8 Things We Learned About SMSU from the Latest Episode of UniCast

In the latest episode of UniCast, hosts Nancy and Meg sat down with our Sabbatical Officers to discuss all things Student Union, including what they do and how you can get involved. This is what we learned:

The SU’s job is to ‘Entertain, Engage and Inform’

“We can’t just give you a bunch of information, it’s got to be interactive and engaging and make you want to be involved with what we do”, Vic told Meg and Nancy.

Ahmed added, “When we speak to students, we want to make it clear that we are here to listen, we are here to understand and we’re here to validate everything you say”.

The SU door is always open

Tayla explained, “You don’t have to have a massive problem to come and speak to us, our office door’s open…we’ll always make time even if you want to come say hi, have a cup of tea or a chitchat”.

All the officers are proud to represent the students

Every year the SU holds elections where students can run for the Sabbatical Officer positions with the roles given to the students with the most votes.

Education President Vic explained that part of her role is to attend meetings with senior members of staff as the student representative. She said, “I sit on pretty much all of the University committees…three-hour-long meetings very regularly but they’re all so that I can make sure that students' voices are really heard.”.

Student Life President Ahmed added, “We are here to make the new students' and current students', student experience even better than ours, especially after the pandemic.”.

Sports President Tayla said, “Students have voted for us to be their voice so I think even in situations where it can be intimidating in these big meetings, with some very important people at the University, it’s really encouraging that it’s actually not just us speaking, we are the voice of thousands of students who have said we want you to represent us”.

Vic has plans to run a Sustainability Campaign

April is Sustainability month, and Vic said she plans to run a campaign in second semester. She wants to “introduce some new things for our uni. I know more students are aware of climate change and how we can be more sustainable”. She plans to teach people how to recycle.

Freshers' Week this year is going to be 'lit'

The sabbatical officers are particularly proud of the Freshers' Week schedule they've got planned with some massive events being brought back especially for 2021.

Tayla said, "We've got some really good events this year. There are some traditional events that we've brought back, like boat party and the welcome ball, which has a fun fair".

Ahmed added, "It's gonna be lit guys..."

Tayla’s advice for students is 'Get involved in clubs and societies'

’My biggest piece of advice, because I feel like it was the biggest part of my university experience, is get yourself involved in a club or society even if you’ve never done it before. Try a few things because you never know what you might fall in love with”.

Ahmed’s advice for students is ‘Smile and be friendly'

Remember that everyone is in the same boat so, smile and have a chat. “Friends are just made, it’s an amazing experience and it’s an experience that every person should go through, and it will shape your life”.

Vic’s advice for students is ‘Make use of the Commuters Lounge’

There is a commuters lounge on campus; it has a living room and kitchen area with lockers. “You’ll meet other commuting students, and you might live close to them so, that’s a friend already”.

You can listen to all available episodes now on Amazon, Apple, Audible, and Spotify.