Throughout the past few weeks, we, as your elected Officer Team have been advocating for all Salford students as we navigate the challenges presented by COVID-19, combined with new UK lockdown measures. The challenges that we have been presented with are not simply isolated to Salford students but rather, there are similar barriers that are affecting the everyday experiences of millions of students up and down the UK. Therefore, as part of our Covid Listening Project, Salford Students’ Union are proud to support the National Union of Students’ #StudentsDeserveBetter campaign, that aims to address the neglect that students have experienced, rectify the support and ensure the overall University experience of millions of students is amended to a standard that we all expect.

 

 

There are four calls to action that the NUS are leading on:

• Uphold students' basic legal rights – students should not be treated differently to other members of the public, or scapegoated in any way. Under no circumstances should students be restricted, threatened or policed by private security forces.
• The right to leave without financial detriment – including exiting accommodation to access education entirely online, deferring or permanently dropping out of the course.
• Fair treatment during accommodation lockdowns – rent reimbursement for lockdown periods and free internet access, care packages with food, household products, wellbeing materials and general necessities, and targeted educational & mental health support, with facilitation of social activity.
• An effective strategy for education now and for post-covid recovery – Now: an effective test & trace system in place, a move to online teaching as default and immediate financial & wellbeing support. Post-Covid: investment into digital infrastructure and mental health support. Future: a new strategy that delivers lifelong, funded and accessible education for everyone in society.

The NUS have laid out a series of practical and realistic ways by which you can engage in the #StudentsDeserveBetter campaign; from simply signing the petition to writing to your local MP, a full list of activities and involvement can be found on the NUS website (https://www.nusconnect.org.uk/nus-uk/students-deserve-better/take-action-because-studentsdeservebetter). But you won’t be doing this alone. As you can see from the link above, there is an entire section that is dedicated to what Students’ Unions and Sabbatical Officer team can do – and trust us, we will be continuing the work we have done over the past 9 months to ensure your voices are heard throughout every decision that is made.