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November 2024 Updates

Lottie James, VP Welfare & Community

International Student Representation 

At the beginning of November, I met with Lordana, your student international officer, and we discussed everything from an international student network to more cultural food festivals at SUSU. Since then, we have met with the VISA team to clarify what support can be offered to international students, and we have started to think about our Cultural Festival in semester two.  

Housing Fair + Housemate Finder 

We also had our first Housing Fair of the year, which was a massive success! I managed to give away around 300 packets of Doritos, forever labelling myself as ‘Dorito Girl’, and we then held a housemate finder event filled with sandwiches, sweet treats and drinks! I hope those events were useful for you and that you got out of it with everything you needed. If you’re still looking for housemates, need a contract check, or have any questions, come and speak to our advisers in the SUSU Advice Centre here.  

EDI Training for SUSU Staff 

The planning for our EDI training for SUSU staff is full steam ahead, and we’re currently looking at student insights to see what you feel can be improved at SUSU. I have also met with our Activities Team to discuss EDI in clubs and societies. This has been amended slightly to restructure the Welfare Role and turn it into an Inclusion Role. With this, I have proposed changes to the job description, created an inclusion best practice guide, and looked at the training offered. It’s important that our welfare officers can advocate for our underrepresented groups but don’t get caught providing mental health support for students when that is not what the role is for (and we have trained advisers who can provide support!).  

Sabbatical Officer Visibility #SabbsOnTour 

I joined the Advice Centre on tour this month, visiting university halls and talking to people. Our student feedback shows that students feel the least represented by their Sabbatical Officers, so it’s important to me that we’re visible, showing what we’re doing, and the roles reflect the needs of our student body. This has also led to our Democracy Review by Representation and Insight teams. More information will come soon about the new Sabbatical Officer roles, their roles, and everything else you will need to know. The Senate also approved this at the end of November.  

Senate 

We also had our first Senate this month. This was something I was very spooked about. I am glad all my plans were approved, with no rejections. I feel like it is difficult to reflect on this because while it impacted my life at the time, I’m writing this at the end of December, and I’m still in a bit of a food coma if I’m honest. Either way, I did my report and plans in just over seven minutes, keeping everyone on track, and I’m proud of my progress. There’s still so much I have to do, and I can’t wait to continue doing it with the support of our senators. It was a relief that all my work since July was recognised, and I got to continue working on the projects. Please keep feeding into the SUSU surveys or email me, as my work is only good if it reflects the student body’s needs. Also, whenever you’re nice to me, I screenshot it and add it to my ‘open when you’re sad’ folder. Your words impact my everyday life – don’t forget that we’re all human and doing our best.  

Trans Awareness Week (link to highlights reel) 

Trans Awareness Week might actually have been one of my favourite campaigns we have run this year. As usual, I did a social media campaign for TAW on SUSU Communities, and we had several events, from a film screening with Union Films to tote bag painting at WSA and bracelet-making at NOC. Beyond Reflections joined us for our Highfield tote-bag painting session, which was lots of fun. We handed out pronoun badges, and the snakes and ladders game was very eye-opening. Beyond Reflections is available to support all trans, non-binary, or otherwise gender-diverse students, as well as their families, friends, and allies. Beyond Reflections will join a TransMission group session, open to all trans and non-binary students at the University of Southampton, to open up a dialogue and share their services.  

For the past five months, my focus has been improving the sense of belonging and community for trans and non-binary students at the university and the union. I have been working closely with your LGBTQ+ Officer, the LGBTQ+ Society, and multiple university and union departments to ensure that everyone is aware of the needs of our trans and non-binary student community and is constantly thinking about how we can improve things. 

I know this month isn’t about making bracelets and painting totes; it’s about ensuring you feel a sense of community and the work doesn’t stop after the week ends. It’s about raising awareness and ensuring that university or education isn’t a barrier, that you get the same access as everyone else, and that you’re safe. It’s a priority for me, and while I am writing this in late December, so much progress has been made, which I will share in my December update. This isn’t for show. This isn’t ‘we’ll do some bracelets and call it a day’. I hope you’ll get to see the hard work in practice in the next few months, and I’ll keep working as long as I’m here to make sure that everyone gets the same access to education and the high-quality experience that everyone is entitled to, regardless of any background or protected characteristic. 

Disability History Month 

November also brought along Disability History Month, which has been so exciting to work with many societies keen to run events. From board games to art therapy and sports, getting involved and widening their participation has been amazing. While I wasn’t directly involved in the planning for this one, it has gone really well, and I think special props go to the Move Momentum group for their seated and wheelchair dance classes! 

Special mention to:  

  • The annual signing of the agreement between the VC and the Union President.  
  • Lube Corner (a new corner in the Advice Centre filled with lube and condoms [and sexual health info, of course]). 
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