Wednesday 04-12-2024 - 09:41

Hi guys! So, what have I been working on?

Travel survey

Well, you may have seen me dressed up as a bus, looking ridiculous on socials. This was on purpose to align to my cost-of-living manifesto goals. The intent was to go out and promote our transport survey for collecting experiences on commuting to university.

It is clear that many students struggle with the cost of travelling into campus, we just needed data to prove it from this survey.  From this I will create a paper to deliver to LJMU and the council to align with their new bus franchising powers. All with the aim of lobbying for further Student discounts or travel passes and an increased night bus service.

Copperas Hill Crossing

Also, with the crossing. Me and Seren (VP education) went out to interview students to collect opinions of safely crossing this road. This was a success as the evidence we collected lead to a road and traffic management member do a site viewing next to SLB. They seemed open to introducing soft measures like “slow down “signs or “pedestrians crossing” to slow cars. They also wanted to impose restrictions on how far up the street the taxis could park as not to obstruct pedestrians. And lastly, they said ideally a crossing with lights could be built, however this would need to be funded by the university. I have been raising this in meetings and I am optimistic we can resolve this issue as university staff have spoken previously about putting funds into this crossing and its student’s safety, but I will create an update once it is finalised, and a physical crossing can be seen being built.

Sustainability

On another note, I have been co-creating a sustainability policy for JMSU that has been approved and I’m continuing to work on the actions for the union to take in the future to become more climate friendly. I would also like student involvement, so I am looking to revive the student green council next term for students to directly feedback their ideas.

Inclusivity

Inclusivity is also on my manifesto. I have been collecting together feedback from international students about any issues they face. From this I have been passing it on to the relevant people, and I will continue to chase it up to make sure changes are made so that services are fair and considerate of all different types of students. I am also creating a speed friending event for next term with the aim of introducing international students to home students with food and fun!

Lobbying MPs regarding student housing

You might have also seen that me and Alexandria (VP community and wellbeing) visited Parliament. This was a part of an NUS campaign to abolish guarantors and amend the renter’s rights bill. Students can end up homeless as finding a guarantor can discriminate against international students and those from low-income backgrounds. There is the option to pay for a guarantor, but not all students can afford this. So, me and Alex met with MP Kim Johnson who pledged to support the abolishment of guarantors in favour of a better system.

Other bits and bobs...

I am working with LJMU catering by giving feedback from students about core café, and I will be organising focus groups to give ideas for future menu additions to the offering available. I have also been leading the trials to pick our team to apply for this years’ university challenge for series 32. Lastly, I have been doing my best to appear at all JMSU popups, do induction presentations and become familiar with students. I will continue to make myself visible and accessible at events coming up as I look forward to refreshers!

Brenin :)