August 2024 Updates

August has been much less productive than July. We have been putting in the behind the scenes work of the Gender Expression Fund to get it ready for its September launch, and lots more progress that you can read about … now!  

Sexual Health and Consent 

The Consent Matters module developed by SUSU and the University has been shortened to just fifteen minutes. Thanks to student feedback, we have also included a pop-up that explains the legal terminology used within the training module. Please do complete the training, even if you feel like you do not need to, it is important that we are all on the same page as consent.  

Southern Union Conference 

SUSU attended the Surrey Southern Union Conference this month to network with other Students’ Unions, learn about their priorities, and, well, just learn! There are lots of actions I am taking back to SUSU with me, including peer support for BAME and International Students and more events for Black History Month! 

LGBTQ+ Support 

With the Gender Expression Fund approved, I have been working on other projects including working with the University’s Careers and Residences Lifecycle team to ensure they are providing tailored support for LGBTQ+ students. I have also been working on Asexual Awareness Week with the SUSU Activities team, the LGBTQ+ Officer and the LGBTQ+ Society. Given I will be away from September 10th to October 10th, Rebecca has kindly agreed to be the Sabb lead on this until I am back. I have also been working with the SUSU Activities team to bring an LGBTQ+ Mixer event to the Freshers’ programme. I think this is essential in ensuring a sense of community and belonging at SUSU. I have also been working with the SUSU People Team and the SUSU Advice Team on embedding specific LGBTQ+ (and wider EDI) training to the student-facing roles, as well as throughout all of SUSU. I have been encouraging all staff to wear their lanyards and pronoun badges, as requested via student feedback.  

Report and Support tool 

The Report and Support tool will be facing upgrades, and the University is keen that students understand what it is meant for. As it can be confusing, I will be working with university staff, as well as SUSU staff and student officers to ensure that it is clear.  

Disability History Month  

Planning for Disability History Month is going ahead in collaboration with the lovely Neurodiversity and Disability Society. Our SUSU Activities team look after all of our campaigns, so if you have any ideas, please do reach out on suactivities@soton.ac.uk. I’ve been talking to the University’s Water Sports team about getting students out on the board as part of Disabilities in Sports, and I am hoping the Disabled Students’ Network we plan to launch in October will be able to feed into the activities. 

Period Products 

I am pleased to share that the period products project has been approved and new vending machines filled with tampons and pads will be installed in SUSU toilets.  

Democracy Review 

Our Insights and Representation teams have started the democracy review this month which looks at shaping our representative roles (i.e. the Sabbs and the Student Officers) to fit with the needs and priorities of the students. If you have any opinions on this, please do raise them with representation@soton.ac.uk.  

Alcohol Awareness Campaign 

We have started discussing and planning our Alcohol Awareness Campaign that was so successful last year. I’m thrilled about dressing up as a banana so keep your eyes peeled – get it?! 

Well – that’s it from me this month. I won’t be around in September due to surgery and medical leave, but I’ll see you in October! Miss you already!