March and April have been a particularly busy period for the Union, from the FTO elections (including a by-election), to Varsity prep work, to the ongoing HR Review. It’s been trying, but I’ve been able to put together a list of all the positive things to come out of it; always end on a high note, I say!

• Swansea University Clubs and Societies was nominated for the WhatUni Awards in the UK, and placed 4th out of 113! I’m immensely proud of the societies team, Charlotte West, Lawrence Archer, Carys Mula, and Olivia Kinsman.
• Working with the union staff on improving the Health & Safety procedures in all Union venues. I’m looking forward to seeing these implemented soon, hopefully before my time is over; the boon to societies will be huge, as…
• …we had a Societies forum meeting that, among other things, laid the groundwork for them being permitted to bring in their own food in future. This is an ongoing situation, and the specifics of the rules are far too complex to detail here, but if you’re interested in what this means for you and your society you can drop an email to societiesandservices@swansea-union.co.uk for more information.
• In the following month’s meeting we discussed a variety of other issues, including:
  • A minimum membership fee of £1 is required for all societies, but now this can be appealed for those with an ideological problem with charging money.
  • A new quorum rule for all elections: at least 7 or 10% of all members, whichever is largest, must participate for it to be valid.
  • Mulled over limiting number of committee positions a single student can hold, after a series of incidents over the last year.
  • Debated whether to make online elections mandatory (or at least opt-out) in future. Our Societies Executive Committee, composed of 8 students, currently have to oversee nearly 130 elections!
• Attended a fantastic meeting with university staff regarding student cultural diversity, understanding other cultures, and ways to help international students settle down more easily.
• Met with Les Carmichael, the Union’s catering manager, to discuss the feedback received regarding the lack of variety of food on sale in Hendrefoelan village. Mr. Carmichael responded in record time, and already the situation is being fixed.
• Started preparation for the SU Awards coming up in June. Nominations for the awards are now online, so please go nominate you favourite club, society or individual!
• Met with the member of Union staff who is championing the Union Collective idea. The project has been a huge success so far, and has engaged and provided additional funding to many brilliant, entrepreneurially-minded students.
• After the stepping down of the first place candidate, a by-election was held for the position of Societies & Services Office, which saw a record breaking 11 candidates running!
• Attended the monthly Service Excellence Forum and got to speak directly to students about the customer service provided around campus. Spending so much time in an office makes it easy to become detached from the reality of the student experience, and it’s meetings like this that keep me grounded.
• Assisted my colleagues with Union Feedback Week and the Union General Election campaign. Helping students get registered to vote (and also messing about in our photobooth!) was probably the most rewarding thing I’ve done in this job- democracy is the cornerstone of our society, and it’s down to young people like us to steer the future!
• Arrivals plan for next academic year is already on the way and transportation for both campus during freshers fayre is already secured.

I have just two more months left to be part of this great Union and I'd like to use this opportunity to thank all the lovely students for being a major inspiration to me; it's really all of you who've achieved all the positive things above, and it's no exaggeration to say that without you there really wouldn't be a Union.