Cameron – Student Union President
S.H.A.G WEEK
This month, Cameron successfully delivered the first ever S.H.A.G Week (Sexual Health and Guidance), a campus-wide initiative promoting sexual health, inclusivity, and open discussions around relationships and consent. It exceeded expectations, creating a safe and engaging space for students to access resources, ask questions, and challenge taboos. A student fed back saying that they were super thankful for all the events and that they are a “better person because of S.H.A.G week”.
HOUSING
Cameron has met with multiple Members of the Scottish Parliament to lobbying them on Housing, putting the pressure on them to increase the support for students and the need for change! You can read more about it here: https://www.hwunion.com/news/article/hwunion/Do-You-Think-Student-Housing-is-a-Nightmare.
EDINBURGH UNIONS WORKING TOGETHER
Early in the month at the Sabbatical Officer Networking Day in Dundee, Cameron and officers from other Edinburgh Student Unions discussed strengthening collaboration between the student unions in Edinburgh. By working closely together, all the unions can share best practices, coordinate campaigns, and increase lobbying power on key student issues. The hope is this joined-up approach will enhance our collective impact and engagement with local stakeholders and bring a strong united student voice to achieving change across our city!
Holly – VP Academic
Academic Congress
The final Academic Congress of the year was held, where key discussions focused on;
Community Meal
Alongside the other FTOs, we focused this month’s meal on Lunar New Year. It was great fun being able to speak to lots of people!
National Education Officers Network
I attended National Education Officers Network (NEON) with other education officers from Scotland, where we shared areas of good practice. Specifically with a focus on partnership in assessment. This was a great opportunity to understand what other Universities and Colleges do across the country.
Sebi – VP Community
Student lead events
I had applied for funding to go to student lead events like our big cultural celebrations that some of our societies work to deliver, so now we have the Student Lead Events Fund that any student can apply for on our website! https://www.hwunion.com/event-fund/
With this fund I was able to support Malaysian Society with their Lunar New Year event, which was a great success, shoutout to all their hard work pulling it together, and the funding meant that the event can be free for students!
S.H.A.G WEEK
Moving on to S.H.A.G week which was an incredible success the first time our Student Union has had one so well done to all those involved in organizing and delivering, I personally hosted the Sexy Pub Quiz which had a record breaking 31 teams with over 100 students answering sexual health themed questions and winning fun prizes, I also hosted the Uncensored Bingo which was also a full house with a similar number of students all playing bingo, coming up to the stage to take part in mini challenges and winning crazy prizes, it was so much fun and great to see how keen are students are to get involved with events when we put the work in
Global Day
Next up Global Day, our staple cultural celebration of the year was a massive it again! With around 20 different national stalls like Nigerian, Peru, Palestine, and many more. The vibes were immaculate with all the incredible foods and music, and easily over 200 students coming to Zeros, with incredible dances and great singers the whole day was a blast. The Following day we hosted our first Gala Global Day where we had students colouring in a big banner with drawings and things that remind them of home which was really nice, and I hope the students enjoyed a creative break from studies.
Rachel – VP Wellbeing
S.H.A.G Week
What a week! S.H.A.G (Sexual Health and Guidance) week was packed with everything from Drag Queens, to a Funfair to Dolly and her Vulva Cupcakes topping it all off. It was an awesome mix of fun and education, and we were able to promote sexual health and well-being to students in a way that was as entertaining as it was informative. Definitely a highlight!
Multicultural Dinner
I also had the chance to attend the Multicultural Dinner organised by ISoc. It was a night full of good food, great vibes, and lots of cultural exchange. A perfect reminder of how amazing our community is and how much we can learn from each other. Big thanks to the team behind that event for making it happen!
Campus Accessibility
I was still able to chip in on the campus accessibility front last month even though meetings were sparse. We’ve now got a solid list of accessibility issues to tackle with lots of doors and kerbs ready to be fixed; and with the newly secured access budget, we’re all set to start making things more inclusive for everyone. Progress!