Part-Time Officers’ Introduction:
Amy Stanning: Part-Time Officer for Mature Students
Max Kafula: Part-Time Officer for BAME Students
Molly Lawson: Part-Time Officer for Students with Disabilities
Yu Hong: Part-Time for International Students
Jesse Phillips: Part Time for LBTQ+ Students
Questions:
What have you been upto during this lockdown?
Amy: Currently, I am obsessed with dieting to lose some weight and I am also cycling everyday.
Max: I have been working at a retail store since March and at the beginning of the lockdown, I went on junk food binge.
Molly: I have been doing dissertation work, learning sign language and playing Animal Crossing.
Yu Hong: I have mostly been baking and doing some freelancing work for certain companies.
Jesse: I am working as a Software Developer and currently learning Welsh.
What do you miss the most about university life?
Amy: I miss my friends and getting together with them and having fun in Spoons or Pizza Republic
Max: I miss my friends, my coursemates and most importantly I miss Sultans. I just miss it.
Molly: I miss my friends and meeting people everyday as staying in the house has been very boring for me
Yu Hong: I miss cooking food with my friends and talking to them about random things in my dorm room late at night
Jesse: I miss my friends and chatting with my mates at 2 AM in the computer lab.
In the unfortunate case, there’s a second wave in the UK and the university has to resort to online teaching for a part or whole of the next year. Would you support the reduction of tuition fees because of the decreased student experience?
Amy: Obviously, there is a huge concern about a second wave and its impact on the student experience. But this decision regarding fee reduction is a tough one considering the financial difficulties that the university is facing in terms of expected student numbers. As a result, if there is a second lockdown, then our main aim should be to discuss how to deliver education in the best and most safe way possible. We also should not keep our expectations high regarding the fee reduction issue in light of the university’s financial distress.
Max: When it comes to the matter of reduction of tuition fees, personally right now we are paying 9000 pounds a year for something that’s boring (online teaching). For the university, it’s in their interest to get everyone back to campus this fall but it is another issue about whether teaching can be safely delivered in those circumstances. In my personal opinions, in-person teaching shouldn’t begin before the commencement of 2021.
Molly: Everyone loves to get their money back but I don’t think we have the power to make any difference considering the fact that the government rejected many petitions asking for a tuition fee reduction. But what should be our number one priority in this specific scenario is that we should work to ensure that the teaching that will be delivered should be of high quality and most importantly should be accessible to all.
Yu Hong: Being an international student, we pay double the fees but we are not getting double the experience. Like Molly said there is not much we can do with our limited powers. But our priority should be the welfare of students. In my case, I will need to make sure that international students from different parts of the world are able to access the teaching materials.
Jesse: I concur with Molly regarding the assessment that we do not have the power to force the university to reduce its tuition fees but we, the PTO’s should ensure that the students get a return on their huge investment by pushing the university to deliver safe and high-quality teaching through whatever medium the university decides at that time.
Once the university reopens, what’s the first thing that you are going to do?
Amy: I am really looking forward to meeting my friends, socializing and going to weird seminars and subjects that I don’t understand.
Max: I will first go to the LUSU building to check out my photo and I hope it’s the right one. If not, then I will be forever ashamed of my lockdown look
Molly: Once university reopens, I am looking forward to borrowing books from the library. Yes, I know it sounds boring.
Yu Hong: I just want to go back to cooking food with my friends in my dorm kitchen and talking to them at length about everything.
Jesse: I am very eager to get back to the university campus and be around my friends.
Which is the place that you are most likely to visit first after classes resume this fall?
Amy: I am currently working on my dissertation and so when the university reopens, I am looking forward to going to the library to do my work.
Max: Once on campus, I will first go to Sultans to get myself a cheeky cheeseburger and fries.
Molly: I am looking forward to going to the milkshake place in Alexandra Square. They are really good. I advise everyone to try the milkshakes.
Yu Hong: I am very eager to go and pay the ducks a visit once the university reopens.
Jesse: Once I return to university, I will go to Costa to have a brew, so as to fulfil my dangerous hot chocolate addiction.
Most Important Question: Sultans or Ketcap, which is better?
Amy: Sultans
Max: Sultans
Molly: Sultans
Yu Hong: Sultans
Jesse: Sultans
Conclusion: Sultans 5-0 Ketcap
