Thursday 17-12-2020 - 08:40

Hello from your Bristol SU Officer team!

As we come to the end of term, we’re still busy fighting for Bristol’s students, and have secured some great wins to support you over the holidays and beyond.

 

Covid-19 Tests for students travelling outside of the UK 

Roy your International Students’ Officer has successfully secured university funding for Covid tests for international and study abroad students who will be travelling home for the holidays. The University has agreed to reimburse students for up to £150 to go towards the cost of these PCR tests. This is a huge win, and a great outcome for our students. You can find out more here. 

 

January Assessment Support 

We are continuing to work on securing comprehensive support measures for students in preparation for January Assessments. We have launched a public campaign to ensure that students aren’t academically disadvantaged because of Covid-19. Read our full statement here, and add your voice to the campaign by signing the petition here. 

 

Students living in University Halls 

In collaboration with Bristol, Cut the Rent we have secured a number of wins for students living in University Halls. We have won a rent rebate amounting to a 30% reduction over 7 weeks in recognition of government advice for students to return to campus later in TB2, and a new case-by-case early contract release policy. We are supporting the rent strike in January, more information can be found here, and students can pledge to withhold their rent here. 

 

Students living in private rented accommodation 

To support students currently living in private rented accommodation we have written an open letter to letting agencies in Bristol urging them to postpone in-person house viewings at least until January, in line with Bristol SU Lettings policy. Read the letter here. 

 

Winter Holiday Support 

We have been working with the Alumni Office and have successfully relaunched Bristol Voices to support our students across the holidays by linking them with Bristol alumni for a friendly chat, guidance, and support. We also have a full programme of events and activities which are open to all students, find out more here. 

 

From all of the Bristol SU Officer team, we want to wish you a very happy holidays. We hope you have a rest and a chance to spend some time with friends and family. If you need Wellbeing or mental health support over the holidays, please visit the University website. For ongoing Coronavirus advice and guidance, please visit the Bristol SU website. 

 

Thanks for a great year, see you in January!