Tuesday 27-07-2021 - 11:22

Being in a position like this isn't easy, but if you put your energy into it, you can bring about change

Sarah McAllister looks back on her year as Postgraduate Academic Officer

Thinking back to when I decided to run for this position, I don’t think I could have predicted what this year would bring. I didn’t know that a RON campaign and the beginning of a global pandemic were both just around the corner.

Being an Officer during a pandemic

Working in my living room for the entirety of the year was certainly not how I envisioned being an Officer. Welcome events quickly changed into a livestream tour around Durham (where I got thoroughly soaked), a postgraduate welcome event held on Zoom with over 250 postgrads, and chill drop-in sessions that we called ‘Afternoon Teas’.

There are, of course, some advantages to working remotely. For one, it is a lot easier to learn who people are when their names are on screen – last August I made a list of over 200 people I needed to know in the University. You also don’t need to worry about running from the Calman Learning Centre back to the SU between meetings. With online meetings often scheduled back-to-back from 9-5, I did, however, still have to run to the kitchen and back to grab anything I could eat quickly.

Supporting postgraduates in difficult circumstances

Recently, I have been writing my handover document, which has made me realise just how much I have done this year. Some of my highlights were:

• Giving a presentation about postgraduate mental health at the Student Support and Wellbeing Sub-Group
• Ensuring the laptop loan system is open to both PGRs and PGTs
• Running the ‘To PG or Not to PG’ campaign
• Working with SU postgraduate officers around the country to support PGRs through the pandemic and challenge the support that UKRI provided
• Working to bolster postgraduate communities both in our colleges and academic departments

There are two things in particular that come to mind when I think of what I’m most proud of this year: the academic safety net and the postgraduate access and participation paper.

Fighting for and representing students’ need for a safety net became a priority of mine. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that fighting for the safety net took over my life during Michaelmas and Epiphany term. Nailah and I went to countless meetings to hear your views, talk to University staff members and lobby the University to accept the policy in committee meetings.

It was during this time that I had hoped to work on creating the postgraduate access and participation plan, in which I wanted to set out how the University should improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented postgraduate groups. Of course, the academic safety net work took priority, so I genuinely didn’t think I would be able to make the progress on this that I now have. Since writing the paper, I have presented it to multiple members of UEC (the University’s most senior decision-making committee), SU Assembly and the University Education Committee. I have also found out that next year the paper will be going to Provost’s Board, UEC and Senate, which is a fantastic step towards the University adopting their own postgraduate access and participation plan. I am so thankful that I have had messages from people across the country who are interested in this work, and that my paper is going to be sent to the Office for Students to start the national conversation about the need to consider postgrads in access and participation plans.

We need to change the narrative

I don’t want my reflection on this year to be dominated by the RON campaign, but as it has been inescapable during my time as an Officer, I did want to say a couple of things when reflecting on my year. My hope is that student politics in Durham never gets to that point again – that we never again see such a horrible environment on campus but even more so online. There are certain things that stick out to me from that period, one of which is someone saying, ‘If you run in an SU election, you deserve to be treated like this’. My plea is that we change this narrative. Yes, we need to hold people to account and we need to debate important issues, but there is a way to do this without destroying people’s mental health.

Thank you and good luck!

There are many people that I owe a lot to this year, but before this turns into an Oscar speech (with music starting to play half way through), I just want to say to everyone whose opinion I have sought and who I have worked with this year – I really do appreciate all that you have done.

To all the other Officers – I don’t know how I would have got through this without you. We have been through a rough year and I am so proud of everything you have been able to achieve. Ewan you have not only been a fantastic colleague but a housemate. When I have needed a rant or cheering up after a stressful meeting, you have always been there. Nailah, you have been a dream to work with and I can’t imagine being part of ‘Team Academic’ without you as a partner. Anna, your levels of energy and passion have constantly inspired me this year – even if that has meant an impromptu garden banner painting session. And what can I say about Seun? I feel honoured to have worked with you this year – I can only begin to imagine what you will have achieved when you leave in a year’s time.

Emma, my staff support, you have honestly kept me sane and I don’t think you give yourself enough credit for how good you are at supporting the Officers. I will thoroughly miss working with you, debriefing meetings with you, and generally gossiping with you..

I will end by saying the best of luck to all the Officers and student leaders next year. I’m not going to pretend that being in a position like this is easy, but if you put your energy into it, you can bring about change and make it worth it.