Month one has now been and gone and I’m amazed at how quickly it’s passed! It’s been a bit of a whirlwind adventure and in my first four weeks ‘in office’ I had about 7 days spent actually in the office as I was travelling to a lot of NUS conferences and training events, as well as Students’ Unions elsewhere in England – doing my best to soak up as much information as possible. They were really beneficial, and I trust that they will serve me well throughout this year in how I can support students. Not only was the content of each training event top quality, but the people I met, who either work for NUS or are sabbatical officers elsewhere in the country, had great ideas from their campus, some of which I could readily adopt and personalise for Lincoln – networking was key!
The main things I have been working on this month, in the time I have spent in the office, are the Student Buddy Scheme, Inter-faith Forum, International Friends, Groups, Community Litter Picks, Kids on Kampus, Carholme Community Gala, The Housing Booklet and assisting a number of students with issues they have been facing. So I have been a busy wee bee, but it’s been a really great month and I can’t wait until the students return en masse in September and we can build some momentum! To clarify this list of things, I’ll detail each below:
The Student Buddy Scheme: My predecessor, Andrew Twagira, began this peer-to-peer scheme which provides support for students facing any difficulties, from academic stress, bullying, to loneliness or homesickness – any issue, no matter how small, our Buddies are happy to help. During my handover week I met with Sally and David who train our Buddies and we were able to set the dates for the training. I felt it important that the Buddies were trained and ready to support students by Welcome Week so the training is taking place throughout September. Once the dates were set I met with Jane Kilby, our Volunteer Coordinator at the Volunteering Department to discuss recruitment of Buddies. An advert went up on the Volunteering website and the link was circulated on social media and by email and in next to no time we had secured our team! If you ever feel you may benefit from the scheme, if you feel a bit lost or just want someone to talk to, send a wee email to buddies@lincoln.ac.uk and someone will be in touch!
Inter-faith Forum: Subash Chellaiah is the University Chaplain and supports people of all faiths, or no faith, in any issues they may be facing. He is a really genuine, down to earth guy and a pleasure to chat to. I have been working with him to expand on the successes of Inter-faith Forum from last year and we hope to put on a number of events throughout the year to facilitate understanding of people from different faiths and discuss and debate the merits of religious belief. Remember, you don’t have to be of a particular faith to take part. Join the Facebook group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/491695464195310/] and look out for event updates from September.
International Friends: This is a new initiative I am hoping to launch in time for September, however it may be a bit later in the academic year. The idea is to link international students with families in the city, who would have them over for a family meal, or take them along on a family outing, giving the international student a taste of local culture. Throughout the year group events would take place between all participants, such as trips to the seaside, or traditional music events. It is a tried and tested scheme which has been very successful on the university campus in my hometown and I feel it would be very successful in Lincoln.
Groups: Groups differ to Societies in that members don’t pay a fee and the group has a representational factor, as well as social. I feel that Groups have been largely ineffectual in this representation of the needs of their diverse members and so I plan to restructure the Groups, meeting with members and working with them to improve on the good which they already do. At present we have International Students Group, Disabled Students Group, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender) and Mature Students Group. If you would be interested in any of these groups, regardless of whether you have been a previous member or not, get in touch with me!
Community Litter Picks: My role differs from that of my predecessor in that I have greater focus on community engagement. I really believe in students investing in their local area during their time at university. You may only be here for three years, but you may be here longer – it is a good idea to play your part in the local area. A regular complaint against students from residents across the country, whether founded in truth or not, is that they are messy. In some cases this might be true, in others not so. Regardless, we can show pride in where we live and show our city that students love to volunteer and give something back. As such, we have set three dates for the first semester to take part in litter picks – 2nd October in the Carholme Ward (West End), 16th October in the Park Ward (Sincil Bank area) and 13th November in the Abbey Ward (Monks Rd area). Look out for the Volunteering stall at the Freshers Fayre where you can register your interest to one, or all, of these Community Action Days. I am also hoping to have a community representative for each of these three wards to represent student opinions and student issues at local residents meetings – news on this in time.
Kids on Kampus: This is a new initiative I plan to launch in February, over the school half-term break. It basically involves students leading on interactive workshops for young people of year 7 and 8 age. These workshops could be related to your academic interests, your sports club or society, or anything else you’re interested in. I really want this to be student led, so I’m leaving the options open to suggestions. If you think you could run, alongside others, a session for 2-3 hours throughout the week of half-term break, with a group of perhaps a dozen kids, get in touch with me and offer a suggestion of something you could lead on. These are designed to be very interactive and practical; the kids will be on their school holidays after all!
Carholme Community Gala: This annual event is aimed at integrating local residents with the student residents in the West End of the city. This year it is being held at the Grandstand Community Centre, just beyond the West Common. Councillor Neil Murray is organising the event and has asked the Students’ Union for some help. The event is set to be bigger than ever before, with a variety of musical entertainment and hopefully some of our sports teams and societies will be on hand to run some demonstrations. Ideas have been bounced around at a big brain storming session we held so I am very excited for what this year will bring! There is a plan to have a minibus to ferry students to and from the Gala so watch this space! The date for the Gala is Sunday 29th September so keep that day free.
Housing Booklet: I have been working on this year’s Housing Horrors campaign, set for the end of October to warn against signing for a house too soon. Year by year students worry that they won’t get a good house and year by year they sign tenancy agreements without considering the consequences. If you sign a legal document you are held by it. Some students decide later in the year that their new friend is no longer suitable as a housemate but struggle to get out of their legally binding tenancy agreement. The moral of the story is – wait until the Housing Fair, when you have a broad range of accredited landlords and agencies to offer suitable accommodation. I am redesigning the housing guide booklet for this campaign and have taken some great ideas from housing booklets I have seen elsewhere at other unions, so hopefully this will be something that students will regularly refer to, throughout their looking, living and leaving processes!
So that is a roundup of my first month and what I have been working on so far. It has been a busy time but a very rewarding and productive time and I am so happy to be in this position, working with and on behalf of our student members! We have a really strong team this year and a really strong Union, so if you haven’t been involved yet, or haven’t been impressed – this is a year to make a change and invest in your Union to improve student experience across campus!
If you ever need help or support, or if you just want to chat, get in touch with me:
balcorn@lincoln.ac.uk 01522 886 669 www.facebook.com/ulsu.welfare @ulsu_welfare
Enjoy the rest of your summer break and if you are in Lincoln please pop in and say hello!