Steering the strategy
As Union Affairs and Communications Officer, my work encompasses everything from Union finances to governance, as well as thinking about how and when students are communicated with. It’s been an important year for that work, as the entire organisation has turned its attention to the development of the new LUU Strategy for 2022-2026 – a project that will set the tone for what LUU does for students over the coming years. The whole Exec team has been involved in discussions, with me taking the lead in representing the student voice in discussions with stakeholders including staff, trustees and external organisations.
It was really important to me that the strategy genuinely meets the wants and needs of the students of today rather than being developed without their input, so for me, my representative role in the development of this strategy is one of my biggest successes this year. My contribution more specifically looked at how LUU can adapt quickly to the wants and needs of students, taking a more political focus and centering things like sustainability and community. And with the strategy taking LUU up to 2026, I can be confident that that input will be a lasting legacy of my representative work.
Bringing LUU everywhere
Another project I’ve worked on behind the scenes is ‘LUU everywhere’, where we’re looking to get LUU offices located around campus to ensure a better presence of Union services across the University community. This is a project I had wanted to introduce before I even knew I was running in the election, and we’ve made some good progress this year, with space being allocated for LUU in the Worsley Building from this autumn, as well as plans for further locations and pop-ups in the future. This will allow all students, especially those with major time constraints on their academic lives, to access LUU resources and for LUU to proactively go to you rather than you having to come to us. I hope this scheme can move beyond Worsley to all areas of the university and even our campuses on other continents.
Living our values
A moment that really stands out to me from the year is when reports began emerging from Ukraine about racism during the conflict there. It was important to me that we actively called out this discrimination, and so I took a stand through condemning this racism in a video published across LUU’s channels. Embodying the Union’s anti-racist values is essential in being a genuinely progressive organisation, and I hope that this proactive condemnation will help lay the groundwork for good progress in LUU’s anti-racism journey, as well as for future Exec Officers to take a stand when they believe in something. We as a present and future combined exec will shortly be releasing a statement on our feelings around the supreme court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v Wade and how this is a direct attack on our fundamental rights.
These instances are some that stand out to me, but there’s plenty of other work I’ve done this year that I hope will have a positive legacy for LUU members. From working with Meg in discussions surrounding this year’s strikes, to providing support for clubs and societies alongside the activities exec, we’ve all worked really hard to help students love their time at Leeds. I’m so proud to have been your Union Affairs and Communications officer this year. I hope the changes we’ve made as both individuals and as a team will have a lasting impact on LUU and all the students the union works to support.
