Quote of The Day:
“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope!” – Martin Luther King, American Minister
Hello everyone!
This is it! Fresher’s Week is finally upon us! I am very excited that all of us are going to have the opportunity to see each other in person! For those of you who are attending, we have put all of our advanced safety measures in place to give you peace of mind when you are speaking to others. Apart from a taking your temperature, all of our students and staff will be wearing face masks. Moreover, we will be ensuring that everyone keeps their distance and maintains contact with their social bubble. For those of you who are unable to attend, the virtual Fresher’s Fair is available for you to have a look till the 31st of October 2020. You can visit the website at https://www.essexstudent.com/freshers-fair/
Apart from that, here are a few things that I’ve been up to these last 2 weeks:
Disabilities:
I have been working with the University to ensure that students with disabilities are not proportionately disadvantaged this upcoming academic year with online teaching being predominantly in place. This includes visual and hearing aids, physical accessibility and the use of software and hardware for students with learning difficulties. Bryn Morris, our Registrar and Secretary at the office of the Vice Chancellor is the Senior Disability Champion. I will be working with him and the incoming, elected Disabilities Officer to represent student voices around disabilities.
Supporting Bereaved Students Through Grief:
COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives. Our social interactions and our ability to face the grief that this pandemic has caused has radically changed. Nileema Vaswani, our Counselling Manager at the Student Wellbeing and Inclusivity Service (SWIS) delivered the session to members of staff at both the University and the SU. The session has made me more equipped to address matters arising from bereavement and how best to support all of you during those difficult times.
Tackling Loneliness and Isolation:
In order to support and understand the individual support that all of you may require, SWIS has released a form that you can access in this short survey . It has been designed to ensure that SWIS is able to provide tailored support that will meet your needs. As always, my (virtual) door is always open if you ever wanted to have a chat about anything. Please email me at vpwelfare@essex.ac.uk
Love
Vinnie
Your VP Welfare