fbpx

July 2024 Updates

Lottie James, VP Welfare & Community

I am delighted to be back in the office and getting to know the new faces of SUSU! The past month has been intense – but amazing! It has been a wonderful feeling introducing myself as your new Vice President of Welfare and Community and feeling like I fit in with the role. It’s like someone has put a badge on me saying “You belong here” – so thank you to everyone for being so kind and welcoming.

Trans and Non-Binary Support

When I told you I’d be getting right in on the job from the first day, I wasn’t kidding around. I am delighted to share that the Gender Expression Fund has been allocated £750 in funding and will be available for gender-diverse students to apply for. This ring-fenced amount came from weeks of contacting other SUs, chatting to current trans and non-binary students, and writing up proposals. The application will allow £50 per student for the first semester as a trial run. After that, if the Fund goes well, I will be proposing that the Fund becomes a permanent SUSU offering.

As I mentioned, I have been actively collecting feedback from trans and non-binary students since I started the role. This means I have been able to feed into different meetings sharing their feedback and ensuring that my role is inclusive. I have been working with the LGBTQ+ Officer and the iSolutions team to tackle the deadnaming issues. Recently, the University introduced their Inclusion and Respectful Behaviour Policy that covers both deadnaming and misgendering as discriminatory actions that can face disciplinary action. I have also been working with the University’s EDI team and the SUSU Sustainability team to create a clothes swap and clothes tailoring event for LGBTQ+ students who have moved away from home. If this is their first chance of expressing their gender, or even themselves, then I want to ensure they have access to items that will support them, without the price tag of a whole new wardrobe. This is something I aim to work with the LGBTQ+ Officer and the LGBTQ+ Society on, but also Southampton RAG (for fundraising purposes) and Southampton Hookers, Knitters and Stitchers.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

I have created a men’s mental health working group consisting of students and SUSU staff. We have been discussing ideas for International Men’s Day as well as further events that can get men talking about their wellbeing, for example, 5km walks and pub nights.

I also want to reduce the stigma of loneliness and homesickness when students start University, specifically around November time when, according to insights, mental health seems to worsen. Other areas I’d like to focus on include healthy lifestyles, healthy relationships, and international student mental health.

Another one of my projects is welfare spaces. While the former welfare room has been demoted back to an office (where I will live), the Advice Centre and I have been thinking of ways we can introduce welfare spaces at large-scale events, such as Freshers, Elections Night Live, club nights, Stags Karaoke, etc. I’m happy to share that there will be welfare/medical spaces at Freshers, so keep an eye out for them.

Sam, the Head of the Advice Centre, and I met with Solent Vineyard to discuss creating a sense of community at SUSU for groups that might not usually use the venues, as well as increasing the food bank and what we can offer students. Don’t forget that if you are in need of food, please come and talk to the Advice Centre to see how we can help.

Independent Living

In another area of my manifesto lives the Independent Living project which aims to support students transition into, throughout, and after university. This includes learning the basic skills, such as cooking and cleaning. Feedback from students suggests that they’re not sure where to start. I am hoping that we will be able to deal with this through the use of guides. The Residences Lifecycle team at the University are already ahead of us in this matter. They have set up a blog called Halls Life which aims to cover all areas of – well, halls life! They are also introducing cooking classes for freshers (available via recording for other students) and plan to create resources to help students know what to purchase when it comes to the basic kitchen essentials. I previously worked with the Residences Lifecycle team in my last term in office, as well as when I was a student in my first year. We created cleaning guides to support students, so they know what to look out for during inspection. They are so kind and willing to support students, and I am so excited to work with them again this year.

Period Products

While I can’t give much update on the period products project that Amy, the Advice Centre and the Sustainability team led on, I can let you know that I am planning on continuing the period poverty campaign of reducing stigma. I have discussed with the SUSU Events team about running a bracelet-making workshop to raise awareness for Menstrual Hygiene Day.

City Safety

I have met with the Southampton City Council regarding the city safety and attended the Winchester Violence Against Women and Girls board meetings. I would urge students to complete the Hampshire Police Commissioner survey that has just been released to ensure we’re all on the same page about Southampton’s priorities.

Student Officers

I am thrilled that all six of my student officers have been elected in the summer election. I have met with Sophia (LGBTQ+ Officer), Georgina (Wellbeing Officer), and Maria (Disabilities Officer) to discuss that their plans and get them involved early in SUSU and University meetings, including planning for Asexual Awareness Week, the University’s Estates Masterplan meetings, and academic support.

That’s all from me for this month – see you next month!