Why vote for me?
I’m Liz Evans, a non-binary second-year Ancient History student. Part of the reason why I want to run for this position is that there’s a lot to be done in terms of students who are underrepresented by the university, and I want to help bring those issues to light and work together with other members of SUSU to create an inclusive university for all students.
Below are my five major points I wish to work on:
Create spaces to talk about mental health
I’d like to have regular casual times where, in either a one-on-one capacity or in a group, people can talk about mental health, university and life struggles in a more casual environment, that’s not just an office. Online example of this could be having a text-based way of talking that’s less intimidating than email or teams/zoom, and for offline, going to cafes or for walks, all of which could help autistic and ADHD students, as well as those with anxiety.
Make Enabling and other services easier to access
As an autistic person, I am aware of the difficulties that people face at university trying to get support. As part of making support more accessible, I would like to have much more clear signposting to Enabling services to call students, in welcome events and signposted around the university, as well as promoting them more on SUSU social media, to make the services and the help they can provide more apparent.
Work with VP activities on inclusivity in societies
I would like to work with the incoming lgbt+ officer, BAME officer and VP Activities to work together to create more inclusive spaces in societies. Being non-binary gives me a perspective on some ideas as to how non-binary students could be better included, such as gender-neutral language and changing rooms for music and performing arts, but I would like to draw together these officers to get an outline and a view as to what we can do to help improve inclusivity overall in our societies at university.
Work with the university to be more disability-friendly
One way in which I would like to make the university more accessible is to make sure that there is a blanket rule on having quality closed captions on all SUSU videos. Additionally, I would like to work with lecturers to find ways to support disabled and chronically ill students, whether online or back in person.
Create peer mentoring systems for freshers
Similar to systems in other universities I would like to encourage a peer-to-peer mentoring scheme between 3rd-year undergraduates and freshers in the same course. I would do this by running recruitment for volunteers going into their third year at university, which would mentor their incoming peers, introducing them to the course and the university, and supporting them throughout their first year.
Ultimately, I want to create a space for all students at Southampton University, and to do that I want to make sure that everyone is included regardless.
