We asked your Welfare Representative Laura Potter to tell us a bit more about herself and her role.
Your Students’ Union is run by students for students through your elected representatives, who are chosen by you each spring in the Union elections. This year, we want you to get to know your reps a bit better, so we asked your Welfare Representative Laura Potter tell us a bit more about herself and her role. Don’t forget you can join your Reps and discuss what they should be working on at Student Council – the next one is tomorrow at 6.30 pm in the Blomeley Rooms (SU Hub) – all students welcome!
Tell us a bit about you, your course, hobbies and interests.
I'm a final year student studying BA Comparative Literature and Linguistics. I take a keen interest in mental health, politics, and social issues. I became politically active in my second year at Queen Mary, after helping to set up the Young Greens society.
Can you briefly tell us a bit about your role and what you get up to?
I and four friends ran alongside one another in the Union elections last year. I was elected as the Welfare Representative, where my role involves working to improve students' wellbeing.
It's an incredibly exciting role - I work alongside other elected representatives to start campaigns, meet with other like-minded students and outreach to external charities to get ideas going. It's all about creating real change to ensure that students are happy and healthy during their time at Queen Mary.
What do you most enjoy about your role as Welfare Representative?
You're actually given a generous amount of responsibility to organise your own events and campaigns. The experience is particularly useful if you're interested in politics, or even if you're just interested in getting more involved with your students' union. There are so many opportunities to get involved with real decisions at the university - such as improving access to the Counselling Service at Queen Mary.
I always thought my social anxiety would prevent me from working with others, but being involved with the students' union has actually improved my mental health. This role doesn't necessarily require confidence - any student can be involved in the students' union. Being able to work towards something that actually improves the wellbeing of others boosts my own self-esteem. I've been able to form friendships with like-minded individuals, and gain some work experience in the process.
Of course, I must mention that I do enjoy the other perks of being an elected representative. Free gym membership and even a free Drapers queue jump (trust me, I especially appreciate the latter).
What have you enjoyed working on since you started in your role?
So far, I have organised various activities on campus including World Mental Health Day 2016. This was really exciting. It involved working with other societies on campus to raise awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues. We dressed up, decorated campus and even fundraised for a local mental health charity.
What other exciting things do you have planned for the rest of the year?
Myself and other elected members of the students' union will be working on a Mental Health Board. Here, we will meet with the university's mental health services to discuss student wellbeing and explore possible avenues for expansion and improvement.
We're currently debating university policy on tuition fees, which is really interesting. The rise in tuition fees (2012) saw national outrage from students, and it's yet again an incredibly pressing issue. Additionally, there is a massive protest against rising tuition fees and the increasing marketisation of education coming up this week (Saturday 19th November), which I will be attending. The protest will take place in Central London, and we hope it will be as big as the huge protests in 2012. The rising cost of education has a huge impact on students' mental health, so it's important that we really work to challenge government policy on this.
I've also recently started working with the National Union of Students (NUS) in London, which is really exciting. I'm now a member of the Disabled Students' Committee, where I hope to start further motions and campaigns.
I will also shortly be attending an All Party Parliamentary Group on the Sexual Harassment of Students, alongside other events from external organisations.
If you were stranded on a desert island and you could only take 3 things with you, what would they be?
Snaps of hilarious nights out at uni, a notepad and pen, also maybe my Spotify account...
How would you sum up your role in 3 words?
3 words, really? Ah...challenging, energising, rewarding