Ask the VC? Naomi’s Priorities
As part of our ‘Ask the VC?’ consultation as well as asking for your views we’re also sharing those of our full-time officers so you know the conversations we’ll be having in the initial months of our new Vice-Chancellor. Next up is your Welfare Officer, Naomi…
- During my first year of university, I encountered a really difficult situation with one of my flatmates who had a severe mental health problem. The situation resulted in the armed police being called with the risk of said flatmate being arrested; many police interviews and long sleepless night followed for myself and the rest of my flatmates. Whilst I’m glad to say that the situation was resolved and that my flat mate was not arrested, the way that the university staff handled the situation was not suitable. If they had known how to respond well to such a situation in the first instance then we would not have to have had the added stress of the police enquiry with a friend almost being wrongly arrested. I think that front line university staff do not have suitable training to deal with crisis situations and it’s not good enough.
- Being able to be a part of a society has been hugely beneficial to my university career; I was President of the Tickled Pink society in my third year, which meant that I had the opportunity to work alongside a national charity as an ambassador. Not only did this enhance my employment prospects and teach me a lot of new skills, it meant that I got to be a part of one big community of clubs and societies where I have made the best memories and found friends for life. Without this society, I would not have enjoyed my time at Aberystwyth as much as I have. At one point I was struggling so much with my mental health that I considered dropping out of university entirely, but it was the society that encouraged me to stay.
- Whilst I have valued my time at Aberystwyth dearly, I can’t help but feel that a lot of university staff, particularly the senior staff, care more about making money and getting students through the door than they do about the education and the value of the individual. When paying £9000 a year for education, you expect to be able to get fully involved with all that the university has to offer without having to pay even more money on top. I desperately wanted to try out new sports and get involved with huge events like Super teams, but unfortunately, I missed out on these because of the £49 a year barrier to accessing sports. It was a choice between getting involved in new activities or keeping a roof over my head. I would love to see more of university culture where the senior staff care for the students rather than seeing them as numbers and customers.
To submit what you would say, click the link/button below and complete our short form…
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/askthevc