Hi! My name is Holly Summers, and I am running for the position of Students with Disabilities Officer (part-time). I’m a first-year Education student with a physical disability and I use a wheelchair. I’d be honoured to be elected and, during my term in office my goal is to meet with as many people involved with the SU as possible including; students, staff and event organisers who feel talking to a disabled student would help them to develop and reach goals of accessibility and inclusion. Understanding and managing access needs shouldn’t feel impossible! Using my previous experiences in student-based school leadership roles, I hope to support the SU and show how we can make small changes that create big differences. My aims in the role are to;

Increase accessibility awareness

Helping students feel confident on campus and when attending events through the use of clear, concise documents laying out accessibility features of campus locations. Access looks different for everyone so developing a simple and organised structure to ask these questions and recording the answers aids in the provision of a more accessible experience for disabled students.

Better accessibility communication

Make the inclusion of accessibility/accommodation information compulsory when running an event being advertised on the SU website.

For example; an accessibility information document in the event description, or contacting businesses off-campus.

Improve atmosphere around disabled students

Communicate with events, sports teams, clubs and societies about how to approach successful conversations about disability, making disabled students feel WANTED, not just welcome.