In June 2021 we ran Committee Fest – our annual training and development festival for incoming student leaders.
This year we:
Ran 29 virtual training events, covering everything from finance to events, and campaigns to social media.
Trained 251 incoming student leaders, with students attending on average 2+ events each.
Worked to develop leaders from 108 different student groups.
Bristol SU Lettings are our in-house student tenant agency. This year they have arranged close to 500 new student tenancies and carried out over 5000 virtual and in-person viewings. Bristol SU Lettings charges 0 tenancy fees, and is responsible for securing high-quality student accommodation for thousands of students each year.Jason also met with Thangam Debonnaire MP and Bristol City Council’s new Nighttime Economy Advisor to discuss how we can ensure student safety, how we can ensure venues are regulated and safe, and on preventing harassment within the nighttime economy.
Bristol’s students have stepped up and volunteered for numerous local volunteering projects this year. Despite the ongoing pandemic, students have shown their committment to supporting our local community through a range of projects.
This year 107 volunteering opportunities were advertised on the Bristol SU website, and 1149 student volunteers applied for roles!
Here are some of our highlights from this year:
Roy (International) successfully secured funding from the university for testing and quarantine for international students in certain circumstances. This funding removes a massive financial burden on International students who were told to travel and expect in-person teaching, but in many cases never received any.
Jason also met with Thangam Debonnaire MP and Bristol City Council’s new Nighttime Economy Advisor to discuss how we can ensure student safety, how we can ensure venues are regulated and safe, and on preventing harassment within the nighttime economy.
We launced our No Means No research into sexual harassment and consent culture on Bristol’s campus this year. Jason (Equality, Liberation, and Access) has led this campaign and has used the findings to secure a commitment from the university for consent workshops to be delivered to students during induction 2021, and an updated action plan on preventing sexual violence in the student body.
Jason also met with Thangam Debonnaire MP and Bristol City Council’s new Nighttime Economy Advisor to discuss how we can ensure student safety, how we can ensure venues are regulated and safe, and on preventing harassment within the nighttime economy.
The Bristol SU Loft is now open in Senate House! This space was campaigned for by several SU Officer teams and we’re really pleased to see students enjoying the new spaces! We’ll also be opening our new bar, The Beckford in September 2021.
This year we have supported two applications to the Sanctuary Scholar Legal Fund – designed to support asylum-seeking students by covering the costs of their legal fees. STAR (Student Action for Refugees) and Amnesty International have led our fundraising efforts and have managed to raise over £6000 this year through a range of fundraising events including a sponsored run/walk/cycle which covered the distance from the Wills Memorial Building to the Home Office several times over.You can take a look at all of our actions, and find out more about our campaign on the Bristol SU website.
David (UG Education) has successfully designed a new interdisciplinary programme for undergraduates which would allow them to complete their degree ‘With Sustainability’. This programme is a major vehicle for the university to push forward its sustainability in education strategy. David has also secured and introduced new paid student sustainability champions in each school who work to push forward the sustainability conversation across the university.He also worked with SEH and the BME Success Programme to explore the barriers to sport for BAME students, and what we can do to improve BAME participation in sport at Bristol.
You can take a look at all of our actions, and find out more about our campaign on the Bristol SU website.
David (UG Education) and Khadija (BAME Network Chair) set up several ‘Decolonising Working Groups’ in schools and departments across the university. These groups will ensure that students are driving changes in decolonising curriculums in all disciplines. They also successfully made changes to the unit approval and review process to ensure that all teaching staff regularly engage with the decolonisation project.
He also worked with SEH and the BME Success Programme to explore the barriers to sport for BAME students, and what we can do to improve BAME participation in sport at Bristol.
You can take a look at all of our actions, and find out more about our campaign on the Bristol SU website.
Rushab (Sport and Student Development) worked with BEAT to deliver training around fatphobic language and diet culture for sports clubs. Rushab also secured women-only gym and swim sessions, and LGBT+-only swim sessions.
He also worked with SEH and the BME Success Programme to explore the barriers to sport for BAME students, and what we can do to improve BAME participation in sport at Bristol.
You can take a look at all of our actions, and find out more about our campaign on the Bristol SU website.