Introduction: This toolkit helps make activities more accessible, recognizing that everyone’s journey to university is different, affecting their engagement with projects, activities, or sports teams.
Contents:
- Barriers students might face in getting involved.
- Ways to challenge these barriers and problematic behaviors.
Key Terms:
- Liberation: Seeking equal status and freedom from oppression.
- Accessibility: Being easily reached or used by people with disabilities.
- Privilege: Perceived rights or advantages available to a particular group.
Liberation Groups: Certain groups face additional obstacles due to their identity. Common issues include underrepresentation, damaging stereotypes, and phobic behaviors.
- Disabled Students: Physical or mental conditions limiting activities. Barriers include prolonged activities without breaks, inaccessible venues, and extended background noise.
- Women: Face sexist language, harassment, undervaluation of opinions, and impostor syndrome.
- LGB+: Encounter homophobic language, harmful stereotypes, and erasure of identities.
- Trans: Deal with misgendering, lack of gender-neutral toilets, transphobic language, and dead-naming.
- B.A.M.E: Face racist language, erasure of identities, stereotyping, and tokenism.
Groups with Barriers:
- Mature Students/Carers: Childcare needs and inability to attend evening activities.
- Commuting Students: Isolation from the student community.
- Students of Faith: Isolation from the student community.
- Students from Lower Economic Backgrounds: Financial struggles in participating in events.
Increasing Engagement from Disabled Students:
- Ensure activities with prolonged physical activity have comfort breaks.
- Listen to and value the opinions of your members, reacting to their needs.
- Assess spaces for accessibility, considering background noise and mobility.
- Avoid patronizing language and challenge members who use it.
- Communicate directly with disabled students, not through their aides.
- Make decisions with, not for, disabled students.
- Create a representative role for disabled students, ensuring it is meaningful and elected by the disabled membership.
- Participate in SU training related to inclusion and accessibility, involving as many members as possible.
Key Contacts:
Your Elected Officers
Part-Time Officers: The student body elects part-time officers to represent different backgrounds and types of students, including liberation groups. Check out the full list and who is representing you at the Students’ Union.
Other Societies/Sports Clubs: There are numerous societies and sports clubs at your Students’ Union for collaboration or participation.
SU Staff:
- Student voice Team: su.voice@keele.ac.uk- Provides demographic data and support for liberation activities and campaigns.
- ASK - Advice and Support at Keele: su.ask@keele.ac.uk - Offers confidential support for financial, housing, mental health, academic, and legal issues.
Keele Student Services: Supports students facing financial, housing, mental health, academic, and legal issues, with specific staff contacts for various student groups.
Keele University Population:
- 14,320 students in total.
- 14% have a declared disability.
- 35% are BAME.
- 38% are mature students.
- 65% are women.
- 27% are international students.
Conclusion: Engage with your members to understand their needs and make activities more inclusive and accessible.