Getting involved with the Students' Union
Hey everyone, I'm Mia. I'm your 2020/21 Students' Union President. The team and I are looking forward to welcoming you to Leicester in September. As an officer team, we are here to support you, and hold the University to account to make sure your time at University is as good as it can possibly be.
The Union has three strands: Representation, Support and Opportunities. You may be wondering what these are but I'm here to explain them a little better.
Representation: This strand is all about having your voice heard and creating change through activism. Whether there's a problem with your course or department, an injustice on campus, or you're wanting to work with your Executive Officer Team to get a campaign launched; this is the strand that's going to help you use your voice to make those positive changes.
Support: There's no question that University can be testing at times. With deadlines approaching, dealing with the changes to your lifestyle from being away from home, and having to deal with finances, landlords, and unexpected life circumstances cropping up, Support has never been more important. From mental health, to housing, our Advice Service is here to support you on your journey at Leicester.
Opportunities: During my time as a student at Leicester, I was really involved in sports. I played Netball, and it really made my time here great. Opportunities is about exactly that. It's about meeting like-minded people, joining clubs and societies that will make your life here really enjoyable, and getting involved with Volunteering and Community projects that will help and enrich the lives of others. We've got a RAG week, a Volunteering Hub and over 200 societies and clubs at Leicester, but if none of those take your fancy - you can always start your own initiative.
Here are just some of the ways you can get involved in the Union from any one of these strands:
Join a Network: We have 15 different networks at Leicester that represent different liberation groups including: Women, LGBT, Mature, Non-Binary, Carers, Interfaith, and BAME. All you need to do is be passionate about creating a positive environment and empowered space for students within your network as you'll represent them at Student Council meetings and beyond.
Submit Ideas through our 'Ideas System': If there's something you want to see on campus, or a new idea you think would be helpful and beneficial to other students, submit something via our Ideas system. Other students will then be able to vote on if they agree or disagree, and if your idea turns out to be really popular - it'll be discussed at Student Council.
Become a Course or Department Rep: Course Reps are an integral part of the Students’ Union, and play a vital role in improving the student experience by representing the authentic student voice and making positive changes to teaching and learning within each department. You'll be one of the main points of contact for your course or department and will voice the concerns of your peers at meetings. Nominations open at the end of September, so you would like to be involved in becoming a Course Rep, check out our social media channels for more information or visit this link.
Contact your Execs: As a team, your Exec Officers are here to represent you. We've been elected by students, and that's exactly who we're here to support. We've all got different areas to focus on, but the main thing is that we're here to make sure that University of Leicester students are getting the best possible experience whilst here. You might've seen our campaigns and some of the most successful officer-led campaigns include 'Me Too on Campus', 'Black History Month' and 'Why is my Curriculum White?'. If you've been affected by something, or want to take part in any of our 2020 campaigns, drop us an email and we'll get back to you.
Join a Society: Societies are a great way to get involved with the Students' Union. Our Committees work closely with our Activities Team to ensure that everything runs smoothly for its' members. Once you have been part of the society as a first year, you can run for committee and leadership positions in your second and third years, it's also a great way for you to get some leadership experience on your CV.
Become a Peer Mentor: Peer Mentoring is a fantastic way to meet new people, and have on-hand support from a student already studying at Leicester. They'll guide you through your first year on your course, and whether you're asking for recommendations on places to eat, or you need help with how to raise academic issues to your department; they'll be able to tell you who to contact. This year, we've introduced our all-new Liberation Matching system that allows you to be matched based on anything from your liberation characteristics, to your hobbies and interests.
Work for us: We often advertise jobs at leicesterunion.com/jobs, this includes our full-time and student staff roles during term-time. If you'd like a flexible job to fit around your studies, check that link out as that's where we'll advertise.
I hope this has given you an insight in to just some of the things we've got to offer here at the Students' Union and ways that you can engage with us. Aside from the serious things we do for students, we also have some really fun events happening throughout the year, including giving away plenty of freebies on campus (pizza and doughnuts included), and we've got some really fun activities happening throughout the year, so even if any of the things I've mentioned aren't for you - please feel free to still take advantage of them as members!
If you do have any concerns or issues to raise, please don't be afraid to contact the Executive Officer team with your questions, or suggestions about the Union. You can also come along to the 'Meet Your Execs' sessions during Freshers week.
Our building is undergoing a little makeover at the moment, which makes 2020/21 an exciting year since we're hoping to get it open very soon. I can't wait to meet you all, and please don't be afraid to reach out if you need us,
Mia