Lucy #1 for Disabled Student's Officer

Lucy #1 for Disabled Student's Officer Hi! I'm Lucy (she/her) and I am running to be the next Disabled Students' Officer at Edinburgh Uni!

10/03/2022

Voting has now officially closed!

Thank you so so much to everyone who has voted and everyone who has supported me this past week. It's been challenging and tiring but we made it to the finish line !!

I am really grateful for all the lovely messages of solidarity and support I've received. It feels nice to know that disabled or not, people believe in making positive changes.

Thank you everyone !!! 🌹🌹

On a side note, The Student were very kind to ask me for an interview, which you can find here - https://studentnewspaper.org/interview-with-eusa-disabled-students-officer-candidate-lucy-caswell/

In the final stretch now !! Polls close at 5pm - here’s a lil visually appealing reminder of what I’m standing for 💜🌹Lin...
10/03/2022

In the final stretch now !! Polls close at 5pm - here’s a lil visually appealing reminder of what I’m standing for 💜🌹

Link to vote: https://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/yourvoice/elections

Image description: a dark green background with beige flowers decorating the sides. A photo of me and a cute pup in the bottom right hand corner, and the title up top reading “vote Lucy #1 for disabled students’ officer”. Underneath are bullet points outlining my manifesto, which read:
• Improve and maintain new methods of accessibility in teaching delivery.
• Improve the quality of life at university for low-income and Widening Participation disabled students.
• Create and signpost more suitable options for disabled students to access classrooms, venues and accommodation.
• Ensure the new Student Support systems run smoothly and that the Student Support and Disability Services are held accountable.

Student testimonies🌹🌹🌹I've spoken to a lot of disabled students the past week, and time and again I have heard the same ...
08/03/2022

Student testimonies
🌹🌹🌹
I've spoken to a lot of disabled students the past week, and time and again I have heard the same story - about how no one is aware of what the Student Disability Services can offer you if you get past their many obstacles. One of my manifesto points is about getting the Disability Services to more clearly signpost and advertise what they can, and should, do for you.

Below is just one testimony of a student I have spoken to who, after finally finding out about the support the university offers students with chronic pain, has had a drastically improved quality of life, thanks to the Disability Services! There are so many stories like this - no one should have to struggle because of the university's inability to inform their students!

Thank you to the Edinburgh Uni History Society and FilmSoc for officially endorsing me in my campaign !! If you'd like t...
07/03/2022

Thank you to the Edinburgh Uni History Society and FilmSoc for officially endorsing me in my campaign !! If you'd like to find out why these wonderful people have endorsed me, read my manifesto! https://linktr.ee/lucydso

VOTING IS OPEN 🤩🤩🤩🤩If you are unsure if you are eligible to vote - read this post! Disabilities come in many forms, and ...
07/03/2022

VOTING IS OPEN 🤩🤩🤩🤩

If you are unsure if you are eligible to vote - read this post! Disabilities come in many forms, and whatever disability you may have, you deserve just as good an education, and quality of life, as an able-bodied student!
Link to vote, and to my manifesto, is in my bio !!!
🌹🌹🌹

Why I am the right person for the job !!🌹🌹🌹I try my best to get involved in uni and I think that shows!I also have dealt...
07/03/2022

Why I am the right person for the job !!
🌹🌹🌹
I try my best to get involved in uni and I think that shows!

I also have dealt with the university Disability Services since my first year in 2018, and having taken an Interruption to Studies also, I know first hand how the university treats disabled students. I really don’t want other students to deal with the amount of obstacles and barriers I have when trying to obtain support.

After speaking with Robyn Woof last week about the lack of period products in accessible toilets at the university (as w...
07/03/2022

After speaking with Robyn Woof last week about the lack of period products in accessible toilets at the university (as well as in gender neutral toilets - Edinburgh what r u doing), I wanted to highlight the importance of intersectionality in disability. Anybody with a need for period products no matter their gender identity deserves equal access to them, university-wide, and this includes disabled students.
Liberation Officers working together on issues like this is the only way we can be successful in our aims to create a more inclusive and equal university experience! 🌹🌹🌹

MANIFESTO POINT 4: PHYSICAL ACCESSIBILITY🌹🌹🌹Edinburgh University is notorious for it's lack of physical accessibility. F...
05/03/2022

MANIFESTO POINT 4: PHYSICAL ACCESSIBILITY
🌹🌹🌹

Edinburgh University is notorious for it's lack of physical accessibility. For example, the lifts that do exist in university buildings are either not signposted well enough or just.. never work.
In my role as Secretary of FilmSoc, Mia Nicole Davies and I spent THREE MONTHS trying to find a disability accessible venue to screen a film for Disability History Month. This should not have taken so long!
This is also the case with accommodation. If a student can afford it, there are very few physically accessible options available, and they tend to be extremely expensive or far away from the main campuses. Additionally, many students are not aware of what is available to them from the University Wellbeing and Disability Services.
The bottom line is that the university does not advertise the help it can offer students, ranging from ergonomic equipment they can supply students with, to simply just making accessibility to buildings more clear.

MANIFESTO POINT 3: UNIVERSITY SERVICES🌹🌹🌹Edinburgh Uni is uphauling it's Personal Tutor and Student Support Services in ...
05/03/2022

MANIFESTO POINT 3: UNIVERSITY SERVICES
🌹🌹🌹
Edinburgh Uni is uphauling it's Personal Tutor and Student Support Services in September, and the fact that they are the first port of call for any and all students struggling and in need of help, be it disabled or able-bodied, it is vital that they function efficiently.

After returning from an Interruption to Studies in 2021, I found myself left to support myself, with no check-ups, none of my tutor's (including my Personal Tutor!?) being aware that I had even left for 18 months, basically no support. This made the transition back extremely hard, to the point where I had to seek both external support from a counselling charity, and sign up to the university counselling services. I do not want anyone else to deal with this.
I want to make sure that the Student Support Services and the Disability Services support every struggling student every step of the way, and will be holding them accountable to their new measures to ensure this.

MANIFESTO POINT 2: ELITISM AND DISABILITY🌹🌹🌹The elitism and classism that Widening Participation (WP) students and stude...
05/03/2022

MANIFESTO POINT 2: ELITISM AND DISABILITY
🌹🌹🌹
The elitism and classism that Widening Participation (WP) students and students of lower socio-economic backgrounds have experienced at Edinburgh University is frankly horrendous (and not at all surprising).

Having spoken to other WP students and reps in social mobility orgs such as The 93% Club, it is obvious that there is a trend of silencing and beating down students who don't come from a background of wealth and private education. Being a WP student often leads to major Imposter Syndrome, not having the confidence to participate in classes and struggling to find a community you feel represents you at university.

I will fight to make sure WP students' voices are heard and taken into account, and not just pushed aside like Edinburgh University has done for so long. Low-income disabled students deserve just as good a quality of life and education as able-bodied students.

MANIFESTO POINT 1: TEACHING DELIVERY🌹🌹🌹The university’s move to online and hybrid learning in light of Covid made lots o...
05/03/2022

MANIFESTO POINT 1: TEACHING DELIVERY
🌹🌹🌹
The university’s move to online and hybrid learning in light of Covid made lots of teaching more accessible to students who are unable to attend class. This is a measure that should not go away now that we have the option for in-person teaching!
I have personally benefitted a LOT from being able to access lectures and seminars online at my own discretion, and when this has not been an option (hello HCA school) my grades and mental health have suffered. Disabled students have just as much a right to access their studies as able-bodied students.

Introducing myself !!!The points outlined here are a lil introduction to who I am and why I am running for the role of D...
04/03/2022

Introducing myself !!!
The points outlined here are a lil introduction to who I am and why I am running for the role of Disabled Students’ Officer. I care very strongly about the rights of disabled, in particular low-income disabled students and Widening Participation students. Often students that fall under these categories receive little to no support from Edinburgh Uni and I am here to try to make sure that other disabled students do not have to face barriers to their education and social mobility.
🌹🌹🌹

Alt text: Hi! I’m Lucy (she/her), a disabled third year English Literature and History student. I’m currently the Student Experience Officer for the History Society, and the Secretary for the Film Society, so have some EUSA leadership experience and have advocated for accessibility in my roles, but would like to take this further, and that is why I am running for Disabled Students’ Officer!
I have been registered with the Student Disability Service since my first year, so am very familiar with the difficult process of obtaining support – having taken an Interruption to Studies in my second year, I also know how little support the university offers for this transition. I’m extremely committed to ensuring that students won’t have to face the same difficulties I have.
Crucially, I am also very committed to improving the quality of life at university for low income disabled students, as this is an issue I have faced throughout my university experience and am very passionate about!

Address

Edinburgh

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Lucy #1 for Disabled Student's Officer posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category