Ed Brooker, Union President
Hello everyone! I hope you’re all well and exam stress isn’t hitting too hard, always remember your studies are not the be-all and end-all! Take breaks, soak up some sun and don’t put too much pressure on yourself! (or in true Ed fashion – have a pint 🍺
Truth be told, as I near the end of my term, I am under immense pressure to use all the annual leave I haven’t taken this year, and so there’s not too much to report from my last update.
Notably, I had a lot of fun co-hosting the Team Southampton Awards with Marina last week, congratulations to all our deserving winners and to each and every nominee. It was a very wholesome event and showed just how proud we should all be of each other for your sporting achievements this. I have no doubt that your committees and teams next year will keep up the good work!
I also had a meeting with the University and the Outer Avenue Residence Association (OARA) regarding move out day for students and what we can do to reduce waste on our streets as we all vacate properties. To keep the streets as clean as possible, I urge you to fill up your waste bins before Wednesday 26 June (for usual collection) and then refill them again as there is an extra collection on Saturday 29 June for maximum reduction of waste on the streets 😊.
I have also been out and about on campus surveying you guys for how we want sports to look in Southampton in the coming years. How we can get more people involved and what can be improved etc. If you would like to contribute please shoot either myself or Marina an email, every bit of consultation we get contributes to a better future for sports!
Finally, on Thursday 16 May, I attended the House of Lords in London to launch the Russell Group Students’ Union’s manifesto. With the looming General Election, many bodies are launching manifestos to call upon Government for change. In a nutshell, we are calling the Government to:
- Ensure the rising cost of being a student is not a barrier to participation
- Create a student living environment that supports effective learning
- Strengthen the reputation of UK Higher Education globally
- Invest in the future of UK Higher Education
You can read the full manifesto here.
We are so near the end of year now, you should all be so proud of how far you have come! Best of luck in your exams and I cannot wait to celebrate with you at the end.
Rebecca Would, VP Education and Democracy
Hi All, good luck with exams, revision and deadlines. You will also see SUSU around campus this week with YAMT (You Are More Than) events to support your mental and physical wellbeing over exams (I will be in the library with fruit bars and stress balls on Tuesday, then on the Concourse on Thursday with Ice cream!)
Last week, I had the honour and delight of hosting SUSU’s Academic Awards. This was a really wonderful evening that celebrated student reps and staff that have gone above and beyond in supporting students to have the best experiences possible. It has been my privilege and honour to work with the incredible student reps at this university – with particular congratulations to every nominee and winner of the evening. Your representation of students’ academic interests supports everyone here, and also allows me to do my role to the best of my ability. Today (if you’re reading this on the Friday it goes out), marks the end of the summer elections period where next year’s senior reps are elected, and I cannot wait to have another fantastic year supporting every rep at the university.
Despite taking some leave over the last couple weeks, I have been involved in some proposed name changes at the uni! We are currently seeking student feedback on the Academic Integrity Name Change, please share your thoughts on some of the proposed name changes and rank which options make the most sense to you. Remember if you have any concerns over this time, about academic integrity or otherwise you can speak to SUSU’s Advice Centre for support on extensions, special considerations and appeals.
Amy Moir, VP Activities
Hi everyone, hope your assessments are all going well! A short update from me today I was on annual leave last week.
This week, I filmed some video content for my ‘Share Assets and Seek Skills’ (SASS) website platform that will be going live for society use very soon.
Together with the other Sabbs, we had the final Senate meeting of our term. I’d like to thank our senators for all your work with us this year.
In the last couple of months, I have been made aware of the issue of students having videos taken of them and posted online or on social media without their knowledge or consent, especially on nights out or society socials. We are keen to gather more testimonies about this; please let us know your experiences, or those of someone you know, via this form Being filmed/photographed and posted survey.
Most excitingly this week, I have been going through all the applications for new affiliated societies and along with other staff members made the decisions of which groups will be official SUSU societies next year. Excited to see what you all get up to!
On the same subject, I will be announcing one more Society of the Month before I leave this year! If you’d like your society to be the final winner, please nominate here
I am off on annual leave again next week so will see you all on the 28th. Take care
Marina Stasi, VP Sports
Hello everyone,
I hope you’re all hanging in there during exam and assessment season and please remember to take care of your mental and physical health during this time – highly recommend heading to our socials for some top-tier advice from your fellow peers over the exam period.
I’ve had a blast co-hosting the Team Southampton Sport Awards with Ed last Friday. The entire evening was so wholesome, with immaculate vibes by everyone, creating such a lovely atmosphere at St. Mary’s – we could not have asked for a better crowd celebrating everyone’s achievements! Massive congratulations to all nominees and winners for your efforts and achievements this year, you have made us all so incredibly proud!
Varsity and Team Southampton Sport Awards content is currently being pulled through so you can expect loads of content on socials over the next few weeks.
Surprise surprise – Sports Pass discussions have now been finalised, refunds are currently being processed and you should all receive a much more detailed update from me very soon so keep an eye out.
Yesterday, we had our last Senate meeting as a Sabbatical Officer team, being held to account one last time for the work we have been doing. Minutes from the meeting are soon to be uploaded on the website is anyone’s interested to know more.
I’m taking some time off over the next few weeks before it’s handover time to your new VP Sports, Conor, and I so wish you all the best of luck with your exams – I’ll be sending all my love from the middle of the Mediterranean!
xoxo,
VP Sports
You Make Change Updates
You Make Change update: Thank you as always for your ideas and queries. This fortnight, we have been looking into requests about the design of windows in the SUSU building, expanding the options at karaoke, and received questions about finance and the result of the recent all student votes. We look forward to receiving more submissions in the next two weeks!