If I am re-elected as your Welfare Officer I will introduce consent training for all, implement campus-wide drug harm reduction, fight for student renters, and prioritise student safety.
About Me
Hi, I’m Jess. For the past year, I have been your Welfare Officer where I fought for consent training to be part of the welcome experience for all students and successfully lobbied the university to sign up for a comprehensive drug harm reduction programme. At my previous university, I helped to lead a successful rent strike that saved students over £1000 on their rent. I have consistently fought to make students’ lives better and achieve radical change.
Consent Training For All
Consent is mandatory so training shouldn’t be optional. Sexual violence remains a serious issue for universities including Queen’s. Providing all students with comprehensive, inclusive consent training that is based on their needs is the first step in tackling this issue.
Over the past year, I have lobbied the university to include consent training as part of the student welcome experience so that all incoming students can receive this training. Next year I want to expand this beyond welcome week and provide consent, bystander and handling disclosure training for student-facing staff, student representatives, and club and society committees.
The current system of reporting sexual misconduct should be investigated and improved. This process should prioritise supporting students through the process of reporting abuse
Fighting for Student Renters
Everybody knows there is a student housing crisis in Belfast. Most of us have experienced it. Students renting privately are often forced to live in unacceptable housing conditions such as mould and sometimes even infestations, and they can be trapped in contracts with landlords who delay essential repairs and abuse the deposit system.
Landlords think they can get away with treating students this way. It’s time to prove them wrong. As well as educating students on their rights as renters, the Students’ Union should promote a property-rating system such as Marks Out of Tenancy which guides students on which landlords and properties should be avoided and which should be considered. The Union should also invest in a landlord accreditation scheme where only landlords who abide by a certain code of practice will have their properties approved and promoted by the Students’ Union.
These schemes will encourage landlords to improve their standards, but in the long term, we cannot rely on landlords to do the right thing. I have been involved in the campaign for student housing co-operatives for a year now and if re-elected I will intensify my efforts on this, working with our national unions to introduce accommodation that is run by students for students.
Campus-Wide Drug Harm Reduction
Students shouldn’t be demonised for their drug use. Taking a harm reduction approach to student drug use moves the university away from a punishment-focused response and instead focuses on student wellbeing and reducing the potential harms of drug use.
Last year I promised to introduce drug testing kits on campus and I went even further than this. I successfully lobbied the Students’ Union and the University to invest £16,000 in a comprehensive, campus-wide drug harm reduction programme. This programme is two years long and I want to see it through until the end.
Safer Campus
Student safety on and off campus should be a priority. The university should partner with a personal safety app such as Safezone which can alert campus security to your location as well as containing first-aid and well-being support.
The Students’ Union should also provide personal safety alarms to any student who wants one.