Last year students elected your 22/23 Officer Team based on the skills and experience they would bring to the role, and not on manifesto pledges. This means your Officers can work together as a team more effectively on the issues that are a real priority for Exeter students. Through their experiences as students themselves, and feedback we collected from you during Freshers’ Week, the team are happy to announce their priorities for the year! We know there will be some crossover between priorities, and some are interlinked.
- Cost of Living
- Wellbeing and Support
- Belonging and Inclusivity
- Campaigning and Engagement
Read on to see what specifically Lily, Emma, Izzie and Jack are working on, and check back soon for live updates on these priorities.
Cost of Living
Emma
- Working to open a repair shop in DH2
- I am working with Be the Change society on making campus food more sustainable and affordable, including their £2 meal deal campaign.
Izzie
- I am pushing for greater affordability at graduation in the Graduation Review meetings, particularly subsidising robe costs.
Lily
- I have been working with the University on a review of their ‘affordability principles’ for accommodation. Additionally, we will be pushing for a review of suitability of letting terms with relation to student needs.
Jack
- I have worked with the University to make financial concerns a reason to be able to gain academic mitigation for coursework.
Wellbeing and Support
Emma
- Gender Safety - focusing on eliminating sexual harassment on campus, increasing education about healthy relationships and consent, and making you feel safer on nights out.
Jack
- Early intervention -working with the University to develop a more effective early intervention strategy to support students who “suffer in silence”. This will be through information sharing and proactive support offering and signposting to resources amongst other methods.
Campaigning and Engagement
Lily
- Student Experience – key meetings with University staff including the Student Experience Partnership Board (SEPB) and Student Experience Framework aim to support all areas of the university to consider and enhance the student experience.
Emma
- Sustainability- supporting students through running sustainability workshops and currently planning a climate change workshop.
Jack
- Reference Right - a campaign to increase awareness of the consequences of academic misconduct. Aiming to reduce the number of students that go through the stressful academic misconduct process.
Officer Role Review – All Officers have been involved in workshopping the ideas around how a five-person officer team would work – as well as how we will engage students in this process.
Belonging and Inclusivity
Izzie
- I am organising free, no alcohol screenings of select World Cup matches in the M&D Room as an opportunity for students to come together, make new friends, and enjoy watching sport in a relaxed environment. We are also taking this opportunity to fundraise for Amnesty International through optional donations to watch the games.
- I am looking at supporting students who run their own small businesses through a market on campus where they can sell their goods and we can encourage everyone to shop locally and sustainably.
Emma
- Black History Month – many student groups have been involved in our events and content to celebrate Black History Month.
- Next month we’ll be celebrating Disability History Month, and we’ll be launching our page with resources and events soon.
We have all been involved in supporting the running of café-based networking and community building ‘café’ events which have been running in our spaces for international students, mature and postgraduate students, students of colour, disabled students LGBTQ+ students, students of faith and women students.