About My Role
The Students with Disabilities' Officer works to represent the interests of students with disabilities at Union and University level and campaigns on any relevant issues.
About Me
Hi | Shwmae! I’m Megan, and I’m delighted to be your Students with Disabilities' Officer for 2021/22!
Throughout my time here I have experienced being a student with both mental health and physical disabilities, and know that for the past few years students with disabilities have been underrepresented at Cardiff. This motivated me to run in the elections, and I am so excited to make sure that our voices are heard. I am passionate about advocating for the student community, especially underrepresented groups, which led me to volunteer in the SU for the past two years as part of the Freshers’ Welcome Team and the Advice and Welfare Executive Committee.
To some, this role may seem quite niche, but there are many forms of disability, each coming with their own challenges and experiences. There is also a great deal of intersectionality, as many disabled people may also fit into another minority group such as BAME or LGBT+. All of this means that I cannot single-handedly accomplish what I would like to, as I only have my own experiences. For this reason, I want to be highly collaborative with other Elected Officers and the student population.
My priorities this year:
- Set-up and sustain a support network for disabled students across all schools and all stages.
- Integrate disabled voices into existing SU campaigns and highlight intersectionality across campaigns.
- Lobby the University to improve accessibility in ALL university buildings, including lifts, toilets, quiet spaces and clear signposting of accessible routes and facilities.
- Improved access to free SpLD testing (including Dyslexia).
- Lobbying the University and individual schools to ensure the standard and availability of Panopto recordings.