Monday 10-12-2018 - 09:00

Well hasn’t that gone quickly! It seems like just yesterday that we were tanning ourselves on the Downs and now it’s December. Hasn’t it been quite the year?! Have a look below to see what we got up to in 2018, and be inspired for what 2019 has to offer.

January

2018 kicked off with the launch of the Bristol BME Powerlist. Nominations opened on 15 January, receiving coverage across the city. By the time nominations closed two months later, over 500 nominations had been received.

There was also a huge win for Undergraduate Education Officer Mason Ammar as the University gave you access to your exam scripts after results have been released.

February

The shortest month is always a busy one, and 2018 was no different. 

Strikes and a referendum meant that February saw a lot of political activity, as well as a number of events for LGBT+ History Month and Give it a Go.

Varsity Friday Night Lights was bigger than ever – 600 people came along which was double 2017’s numbers.

£5 fares to London were also introduced to The Basket, travelling one way with National Express.

March

March brought another wave of SU Elections, voting in the full-time officer team for 2018/19. In total 40% of Bristol’s student body voted in elections across the academic year – a new record!

April

We hosted the first ever Bristol SU Balloon Fiesta in the Balloon Bar, bringing new activities like Bingo and a Ceilidh to the bar for the first time.

The university put together an additional support package for over exams, following the consultation we held to see what would happen to salaries withheld through industrial action.

May

Exam season swept through and the Bristol SU Wellbeing Network helped you meet the challenge with their Mind Your Head campaign.

We also received our Quality Students’ Union Award, following assessment earlier in the year.

June

As 2017/18 closed, we celebrated our highest-ever BUCS finish of seventh place – beating last year’s record!

The inaugural Society Awards was held with great success. This event joined the SU Awards and Sports Awards for a fabulous week of celebration of student achievement.

Summer

The summer started with Bristol SU’s CEO, Sam Budd, receiving the Simpson King Staff Achievement Award at the National Union of Students’ Awards.

Bristol celebrated its graduates over summer with six days of ceremonies. We got nostalgic over Alex Boulton’s Goodbye to Bristol as she and thousands more moved on to their next challenge.

September

Our new year kicked off in style, with Welcome Week bringing 20,000 students to over 60 diverse events and club nights across eight days. The sun shone once again for our Welcome Fair and it was the biggest yet!

October

After months of work, the Bristol BME Powerlist was published and distributed across the city, as well as being available online.

This formed part of our biggest ever Black History Month celebrations. Led by the Bristol SU BME Network, a series of different events were held from an Afrofusion dance class to a lecture by David Olusoga.

November

November saw our best ever attended Student Council, where student leaders voted on motions from a Man Feelings campaign to improving the accessibility of societies to students with disabilities.

Bristol SU was ranked 43rd in the 2018 Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers list and CEO Sam Budd was awarded the Diversity Champion Award for the Education Sector at the Inclusive Companies Awards. Bristol SU was also shortlisted for the Diversity Marketing Campaign of the Year.

 

This Girl Can Week returned to the SU with a packed timetable of free participation events and sports clubs taster sessions. We marched through the streets of Bristol against gender-based violence and gender inequality for Reclaim the Night. Vanessa Wilson, Student Living Officer, also launched her My Rent My Rights campaign.

December

December kicked off with the launch of the Bristol SU Living Room – an exciting new space in the heart of campus, just for you.
As we write this, thoughts are turning to the holidays and exams. Make sure you check out all of the events on before the end of term like:
•    Richmond Lectures: John Lennox
•    Proper Jokes Comedy Club
•    Festive Mingle
And much more…

We hope you’ve had a wonderful term and 2018, and we’re looking forward to supporting you even more throughout 2019.