Pride

I hosted and led Pride. The day was as successful as I could ever have hoped, the day led to some extremely rewarding conversations and has given hundreds of students better access to vital services. At Pride we also highlighted a campaign led by our Trans rep, Avery who has continued to be extremely active on her campaigns. As the first event at the SU with a political slant this year, I think the speeches were well received hand had a great impact.

Casework

As an elected officer I sit on casework panels. These are the highest level of student complaints and academic misconduct and can take up a significant proportion of time. I have been on panels that have awarded thousands of pounds in damages to students, I have also been on panels where students have been expelled for serious academic misconduct.

Student services

Since August I have been able to create an effective working relationship with student services and now, we work in close partnership. I have worked with them to bring Burnley campus to the centre of discussions with the result that a new full-time inclusive support mental health advisor is being hired in Burnley and I will be in the interview panel for that position. Additionally, I visit Burnley regularly with the Director of student services and others to discuss our wellbeing strategy there. The Union continues to be a critical friend with the student services department.

University Mental Health Charter

The Mental Health Charter is an award given by Student Minds to incentivise universities across the country to improve their mental health provision. The Charter considers every aspect of university life and every type of support offered by the university. I am the student lead on the charter so I sit on most of the committees that contribute to UCLan’s final submission an I will write the student submission that goes to Student Minds. The institution is in a great place to begin this work as UCLan has significantly better mental health provision than many other universities. The Charter is a great opportunity for UCLan to find where improvements need to be made and I’d appreciate any feedback reps have regarding mental health support at UCLan.

Campaigns (TW – SA/DA/Suicide)

My work on campaigns has had to take less of a priority than other aspect of my job due to time constraints, but I am still working on two campaigns. I will launch a consent campaign to try and prevent sexual assaults and encourage the reporting of assaults. As part of this campaign I will also work with external experts to think of how to support victims of domestic abuse. I will also relaunch Man Down with new data and potentially some small redesigns. There is some scope to expand Man Down to other SUs across the Northwest, but these plans are at a very early stage.

Working with other charities (TW – substance abuse/alcohol)

I have been talking with a drugs harm reduction charity called We Are With You about potentially opening a drop-in at the SU. This would mean that students could get professional advice and education about drugs, alcoholism, substance abuse and addiction free of charge on campus. It’s a very exciting opportunity, but a long process. Additionally, I am starting to consider the possibility of hosting Andy’s Man Club on campus, the charity offers peer led support groups for men struggling with long term and short term mental health issues. These are both great charities and I really hope we can accommodate them.

UCLan SU Board

As part of being an officer, I am a trustee of the Union. This means that I work with the board of trustees to make the highest level of strategic decisions at the Union. We evaluate budgets, assess risks to the charity, develop strategy and lead the direction of the Union.

Community engagement

SU staff and I are assembling student campaigning groups to give us feedback from students in protected characteristic groups so that we can better support those communities and lobby the university more effectively. The first disabled student forum was a success, with in depth conversations that will facilitate change for the students involved as well as the wider student body. Events such as the international student get togethers also allow us to gather vital feedback whilst ensuring communities have their own space to make friends and have fun.

Mitigating circumstances

In my opinion, it is clear that the mitigating circumstances system is deeply flawed. It is inconsistent, inflexible, unclear and damaging to many students. I am working with Charlotte (VP Education) and others to change academic registry policy. This is a project that will take at least a year to fully complete.