Winter Warmer
-I have started a campaign entitled ‘Warmer Winter’. This campaign is centred around a three-pronged approach: educating and supporting students and lobbying landlords. The focus surrounds supporting students with the soaring price of energy bills and promoting better sustainability among university students.
- Supporting students: Over a month I have written an application to Staffordshire County Council’s Climate Action Fund. Last Thursday, my application for £1500 was approved! The money will fund cost-saving and environmentally friendly energy-saving measures such as radiator reflectors, hand warmers, LED lightbulbs and more!
- Educating students: I have created a 200x200 sustainability poster for students, centred around energy consumption; 300 copies have been given to the Resident Advisor team, and more have been kept for additional events.
Mental health
-I held a stall outside the SU for World Mental Health Day for students to provide self-care tips and give out mental health information and a ‘Pamper Hamper’ to the winner of a prize draw!
-I am preparing to launch a men’s mental health campaign in November entitled ‘Speak up, Don’t Man up’, aimed at tackling the stigma surrounding men and speaking out about mental health. This will consist of a webpage with support and resources as well as a section where men can share their experiences with mental health.
Safety
-I have reviewed, rewritten and reposted Keele SU’s safety and spiking procedure statement on the Keele SU website.
-I gave a training session to Keele SU venue staff members about spiking prevention and the prevalence of spiking among young adults. The talk was also centred around the effects of common drugs and spotting the signs of an overdose.
-I attended a conference called ‘SafeZone’, which is run by the creators of the SafeZone app. At this conference, I sat and spoke on a panel, alongside other elected officers from across the country; the panel’s topic was about international student safety.