Your 2025/26 SU Community Officer, Fran Brandon-Higgs, reflects on their time in the role.
What a year it’s been! Amidst the chaos of finalists’ graduation ceremonies, hauling boxes and bags to new student houses, and grabbing last-minute coffees before summer break, this year’s Officer term has come to a close and a new one has begun. On my final day, it’s with fondness and pride that I look back on a crazy year...
2025/26 hasn’t been without its challenges. We have faced the possibility of further cuts to student services, the continued rising cost of living, and concerns about safety and wellbeing, but the Officer Team, our staff team, and student leaders across campus have worked to mitigate the impact on students and to introduce new initiatives to make Durham even better.
One of my favourite aspects of this job has been seeing student collaboration and activism up close. Students at Durham are brilliant at advocating not only for themselves but for future generations. From trans rights to climate action, there is so much to care about. This year, I worked with my amazing Community Exec Committee to consult students on their experiences with racism and xenophobia in Durham. Ife and Tian chaired focus groups to bring together student voices from across campus, ultimately feeding in to a joint anti-racism action plan I worked on with the Durham SU staff team, the University’s EDI team, and PVC EDI. Now more than ever, it is encouraging to see the care that the university treats its students with – there is more work to be done, and it can be tricky, but working together is vital to a successful and comfortable student body.
DurhamSU and the University have collaborated often this year!
- We launched the It’s Never Just campaign, advocating for victims of sexual violence, making sure students are aware of the support available to them, and bringing the conversation out into the open.
- The Belonging Fund – an £85k pot of money for students to use to create their own events and belonging initiatives – had some fab applications. Seeing ideas come through on the student panel was incredibly rewarding.
- Abi, Ellie, and I have helped to refresh the Student Consultation Framework, held by the university, which ensures students are consulted on the issues that really matter to them.
However, I am most proud of my biggest project – the Pantry. We created 4 new jobs for students, with over 40 applications to the service. With funding from the university, we have developed a secure service for students to use in the face of rising living costs. Abi and I have put work in every day of Easter term to bring this about for the beginning of next year, and I hope students find it helpful and encouraging. As Ellie has said, nobody should have to fight to be able to study in comfort.
There is also a lot of work behind the scenes that students don’t see. I have been consulted on many changes to the university over the past year, including changes to student services, the Bullying and Harassment Policy, Alcohol Policy, and the Mental Health Charter Award. I have also tried to focus on our communication with students this year, particularly via a stronger online presence. It should always be clear to students what we are working on, and how they can get involved with their Union. I hope this has been helpful and enlightening.
Of course, this year’s officer team have been amazing to know and work with. Thanks to my Community Exec – Luther, Ruyi, Ife, Tian, and Thea – for their dedication to student wellbeing and representation! You’ve all been brilliant. And of course, to Abi and Ellie, for being incredibly supportive and conscientious in their approach to representative work. Truly the best team I could have had. Thank you to the staff team, too – without your help and enthusiasm, my work would not have been possible.
It is with absolute confidence that I pass the baton to your incoming Community Officer, Alex. They will be picking up the role with enthusiasm and confidence. It’s going to be a great year.
While this isn’t my final goodbye to Durham (hello, Diss year), I will miss this role immensely. As a final note: get involved! Be curious! There’s always more to Durham than you think. And if you’re curious enough, you might just end up representing an entire population of students...
So long, for the summer!
Fran