PICK PIPPA #1 Welfare & Diversity
If you elect me as you Welfare and Diversity Officer, I will work on three broad areas:
1. Combating Sexual Violence
-The policy that the university currently has in place is not practical and not preventative. I will demand clearer policy from the university about how they plan to address and prevent sexual violence on campus.
-I will lobby for specialist on-campus counselling services, because mental health is vital to a good learning environment.
-I want students to be involved in creating practical policy. I want to improve transparency around university policy, by pushing the university to publish regular updates on their policy-making, and allowing students to react to those updates.
2. Liberating Students
-There are already amazing liberation networks in place. I will expand on them, increase their visibility, and encourage members of the networks to link up with Part-Time Officers. Many students are eager to get involved in liberation, and if we all work together we are stronger than when we are separate.
-For a few years now, there has been a nationwide push to change the curriculum. I believe that this push works most effectively from both sides: not just demanding that academics change their reading lists, but creating our own. I want to set up an interactive database where students can recommend overlooked and under-appreciated texts, authors, and art to each other. I specifically want to focus on non-Western and non-Anglophone academia.
-While it is important to focus on welfare and diversity within Goldsmiths, it is also important to increase engagement with the wider community. I want to set up rewards schemes for societies that successfully create links with communities, charities or organisations outside of the college.
3. Fighting Isolation
-Homesickness and loneliness can seriously impact someone’s mental health. Because of this, I want to look into the experiences of loneliness. I want to look especially at postgraduate students, mature students, disabled students, and international students, as these groups often face extra boundaries when it comes to feeling welcome at university.
-While alcohol might be an integral part of the student experience for some, this isn’t the case for all students. There are a variety of reasons why students might feel uncomfortable going into a drinking space: religion, age, addiction, or simply just discomfort with the idea. I want to promote non-alcoholic events, especially during Freshers’ week, and reward societies that create non-alcoholic events and socials.
-The Students’ Union building should be a place where students feel welcomed. I want to make the building more homely, so that students feel like they have a communal space to relax. I want more facilities such as microwaves and kettles, and I want them to be cleaned more regularly.
…and more
-I want to look into the possibility of a drug safety hub. This would not only be a place where students can come for help if they face problems to do with addiction, but also a place where students can test their drugs for pollution, and a place that provides information on decreasing dangers around taking drugs. We know that many students take drugs and that this is not going to change overnight, so instead of trying to discourage drug use, why not ensure that students are taking drugs safely.
-While the Students’ Union has done (and no doubt will continue to do) great work, there are a lot of students unaware of what the Students’ Union does, how they can get involved, or how the Students’ Union can help them. I want to increase participation by publishing more regular updates on the Students’ Union’s work, and allowing students to engage with these updates. For my own work, I would aim to publish an update every week, just so students can see what work I do, and hold me accountable.
Voting opens at 9am on Monday the 27th of February, and closes on 12pm on Friday the 3rd of March. You can vote on goldsmithssu.org/elections