Xiaohongshu
It has been a one-of-a-kind whirlwind experience to have the opportunity to represent you all as your Welfare and Community Officer. My time as a Sabbatical Officer has been nothing short of the biggest learning experience.
Most of all, I learnt that resilience is of the greatest values we can hold and that we need when we advocate for what we believe in, from affordable and maintained housing, timely action to harassment and discrimination to social justice and divestment.
Thank you so much to all of you who voted for me, supported me, believed in me and entrusted me with carrying student voice. My sabb year may be coming to an end, but the fight for students and standing for justice continues, as always.
Most of all, I learnt that resilience is of the greatest values we can hold and that we need when we advocate for what we believe in, from affordable and maintained housing, timely action to harassment and discrimination to social justice and divestment.
Here's a glimpse at some of the projects I've been involved in this past year:
Housing and accommodation
Housing has been a big focus for me this year. I've successfully advocated to bring back the UCL accommodation undergraduate guarantee, increasing resourcing for and improving the maintenance reporting system (MyCampus), increasing London Plan Affordable (LPA) rooms, and introducing a room-specific self-selection preference feature for booking UCL accommodation.
Alongside this, I've run a Housing Forum to gain insights from a range of student experiences and perspectives, as well as chairing the brand new Hall Community Officer Forum we started this year. I've also been planning a ‘Know your Housing Rights’ workshop geared to all private renting students. This will be taking place during Welcome, so watch this space!
Welfare and sustainability
Together with Sarah Jilani, your Education Officer, I've been advocating to remove barriers for Gazan students to come and study at UCL. This has included working with the Gaza40+ initiative, the UCL University of Sanctuary Working Group Co-Chairs and UCL’s Specialist Caseworker (for Forced Migrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees). The hope is that UCL will soon receive official accreditation as a University of Sanctuary, supporting students from refugee and forced migration backgrounds.
I've also been calling on UCL to divest from unsustainable companies and institutions. This work has been in collaboration with your Sustainability Officers, your Education Officer Sarah Jilani and Students' Union President Anam Choudhary, and has been a priority for the Russell Group Students' Unions.
Cost of Living
I've been working hard to expand Cost of Living support for students, including pushing for the renewal and development of the Union's hardship funding pots. As part of this work, I've been looking into introducing a Food Pantry to provide affordable meals to students facing hardship and help reduce food wastage at UCL.
On a national level, I've joined a number of sabbatical officers pushing to unfreeze the student loan repayment threshold. Together with other officers in the Russell Group Students' Unions, I've sought to highlight the growing life-long debts UK-domiciled students have; the steep, inaccessible interest rates; and the need for a changed and fairer student loan and repayment system.
At the APPG for student loans, I asked MPs about the progress of Alternative Student Finance (ASF) which would allow students who do not want to take out a loan that accrues interest for ethical or religious reasons. I was delighted to hear that ASF will likely be implemented as part of the government's Lifelong Learning Entitlement scheme, and I know that Students' Union UCL will remain committed to ensuring that all prospective students can access UCL, regardless of background or beliefs.
Making UCL a safer place for everyone
Throughout the year, I've been working to make UCL a safer, more inclusive place for all students. I've been involved in UCL's Harm Reduction campaign, which helps students make informed choices about substance use and alcohol consumption by creating open routes for support without fear of punishment. I've also been a Community Panel member for UCL’s new Islamophobia awareness training, which I hope will allow me to help develop training that will have a lasting impact across the university.
This year, I've also attended the Russell Group Students' Union residential alongside Sarah, contributing to national conversations about student welfare, including supporting our Gender Based Violence project, which has including supporting the petition to legislate misogyny as a hate crime. The petition has now reached over 100,000 signatures, which means it must be considered for a debate in Parliament.
Next year, your Welfare and Community Officer will be Vivian Li. I have no doubt she'll do an excellent job, and I can't wait to see how she continues to develop the role and further strengthen our community.
Thank you for your support, and for giving me the opportunity to be part of such a special year. I wish you all the very best - goodbye!💜
