Xiaohongshu
No words in the English language could fully capture my gratitude for the privilege of serving as your Equity and Inclusion Officer for the past two years. Representing you and fighting for your rights in UCL's biggest rooms and on national stages has been the greatest honour of my life.
I would like to give a heartfelt shout-out to our Liberation Officers (Aaliya, Devi, Rosie, Mia, and Vanessa), whose enthusiasm and tireless dedication made the most tangible difference on the ground; this work was always ours together. Leaving this role is one of the hardest things I have done, but I carry every one of you with me. It has been the best two years of my life, and I would like to thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Representing you and fighting for your rights in UCL's biggest rooms and on national stages has been the greatest honour of my life.
Here's some of the work that I'm most proud of:
25% discount on Santander Cycles
When I first floated the idea of working with the Greater London Authority and Transport for London to make travelling around the city more affordable, I never imagined the scale of what I could achieve. Along with officers from six other London students' unions, I sat down with TfL and the Mayor of London's Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, to push for better deals for students - and their support went beyond anything I could have hoped for. I'm delighted to say that we won 25% off both monthly and annual Santander Cycles passes for the half a million university students across London: a clear example of what student advocacy can achieve when we work together.
Liberate Art Gallery
This year, I launched our second exhibition at Liberate: The Phineas Art Gallery, a project I started in my first year as Equity and Inclusion Officer to celebrate marginalised voices at UCL. This iteration took the project from an Art Gallery to a legacy piece, with works spanning themes like immigration and accessibility in higher education. We've even made the artwork into postcards, which are available to buy now in The Hanger!
Intersectional Work
It's been a standout year for intersectional work. At the start of this academic year, I announced my second term in office as the 'Year of Intersectionality' and launched Intersectional Forums as open spaces for students to discuss intersecting identities and advocate for equity. We've also held launch events for each of our Liberation months, which has helped us engage more students than ever before.
Supporting Disabled students in our community
I have also fed into our Union's response to the Disabled Students Allowance consultation, in which the Department for Education was seeking views on their plans to cut back on assistive technology. We firmly rejected the government's assessment and urged them to halt any cuts to support for disabled students. I know how important the DSA can be to ensuring access to learning, and I'm proud to have fought for the rights of all students across UCL during my two years in post.
UCL East Shuttle Bus
In January, I launched the long-awaited UCL East Shuttle Bus pilot scheme, giving both students and staff greater ease when travelling between One Pool Street and Stratford Station. The project was the result of consultations with students, who shared feedback that additional time is often needed to factor in the overall journey to UCL East from the station and back. A total of 5760 passenger journeys have been taken so far, and I can't wait to see how this initiative evolves over the coming year.
Active Bystander Training
We've expanded the Active Bystander Programme even further this year, empowering students to recognise and challenge unacceptable behaviours including bullying, harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct, on campus and beyond. We've made the scheme larger than ever, with 2305 online module engagements and 9687 live workshop engagements. I'm really proud to report that a total of 21,992 people engaged in Active Bystander training this year, helping to make our community safer and more inclusive.
Gender Expression Fund
I've secured ongoing funding from the Provost's Office for the Gender Expression Fund, which provides vital financial assistance for trans, non-binary, intersex and gender diverse students. We designated £5000 for this fund in 2025/26, and increased the highest grant to £150 per student application. I'm really happy that we will be able to take this work further and support more students this coming year.
Rawleka Wilson will be taking over as your Equity and Inclusion Officer next year, and having worked with her closely during her time as Volunteering Officer, I have no doubt that she will do an amazing job.
Thank you for all your support these past two years - my time as a sabbatical officer has been truly unforgettable. For now though, it's time to say goodbye. I hope you all have a lovely summer!