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Q&A WITH CHANTEL MELIAQ. What Course did you study at Newman?
A. Counselling Studies and Working with Children, Young People, and Families. Q. What made you want to become Vice - President of the SU? A. After being Academic Representation Officer in 2020-2021, I wanted to continue helping students go above and beyond! I believe that every opportunity we offer within the SU should be accessible to all, no matter the barriers people face. Q. Tell us an interesting or random fact about you... A. I love to cook and bake! Rumour has it I make the best oat cookies. Q. How can we get in touch with you? A. I am usually in the SU Office opposite Starbucks in the Atrium, but you can also catch me on my professional Facebook profile page, my email or by phoning the office on 0121 483 2225. |
MY PROMISES/PLEDGES TO STUDENTS
All elected Officers create a number of Promises that they make to students. Their reports to Student Forum are based on these promises.
PROMISE 1: ACCESSIBILITY FOR STUDENTS
Continuing on from the 20-21 Vice President, I pledge to work around accessibility for students. I want to create an accessibility charter for both the University and the Students’ Union to sign, ensuring that all work and events are planned in the interests of being accessible to ALL students. This year (20-21) especially has shown us that both parties are not as inclusive as we can be, and this needs to change!
PROMISE 2: DIGITAL LEARNING AND SUPPRT GRANTS
During the pandemic, students who met certain criteria were contacted in receiving a digital learning and support grant. I want to look at the possibility of the university making this a reoccurring scheme each year. We should be supporting our students in every way that we can, whether we are in a pandemic or not. I believe that doing this will bring us one step closer to reaching equity for all students.
If not successful, I would expand on my work from this year (20-21) by running awareness campaigns on external support that students can access. This information would be available to students across the whole year via the website, by providing links to various support areas and grants.
If not successful, I would expand on my work from this year (20-21) by running awareness campaigns on external support that students can access. This information would be available to students across the whole year via the website, by providing links to various support areas and grants.
PROMISE 3: CONTINUE OUT OF HOURS SUPPORT
In the academic year of 20-21, I pledged to increase the level of support we provide to our members. I want to continue to do this, and ensure that every member of the Students’ Union feels supported during their time with us. This consists of looking at our operating hours, and analysing whether they are a true reflection on what the student population requires from us. I would do this by looking at my own office hours first, and seeing how we can implement this across the whole organisation. The overall change may look like more drop in sessions (something that myself and other officers are looking at currently) and providing more signposting to areas that operate outside of a 9-5 day.
PROMISE 4: BUILD MORE ACADEMIC SOCIETIES
This year (20-21) myself and the societies officer began researching how other Students’ Unions build academic societies. If I become Vice President I would like to explore the possible links between academic societies and our course rep system. At the moment I believe that our societies and course reps have a lot in common, and need more support from both the SU and the university.
I have a vison of creating student groups called cohort communities, which would act in a similar way to an academic society. Each student would have the chance to talk about anything regarding their course, as well as have a bit of fun! This could include:
• Having game nights and being social
• Discussing how assignments/modules are going
• Putting on events and campaigns across the course
Not only would this aid in a community feel to Newman, but it would also add progress to how we want academic societies/groups to look in the future. Additionally, I believe that this would provide the perfect opportunity to reform our course rep system.
Whilst this is only a vision on paper, I believe that there are a lot of opportunities to explore where this idea could go, and how we can all become a collaborative support system for our members.
I have a vison of creating student groups called cohort communities, which would act in a similar way to an academic society. Each student would have the chance to talk about anything regarding their course, as well as have a bit of fun! This could include:
• Having game nights and being social
• Discussing how assignments/modules are going
• Putting on events and campaigns across the course
Not only would this aid in a community feel to Newman, but it would also add progress to how we want academic societies/groups to look in the future. Additionally, I believe that this would provide the perfect opportunity to reform our course rep system.
Whilst this is only a vision on paper, I believe that there are a lot of opportunities to explore where this idea could go, and how we can all become a collaborative support system for our members.
VICE - PRESIDENT TERMS OF REFERENCE (JOB ROLE)
General Duties
All Officers are responsible for the day to day running and management of the Union as an organisation, including but not limited to: ensuring it complies with the law and relevant acts, in particular the Education and Charity Acts, funding and budget monitoring, compliance with Health and Safety legislation, ensuring Union Policies and Procedures are adhered to and representing students. All Officers are also required to be actively involved in collective work and be willing to accept work at the request of an appropriate body.
Vice - President (Sabbatical role)
The Newman Students' Union Vice - President represents roughly 2800 students from a variety of backgrounds with a diverse range of needs. The Vice - President is responsible for assisting the President in leading the Executive team, challenging, motivating and encouraging them to achieve the best results in all work. They will also be expected to promote the equality of opportunity for all Newman University students, and ensure that all aspect of the Students’ Union adhere to the Equal Opportunities Policy. Furthermore, the Vice- President is responsible for making sure all of our communications are up to date, including our social media and website. Like the President, they are the direct link between the SU and the University and sit on many Boards and Committees to ensure there is student representation at decision-making bodies within the University.
A full job description can be found in the Newman Students' Union Constitution - Bye Law A
All Officers are responsible for the day to day running and management of the Union as an organisation, including but not limited to: ensuring it complies with the law and relevant acts, in particular the Education and Charity Acts, funding and budget monitoring, compliance with Health and Safety legislation, ensuring Union Policies and Procedures are adhered to and representing students. All Officers are also required to be actively involved in collective work and be willing to accept work at the request of an appropriate body.
Vice - President (Sabbatical role)
The Newman Students' Union Vice - President represents roughly 2800 students from a variety of backgrounds with a diverse range of needs. The Vice - President is responsible for assisting the President in leading the Executive team, challenging, motivating and encouraging them to achieve the best results in all work. They will also be expected to promote the equality of opportunity for all Newman University students, and ensure that all aspect of the Students’ Union adhere to the Equal Opportunities Policy. Furthermore, the Vice- President is responsible for making sure all of our communications are up to date, including our social media and website. Like the President, they are the direct link between the SU and the University and sit on many Boards and Committees to ensure there is student representation at decision-making bodies within the University.
A full job description can be found in the Newman Students' Union Constitution - Bye Law A
