Hi, I’m Hayley ‘Free Hugs’ Graham, and I’m running to bring the personal touch back to welfare!
For 3 years, I’ve worked tirelessly to represent, support, and speak out for students.
As a Pritchatts Park RA I made sure international, mature, and faith students weren’t overlooked during the chaos of Fresher’s Week.
As Women’s Association Guild Councillor and committee Disabled Rep I fought on behalf of self-defining women whose views were ignored, whether in the Guild or at NUS conferences.
As your current Disabled Students Officer, I’ve helped to break down the stigma of disability one person at a time, run some awesome awareness events, and maybe even hugged one or two of you when you’ve needed it the most.
Care, honesty and an insatiable drive for equality and change are what I will bring if elected as your Welfare Officer, and this is how:
Pushing for greater support that works for you
The new Student Hub needs improving, from guaranteeing student confidentiality to being fully accessible and user friendly for those who need it most. I want to lead a comprehensive review into Student Services to ensure students can access support services better tailored to them.
For students on Study Abroad programmes, there is a lack of support on how to deal with academic, financial or health issues that easily arise in different countries. I want everyone to enjoy their adventure abroad, and I will do this by creating dedicated resources and specialist support networks for Study Abroad students.
Opening up about mental health and suicide
Depression, Anxiety, and Stress are the top 3 health issues facing students on campus. The numbers of students who have contemplated, attempted, or committed Suicide during their degrees have doubled in the last 5 years. We can no longer ignore this.
By working with local and national charities to create Birmingham specific resources and events on campus, we will break the taboo around mental health and Suicide and ensure all students can reach out for help without fear of judgement.
Hitting out at hate-crimes, harassment, and discrimination
At Birmingham, we have one of the most diverse student communities in the country. Unfortunately, it also means that far too often there is hate-crime, harassment, and discrimination against marginalised students.
By directly liaising with liberation, representation, and faith groups, I will create clearer, quicker, and more effective channels for making complaints about unacceptable behaviour. These marginalised groups will also have greater autonomy and involvement in discussions about major changes on campus, guaranteeing their voices will be heard.
Embracing the need for a more inclusive community
Postgraduates, parents and carers, mature, and part-time students are all an important part of our university community; yet, their additional pressures and concerns are routinely ignored and dismissed.
From lobbying the university to create more accessible child-care options, changing facilities and support for breastfeeding mothers and carers, to ensuring postgraduates are supported through financial and academic stress, I will work with elected representatives to ensure that welfare is truly inclusive.