The weather is getting cooler, the geese are getting louder, our campus is getting busier – these are all signs that the new academic year is upon us! While campus hasn’t looked busy over these past few months, behind the scenes we’ve all been working hard to give us the best start for the year ahead of us. The four of us haven’t just been filming tiktoks – we’ve been attending meetings, writing articles, and completely revamping the way that your Students’ Union works! I’m so super excited to see campus so full of life again, and I have a strong feeling that this year will be the best in a long time (I’m not biased though). If you’re curious, here’s a little update on things I’ve been working on this summer:
The Lighthouse
Starting off strong with my favourite project: The Lighthouse – Reading SU’s newly refurbished wellbeing room in upper 3Sixty. Ellie and I have worked incredibly hard to make the room come to life (with a few patchy-looking brushstrokes and some flat pack furniture assembly from Ash and Jam) and I can confidently say that we’re both very proud of it. We painted the whole room by hand, so if you see any patches or paint spatters – no you didn’t.
We wanted to refurbish it with students in mind, creating a comforting place where anyone is welcome to visit for any reason. Ellie and I put a lot of thought into designing it and making it accessible for a wide range of students, with a plethora of fidget toys, colouring pages, plants, soft lighting, white noise machines, and a blackout room with massage chairs! The back of my poor little car looked like a tiny version of B&Q all summer, and we’ve spent a lot of time getting lost in IKEA. For the time being, The Lighthouse will be open from 9am-5pm on Monday-Friday, so feel free to pop in for a visit!
Trusted Landlords
Every single year there are no shortages to the house/landlord-related horror stories students have. I both know of and have personally experienced some certified shockers, that could have been prevented if I either signed my contract later or knew about my landlord beforehand. Students having trouble with housing has unfortunately been somewhat normalised, but I’m really keen to do what I can to help and cushion some of the more stressful aspects of living away from home for the first time. One great thing that is happening this year is that housing week is being pushed back to November, meaning that students aren’t scrambling to move in with people they barely know. Contracts shouldn’t be signed until six months before the move-in date (so no more signing 10+ months before, it should be around December this year) which will give a little extra time to get to know the people you’ll be living with and make informed decisions about the property. While it’s impossible to completely fix every problem under the sun, I’m hoping to give students that little bit of extra trust by helping to run a landlords’ forum in order to ensure that the landlords you may sign a contract with can be trusted. More updates surrounding this will be posted, as well as information surrounding events to help you find others to house share with!
Super Secret Top Secret Project
I’ve been working really hard to figure out the logistics of this project, but I’m so sure that you’ll love it! I want to give students something fun and meaningful to contribute to outside of academia, and something that will not only boost your CV but give you a fun story to tell. The current date for this is early February, so keep an eye out for any other hints I’ll be posting!
Aside from these, I’ve also been sitting on so many committees, attending meetings with SU trustees and university staff, and representing the student voice when meeting with UPP and the local community. We’re all very keen on transparency (with the coming release of the Feedback Loop – a place for your voice to be heard!) so feel free to email me with any questions, suggestions, and any other things!
Bella |
