► Liberation

Black Students

The black students' campaign exists to empower and inspire us all and to provide the support to overcome the barriers we as black students face to fulfilling our aspirations and true potential. Too often the perspective of black students is marginalised from the curriculum or from the mainstream of student life and too often our student experience is marred by the racism we encounter in education, at work and in wider society. Black Students make up 20% of our Students' Union's membership and are among the least represented groups in its democratic structures. Across the UK, less than 5% of all elected officers are black, and similar levels of under representation are experienced within the national structures of NUS.

Your Black Students' Officer for 2009/2010 is Mohamed Kassim Mohamen - blackstudents@udsu.co.uk

Disabled Students

The Disabled Students' Campaign within the Students' Union is a self-organising, autonomous liberation campaign for disabled students and it is frequently misunderstood. Many students believe we only represent wheelchair users, or those with sensory impairments, however many students have disabilities that cannot be seen - examples include dyslexia, mental ill health and/or autism. The Disabled Students' Campaign exists to ensure that all disabled students are represented, whether their impairment is seen or unseen. We work hard to raise awareness of all disabilities and encourage access for all students.

Your Disabled Students' Officer for 2009/2010 is Richard Harris - disabledstudents@udsu.co.uk

Women

Your Students' Union's Women's Campaign is here to represent women students and their interests, and to campaign for the rights of women as students, as graduates and as members of society. Today women are in a much better position than ever before. However, we still have a long way to go and we have not won equality yet. As the statistics show, women can still expect to earn less, face violence and sexual assault, miss out on job opportunities, and be burdened with loads more student debt, and we are still massively under-represented in government. It is thanks to all the women who campaigned before us that we are where we are today, but there are still plenty of battles to be won, both within the student movement and outside of it.

Your Womens Officer for 2009/2010 is Lu Samson- womens@udsu.co.uk

LGBT

The LGBT Campaign exists to provide political representation for, and campaign on behalf of, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans students within the University of Derby Students' Union. The last decade has seen huge changes to the lives of LGBT students across the United Kingdom. We now have an equal age of consent, the right to join the military, our relationships recognised in law through the Civil Partnerships Act, the right for our gender to be recognised via the Gender Recognition Act, and the right to be considered as adoptive parents – to name just a few landmark changes. There have been many success stories but there is still far to go.

LGBT people still face many different forms of discrimination and oppression within society and within the student movement. It's now time to refocus our efforts to win the hearts and minds of people throughout the UK, and we can only do this with specific LGBT representation on campus. The LGBT Campaign has always challenged all forms of discrimination on and off campus and we need students' unions to continue this fight. Only with LGBT officers and societies on campus will we continue to effectively promote and extend the rights of LGBT students.

Your LGBT Officers for 2009/2010 are Sue Rose and Racheal West - lgbt@udsu.co.uk

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