VP Activities Monthly Update

Awards Season (aka 3 weeks of my life gone)

A huge chunk of this month has been taken up by reviewing applications for the Sports Awards, Societies Awards, and VTeam Awards. In total, we received close to 300 applications, and I personally went through and graded them all.

I will be honest, it took me about three full weeks of working days to get through everything properly. It has been intense and I am definitely feeling it, but at the same time it has been incredible to see just how much students are doing across campus. The level of effort, creativity, and impact in these applications has been genuinely impressive.

Audit Tender

I was also involved in the audit tender process, where we interviewed three firms: Knox Cropper, Griffin, and Crowe.

After careful consideration, we have decided to go with Knox. This is quite a big shift, as we have been with Crowe for over a decade. The decision was ultimately about getting a fresh perspective and a new outlook on how we approach our audits.

This will be a one year trial period, giving us the opportunity to assess how the partnership works in practice before deciding on the long term direction.

ROGUE Nights

ROGUE continues to build momentum, and we have a new collaboration coming up on 28 April:

ROGUE: French vs Latin
Featuring Latin American Society, ELSA Essex, and French Connection, going head to head.

This is exactly the kind of energy we are trying to build with ROGUE. Societies leading, competing, collaborating, and creating nights that feel exciting and different.

Alongside this, I have continued attending every single ROGUE, staying until midnight to support societies, make sure everything runs smoothly, and capture content from the night. That presence has been really important in building trust and consistency.

Campaign Work – Fix University Funding

Student Leaders and I have been working heavily on campaign activity this month.

One that I have been personally involved in is the “Fix University Funding” campaign. We have filmed two videos so far, with two more coming soon.

The campaign highlights how higher education is currently in crisis. Universities across the UK are struggling, courses are being cut, and the long term impact on students is huge.

I have been editing the reels and working with the @essexsu Instagram to push them out. The goal is to get students informed, engaged, and ultimately to sign the petition so this issue reaches Parliament.

Bidet Project Update

The bidet project is now very close to the next stage.

There have been a few minor updates to the original proposal I submitted a few months ago. This includes adding a Legionella risk assessment and considering bringing in a structural engineer to inspect the installation areas.

These were the final adjustments needed before submitting the updated proposal to the University’s Head of Safety. Once this is approved, the next step will be a meeting with Estates to move things forward.

We are now at the stage where, if everything goes smoothly, installation could realistically happen over the summer.

Content & Derby Day Promo

Content has continued to be a big focus.

Alongside regular event coverage and social media output, I also helped create a Derby Day promotional video, which will be shared on both @essexsu and @essexsublades.

The aim is to build hype early and make sure Derby Day lands as a major moment in the term.

Overall

It has been a very intense month, but a productive one.

A lot of the work has been behind the scenes, especially with awards and audits, but it is all feeding into improving how we recognise students, how we operate as an SU, and how we build bigger and better experiences moving forward.