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At the start of the year, one of the things that struck me was the relative lack of communication I was having with clubs and societies where we weren’t together in the building. I felt it was vital to combat this and to establish conversations which enabled me to understand how they were feeling and dealing with the pandemic, and so the Lucy in Conversation With videocast series was born in December 2020.

Quickly, the project evolved into something more – working with the Union’s Society Stars award scheme, I began to interview the winners each week, recognising their great work and delving into the barriers facing them and how this year had been different. The series also proved itself as a great tool for society publicity, enabling clubs and societies to explain what they’re all about at a time when they couldn’t promote themselves the usual ways.

As I reach the end of my time in the role, Lucy in Conversation With is one of my highlights of the year. There are now 30 episodes published on LUU’s Facebook, and they’re some of the most engaged-with content of this year. It’s also going to become a case study for future training!

The Rileys are such an important point on the LUU calendar, so it was a priority for me to ensure we made the best of the event this year. Clubs and societies are an integral part of so many students’ uni experiences, but without their usual means of attracting new members and hosting events, the pandemic has been particularly tough on them.  I felt it was more important than ever to have a celebration of their excellent work and persistence in overcoming this year’s challenges – and an opportunity to come together for the first time this year. With this in mind we decided to delay the Rileys until June, when we would be able to hold the ceremony in person (albeit with a smaller audience).

The awards took place in the Riley Smith Theatre and were live streamed by LSTV gaining over 1000 views to date. In traditional Rileys fashion, we had 8 performances from our music, performance and dance societies, but I also wanted to give other types of societies a platform. During the pandemic we saw an increase in social and political movements, thus I wanted to encourage groups to utilise the platform of the Riley’s to keep momentum going in regard to these. We were lucky enough to hear poetry from Feminist Society, spoken word from Palestine Solidarity Group, and a prayer recital from Hindu Society. It was a really special evening with performances typical of previous years and otherwise, and it was amazing to recognise the wonderful work of our societies this year. Thank you to everyone who made it possible.

As your Exec, we have a responsibility to stick up for the interests of our students, and I had to do just that when in October the University told us they’d be using our sports facilities to host vaccine trials. It goes without saying that these trials were of crucial importance, but for sports clubs who were already facing the impacts of the pandemic and limited space thanks to testing facilities, we couldn’t let this happen.

Working with John, the Activities Exec’s Sports Rep, we collected quotes from our sportspeople explaining the importance of access to these facilities, including for community spirit, mental wellbeing, and a reason to get up in the morning. Knowing how important exercise and physical health can be to people’s mental wellbeing, as well as how outdoor sports were some of the only activities allowed at that time, making them essential for students looking to meet people,  I took these statements to the University to argue our case – and won.

Thanks to the moving testimonies of our sportspeople, a compromise was reached, with vaccine trials going ahead and alternative spaces provided to our sports teams – a great result for all.

Another highlight for me was the #WeMakeEvents campaign, where we raised awareness and funds for the live events sector. As a performer myself, it’s something close to my heart, but it was clear that LUU’s own events offering was suffering due to lockdown, as well as the performers, technicians and beyond who are LUU members. I wanted to use my platform as Activities officer to get people involved in this international campaign to help protect this brilliant industry, while raising awareness of the lack of Government support.

We organised a busy week of online performances, as well as chances to share stories about the difficulty and disruption of the pandemic, with the aim of recognising challenges facing those impacted and encouraging them to persevere. We were even lucky enough to have singer-songwriter Frank Turner perform as part of the campaign, which was a real highlight. The week was a success, with loads of participants – together we raised some money for the cause, and more importantly were able to stand in solidarity with the movement. As I write this, the industry has been let down by the Government again, so I hope this campaign can be developed as LUU moves forward.

It’s clear that this was no typical year, but looking back on the things our clubs and societies have achieved and the campaigns I have led, I feel proud to have helped our fantastic student groups get through what has hopefully been the worst of this challenging time. I’ve developed my skills, built relationships and made meaningful changes to the way things work at LUU, and know that this year has been an unforgettable experience. While I hope our future Exec teams don’t experience the same challenges that we have, I hope they’ll look back on their time at LUU as one of growth and improvement.