If I am elected as a full-time officer, I will strive to improve the experiences of students at Staffordshire University in a variety of ways such as:
- Better communication of resources.
- Lecturers pushed to check up on students.
- Mental health experts to go around campus and talk to students.
- Open mic performances.
- Support service to help keep people at uni safe.
Due to covid this year, I set up the mental health and well-being society to reach out to struggling students. I found that many students were not aware of the resources available to them. Successful communication is essential to treat mental health. This leads to my first point, sending well-being resources out with the student's news, possibly replacing less critical information. In addition to this, I will push for the union to work closely with lecturers to monitor when students do not attend for long stretches.
Following this, I would like to set up an open mic night every week to showcase students' talents; this could be any form of performance.
Safety is something I am passionate about, especially for vulnerable individuals. I believe that women should be able to walk home and enjoy themselves without being harassed. Therefore, I shall set up a student volunteer-run safety service to help anyone who needs it safely get home. I am aware that these services have existed in the past, but these services are not known and not adequate.
Finally, much like the sex education professionals who go around campus to talk to students, mental health professionals should go around halls and speak to students about their mental health and explain to students the resources available. At the end of the day, if we can have honest communication about sex, why can't we have open communication about mental health.