Old News

New SU Officer role for mature students created

Congratulations to Charlotte Grayson who has been elected to be the first SU mature students officer !

In trinity term 2020 a constitutional motion was passed to introduce the new role of a SU Mature Students Officer. Mature students are students that are 21 years old or older at the time of their matriculation. Owing to their age, mature students have a different experience of undergraduate life, and this new role will make sure that these different experiences are well represented within the SU and create social events for mature students.

The section in the SU Standing Orders explaining the tasks of this new role now reads:

The Mature Students Officer shall:

1. Represent the needs of mature students in Wadham SU and liaise with welfare and any liberation officers as appropriate regarding their needs.

2. Provide support for mature students in college. 

3. Organise events and other activities for and with mature students. 

4. Work to encourage the integration of mature students into the student body.

Wadham SU Standing Orders, section 3.B.29

Wadham Giving Day 2020

The College is holding its second-ever Giving Day over 12th-13th November!

Giving Day is a 36-hour period to celebrate what makes Wadham the best college – its ethos, its people, its inclusivity, its widening access programme, and more – we’re using the hashtag #WadhamProud to describe that sense – eg “I’m #WadhamProud of ground-breaking widening access programme”. 

Wadham students Eva Hayward and Alex Kahn explain what makes them #WadhamProud for example in this video:

Covid News: Academic Provisions for MT 20

A message from the Academic and Careers Officer to all students:

Here are some results from today’s meeting on Academic Provisions for MT! It’s a pretty long document, but here’s the gist of it. If you have any specific questions, please hit me up and I’ll do my best to either reply straightaway or contact college about it.

  • As of today, college is expecting everyone to come back for MT.  
  • In order for this (and term) to be successful, it is IMPERATIVE that students follow health and social distancing protocols and advice.  
  • Priority for early arrival will be given to those who have exams in September, postponed from previous terms 
  • The matter of communal kitchen use for those who DO NOT have a kitchen in their staircase, is STILL being discussed. We will let you know ASAP when the results come in. 
  • This does not mean that if you don’t have an exam you can’t come back early. Contact college about having a room and possible quarantine measures 
  • Teaching will take place both online (large group teaching) and face to face (small group teaching / tutorials) 
  • Where this face to face sessions will take place will depend on the tutor, the size and layout of their room, and availability of other spaces around college. Government policy on social distancing will be ensured at all times, which may lead to changes in tutorial group sizes, greater use of online resources, and the use of SU rooms for the purpose of teaching 
  • All the colleges will follow a single plan – this will ensure that experience across Oxford will be as homogenous as possible re Covid-19 
  • Students will continue to move between colleges for teaching 
  • The Disability Services are working with students to ensure they are not disproportionately affected by any of these measures. Should you have any specific concerns or requests, do get in contact with Katherine Allen 
  • For EU students concerned about the impact of Brexit on their tuition fees: Nothing will change for you if you’ve already started your course. Check the Government Student Finance website for more information on the subject.  

Obviously, this is all susceptible to change if government restrictions massively alter in the following month, but as of right now, this is the most likely (and best possible) scenario. 

Have a great day! 

  • Sof

Sofía Sanabria de Felipe (she/her) Academic and Careers Officer

Wadham College SU

BLM Statement – 22nd June 2020

Wadham SU official statement regarding #BlackLivesMatter, 22nd June 2020

Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, Wadham SU feels it is our duty to reaffirm that we are absolutely opposed to racism in any form, be it systemic or overt. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Samuel DuBose, and so many more have died at the hands of US police. The protests following George Floyd’s death in 2020 are not the first instance of mass protests against the injustice of police brutality; they follow Marquette Frye’s death in 1967, Rodney King in 1992, and the aforementioned Michael Brown in 2014. As members of an institution which has profited from slavery and colonialism, we intend to use our platform as wielders of this power to directly take action against racial injustice, both within Oxford and the wider world. Wadham SU recognises that, despite what some may have us believe, the UK is as complicit in anti-blackness as the US. Shukri Abdi, Belly Mujinga, Stephen Lawrence, Mark Duggan, and many others have lost their lives due to the racism that exists within this country. Their deaths must not be in vain. The Independent Office for Police Conduct in the UK is currently investigating six separate instances of alleged excessive police force against black men in the Midlands. It is necessary that any communities like Wadham SU use our power to demand that these injustices are brought to an end. We therefore intend to actively contribute to the Black Lives Matter movement, having already prepared to donate around £1,800 directly to UK-specific BLM causes. George Floyd had been unresponsive for minutes before the officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes, as video evidence showed. The officer who killed George Floyd was initially charged with third-degree murder, for which the punishment is a fine, or a maximum of 25 years imprisonment.  25 years of imprisonment is not enough in the way of reprimand. Racism and anti-blackness are issues which exist worldwide, and we are committed in supporting all members of Wadham SU and of the wider community who face these issues, whether that be in the UK or elsewhere. 

We implore each and every person who is reading this: sign petitions; if you are able, donate to anti-racist causes; read, watch, listen to, and learn from the experiences of black people. Use your voices to encourage those around you to do the same. Wadham SU stands with the #BlackLivesMatter movement and will continue to do so until justice is achieved.

This statement was written by the President-Elect (Aaron Kai Shankar), and PoCRE officers (Keisha Asare and Laila March)