Little old me

Hey peeps! I'm Joel, a Pharmaceutical Science student here at Queen's. I'm also very gay. I am an avid activist and campaigner, and I am extremely familiar with how the Students' Union operates. I am extremely passionate about the LGBTQ+ student experience, and in this role I want to build a strong and robust community of queer people and allies that can support each other and bring out the best in everyone.

My aims

Collaborate with LGBTQ+ charities and organisations - From The Rainbow Project to Cara-Friend and beyond there are countless amazing charities in Northern Ireland that do life changing work. We should strive to work hand-in-hand with these organisations to offer exemplarily services and experiences to our queer students. Our new Student's Union building is the perfect location for us to create exciting events and foster a strong sense of community. All we have to do is start.

Improve LGBTQ+ sex education and fight the stigma with HIV/AIDS - The sex education in Northern Ireland is laughable. And from a queer perspective it is completely non-existent. This leads to many students being confused about safe queer relationships, with the unfortunate potential for many to end up hurt. We must do better. Through education, workshops, and queer friendly events in collaboration with your full-time student officers we can make a positive difference in countless lives. Further, many feel uncomfortable discussing STIs and testing due to societal stigmas and ignorance. We must create a safe space where students feel like they are able to have proper conversations about these issues, without being judged. The university should be educated to be compassionate, rather than ostracise.

Fight for a safer and more inclusive university - No one should feel like they have to be someone they're not. On campus you should feel safe and comfortable to be your true, authentic self. For many, however, we are all too familiar with having to come to class wearing a fake mask in order to avoid being targeted or treated as an "other". It is absolutely appalling that in 2024 we are still experiencing this bigotry and feeling unsafe in our own university. Campus security must be better, and the university must put its foot down when it comes to homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. Queer students deserve better.

We will change Queen's for the better, and for good