Naomie Lebe

Context

The aim for this manifesto is for students to be in a place which allows them to engage, network, and create memories and celebrate in a safe atmosphere.

Within this semester I have focused this manifesto on the safety element, and I aim to work on the financial side for the remainder of my term.

Progress:

• We have supported BU to hold a safe in person graduation for the 2020 -2021 Cohort, and we were given the opportunity to speak at these events
• We have held BHM event face to face.
• We had an in-person freshers fair, and this was one of the highest attendances we have had yet.
• We aim to continue to deliver these, but we will also follow the government safety guidelines.

Context:

This manifesto is to allow students to feel like they belong within a community externally and internally.

Progress:

• I'm creating a radio and YouTube segment for students to create advice for themselves, based on what they've learned along the way whilst at BU. The aim is to send this to new students before they arrive, and to play it via Nerve radio station so that current students can find out how to deal with similar issues.
• I'm currently speaking to BU staff on how we can welcome our international students in a way that allows them to be guide physically around the local community. This will help them adapt to their new way of life quite quickly.
• I'm exploring a joint project with BU on how we can connect our students with businesses and organisations in the local area to improve graduate employability and prospects

Context:

Enable students to find out about existing academic, wellbeing and financial support.

Progress:

• I have created a physical 'one-stop shop' booklet that shows students the different services and support available on campus (academic, welfare, finance).
• Next steps are monitoring how effective this visual information is for BU students, and we aim to see how we can work more closely with BU departments such as AskBU
• Also aim to build closer relationships with specific student groups by going out and speaking to students face-to-face

Context:

SUBU has worked to develop its new strategic plan with staff and students over the last 18 months - It was informed by the structure of BU's 2025 plan. Our aim is to support, represent and empower our students and make their vision a reality. Our vision is to be an excellent SU that helps you create the best experience for yourselves, your community, and your future. Our aims are to help students to realise their potential, belong to a community and make their voice heard.

Progress:

• We are currently reaching out to BCP Council to see how we can integrate BU students with the local community.

Policy Actions

• For SUBU to publicly state that students deserve partial refunds/a loan amnesty/a freeze on interest rates.
• For SUBU to write to local MPs and lobby the UK government on this matter.
• For SUBU to work with other students' unions and the NUS to demand an increased national bailout of £700m, as recommended by the APPG for students (All Party Parliamentary Group) and NUS.
• For SUBU to lobby the university to call for national student refunds to be paid for by the UK government.

Progress

• We are continuing to raise issues at a senior level with BU and with our local MP. Whilst we secured additional funding from the government, we maintain that this was not nearly enough and a higher amount needs to be offered to universities to support widespread rebates. We have also developed a webpage containing resources and information on how you can take action and support our lobbying process. Our NUS delegates also attended National Conference at the start of April, collaborating with other SUs on how to continue effectively lobbying for tuition refunds. SUBU supported the Students United Against Fees Digital Day of Action by lobbying the Government to offer refunds to students.
• Work has been done around the Costing Your Future campaign, in conjunction with other student unions, to raise awareness amongst students to the proposed changes to the way student loans will be paid back.

Policy Actions:

• Departments need to work together more coherently around sabbatical manifestos and instead of working to one, each department should be trying to consider all the manifestos of those elected
• To ensure all departments have all the sabbatical officers’ manifestos incorporated into their departmental plans
• All sabbaticals must work together after their election on a joint priority campaign document to guide all departments, setting out a coherent plan for policy, ironing out any inconsistencies across manifestos and setting out a clear work agenda for staff and students

Progress:

• SUBU has created a new strategic plan, which includes a department team action plan. Includes aligning manifestos of current officers, more robust structure to ensure departments are working towards new SUBU direction and supporting officer progress

Policy Actions:

• To get a vanity URL for SUBU on discord e.g. discord.gg/SUBU. – The recognition of SUBU would allow this to happen. Currently students cannot search solely for Bournemouth University or SUBU
• To create an official SUBU Discord Hub, or recognise the existing unofficial SUBU Discord Hub which has already brought together over 200 students or start from scratch and build the Discord from the ground up with SUBU.
• Enable students to be able to communicate with others within their faculty or those attending events by establishing relevant ‘tags’ which would be displayed on students' profiles.
• Promote Clubs and Societies by creating a thread, enabling them to link to their own discord servers which in turn would increase social interaction.
• To promote the SUBU Discord Server via other SUBU social media channels.
• To establish relevant student ‘helpers’ and ‘moderators’ to ensure that spam is limited.
• SUBU can use the server to run their own events and discussions
• Individual servers for smaller groups of people e.g. per course
• Set of rules issued by SUBU so students know the code of conduct on using the server. However, these may not fit with Discord’s community standards or for a club or society. For example, anyone can join the server for a particular course even if they aren’t on that course.

Progress:

• The implantation of the official discord server sits with the responsibility of the SUBU comms team who completed an impact assessment of the involvement in a SUBU server. There are a number of potential risks that were highlighted which will need mitigating to provide a platform safe to use for all students. The impact assessment was reviewed by the SUBU senior management team. It was decided that SUBU would continue to support the student in developing the unofficial SUBU discord server that is already in place. An official one where SUBU has limited time constraints on staff already, plus the additional risks involved in moderation and censorship it provides, even if those are minimal, is not something we can fully commit to right now. This also provides students the ultimate flexibility in having a community led server.

Policy Actions:

• SUBU to conduct a review and conversation around how it’s activities, structures, societies, and stakeholders, can help deliver SDGs meaningfully
• SUBU should prioritise information and action around the UN Sustainable Development Goals up to 2030

Progress:

• We have included the SDGs in our volunteering hub and every role is matched to an SDG
• We are currently looking into doing the same with al SUBU events list on the SUBU whats on page.
• We are currently running our Sustainability Challenge which allows students to create a sustainable idea to help make BU more environmentally sustainable.