The Reading Rep Issue 39 by Reading Students' Union

THE READING REP

MARCH 2021 | ISSUE 39

The Newsletter Dedicated to Students

AN INTERSECTIONAL LENS

In this Issue… March 2021

Features

Student Life 14

Election Results are in! After a busy campaigning week, we revealed who you voted to be the new FTO, PTO and Senior Rep teams who will represent you next year.

Have you celebrated someone in the RUSU Excellence Awards yet? We want to know who’s inspired you this year! Nominate before 26th

Intersectionality: Broadening the Lens We reflect on LGBT+ History Month with Dean for Diversity Dr Allán Laville, LGBQ+ Officer, Kush Patel and LGBT+ Society member Leah Jackson, discussing the importance of intersectionality.

This issue we’re celebrating Chris Dobson as Rep of the Month. As Mature Students’ Part-time Officer he’s been working hard this term.

Regulars

Student Spotlight Stories RUSU Women’s Officer Poppy discusses the challenges women face in today’s society and her plans for International Women’s Day!

NUS Delegate Navsheen Koul completes our back page quiz and talks minimalism, dancing during lockdown and returning to her roots in India.

This month we #ChooseToChallenge for International Women’s Day, love All on the Board’s positivity, and are all for the Fairtrade Easter eggs.

Your Say Check out what students are saying about their Reps and staff. Plus, share your stories with us by getting in touch…

“My nominee has consistently gone above and beyond both in teaching and supporting students and our society. He always ensures that you take away something positive and constructive, and his teaching techniques always challenge you to improve. He has also been especially considerate and proactive to ensure that we have everything we need to succeed. Always looking out for his students, academically and emotionally (even ones who are not his own tutees), he has also been exceptional with helping students with disabilities on our course. As we have a lot of labs, disabilities can be an issue but he is always there to provide workable solutions, advising others on invisible disabilities.” Winning nomination from the 2020 RUSU Excellence Awards

Pick up a prize next month…

Be our star letter in our next issue & pick up one of our exclusive personalised notepads, complete with an inspirational quote!

YOUR REP ACHIEVEMENTS! Chris, your Mature Students’ PTO, has released a survey gathering the views of mature students and has had over 650 responses already!

Martin, your E&E PTO, presented a campaign to key stakeholders at the university to encourage them to take up ethical banking!

#ChooseToChallenge For International Women’s Day 2021, we are being encouraged to #ChooseToChallenge. Holding your hand up high represents your commitment to consciously trying to create a more inclusive world. This could be challenging inequality, calling out bias and questioning stereotypes. It could also mean highlighting and celebrating women’s achievements and allowing space for underrepresented voices. Here at RUSU, the Representation Team are all opting to #ChooseToChallenge.

the view RUSU RATES…

It’s a Sin, Series 1, Channel 4 Honestly one of the best shows we have watched in years. We can’t recommend it highly enough; it will make you laugh and cry in equal measure and leave you feeling like you’ve just met a group of new best friends. There’s not enough space here to sum up everything we thought so just go and watch it NOW! Follow us @rusuphotos

Positive affirmation of the issue:

“History, despite it’s wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again”

– Maya Angelou

LGBT+ History Month has focused on women in the community that have worked to pioneer social change and equality. Your LGBQ+ and Trans Parttime Officers, Kush and Lennox, hosted a range of events during February, find out more on our social media pages.

Support Fairtrade this Easter! Easter is just around the corner despite chocolate eggs being in stores since January. Why not shop for Fairtrade eggs this year? They’re just as tasty and you’ll be helping cocoa producers earn a fair, living wage too.

All on the Board, All on the Board, £14.99, Hodder & Stoughton After bringing a smile to daily commuters in London, Ian and Jeremy have taken to social media with their poems, odes and more, bringing us all a much needed boost during lockdown. Marking special occasions, highlighting hidden illnesses and spotlighting mental health, you can now read them all on the daily commute to your sofa.

Free Printing! During the Change It vote last month, you voted to pass one idea: ‘RUSU to lobby the university for free printing’. RUSU is mandated to campaign on this for two years, so we’re working with the University to introduce printing credits for all students!

Celebrating our wins here at RUSU this month!

Solar panels The University of Reading has been awarded over £3.4 million to deliver a range of carbon-reducing initiatives across its campuses. The best bit is that the RUSU building is included! We are set to be the new home to 450 solar panels. Bring on the summer sun!

Wellbeing Champions Our new Wellbeing Champions are well into their roles now. After their training and first consultation they are raring to go. Keep an eye out for some great initiatives and ideas!

Change It winners Three students were the lucky winners of a £50 voucher last month. All they did was take part in the Spring Change It vote. The next vote is in May but what will you be voting on? If you have an idea for a change on campus make sure you submit it to Change It rusu.co.uk/changeit

Give It A Go! We are excited to be hosting the 'Give It A Go' fortnight, a calendar of virtual events being hosted by student societies for all students, whether you are a member of the society or not. The events have been taking place from 1st to the 15th March and include a range of activities. Any questions? Email RUSU Activities Officer Alex, at activitiesofficer@rusu.co.uk. Have fun!

YOUR NEW RUSU OFFICERS! Elections may have been a little different this year with everything being online but with a total of 10,392 votes cast, please say hello to your 2020/21 Officer teams…

Diversity Officer Elect: Soundarya Dundi •

COMPILED BY ABIEE HARRIS

Promote diversity in food served at halls including vegan, vegetarian, and international food options. Embracing diversity through cultural exchanges, organisation of Interfaith Week. Sensitise staff and students through training to address micro-aggressions.

• •

Welfare Officer Elect: Grace Loweth • • •

Text it out – a text help service to alleviate problems students are facing in a timely manner. Wellbeing Wednesday – a weekly recommendation promoting the importance of mental health and wellbeing among students. Buddy up – a scheme where students are matched to expand their social horizons and opportunities.

President Elect: Ben Knowles • • •

Safety across Campus, First Aid training & Anti-Pathogenic plastics on frequent touch points. Standardisation of online resources with easier access to extensions. Bringing back and growing the opportunities that RUSU can offer everyone from societies, trips, connection events & Union!

Education Officer Elect: Bethany Nugus • • •

A quick transition: returning to in-person teaching whilst keeping some of the successes of online teaching, such as recording in person lectures for those that cannot make it. Tackling the issue of bunching deadlines creating a more enjoyable learning experience. Bringing educational expectations closer with student welfare.

Activities Officer Elect: Amy Sheffield • •

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Inclusivity of Freshers Fayres: finding the perfect quiet hour. Increasing accessibility: ensuring events are inclusive for Postgrads, mature and commuter students. Reducing stigma: make joint society events using the Buddy Scheme.

Part-time Officers Elect Disabled Students’ PTO: Emily French

Environment & Ethics PTO: Lauren Fuller

2021/22 Senior Reps Elect Agriculture, Policy & Development Anastasiya Savchenko Archaeology, Geography & Environmental Science Claudia Sham & Joseph O’Connell Arts & Communication Design Dan Lupton

Biological Sciences - Lisha Rai

International Students’ PTO: Kimberley Tang LGBQ+ Students’ PTO: Dylan Le Lerre Minority Ethnic Students’ PTO: Tarek Ahmed Postgraduate Research Students’ PTO: Ainur Bulasheva

Built Environment - Hannah Skinner Chemistry, Food & Pharmacy Vivian Oparaku & Sabah Riaz Henley Business School Nikolaos Papathanasiou Humanities Henry Fletcher & William Mah Institute of Education Louise Gerth & Toby Clark Law - Oscar Minto & Lauren Fuller Literature & Languages Miranda Roberts & Jennifer Liddell

Postgraduate Taught Students’ PTO: Charlotte Kimbugwe

Mathematical, Physical & Computational Sciences Thomas Templeton & Antonis Karaolis

Trans Students’ PTO: Charlie Dennis

Women’s PTO: Ari Pascual-Quiros

Politics, Economics & International Relations - Casey Byrne Psychology & Clinical Language Science Megan Gompels & Katherine Birch

Broadening the Lens INTERVIEWS | HANNAH SMITHSON

Reflecting on LGBT+ History Month, we spoke to Dr Allán Laville Dean for Diversity and Inclusion & Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Kush Patel RUSU’s LGBQ+ Students’ Parttime Officer and LGBT+ Society Committee member Leah Jackson about intersectionality and the importance of diversity within the LGBTQ+ community at Reading… RR: What does intersectionality mean to you? Allán: Intersectionality for me is very much looking at a person and the multiple characteristics that a person may have. For example, with myself, I identify as Bi, I identify as neurodiverse and I also identify as having a disability; I mention those characteristics because they are minority characteristics – I have other characteristics – I am white and male as well.

It’s very easy to just look at different protected characteristics and whilst that’s really important to do in the first instance, if we’re looking at homophobia and biphobia or racism or ableism, we need to look at each of those individually because they’re different in nature. If we just stop there, that’s when the problem arises as we don’t look at how characteristics are

interconnected within different individuals. Some people hold the view that we should look at just one protected characteristic, for many, that’s not good enough. Also, importantly we must consider how different parts of someone’s identity may be more prevalent within their mind at different points in their life, for example, I’ve had conversations with other people

who’ve identified as having a disability and identify as being Bi (just by chance!) and within those conversations, for me, my sexual orientation has always been a part of my identity that I have been very comfortable with and very out about. But there has been more prejudice and discrimination towards my sexual orientation than my neurodiversity and that’s a big part of who I am but to say that that is all I am, would be wrong. So that’s where intersectionality is really important. In some instances, when it comes to work for example, my neurodiversity is really front and foremost over my sexual orientation but in my personal life, my sexual orientation is more present than my neurodiversity. RR: How important is it to acknowledge /encourage intersectionality within the LGBTQ+ community? Leah: Intersectionality is absolutely vital, not just for understanding the current situation that minorities are in, but also as a way to effect change. LGBT+ rights were achieved by the community taking direct action together, by understanding our common struggle, and change was actualised much faster.

In the same way it’s important for LGBT+ people to recognise and support other minorities of power, and our part to aid in race relations, religious acceptivism, and similar struggles. Kush: Speaking as a minority myself the implementation of intersectionality is a big step forward to make sure that everyone can understand the plight of minorities as well as allowing everyone to come together in order to understand and help each other. Allán: There are so many levels to this and there are different reasons why people might not feel like they can come out to anyone for example. Those reasons could be embedded in cultural, religious belief and faith systems; people may be out to individuals that they know at the university but not others. When we think about intersectionality we need to look at LGBT+ considerations at that level. It would be inappropriate to consider that everyone is out as for some, they can’t be as publicly out as they’d like to. Sexual identity and gender identity is intersectional too. We also know from Stonewall data that only 50% of BME LGBT+ individuals

Some people have the view that we should look at just one protected characteristic but for many, that’s not good enough; we need to look at it more holistically.” ~ Dr Allán Laville feel part of the wider, predominantly white, LGBT+ community. We sometimes assume that the LGBT+ community is all inclusive but not everyone feels like that is the case, are there still things we need to consider? There’s definitely considerations around stereotypes that we need to challenge. The British Academy have written some case studies on this recently, that when someone has a disability, particularly a

physical disability that some people will see them not as a sexual being. It’s almost that there is a myth that if you have a disability then people take away your sexuality or assume one is heterosexual when they might not be. This is another consideration. RR: How diverse is the Reading LGBTQ+ Community at Reading? Could it be more diverse? Leah: Diversity is a wide term. But at least in terms of the LGBT+ extended community we are quite diverse, even within the RUSU society almost all aspects of the LGBT+ have some sort of representation. That being said, there’s always more that can be done. A lot of our people talk about not feeling comfortable at some of the intentional/unintentional mis-gendering which has occurred on campus and in the classroom. Kush: I believe that the LGBTQ+ community is extremely diverse and this is especially prevalent within the society. Diversity itself is the idea that people of all different creeds, colours and identities are represented and made to feel like they are not overlooked. In my opinion it is thanks to the strides taken by RUSU and others that have really helped and allowed people to feel a lot more included and made the campus as a whole a safer environment as well as our, and every, society. Allán: Within the school that I work in I am far more aware of students that identify as LGBT+ than staff but there are a few staff that I know that openly identify as LGBT+. Whilst I have had positive experiences of students sharing their experiences with me, I still feel there could be more recognition in the staff body of those who identify as LGBT+. I think if everyone is going to be their best selves at the University of Reading there needs to be more considerations to bringing your whole self to your studies and work.

Did You Know? Intersectionality: The term was coined in 1989 by professor Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe how race, class, gender, and other individual characteristics ‘intersect’ with one another and overlap.

RR: How important is LGBT+ History Month to you and what are your reflections on the events held this year? Allán: The importance of marking LGBT+ History Month sends a powerful message that while things have moved on, there is still a lot happening, as Stonewall Bi Role Model of the Year 2019, Hafsa Qureshi said in her ‘Why We’re Not All Equal’, talk recently at Reading, and therefore marking LGBT+ History Month is really key. By looking back we’re acknowledging the discrimination, harassment and bullying that has happened before, and is continuing to happen towards the LGBT+ community, and that’s why the history month is so important to continue that awareness. Of course, it shouldn’t just be considered within this one month but there may be individuals that never consider it. There does need to be some time and space to recognise it. Signpost  Look out for more Bi Inclusion training around mid-May to coincide around Idahobit (International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia 2021) from Dr Allán Laville, RUSU Diversity Officer Rachel Wates and Bern Roper, who is Bi* Rep of the LGBT+ Student Society. Bi inclusion training considers: biphobia, bi micro aggressions and bi-erasure as well as representation of bi individuals in Higher Education and in the media.

At Reading in particular, we’re really fortunate to have a really present LGBT+ Students’ Society, really present LGBT+ Staff Network and with RUSU having a Diversity Officer and LGBQ+ Students’ Parttime Officer and Trans Students’ Officer as well. This really supports what we’re trying to do as a university community in raising awareness and educating individuals. Also, for the Reading community as a whole, holding events like the ones held in LGBT+ History Month does encourage and support that sense of belonging. I was really happy to be involved in the Wolfenden Lecture and the Wolfenden seminar which the LGBT+ Staff Network led on and the Bi Inclusion training with RUSU Diversity Officer Rachel Wates and Bern Roper, who is Bi* Rep of the LGBT+ Student Society. All of those events had an intersectional lens. If you missed the Wolfenden Lecture during LGBT+ History Month entitled ‘Why We’re Not All Equal’ then you can still catch it here before it expires. The lecture was hosted by Dr Allán Laville and headlined by Hafsa Qureshi – Stonewall Bi Role Model of the Year 2019 detailing her experiences of coming out https://msteams.link/7TM2

I think what went well this year was the events felt very real as people were sharing their real lived experience in all of those sessions and I think that is very powerful. What we were saying there is that, yes, there’s our sexual identity but there is also disability, race, religion, gender identity and I think that broadens the lens. My hope would be that individuals that are allies attend these events and find it worthwhile and meaningful to hear people’s experiences first hand so they can be better allies. RR: How can we learn from LGBT+ history to improve the community today? Kush: I believe that what we can learn is how not to repeat the mistakes of our past and make the community more open than it already is. What I mean by this is that in LGBT+ History Month, we all learned about the discrimination and the plight that the community faced on the road to acceptance. So we need to make sure that we do not discriminate towards and within the community so that we can be as open and safe as we can be. Leah: I think the first major lesson I take away from LGBT+ history that could be applied today is the idea of scapegoating. For hundreds of years the community has been used as a fear tactic by

political figures in order for them to operate how they so wished. Henry VIII, Thatcher, Romney, Bolsonaro, Peterson - they all have done so. I think when you look into that aspect of LGBT+ history you become much more politically savvy. Allán: When we’re looking at communities and we’re looking at equality, what we’re not looking at (although this word is often used) is ‘tolerance’. I don’t think that anyone should feel that they’re just being ‘tolerated’. I think what we can learn from LGBT+ History Month is that a lot has happened before but there is also a lot still happening now. At the core, people will fall in love with who they fall in love with and they shouldn’t be made to feel like that’s an issue. People will identify with the gender they identify with and again that shouldn’t be an issue for anyone. Therefore, whilst it continues to be an issue, we need to continue to acknowledge LGBT+ History Month and of course beyond that. We need to continue to recognise LGBT+ history to capture that timeline and see where good work has been made but equally not to become complacent. And continue to ask people about their lived experiences because the climate changes and we need to ensure we’re on top of everything and not ignoring anything or anyone!

"All Inequality Is Not Created Equal" Why RUSU’s Women’s Officer Poppy Lindsey is advocating for more intersectionality within the feminism movement this Interview by Kyle Smith | Words by Poppy Lindsey International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day takes place on March 8th 2021, and for many people, such as RUSU’s Women’s Officer Poppy Lindsey, it marks a time to highlight the inequalities women still face in modern society. It can be easy to forget that, despite some of the positive changes we’ve seen in the world, we still have a long way to go to achieve gender equality.

“Some of the biggest issues faced by women today include the everincreasing reports of sexual violence from women all over the world. It seems the lines around consent are still blurred, and until this is addressed at a young age, and the ‘boys will be boys’ rhetoric is diminished, sexual assault and harassment will remain a global societal issue.”

FEATURE

“Another issue I think is huge for women in society is the stereotypes enforced on girls from such a young age. There are so many messages in the media which place women into a box and tell them what they are and aren’t capable of doing, compared to boys their age. The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is to #ChooseToChallenge; a movement that inspires us all to raise our hands and commit to challenging gender-related inequalities. For Poppy, this includes calling out racism within the feminism movement, and advocating for greater intersectionality. “This International Women’s Day, I am choosing to challenge racism within the feminist movement. It is essential that we are intersectional in our feminism, which involves the inclusion of all races, ethnicities, sexualities, classes, abilities, and so on. “We cannot look at certain issues as ‘them’ problems, when we are not directly affected by them (global child marriage and FGM for example).”

“I think our generation must make a concerted effort to encourage our younger women. To remind them of the fact that they can do and be whatever they desire, and that being a girl shouldn’t ever hold them back.”

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“As one of my favourite activist writers Kimberlé Crenshaw said: “All inequality is not created equal”, meaning that many women face double discrimination – being black and female, for instance. I think it is so important to highlight the unfortunately common problem of racism within feminism, which is why I’m choosing to challenge it this International Women’s Day.” International Women’s Day forms part of a wider celebration of historical figures that takes place throughout Women’s History Month in March – so which iconic figures inspire Poppy the most? “The author Laura Bates always stands out for me, as her book Girl Up was my first step into feminism, and I think without her work highlighting everyday examples of feminism, I wouldn’t have become as involved in the movement as I am today. I would highly recommend her books to anyone wanting a good introduction into the women’s rights cause. “There are numerous incredible figures of feminism who inspire me – Bell Hooks, Audre Lorde, and Simone De Beauvoir to name a few. However, I think sometimes it is the everyday ordinary people who make us think the most.

Whenever I envision the epitome of female strength, I see survivors of sexual violence, I see women speaking up for what they believe in, I see women risking their lives for justice. As Elizabeth Warren once said at a women’s rights march: “We are here, we will not be silent, we will not play dead, we will fight for what we believe in”, and I think this perfectly sums up what inspires me about all women.”

It’s Awards Season at RUSU! After such a challenging year, now is the perfect time to recognise staff and students across the university. We’re hoping that both the RUSU Excellence and the Student Experience Awards can spread some positivity and provide some time to reflect on the more uplifting moments of the last year and spotlight those in the UoR community that really helped make a difference to individuals or a collective group. WORDS | BETHANY BROWN

The Excellence Awards and the Teaching and Learning Showcase have become an annual tradition at RUSU, celebrating the often unsung members of staff that are working tirelessly to ensure students get the most from their time at university. This year we have increased the number of awards (we don’t know about you, but we need as much positivity as we can get atm!), meaning at least one member of staff from each school will be recognised. Support staff, academic tutors and staff pioneering diversity and inclusion in their work will also be included in the awards, meaning you’re not limited to just nominating lecturers – they’re open to everyone! Every year, nominated staff express their thanks and gratitude at being recognised; often noting it means even more that these awards are entirely student-led. Regardless of whether they are chosen as the winner of their category or not, staff find it so encouraging and meaningful that students have taken the time to share how they have felt inspired or supported by them, with 2020 winner Bob Rastall saying:

“I do my job because I love working with students and helping them to realise their potential - I can’t think of a more rewarding job and it means such a lot to know that you are actually making a difference to people. The fact that this is based on student nomination makes it very special indeed.” ~ Bob Rastall, 2020 RUSU Excellence Award Winner

Whilst the RUSU Student Experience Awards are only entering their third year, they are equally as important and rewarding. They aim to recognise the achievements of individual students and wider student groups or societies, highlighting the positive and outstanding impact they’ve had on fellow students. Like the RUSU Excellence Awards, there are new categories for this academic year, including ‘Best Volunteer Initiative’ and ‘Outstanding Campaign to Positive Wellbeing’. Previous Disabled Students’ Part-time Officer Charlotte Hyde was awarded Volunteer of the Year in 2020 with her nominee saying:

Throw kindness around like confetti” ~Bob Goff

“Charlotte has proven to be the best representative of students with disabilities in her PTO role, her passion is contagious! It's this, along with her dedication and overall attitude that I believe have led to many successes this past year. She's a very active member of RUSU and is very approachable. I really respect her and what she's achieved!” The awards themselves along with the showcase events, help to start great conversations surrounding the student experience as well as highlighting best practice around the University, hopefully inspiring other schools and departments with their innovative ideas and practices. Everyone has faced challenges over the past year, both personal and professional, so these small acknowledgements and words of kindness and thanks could just be the bit of positivity that everyone needs right now. There are thousands of staff and students working determinedly across the university, and we’d love to acknowledge them all but would need your nominations to do so!

Nominations for both awards are open until Friday 26th March and there is no limit on how many different individuals or groups you can nominate. Each nomination takes no more than five minutes - you could even recognise someone whilst waiting for the kettle to boil! More information, and the links to submit a nomination, can be found at: Excellence Awards: rusu.co.uk/excellence Student Experience Awards: rusu.co.uk/your-union/awards/studentexperience-awards/ More awards will also be opening soon, stay tuned on our social media pages for more!

Announcements

Rep Fest is taking place between 9th -11th March! RUSU are hosting an array of workshops lead by a range of internal and external speakers focused around the theme of ‘Wellbeing in the Community’. The sessions are open to all students but are particularly great for Reps and those in committee positions as they will help build on your existing skills and really boost your personal development! You don’t need to pre-book or sign up beforehand but for more info, as well as the full schedule, click here: https://www.rusu.co.uk/news/article/rusu/REP-Fest-Tues-9th-Thus-11th-March-2021/ For each workshop or event you attend you will be entered automatically into a prize draw to win one of three £50 Love2Shop Vouchers! We’re excited to have Jeffrey Wotherspoon as our guest speaker this year as he has worked with clients such as Sony Music Entertainment and National Education Union (NEU) to name a few. Jeffrey’s background is in youth work, with extensive experience in the criminal justice system. Over the years he has worked on the frontline with some of the UK’s most vulnerable young people and is excited to speak to students at Reading! RUSU’s AGM is arriving soon too on Tuesday 9th March, 6-8pm on Zoom – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83626300251 RUSU’s AGM is an annual gathering of students and staff to celebrate RUSU’s impact, hear about the plans for the upcoming year, and vote for matters requiring member approval. There are also fantastic giveaways on the night – when you get your free ticket, you will be entered into a raffle draw with huge prizes, including an Amazon Echo Dot, Instax Mini Camera and George Forman Grill. You will need to attend the AGM in order to claim a prize.

RUSU’s By-elections for Mature Students’ Officer, Black Students’ Officer and various Senior Rep roles will take place alongside the Student Trustee elections this year – opening in the summer term. Look out for them @ rusu.co.uk/elections

The Office for Student is curious to know about how students feel about how University of Reading is meeting its goals concerning access and participation. If students could please fill out this survey for the student submission led by RUSU Diversity Officer Rachel Wates, especially if these are BAME, disables, a care leaver, mature student or fall within the allowance of the Reading Bursary scheme. Here is the link to the survey: https://forms.gle/DgV83DkAs6GL5kiU6 Attention UG and PG students! Would you like to VOLUNTEER to help new students with their start at UoR in Autumn 2021? If you are interested in gaining new skills and improving your CV then please apply to become a STaR mentor. We would ask for around 1 hour per week of your time. No experience is necessary and we will provide you with training and support. Not sure? Read more HERE More questions? Then email starmentors@reading.ac.uk

Nominations for the RUSU Excellence & Student Experience Awards are open now at rusu.co.uk/awards

Mature Students’ Part-time Officer, Chris Dobson on ensuring representation for mature students now & leaving a legacy for the future Studying as a Mature Student Undergraduate himself, Chris returned to the Mature Students’ Part-time Officer role this year, has achieved so much and can’t recommend it enough!

“I'm very proud to think that through it I should be able to leave the position of mature students as Why did you run to be Mature students’ PTO? part of the UoR community in a Chris: Technically, I didn't run for the role! better position than it was when I When I saw that there was a by-election my initial reaction, being a final year came back into the role.” undergraduate was "I just don't have the time...", but when it became apparent that nobody had stood for election I felt that it was so important that there was someone representing "mature students" within RUSU so I offered, having been Mature Student PTO before, to step back into the role. At no point have I regretted stepping back in, and I'm actually sad now that I won't be able to stand in the by-election to carry on the work I've started and try to push through the issues that are fast appearing in the survey I’m currently using to collect student opinion. How has the experience been so far? Chris: Absolutely amazing! Without an elected manifesto of points to campaign for, I decided that I shouldn't try to force my ideas through and instead, have purely been talking to a lot of people within both RUSU and UoR to try to gauge the amount of support or resistance within the University to the specific needs of mature students going forward. Every conversation has just been a sea of "we want to help..." or "we're keen to help..." and there is definitely momentum building behind the scenes, it just comes down now to making sure we ask for support on the big issues faced by mature students.

What have you most enjoyed in your role? Chris: On the back of the constant replies of "tell us what you want..." I decided that we needed to really find out, so I set up the ‘Big Mature Students' Survey’. The support from RUSU and UoR in getting it out to the entire mature student population has been amazing and the response has blown all expectations away. Currently we have over 650 responses and the survey is open until the end of term, so hopefully that number will continue to grow. Having such an amazing number of responses means that we should be able to really get to the bottom of exactly what needs sorting, changing and supporting going forward to bring the mature student community back together. When I started creating the questionnaire I don't think I'd have ever imagined to get the response it has, and I'm very proud to think that through it I should be able to leave the position of mature students as part of the UoR community in a better position than it was when I came back into the role.

Head to www.rusu.co.uk/elections to look out for the Mature Students’ By-election this year. Chris says: “Honestly, if you're a mature student, truly think about standing in the by-election, because the change will happen if we ask for it!”

Sharing a coffee with…

Navsheen Koul

Quickfire Q’s Tea or coffee? Tea Snow or sun? Sun Book or movie? Movie Cats or dogs? Dogs Apple or android? Android Early bird or night owl? Early bird Instagram or Twitter? Twitter Night in or night out? Night out Paris or New York? New York Fruit or vegetables? Vegetables Pop or rock music? Pop Comedy or horror? Comedy

What’s your favourite hobby? Dancing! It’s particularly accelerated in lockdown for a sanity check! If you could be any animal for a day, what would it be and why? I could see so many places in just one day if I could fly, so any damn bird! What’s your dream job? Consultant at McKinsey & Company! If you could have dinner with any famous figure, past or present, who would it be? Tony Robbins or Shahrukh Khan. What’s one thing people don’t know about you? I’m almost a minimalist. Which place is top of your travel bucket list? Might sound silly, but being born and brought up in India, I haven’t even seen half of my home country. Will start from roots!

Why should students get involved in RUSU? You learn every moment. When you speak to someone new, when you get involved in a group, when you show your skills or just any other way that you get going with RUSU, you will learn or earn something for life!

PSST… as one of our NUS National Conference Delegates, Navsheen will be representing all Reading students at NUS’ National Conference in April. Head to NUS’ website to find out more!