October 2024 Updates

I’m baaaack! Welcome to the spookiest updates you’ll receive from me this year. I’m so excited to be back, and I am right in time to celebrate Asexual Awareness Week with you all. I have a couple updates from September (nothing major enough to be its own newsletter), and lots to update you on from busy October. So, without further ado…

Sabbatical Officer visibility

I have been making my Sabbatical Officer debut at various Student Life talks across the University. It was amazing meeting prospective and current students and showing off how amazing SUSU is.

I have also been working with SUSU and the University’s Marketing teams to do various TikTok trends and we did a lovely video for International Mental Health Day.

I’m also happy to announce that the Sabbs officially have their own Instagram accounts. If you remember me from my last term in office, I loved having my own social media to chat to you all and get to know you. My only regret is that when I left my first role, I changed the Facebook profile picture to “Mr Stark… I don’t feel so good…” and faded out. I even said, “Lottie may return”! I forgot to fade back in on Instagram. 🙁 However, this Instagram will be full of my updates, updates from your student Liberation Officers, and all things campaigns! I hope to see you over there – find us on @susu_communities.

Student Officers manifestos

I am delighted that Achsah (BAME Officer) and Lordana (International Officer) have joined us and officially started in their student voluntary roles. We met with them to discuss their manifestos for the upcoming year which includes ACS coffee mornings, culture events, a space for international students to make friends and raise concerns, queer BAME networks, and more! Keep an eye out on Instagram to learn more about our Officers and what they are up to.

Freshers Feedback

I met with the SUSU Marketing and Insights team this month to chat about Freshers and your feedback. I want to make sure that Freshers is suitable for all students, including neurodivergent, disabled, mature, parents, postgrads, LGBTQ+, and everyone else! We are working on your feedback, and it will be used to improve the Freshers’ experience next year.

LGBTQ+ Support

This month, we have been planning for Asexual Awareness Week and Transgender Awareness Week. This involves mixers, crafternoons, collaborations with local LGBTQ+ charities, and social media takeovers. Keep an eye out for what we, the LGBTQ+ Officer and the LGBTQ+ Society have planned for you.

The University have also set up its own network for trans and non-binary students called the TransMission group. It aims to create a safe space for gender-diverse students to come and meet like-minded people. If you’d like to find out more, check out the MySouthampton app.

I met with the Residences Lifecycle team to chat about how we can best support LGBTQ+ students in halls of residences. This brought up that the team are currently working with Trans in the City to improve their understanding and provide a more inclusive experience.

Finally, the clothes swap has been planned! The clothes swap, that will also support with the cost of living, will run in the LGBTQ+ History Month in February. This is in collaboration with Southampton RAG, and we will be requesting a £1 donation for entry (not per item or weight) and students can pick up what they like and swap some of their existing clothing. The donations will go towards a local LGBTQ+ charity. I will be working with Southampton Hookers, Knitters and Stitchers on some tailoring sessions, but we’re still in the planning stages.

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has used the Gender Expression Fund. I am thrilled to share that we have funded over £400 worth of applications. If you are gender-diverse and in need of financial assistance to purchase items that support your gender experession, don’t hesitate to fill out an application as soon as possible!

Disabled Students’ Network

The Disabled Students’ Network has officially launched and will be occurring monthly so make sure you’re there! We have a form that will allow you to submit questions (you can be anonymous) that can be raised. Thank you to the students, SUSU and University staff who attended the first network meeting. I hope to see more students on the 13^th of November for our next meeting!

Campaigns

As briefly mentioned, we have been organising Ace Awareness Week, Trans Awareness Week and Disability History Month in the background this month. This includes student involvement, and I will be requesting further support from students who may not be involved in the groups we usually contact for help. If you’d like to be involved in any of our campaigns or have an idea for a campaign day we don’t celebrate, please get in touch!

We have also been planning for an Alcohol Awareness Campaign that we did last year. Nothing will stop me from dressing up as a banana.

EDI for SUSU

I have met with the SUSU People team and the SUSU Advice Centre to discuss EDI training for staff. The aim of this is to provide the teams, especially student-facing teams, with the basic understanding of the barriers some students face within education and within their extracurricular activities. This includes specific training on neurodivergence and disabilities, LGBTQ+, BAME, and more.

I have been working with the Council to organise domestic abuse training for the Advice Centre which will hopefully support more students during appointments. While the Advice Centre will not be able to support you directly, they will be able to notice signs and signposts appropriately to ensure you are safe. It also covers the use of inclusive language.

I have been meeting with the SUSU Representation team to identify how we can keep the impact of Elections Night Live but reduce the sensory overload. For example, the confetti cannon that goes off is quite loud – though it is now quieter than in previous years. I also want to implement a welfare space where if a candidate has not been elected to their position, they can have a space to chat. This is important as the period of elections is a stressful one and it can be an emotional time for everyone, even if you win! One of our Representation Coordinators has been researching how other Students’ Unions do their equivalent to Elections Night Live, including letting the candidates know who has been elected in advance, having the night online, or not making an event out of it! If you have any thoughts, please do let us know.

International students

While I haven’t been able to collaborate with Kent SU as much as I would like, I am pleased to share that their Beyond Borders petition has now gone live on the government petition website. This petition aims to improve the employment rights given to international students which can also support them financially throughout the year. I have the link in my Instagram bio, so please do check it out and sign!

EDI in residences

I recently met with the Residences Lifecycle team and the Team Southampton sports team to chat about how we can improve access to sports. This has resulted in talks about offering free sports activities at halls (in the green spaces) and starting up monthly walks for mindfulness and making friends.

While I do not look after the Halls Officer in my remit, I did want to shout out Alex who has now been elected as Halls Officer. If you have any queries or concerns, you can raise them with Alex whose email address is now available on the SUSU website.

Community

The Sabbs and I met with a local councillor this month to talk about Southampton. We discussed a campaign that improved the reputation of students in Southampton, how to get students out to community events, making Southampton a home away from home, and city safety.

Society comms

While attending society events this month, I have noticed that communication can be better between SUSU and societies in the evenings. I have met with two members of staff at SUSU, including the Head of Activities, to discuss how we can improve society communications so that if Reception is closed or someone can’t find a member of the Facilities team, the society is able to call a number. This hasn’t been completely resolved yet, but we are getting close to a resolution.

Sabb plans

I am so ready for Senate. Are you ready for Senate? I hope to see you there! Our first Senate, where you can see what your Sabbs are up to and hold us accountable, is on the 27th of November. Check out the SUSU What’s On for more information!

Wellbeing spaces

For my last update, I am happy to share that there are in fact wellbeing spaces on some campuses! A happy surprise that there are a couple of rooms available in Highfield and on NOC, and we even have a sensory room. The Student Hub can advise you further on how to book rooms (not all need to be booked), so please do reach out to them for further information. Of course, I will continue to lobby for wellbeing rooms at WSA, Avenue Campus, Boldrewood and the Sir James Matthew building.

Thank you for sticking around for this long – I’ll see you next month for my November updates. 😊