Posted on Fri 18 Oct 2024 at 14:53 by
Jimena Alamo Hello hello!
Another fortnight has gone by, and there’s another blog to prove how quickly time is whizzing by...
On this lovely October Friday, I want to dedicate my blog post to my manifesto! As you’ll all be aware, candidates for SU officer positions write a 500-word manifesto explaining what they think the SU’s priorities should be and what they, if elected, would focus on over the year. Admittedly, it sometimes happens that after getting elected, the business as usual of the Union and the reactive work that we do in response to different events or student requests means that our manifestos get a little forgotten. This year, to avoid our original ideas fading into oblivion, we’ve done things a bit differently. Each of the officers sat down with staff to turn our manifestos into an action plan and to do list for the year, in hopes that we’ll be better able to incorporate the manifesto work into our day-to-day, and that we’ll actually work on the things we said we would (and that got us the votes that elected us back in March!).
For the purpose of transparency, here’s my to do list in its entirety:
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1
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Improving students' sense of belonging and ownership of SU spaces
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Improving the main SU building to ensure it is relevant and accessible to students.
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Move Officer offices closer to students
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Ensuring the first floor of the Edge is a useful space for student leaders through consultation and implementation of recommendations
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Increasing the offer of space and activities in the city through SU renovation of ground floor Virgil building
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Design and facilitate a community building mechanism (i.e. boiler suits) to build pride & belonging in student participation in SU activities
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2
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Students are enabled to shape their SU at all levels of student leadership.
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Produce simplified guidance to guide students on how to affect change in their union and university
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Implement and evaluate changes to Summitt to ensure students are influencing their SU and university
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Lead a review of the officer leadership structure that is responsive to student needs
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3
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Improve the standard and offer of housing for Bath students
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Ensure more student tenants are protected through student pad by seeking to increase the properties available which meet appropriate standards.
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Influencing and ensuring student rights are protected in any future plans regarding a Uni lettings agency.
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Monitor potential impact of renters' reform bill and ensure students are protected.
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Propose business case for increased SU capacity to provide housing advice (new staff member)
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4
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Supporting students to meet their basic needs through improving student employment and needs based infrastructure
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Ensure student staff contracts start from the beginning of the academic year
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Develop a sustainable delivery and funding model for extension of a Student Pantry - seeking University delivery
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5
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Improve the support, culture and approach to international students across the university community.
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Evaluate the pilot and increase the capacity of the early arrival programme for 2025.
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Produce guidance on international student inclusion and practice to improve the culture and approach to international students across the university staffing community.
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6
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Bath Students meaningfully influence local and national spheres.
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Ensure a consistent SU appoach to attending and influencing local council meetings, enabling the wider student body to influence
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Secure student dedicated surgeries with local councillors
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Ensure NUS campaigns benefit Bath students by building strong regional influencing networks
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Improve the working relationship with local MP to enable parliamentary influence.
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7
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Establish a positive relationship and smooth transition with new University leadership
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Ensure 1 on 1's continue and build a constructive relationship with the new VC
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Secure student voice as an ongoing influencing mechanism to key university decisions and projects (i.e. student data and presence in meetings)
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Now, this definitely doesn’t mean that these are the only things I will work on over the year. It also doesn’t mean that I’ll be able to achieve them all. What it does mean is that I’m giving each of these time on my calendar, bringing them up in meetings, and coming up with specific actions to achieve as much progress as I cand during the year. At the end of it, you can be the best judges on whether or not I delivered. And if I didn’t, my commitment is to leave them all in the best possible place so I can hand them over to whoever my successor is.
As usual, please feel free to reach out with any questions on these. For no good reason except as a bonus feel good Friday item, here’s a picture of Amber and I feeding ducks on our 1:1 meeting this week. Hope it made you smile!
Have a lovely rest of your week, and hope to see some of you at Weekend Warm Up later. In the meantime, I hope you’re layering up and being kind to one another!
Much love,
Jiji x