics and provide further support. There are 14 workshops planned including Stress Management techniques, time management and self-care.
Olivia is also currently planning a variety of campaigns to create a more inclusive environment on campus, including Campus Unity Week, SOS: Stamp Out Spiking, Wobble Week and MENtion it. Olivia is hosting her first committee wellbeing drop-in with Josh, your Societies coordinator and Will, your Sports club coordinator. These drop-ins provide two purposes - to generally decompress and also raise any wellbeing concerns that your societies and sports club members have.
Additionally, Olivia is working towards the implementation of women’s only gym hours and/or fitness classes at RHUL sports facilities. A survey has been conducted surrounding this to find out timings that RHUL students want. Once analysis is complete, conversations will continue with Active Lifestyle and Sport to start an initial trial of women’s only gym hours and/or fitness classes.
Olivia is currently organising mental health awareness training for both the SU Venues events crew and Student Leaders.
Bana Asqalan (VP Societies and Sport)
This year, Bana is focusing on sports development and community. As part of this work, alongside the Student Voice and Sabbatical Officer team, Bana will be coordinating with the SU to launch a survey around sporting and physical activity to see what students want and how we can achieve that.
As an International student, Bana understands how crucial it is to create a second home on campus - your 'home away from home', and how student communities are the best way to achieve that. Hence, Bana will be looking at how to streamline the event proposal process to ensure a greater quality and quantity of events hosted by student communities on campus.
Alongside Olivia, VP Wellbeing and Diversity, Bana is currently working on Black History Month and MENtion it. This year’s theme for BHM is Reclaiming Narratives, filled with events that raise awareness about multiple issues. Furthermore, MENtion it, is a campaign that is meant to break the stigma about men's mental health and making campus a safe space.
