Community Officer Blog

Hey everyone!

I was elected to this role on the basis of my manifesto points, and I’ve written another blog post which updates on each of my manifesto points and which I have completed. You can read that blog here!

I thought I’d write a separate blog giving an overview of some of the important projects and my favourite pieces of work I’ve done throughout the year that don’t fit within the topics of my manifesto points! Lots more has happened – but here’s my highlights:

 

Mental Health:

• I have discussed the issue of provision for complex mental health difficulties in meetings with the CEO of Office of Students, with Wera Hobhouse’s Office, and directly to the Vice Chancellor.
• Annie, SU President, and I bought cards and care packages for students isolating in university accommodation over Christmas due to COVID. We distributed these to over 50 university accommodations.
• I worked with the University to trial and launch the Be Well app, an app designed to help students to manage own wellbeing.

• I joined the new Suicide Prevention Task and Finish Group, in which we started planning University strategy for suicide prevention.
• I helped coordinate the Be Well Survey, collecting data on student wellbeing. I presented results from this survey directly to the Vice Chancellor.
• Mental Health Charter:

• Earlier this year, the University signed up to Student Minds Mental Health Charter. This is designed to make mental health a priority across the university, using the Mental Health Charter as a framework for structure.
• Throughout the year, I have been the Student Lead for the Charter, inputting student perspective into all strands.
• As part of this, I coordinated a Mental Health Charter engagement stand, collecting student feedback.
• The Mental Health Charter is a huge piece of work that will be handed over to the next Community Officer to continue.

 

Inclusivity:

• Be The Change:
  • Be The Change is the University’s anti-harassment and discrimination initiative, intending to tackle all forms of discrimination and harassment.
  • I gave feedback on a new Be The Change training module which was published for incoming students and student leaders to complete.
  • The campaign has had quite a slow launch, due to lack of staff resource. Therefore, I have lobbied for the campaign to be given more resource, following which 2 staff members will be working on the campaign over summer!

• Liberation Network:
  • This year, I’ve introduced and Chaired the SU’s first Liberation Network! This is a new student meeting aimed to discuss emerging EDI issues and as a method of consultation on any EDI-related work within the university and SU. You can find out more information here!
  • Some of the things discussed in Liberation Network throughout the year include gender neutral toilet provision and the name for the Accessibility Survey.
• Inclusive Spaces (Top 10):

• One of the SU Top 10 items this year was to “Commit funding to projects which will provide more inclusive spaces on campus.”
• As part of this Top 10, I’ve highlighted the need for spaces for neurodivergent students, such as toilets without hand dryers and quiet spaces across campus.
• We also worked on introducing a Black hairdressing facility in The SU which was approved and will be launching soon!
• Additionally, I’ve spent a lot of time working on the University’s gender-neutral toilet provision. I co-authored a paper regarding gender neutral toilets, which was presented at the University’s highest Equality and Diversity Committee.
• Following this, the University will be publishing a map of current gender-neutral toilet provision, significantly improving signage of gender-neutral toilets, and developing guidance on the toilet provision needed to be used for new builds in the future.

 

Disability:

• Earlier in the year, I had the opportunity to meet with the Government Minister for Disabled People and I highlighted the need for more NHS service resource for diagnoses.
• I also coordinated the Accessibility Survey – a survey we used to gather feedback from 2000 registered disabled students and students self-identifying as disabled. We collated data on inclusivity of campus and effectiveness of disability services.
• Following the issues highlighted in the Accessibility Survey, we set up the University Disability Steering Group to address the outcomes of the survey.
• The group is also going through an audit of the physical accessibility of campus and pushing for a systematic process for prioritising which changes should be made first.

 

Safe Taxi Scheme:

• Over last summer, I worked on setting up scheme whereby students can get a taxi from V Cars without having to pay on the night. All details of how the scheme works can be found here!
• The involved researching the idea, discussing with relevant parties, writing a proposal, and ensuring accounts and partnerships were set up.
• I have also set up a feedback form for students to use and liaised with V Cars regarding any issues that have been faced.
• I’m so pleased to see that 24 students have used the Safe Taxi Scheme this year, allowing them to get home when they may not have money on the night.

 

Drug Harm Reduction (Top 10):

• One of the SU Top 10 items this year was to “Create University harm reduction policies around recreational drug use and commit to resourcing activities that support this work.”
• This was one of my biggest projects this year and we successfully lobbied the University to shift to a harm reduction approach to recreational drug use!
• After 26 meetings and many proposals, the University published a statement outlining their drug harm reduction approach!
• The SU also set up a partnership with local charity DHI, who now come to campus weekly, providing a drop-in service for students to access drug harm reduction advice and collect reagent test kits! This operates Thursdays 11am-1pm during term time, and all information can be found here!

 

Drink Spiking:

• Back in Semester 1, we ran a campaign to tackle the issue of drink spiking. Read all about our response to the issue in this article.
• This included writing and releasing an open letter for students to sign to call for action from local bars and nightclubs. I was pleased to see 604 students sign the open letter, highlighting the student voice behind this issue.
• As part of the campaign, I spoke with Heart Radio West Country and Student Campus TV about the issue of drink spiking. We also presented a paper around drink spiking directly to the Vice Chancellor
• Annie, SU President, and I have attended several meetings with many local nightclubs and bars, local police, and night marshals, to work collaboratively on the issue of drink spiking. This included setting up a training session in Komedia for all venues to attend around drink spiking prevention.
• We also set up a recent drinking spiking awareness event on campus for students to attend, with local police present to discuss steps taken since the campaign.

 

Student Parents:

• I had the opportunity to sit on the Student Parent Bursary Panel, helping to allocate bursaries to student parents who had applied.
• I also worked with Westwood Nursery for their casual jobs to be advertised to students for the first time!

 

Diversity and Support Student Groups:

• This year, we organised a recognition event for Nightline volunteers, giving them free pizza and an opportunity for us to thank them for their amazing work.
• I’ve also worked closely with D&S Chairs, including inputting to Nightline’s suicide policy and helping with LGBT+’s partnership with Off The Record for their transgender support group.

 

Sexual Consent:

• I worked very closely with the University on their sexual consent training module, which was made mandatory for all incoming students. This included making significant edits to the script to ensure it is appropriate for the student population.

 

Sexual Health:

• We’ve been working on the SU and University sexual health provision. For example, we’ve been looking into introducing a chlamydia test kit pick up point on campus, and we’ve been looking into providing alternative sexual health provision to free condoms in the Advice & Support Centre. These projects are still in the works!

 

Menstrual Health:

• For the first time ever, we introduced free emergency menstrual products in the Advice & Support Centre and in the Plug & Tub toilets for students to collect!
• We’ve also been looking into providing more sustainable menstrual product provision for long-term use, such as menstrual cups. Watch this space!

 

Local Community:

• Throughout the year, I’ve been the Chair of the Student Community Partnership Board – working with other education providers and the local council to address student community issues.
• I helped with the Moving In Campaign by knocking on doors to welcome local residents and student residents at the start of the academic year.
• We also ran a Moving Out Campaign stand on campus and distributed free cleaning supplies and information about moving out to students. As part of this, we advertised Marks Out of Tenancy as a way for students to rate their landlords/letting agents.
• I coordinated an engagement activity at the University bus stop, talking to students about any difficulties they’ve faced while living in the local community and sharing this with SCP Board.
• I also attended a public information event with the university about local community issues.

 

Housing:

• I recently reviewed the SU’s Look After Your Mate training and suggested this is run for students in halls, who may be living with housemates who are experiencing difficulties.
• I’ve also Chaired Halls Forum throughout the year, working with our amazing Hall Reps!

 

Refugees/Asylum Seekers:

• I had the opportunity to sit on the panel who decide which applicants receive the Postgraduate Sanctuary Scholarships.
• Thanks to the work of the amazing students in Amnesty and STAR, the University agreed to waiver the tuition fees for an undergraduate scholarship earlier this year!

 

Other:

• I’ve been involved in recruitment for a number of university and SU staff members, including Head of Student Policy and Safeguarding, SU Peer Support Coordinator, Student Voice Coordinator, Student Discipline Officer, Student Casework Manager, Disability Service Team Leader, Culture and Inclusion Training Officer.

• I’ve planned and delivered SU induction talks at several induction sessions, including Beginning at Bath, mature students, international student, and Exchange students.

• As a member of SUmmit, I have submitted standpoints on various topics, including non-disclosure agreements, the accessibility of campus, gender neutral toilets, and university mental health provision.
• I was also involved in the awards this year! I helped with shortlisting winners and presented at Education Awards and SU Awards to an audience of over 400 students!

 

These are some of my highlights of the work I’ve been a part of this year! I’ve had the best time as Community Officer and have gained some fantastic experience!

A huge thank you each and every student and staff member who has helped me along the way. None of the projects I’ve taken on this year would have been at all possible without your help.