Hello, my name is Petra Stone, and I am running for the position of LGBT+ students’ officer. As a gender-non-conforming lesbian myself, I understand the importance of representation within a decision-making body, and the ability to have someone from a related background advocate for things that will improve community wellbeing.
I have prior experience in supporting LGBT+ youth, and advocacy within decision-making, as formally I was a volunteer on an LGBT+ centred youth advisory board for the charity YMCA. This board allowed the construction of a safe space for disadvantaged LGBT+ youth in the area, as well as providing emotional support firsthand to those accessing hostel services, and directing people to accepting and safe therapy.
If I am to put this experience to use within the LGBT+ students’ officer role, I would like to commit to numerous issues previously raised with me by fellow community members.
A range of these are listed below:
-
I would like to advocate for more events for the community with Queen’s, especially non-alcohol-centred events, events accessible by under-18s, and events for a quieter crowd. It has been raised that there is an unbalanced focus on drinking or bars for LGBT+ meetings.
-
I endeavour to help ensure there is sufficient staff training within Queen’s on the issue of bias and discrimination, both in general, working with other student officers, but also specifically on LGBT+ issues to ensure there is an equal playing field for all identities. In addition, I would like to raise the issue of how we can provide more safety and security for those wanting to report staff in cases of discrimination.
-
I would like to create more clarity and help streamline the name change process within Queen’s for Trans* students, working in collaboration with the Trans* student officer.
-
I want to help create more safe spaces for LGBT+ students, and ensure that they are accessible to disabled students, both for physically disabled people and also cognitively and sensorily disabled people. I would also like to work in conjunction with Queen’s Accommodation to implement some sort of safety plan for LGBT+ students (whether that means an additional LGBT+ and Allies flat choice under lifestyle choices, like that in place at Cardiff University, or an open meeting upon moving in at the social hubs of the Accommodation.)
-
I am going to advocate for the expansion of the number of gender-neutral toilets, if possible, on-campus for Trans* individuals.
-
I would like to collaborate with the Disabled students’ officer to ensure those who are both LGBT+ and Disabled are not excluded by either aspect of their identity within the university (as, for example, up to 26% of gender-non-conforming individuals are Autistic.)
-
I would like to also collaborate with the BAME students’ officer to highlight the interconnectedness and heritage between the communities, ensuring those in both identities are respected within the university and given the chance to acknowledge both identities fairly - perhaps by opening up wider-community links, or by providing educational materials on the heritage between communities.
Thank you for reading this, and I hope that the rest of your year is filled with safety and acceptance.
But, most importantly, vote for me in these elections to ensure a better time for the community!