With very few students around it is easy to imagine the five of us sitting around, twiddling our thumbs, waiting for you all to come back! Clearly sabbaticals are there to be at the beck and call of students – handing out free condoms, organising sports fixtures and running society elections (to name a few tasks expected of us)? Well, in a word… no. We have been elected to defend, extend and promote the rights of Kent students and to do that requires a lot of organising and planning.

It is easy to sit back and wait for situations to arise (enjoying facebook, YouTube and the glorious Kent summer weather), but the key to being a good officer is being proactive. We are there to create change to make things better for current and future students. Which means summer is not a quiet break at all, but an opportunity to do all the planning required before things all go a bit mad in September.

I’m not a qualified advisor or counsellor – but I can make sure these services are provided for students and that they continue to improve year on year. I’m not an MP – but I can lobby our MP, get students out to vote and get student issues on the national governments agenda. I’m not a landlord – but I can help ensure that the people who are landlords are meeting your expectations… hang on – EXCEEDING your expectations!

A few of the things I’ve been working on over the last month…

• The busses! Helen Wood (Union President) and I have plans for a campaign to ensure that you (the students!) are listened to by Stagecoach and that the UNiBUS service meets the needs of all Kent students. Coming in October - watch this space for more details!

• Liberation! “What is ‘liberation’?” I hear you ask. Well, this document will help you understand if you don’t know what I’m talking about –> ‘ Liberation in Every Union’. To put it simply - liberation campaigns are groups of students who face discrimination in education and who are also oppressed in wider society. At Kent we have four liberation campaigns (women’s, lgbt, students with disabilities and ethnic minorities) but in the past this mainly consisted of us electing the officer to lead the campaign but then leaving them to it. This year we have policy to support each officer to hold monthly forums and elect a committee to support their work throughout the year.

• Sexual Health! Well lots of exciting things planned for this one but I will save the details for another day.

• Students in the community. I am currently researching effective community representation schemes at other Unions throughout the UK before we plan a scheme for Kent. Myself and Helen Wood currently attend Hales Place Residents Association and the plan is to have student representatives to attend this and all the other Residents Associations in Canterbury. With Hales Place Residents Association we have planned a ‘Community Fun on the Hill’ day for the 8th August to help build a good student-community relationship. Plans are also on the go for a Hales Place Neighbourhood Event on the 7th October to welcome new students to the community and provide information on living in Canterbury.

At some point this week I should be off to Medway to begin my work as Medway sabbatical at UMSA having met up with the Canterbury Christ Church Union sabbaticals this week and discovered who I will be working with there. There is a lot to be done at Medway… but that is a story for another day.


This blog is also published on Facebook and you can always get in touch with me by emailing s.m.kennedy@kent.ac.uk