Thursday 11-02-2021 - 14:53

Hello from your Bristol SU Officer team

This week we’re celebrating securing £20,000 in funding for students, working with local politicians to support student renters, and pro-actively planning campaigns on tuition fees, academic mitigations for TB2, and student liberation. 

 

Sustainability 

David and Ruth have secured an incredible £20,000 funding for student-led sustainability projects. The funding from Bristol Alumni and Friends is to be used for projects that are developed following Bristol SU’s first ever Climate Emergency Day of Action on Friday 26 February. 

We are also excited to announce that The University of Bristol has now made the switch to the Ecosia search engine on all university computers following a dedicated student campaign! Sign up here to add your searches to contribute to Bristol University’s tree planting total. 

 

International Student Tuition Fees 

Roy, your International Students’ Officer has added his voice to a petition submitted to the Parliament’s Petition Committee and signed an open letter to the CEO of the Russell Group. International Students Officers across the country are calling for financial compensation, reduced international student fees in future, and for a government bailout that would help the higher education sector adequately support students through the pandemic. 

 

Student Housing Issues 

Ruth, your Student Living Officer has been working hard to support all students in rented accommodation. They have met with local MPs, persuaded local councillors and council candidates to write to housing providers on behalf of students, spoke at a national rent strike rally, and have written to all local accommodation providers asking them to halt all in-person house viewings. If your landlord or agency are still running in-person viewings, please email Ruth for further support.

 

Education During The Pandemic 

David and Leah your Education Officers have been running a series of forums and consultations with Faculty Reps, Course Reps, and the Education Network to explore what education should look like after covid, and to discuss our plans for securing continued academic mitigations for TB2.  If you would like to shape this planning, please fill in our short survey to let us know how January Assessments went for you! 

 

Supporting liberation work 

As part of our ongoing work supporting liberation campaigns in Bristol, Jason your Equality, Liberation and Access officer is hosting a panel event for LGBT+ History Month and Julio, your Union Affairs Officer will be speaking at a webinar addressing Racial Abuse and Microaggressions on campus. 

 

Have a great week!

 

The Bristol SU Officer team are all employed full-time to lead Bristol SU and make meaningful change to improve the lives of students in Bristol. All seven roles are up for election in March – now is your chance to get involved! Put yourself forward for a role, or recommend a friend who you think would smash it! Find out more on our the elections webpage.