Hi, I’m Natasha! I’m a second-year Biomedical Science student. I am involved in numerous societies; a player in Rugby and Netball also holding committee positions as Social Media Manager of Korfball and Production Manager and Welfare officer for Musical Theatre.
Previously I had volunteered as one of the non-call-taking Welfare Officers for students volunteering with Keele Nightline and with the mental health charity Mind, and nowadays I’m a listening volunteer for Samaritans.
Participating in a wide variety of sports, societies, and services has allowed me to talk to many people and experience the amazing things Keele and its services have to offer, but also see the areas for improvement.
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I want every single person at this university to feel included in part of a community – the Keele Community. I want every single person to be supported, and I want every single person to have equal opportunities. And so my focus for the year would be taking solid action to support, listen and give students a voice.
After speaking with students, further to my aims, I have produced a couple of action points for the year (please skip to the end for a summary):
Physical Health
- Work with AU officer and sports centre to increase the number of gym taster sessions, pioneer the creation of new disability-inclusive sporting opportunities, and increase overall participation in competitive and non-competitive sports.
- Re-evaluate the food and drink choices across campus, ensuring all dietary restrictions, religious restrictions, and food allergies are all catered for.
- Forward the movement to eradicate spiking – ensuring availability of drink testing devices on all bars, working with stewards and street team to continue current campaigns like the ‘You could have been spiked’ sticks.
- Ensure campus-wide understanding of consent, STI prevention, and safe sex.
Social Health
- Communicate with Medical, Nursing and other Healthcare students to ensure events at the SU are accessible and that they feel included in the university community.
- Offer regular drop-in sessions alongside other officers, where students can visit regarding concerns or suggestions.
Mental Health
- Using my listening service experience, work with students, the university, peer support, out-of-hours staff, and Samaritans to replace Nightline with a new, re-evaluated professional led night-time listening service.
- Kick start the ‘Start to Success’ integrated community approach to mental health and wellbeing; working with our university, Staffordshire University and the surrounding community.
- Greatly increase the awareness and campaigns for men’s mental health support.
- Create a safe space on campus. This will be a comfy quiet spot for those in need of a safe place to be; for students with autism spectrum conditions, those struggling with mental health, amongst many others.
- Ensure all staff members and sports/society committee members are mental health first aid trained.
- Improve relationships with the counselling service providing increased funding in aid of cutting waiting times, increasing the effectiveness and accessibility to the service.
- Raise awareness that SU stewards are specially trained in sexual harassment support and increase the provisions and support systems available to all students on nights out.
Diversity, Inclusion and Equality
- Expand the current social campaigns and training, making sure all staff and committee members receive mandatory training for #neverok, liberation group, LGBTQ+ and BAME allyship and mental-health first aid.
- Continue the great work done by the SU and further increase awareness and the number of LGBTQ+, BAME and liberation group celebratory events and campaigns.
- Work with the surrounding community introducing Trans clothes swap events on campus.
- Increase the number of events held at the university for remembrance weeks.
- Work to close the BAME attainment gap, working with the BAME officer, BAME society and other officers.
- Support and vastly increase provisions for mature students and students with caring responsibilities at the university.
- Work with students to bring back international ball and increase the number of events for international students being held by the SU especially during holiday times.
- Provide increased support for international students regarding the uncertainty around Brexit and changes in laws and regulations.
Accessibility and Sustainability
- Continue expanding illnesses and disability support at the university, ensuring every university procedure especially ECs is accessible for all, and largely increase support for students with invisible illnesses.
- Install yellow coloured stair treads for the visually impaired, handrails on all stairs across campus and ensure every building has easily accessible disabled access points.
- Increase accessibility across campus in regards to street and path lighting, as visibility at night is extremely poor in some places on campus.
- Work with accommodation team and off-campus landlords to ensure students with less financial support can access reasonable costing, good quality accommodation.
- Ensure support is available for people who are stuck in unacceptable accommodation pushing awareness of renting rights, producing a “what to watch out for” list.
- Work with the Keele village, the university and bus companies to improve parking and accessibility on and off-campus. Additionally, make available an easy-to-use pay-by-card or contactless method for parking payments.
- Extend safety bus hours for library users even when there aren’t SU nights-out especially around exam period.
- Ensure knowledge and increase the availability of menstrual packs on campus, furthering the Environmenstrual SU campaign.
- Increase awareness of Root and Branch (Green Keele) campaigns and further embed sustainability in student training schemes, running sessions with local schools at the university.
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1. Improve counselling and all health provisions offered at the university
2. Ensure international students are supported and their issues are solved
3. Celebrate LGBTQ+, BAME and liberation group history, inclusion and diversity
4. Respond to the climate crisis, leading students towards a sustainable future
5. Challenge whether campus accessibility is available for all
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However, I want you to have a voice. If I have not mentioned something in my aims, I really want you to talk to me. This way, let’s improve our Keele community.
Please consider me, Natasha Craven, for your next Welfare&Internationalisation officer.
Click the link to visit my facebook page
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