☆ SUMMER FOR WELFARE AND CAMPAIGNS ☆

Hi I’m Summer, a fourth year Politics, Philosophy and Law student who is running to be your Welfare and Campaigns Officer!

My experience:

• SU LGBTQUA+ Officer 2024-25; collaborated with Warwick Presents to run a workshop for direct student input into creating Pride Festival 2025.
• Co-President Warwick Pride 2024-25; led the GEF, organised a frequent club night with a dedicated queer welfare stand, ran stalls at SHaG fest, organised an Actors for Human Rights event focused on LGBTQ+ refugees in the UK.
• Campaigns Officer Warwick Pride 2023; ran a transforming visibility campaign event in the SU, with innovation funding.
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer Warwick Enable 2023; worked to ensure our events were accessible and inclusive, liaised with disability services around making on-campus accommodation more accessible.
• Operations Forum 2023; pushed for more affordable food on campus.
• Warwick Law in the Community Associate; working on Strategic Social Justice Clinics to do with homelessness and social housing in Coventry and immigration and asylum casework with Central England Law Centre
• Coventry Independent Advice Service intern 2023 - working with local residents on disability benefits.

AFFORDABILITY

• Continue the free breakfast club and introduce permanent food-bank fridges across campus to reduce food waste and distribute surplus food to students.
• Push for more sustainable, affordable food across SU and University outlets - students should be able to afford nutritious hot meals on campus
• Lobby to replace Rootes Grocery with a more affordable supermarket on campus, with better vegetarian, vegan, kosher and halal options
• Raise awareness of, and push for an increase to the SU hardship fund to support students struggling financially, with more guidance on how to apply and a less invasive process.
• Lobby for a rent-freeze and subsequent rent-cap on on-campus accommodation, to tackle extortionate rent prices.
• Work with the University, local council, other FTOs and bus companies to reduce the cost of transport
• Push for a reduction in societies and sports federation fees.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

• Lobby the university to increase funding and resources for mental health services, including trauma informed culturally-competent staff, varied therapy options, sexual violence advisors and lgbtq+ informed therapists.
• Make sexual health guidance and testing available on campus.
• Continue the #EndPeriodPoverty campaign, ensuring menstrual products are widely available free of charge on campus, and increase the availability of reusable products.
• Continue tackling rape culture on campus with events, anti-spiking measurers, implimenting the SafeZone app and providing adequate support for survivors’
• Make sharps-bins available across campus, to ensure safe, accessible disposal of medical equipment.

EMPOWER STUDENTS

• Bring back the Liberation Conference
• Hold open meetings to get students feedback on campaigns that matter to them, and change they want to see.
• Run a series of ‘know your rights’ workshops on areas such as renters rights, protest, the equality act and student complaints – so students understand their rights and feel empowered to challenge abuses of power; including who to contact for help and advice
• Push for more resources and funding to be utilised by students for their own campaigns, including more guidance on submitting campaigns fund bids and clear dates for when these will be reviewed

DIVESTMENT AND LIBERATION

• Push for formal union backed advocacy, divestment campaigns and educational events
• Lobby the university and SU to commit to ethical partnerships and investments.
• Work with SU Part-Time Officers and liberation societies to ensure campaigns meet the needs, and reflect the lived experience, of marginalised communities
• Work with the Student Staff Solidarity Network to support campaigns for demilitarisation, sustainable food and better housing

Thank you for reading my manifesto! For updates and to ask me questions check out my instagram - @summer.welfare.campaigns.

Voting is open 9am Monday and closes 5pm Friday.