Inclusion Update
This Fortnight, your inclusion update is being written by Joshie, your VP Education.
I’m kicking things off for this email by sharing a callout from the Student Accessibility Network! They want to hear about your experiences with accessibility at SUSU, and with UOS services like the Student Hub and the Student Disability and Inclusion team! The more experiences and suggestions that you share, the more changes and actions the group will be able to work towards!
The form doesn’t collect your name or email address, but you can choose to include that information.
The Student Accessibility Network is for anyone who is interested in improving accessibility at SUSU and across the University, and anyone who identifies as being disabled or neurodivergent. They’re currently lobbying to improve the accessibility of bus routes and the Highfield to Avenue pathway and have been creating content for Autism Acceptance Week!
If you’re interested in joining the Student Accessibility Network, you can read more. Email i.bartlett@soton.ac.uk with any questions and join the Teams site here!
Emma Brown, Union President
Second Chance Animal Rescue Donation
The SUSU Shop has supported a £250 donation to Second Chance Animal Rescue through the Nisa Making a Difference Locally scheme! The charity rescues and cares for vulnerable animals, and we’re proud to make a positive difference in the local community.
Building 75 Construction Ceremony
If you’ve been in the North-East of Highfield campus, you may have noticed the construction site – that’s Building 75, a brand-new building on campus that’s just reached its full height. B75 is the university’s flagship, sustainable teaching and learning facility on the Highfield campus, set to provide a huge amount of additional study space for all students. It’s named to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the University’s Royal Charter. I had the fantastic opportunity to visit the site, and speak at the topping out ceremony, but most importantly – sign a steel girder!
Your Voice, Your Vice-Chancellor
The University of Southampton will soon appoint a new Vice-Chancellor (VC) – who is responsible for leading the University, and to help to direct and achieve the University’s strategic goals. The Vice-Chancellor also chairs the University Senate, sits on the University Council, is responsible for securing sufficient funding, and represents the University externally.
SUSU want to make sure your voice is heard in the hiring process, please fill out the form to tell us what challenges you want the university to address and prioritise, and which qualities you want a Vice-Chancellor to have.
Did you know Renters’ Rights are changing?
I’ve begun a series of videos about what to expect as Renters Rights are changing. Be aware that: university halls, and purpose-built student accommodation (private halls) will not conform to the same rules so will continue to offer fixed-term tenancies and can ask for rent in advance.
For more info about Renters Reform, read the SUSU webpage here. For support, talk to an advisor in the SUSU Advice Centre.
SUSU Food and Drink Improvements
I’ve been working with our teams across the SUSU Shop, Bridge, and Stag’s to improve food options for everyone, including better veggie and free-from options. As a result, we’ve been able to add more juice drinks, more snack options in the meal deal (including gluten-free), and introduce new high-protein and high-fibre labels!
We’re also running surveys to improve our Bridge menu, which you may have noticed in the venue with whiteboard feedback. Our staff are always happy to note down feedback as well. To submit any feedback about any of our venues, use this form.
Safety Bus – new bench and signage!
I’ve been working on improvements to using the safety bus – we’ve installed a brand-new bench outside the SUSU Shop so you can comfortably wait for the bus under the shelter. Over the coming weeks, spot new signage on our digital screens so that it’s clearer how the free safety bus works and when it departs.
Joshie Christian, VP Education
Leadership Elections 2026
Every candidate smashed it out of the park during our elections this year. Thank you to every student who voted, asked candidates questions, and followed the elections from start to finish! A MASSIVE thank you to every candidate and campaign team who headed out across our campuses to campaign, making these elections the most visible I’ve ever seen! It’s reflected in your new record, a voting turnout of 4559 students (read the stats!), which is 18% of our student population and a 3% increase from last year! A massive congratulations to Krzysztof, Annie, Harvey, and Charlie, our phenomenal winners and joining me as your next Sabbatical Officer team! I can’t wait to be working with you all!
Academic Awards!
Check out the lists of nominees for all the Academic Awards this year! Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for amazing reps and staff! We’ve already been busy planning the awards night, and I’ll be starting to shortlist in the next week or so!
Across the rest of the University:
We’ve been wrapping up the final version of the new regulations for Personal Academic Tutors! Thank you so much to everyone who responded to my request for feedback. There were a bunch of student suggestions that got included!
The final version of the Southampton Assessment Load Framework has just been completed and released. I’ll be keeping you up to date about what this means for you and your reps in future emails and in a video series as part of the Did You Know? campaign on my susu_studentvoice Instagram page! The real highlight is that the framework has loads of strong recommendations around reducing assessment bunching and moving to more sustainable assessment loads overall – and incentivises the importance of us students being partners in assessment design.
Rubber Duck Thought
The Rubber Duck on my desk has noticed that it’s been real quiet on the You Make Change page for the last couple of weeks… So, if you hear someone say “I want the university to…” or find yourself thinking “it would be really cool if SUSU could…” then jump on those suggestions and submit a You Make Change request to the Sabb team!
All the best from me,
Joshie Christian – VP Education
Travis Arthur, VP Sports
With the support of Southampton Sport, I have secured Sponsorship for this year’s Team Southampton Sports Awards. This contribution has enabled the ticket cost to be reduced significantly for all clubs and teams to just £18 per person, helping ensure the event remains accessible and inclusive for as many students as possible. The Team Southampton Sports Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of individuals, teams, and clubs across Team Southampton over the past year. The awards ceremony takes place on Friday 01 of May at St Mary’s Stadium. All nominations will be reviewed by myself (VP Sports), the Sports Executive Committee, and the Sports Coordinators, with priority consideration given to graduating students to ensure their contributions are recognised before leaving the University. The evening will include a two-course meal, two complimentary drink tokens, photo opportunities within the stadium, and a DJ to round off the celebrations after the awards ceremony. Let’s make this year’s awards bigger and better than ever – secure your tickets and get ready for an unforgettable night of celebrating Team Southampton’s successes.
Varsity tickets are now on sale via the Box Office, and preparations are well underway for another exciting week of competition and Team Southampton spirit. This year, there are two ticket options available: a standard Varsity ticket (Without the after party) for £20, and a Varsity ticket including the After Party for £26. Both options include a Varsity T-shirt as well as transport to and from fixtures during the main Varsity week, helping ensure players and supporters can travel together and fully take part in the experience. Varsity T-shirts will be available for collection from SUSU Reception from 20 April, with sizes ranging from Small to 2XL. Shirt sizes will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, and ticket confirmation from the Box Office will be required for collection. We look forward to bringing the Team Southampton community together once again for an unforgettable Varsity week and encourage everyone to secure their tickets and get involved.
The Varsity After Party ticket includes a Fishies wristband, providing entry until 23:20 to the official Varsity After Party hosted at Circuit on Sunday 10 May. Entry after 23:20 is not guaranteed, and further details on wristband collection will be shared soon. While entry may be available on the door, this will depend on venue capacity and cannot be guaranteed.
You can also reach me anytime via the @team_soton Instagram, on Teams or by email at vpsports@soton.ac.uk. Alternatively, you can book in a meeting with me via my bookings page.
Ge 'Sparkle' Gao, VP Communities
I’m really pleased to share that this fortnight we’ve made meaningful progress across several key areas of work 💪
Firstly, I’m very happy to say that our anti-scam awareness project has moved forward in a tangible way 🎥✨ We’ve now completed filming our anti-scam video, which marks an important milestone for the project. We’re aiming to release this in March, and I’m looking forward to sharing it more widely to support international students with clear and accessible guidance.
Following the Christmas break and a busy exam period 📚, we’re also preparing to continue with the Exploring Societies video series. A huge thank you to the societies who have already responded — your enthusiasm is greatly appreciated 🙌
If any other society presidents see this update and would like to be involved, please feel free to DM me on Instagram 📩. If you’re interested in promoting your society and would like support from SUSU’s perspective, I’d love to hear from you.
Overall, it’s been really encouraging to see these projects moving from planning into delivery, and I’m excited about the momentum we’re building over the coming weeks ✨
You Make Change Updates
You Make Change update: Thank you as always for your ideas and queries. We look forward to receiving more submissions in the next two weeks!
