Our VP Student Communities, Emily Harrison, launched our Sites Survey this week to hear your feedback on how we can improve student life at Avenue and Boldrewood campuses, the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton General Hospital and the Winchester School of Art.

If you spend time studying at any of these campuses, whether it’s a full week or just a few hours, we want to hear from YOU! Whatever ideas you have about how they can be improved or how we can extend the Union’s presence there, let us know.

Complete the survey here: Sites Survey

If you have any … Read the rest

The Union’s Culture Festival is right around the corner, so we’ve met with some of the societies involved to get to know them a little better. First up was Persian Society, who will be hosting the Persian Fire Festival (چهارشنبه‌سوری‎) during Culture Festival.

Persian society has over 400 members, which includes students, staff and their families. The society aims to support Iranian students and staff who have come to the UK to study and/or work – welcoming them into their community. Members of the society are from a wide range of backgrounds and religions.

The society meets every … Read the rest

Who do you think should lead the Union during 2018/19?

Campaigning in our Spring Elections has now begun for all candidates. The countdown is on to Elections Night Live (Friday 02 March), so candidates will need to win those all important votes (you may have spotted lots of posters around campus!).

It can be tricky to decide who you think is the best person for each role. On Monday SUSUtv  live streamed seven Meet the Candidates interviews, to grill each candidate running for a Full-Time Officer role on their key points and how they would implement these, should they … Read the rest

Hey everyone, it’s Arun Aggarwal (VP Student Communities) and Sam Higman (VP Welfare) here.

This year we’ve seen a rise in the number of reported issues around harassment come to the Sabbatical team, and be publicly risen. Because of this, we have worked alongside the Stand Up To Racism Society to better the Union’s method of reporting harassment and allow us to gather data.

We have come up with a new service to facilitate how to report those issues and how we can provide support to affected people. This new service will be in the shape of an online form … Read the rest

Hi guys, it’s Arun Aggarwal, Vice President of Student Communities for 2017/18. As you might know, we have a campus in Malaysia which I’ve just come back from!

Part of my remit as a Sabbatical Officer at the Students’ Union is to look at our offer at sites and campuses, and see how we can work to represent students and enhance their student experience.

With our Malaysian campus, we helped a few years ago students set up the Student Association (basically us but ‘Unions’ are prohibited there…) and run their first elections. Historically, we send them an amount of money … Read the rest

In last week’s blog we gave you some more information about the VP Engagement and VP Education roles. Today we’re rounding it off with some information about the roles of VP Communities, VP Sports and VP Democracy and Creative Industries (DCI).

VP Communities

Passionate about inclusivity? Interested in different cultures? 

Working with the Student Communities Coordinator, this role consists of raising awareness of multiculturalism in Southampton and celebrating diversity across campuses. You’ll be working closely with relevant Student Leaders and staff members to deliver the Union’s campaigns and projects at all sites. You will ensure that the voices of our students … Read the rest

Hey there, it’s Arun Aggarwal, Vice President Student Communities for 2017/18. I wanted to take a moment to give a quick update about You Make Change, and the Union’s policy on breastfeeding on our campuses.

Before the Christmas holidays, we received a You Make Change submission regarding breastfeeding facilities across our campuses – specifically Highfield. We were informed that the current provisions were often oversubscribed or unsanitary/demeaning (e.g. toilets). To better understand the problem and come up with the most suitable options, I have worked closely with Lauren Coffin, a first year student parent, and our NOC Officer … Read the rest

Earlier this month, we had our first Senate meeting of the academic year.  One of the main purposes of the Senate is to hold the Sabbatical Officers to account. At each of the meeting, our officers give an update on their plan and students can ask questions about progress.

Union Senate also monitors the work of our Zone Committees, Union Officers and Trustee Board, check considerable expenditure by the Students’ Union and takes decisions on major Union issues. These meetings are open to everyone – any student can speak at and take part in Senate meetings, but only the members … Read the rest