Update from Ewan: how your SU is supporting you through lockdown
Tuesday 03-11-2020 - 17:14
We’re all getting ready for another lockdown, which will be difficult news for many of us. It’s hard to know when this will end, and it affects all our lives, from education and work, to how we socialise, where we live and our mental health. But I hope that we can come together as a community and support each other in the ways that we are able to. I am proud of how we have done this so far, and I know that we will continue whatever the situation.
We’re all going to have different reactions and different concerns about the lockdown. It’s going to be different for students than for the rest of the country, and it’s going to be different from one student to another. But as your SU, we have been working hard over the last few days to understand what you are most worried about and what you need us to focus on. This has been greatly helped by student leaders, who have been passing on your issues to us, and I want to take time to thank everyone who has been pulling together for the benefit of our community.
Some of you may be grappling with a pressing question – do you go home now before the lockdown begins? This is obviously a personal decision that we cannot answer for you, but we do advise that you follow the guidance, assess your own risk, while being aware that the guidance changes on Thursday. This means you might need to make decisions quickly about your personal situation.
Looking at the other impacts of lockdown, these are the areas we are aware you will be thinking about and are already considering ways of helping you with:
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Mental health support – how can you be best supported given the growing isolation and struggles under lockdown?
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Wider student experience – can any extra-curricular activities continue in person safely in order to help with students’ mental health?
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Christmas – what will your options be and how can we make sure they are the best possible options for you?
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Face-to-face or online teaching – how to ensure quality teaching that is also safe, throughout lockdown?
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University communications – making sure there is a central place for you to find the most recent Covid-19 information
It’s important to be aware that as Officers, we sit on lots of University committees which are already talking about these topics – there’s even a ‘Covid Christmas Working Group’. I am telling you this to reassure you that where we don’t yet have answers, we will get them, and that we will be representing everything we hear from students at those meetings with University staff.
I know, however, that the above list isn’t comprehensive. Knowing this, we want to continue to hear from you about the most pressing issues – our inboxes are always open and you can find the Student Officer team's contacts here. We’ll also be reaching out in other ways throughout lockdown, so make sure you follow our social media to be able to reach us.
As an SU, we will also need to adapt our own services due to lockdown. This mostly looks like keeping our activities, like the Advice Service or Assembly, online. But it also includes adapting the guidance we provide for our student groups and how we will continue to use the building. We shall be reaching out to student groups soon, and also providing a more detailed update to our services later.
Given the length of this update, it is clear that the pandemic continues to have a wide-ranging impact on our lives. As a result, you may be experiencing changes to your usual mood, feelings of isolation, low energy, anxiety or concern. These feelings are completely valid, and are to be expected given the uncertainty and severity of the situation. As always, we recommend that you regularly practice healthy self-care that you know works for you to support your own wellbeing. However, if these feelings are becoming overwhelming or disruptive, you may wish to reach out for additional support, and that’s more than okay. Some options include:
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Speaking to the Support Staff or student-led Welfare teams in your college. They can provide a listening ear, signposting and support.
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Self-referring to the University's Counselling Service. They have trained Counsellors and Mental Health Advisers who can provide professional mental health support.
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Reaching out to Nightline, the Samaritans or SHOUT, who can provide an anonymous, non-judgemental and non-advisor listening service.
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In an emergency, always call 999.
I know that things are hard for everyone right now, and that’s why we must keep on supporting each other and make sure to reach out for help when we need it. You can also reach out to myself and the other Officers who are here to represent your voices by taking your views and concerns to the University, and ensuring that student wellbeing is a central priority over the coming months.
Links to further guidance:
https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-guide-to-coronavirus/student-faq/
