Hi everyone, I wanted to let you know about what I have on my agenda for my final semester of being a sabbatical officer. I hope you were able to read my piece just before Christmas, and I welcome your views on how we can work together on any of these plans.

Value for money:

I am a key advocate for students getting the best value for money. Being my priority plan this year I am making sure students expectations are managed and met. If student believe there are hidden course costs please do not hesitate to contact me.

Women’s campaign:

The union has designated December the name of women’s month. In Dec 2014, in collaboration with the Greater Manchester police and Greater Manchester students’ unions we launched the #noconsentnosex campaign. This is an ongoing campaign and we have the support of the university. This will involve our new chancellor of the university (Jackie Kay) as well as students, raising awareness and moving one step forward to eradicate sexual assault. The campaign will involve the new chancellor of the university (Jackie Kay). We will be constructing a consensual poem along with Jackie which will go next to the consensual wall, which will be situated in the new gateway building due for completion in 2016.

Security:

Everyone SHOULD be entitled to feel safe in the place of study and place of work. Along with Alex Thorp, VP for Science and Technology, we approached the security team who will be launching a new innovative security system, which will inevitably remove the fear of perceived threat. The union supports this initiative and we will be encouraging the security team to recruit students on its advisory board. As a union we will also be lobbying the university and the local council to create a zero tolerance policy to create a zero tolerance policy on hate crimes on and off campus. Keep an eye out for the hate crime reporting campaign we will be releasing in Jan/Feb. You can always come to us if you feel you need to report a crime against you, we can help.

International students:

As a union we will be the national union of international students’ campaign to fight for the two year post study visa. One of the University’s new priorities include internationalisation, which will see an increase in international students. So it is important to fight for this cause and take a stance against the national ill treatment towards international students. 

Please feel free to come and see me in University House, or find me on my social media accounts. Look forward to hearing from you soon!