Highlights from 2022
Every year is a busy one, and 2022 was no different. Here are some of the highlights as we look back...
January
We entered the new year by launching Refreshers and encouraging students to try something new in 2022! It was fantastic to see you all back on campus for the Commercial Refreshers Fair, our Give it a Go takeover day and a whole host of fun events.
Thanks to lobbying from the Bristol SU Officer team, the opening hours at Senate House were extended to include weekends - giving students more access to space for student group activity and to study.
We introduced the ReciteMe accessibility toolbar on the SU website. This toolbar adds a number of useful features for website visitors who have a disability or access need, plus some other useful features such as the ability to instantly translate text into a wide range of different languages.
February
In February we celebrated and commemorated LGBT+ History Month. We teamed up with our LGBTQ+ Society and Trans Student’s Network to bring you a series of events, including arts and crafts, information stalls, quiz nights and sports sessions. Alongside this ran the Rainbow Laces campaign, which aimed to highlight LGBT+ individuals and allyship in sporting communities.
We continued to support ongoing UCU Industrial Action, our officer team released a statement on anti-marketisation and attended the NUS ‘Walk Out /Teach In’ student strike protests in London.
We also hosted SHAG (Sexual Health and Guidance) Week - giving students access to free condoms, sexual health information and hosted free HIV testing on campus.
March
In March, we held our second ever digital-only elections! After three days, over 38,000 votes and 3,995 voters, your new 2022/23 officer team were elected. This is the team who are supporting you now!
We also ran our ‘Dare to Care’ campaign, which aimed to break down the stigma and difficulties surrounding conversations on suicide in the University community. To make this happen we teamed up with the Zero Suicide Alliance to provide students and staff with access to free, 20-minute, suicide prevention training.
To continue our work around diversity in sport, the Sport and Student Development officer hosted a Being Black in Football event.
In partnership with the Student Experience Programme at the University, we started our research on Belonging, Connection and Community. Over 1300 of you took part in the initial survey which was commissioned to gather a wide range and scale of student opinion on the topic, and to provide robust evidence to inform the future actions of the SU and University to support student communities.
April
We held our second Climate Emergency Day of Action at the end of April. Students and staff attended a day packed full of events, workshops, activities and speakers. Highlights included a mass ‘plogging’ event and attendance by special guests BBC journalist Tom Heap and Carla Denyer, Co-leader of the Green Party.
We also welcomed back the class of 2020 for their delayed graduation ceremonies. Thanks to your officer team, these ceremonies took place in the Wills Memorial Building rather than in other locations in the city.
May
In May we held a Sanctuary Scholars Emergency Fundraiser. Sanctuary Scholars are students from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds who have scholarships to study at the University of Bristol. After the Home Office issued a devastating Study Ban on a final year Scholar, the Sanctuary Scholars Legal Aid Fund was able to support them with the huge legal costs associated and the Study Ban was lifted.
June
Bristol SU Awards Season finally returned, in person, for all 3 ceremonies! The Bristol SU Sports Awards, Society Awards and Student Voice Awards ceremonies took place at the beginning of the month and we announced the full list of winners on our website.
We spend a lot of June getting your 2022/23 student leaders and eleced reps ready for the new academic year. We worked closely with incoming officers, network chairs, academic reps and society committees to help them feel supported in their new roles, and also said goodbye to those outgoing.
Summer
You might think the summer would be a quieter time, but for some of our teams this is a really busy time of year. Our Bristol SU Lettings team support thousands of students with their tenancy changes, whilst the Bristol SU Academic Advice service is on hand to help students with academic appeals and other issues.
We launched a new strategy to make sure our work is relevant to all students and we're addressing the issues you face. We also launched a fresh new look for Bristol SU to align with our new mission and values, which included launching a new website (with a much better mobile experience).
Plus, there was time for more celebration as our Class of 2021 came back for their graduation ceremonies in July.
September
September is all about Welcome - welcoming new students and welcoming back our returning students. This year we hosted almost 100 events, as well as our student groups hosting just as many Give it a Go sessions. Over half the events were non-alcohol events, and half of the events were free. From club nights to plant-potting, paddleboarding to craft workshops - we tried to make sure there was something for everyone. We also hosted over 13000 students at our Welcome Fair at the end of the week.
Your elected officer team were out and about meeting you in welcome talks and at different events, and they announced their priorities for the year ahead.
P.S. You can now find the big Bristol SU deck chair on the upper ground floor of the Richmond Building!
October
In October we celebrated and commemorated Black History Month, welcomed Pets as Therapy dogs to the Anson Rooms and hosted our first public forum of the year.
Over 3000 of you voted in our TB1 elections, electing a range of roles including first year and PGT course reps, PGT faculty reps, network committee members and more.
We launched our Cost of Living hub to provide you with useful resources, and work that we're doing in this area alongside the university.
Your Sport and Student Development Officer managed to secure a free bus to Coombe Dingle from Tyndall Avenue on Wednesdays during term time!
November
November was a busy month for campaigns and events...
We started the month by publishing the results of the Belonging, Connection and Community Research which had taken place earlier in the year. Following this research, we've already hired an academic societies coordinator to support academic societies in building communities on their course.
She Can, They Can aimed to inspire all women, non-binary people and other marginalised genders to take part in sport and feel confident while doing so. Your Sport and Student Development Officer held a series of events from Carnival Fitness to film nights.
The Reclaim the Night march returned to the streets for the first time since 2019. Over 150 staff and students joined us to march through the streets of Bristol to reclaim the city as our own and demand the use of public spaces at night without fear.
The University launched a consultation to seek views from students, staff and the public on whether seven buildings whose names are linked in different ways to the transatlatic trade in enslaved Africans should be renamed. The online consultation is continuing to run until 19 December. Your Equality, Liberation and Access Officer has been encouraging students to give their views and appeared on a panel alongside university staff as part of the in-person consultation.
December
December started with the Bristol SU Lettings Housing Launch - the beginning of properties being added to the listings for next academic year. As part of our My Rent My Rights campaign we've been supporting students with concerns about renting through events and resources, covering everything from finding housemates to a property viewing checklist.
With the end of year fast approaching, we've started planning our events, campaigns and activities for 2023 and we're excited to share more details soon.
We want to thank our officers, reps and everyone who has supported Bristol SU in 2022.
We hope you enjoyed our round-up of the year, wish you a happy winter break and look forward to seeing you in 2023!
