Quarantine Life: staying connected in isolation
Part 3: What could be possible if we changed the status quo?
Anything that negatively affects students hits my heart, but when I’m affected too there’s a different way of coping required because as a staff member my role is to get the best outcomes for students
In the third part of our quarantine life series, Hannah Lloyd, Student Engagement Coordinator at the Oxford Student Union, shares the things that have helped her through this difficult period. She also discusses her experience of both being furloughed and working to build lasting, positive connections with students at a time of such instability, from her home in Birmingham.
(Read Part 1: The Revolution will be organised! and Part 2: Celebrating Ramadan in lockdown here)
How long have you worked at the SU?
I started my role as Student Engagement Coordinator in August 2018, so around two years — time flies.
In a nutshell what is the purpose of your role?
My job involves a broad variety of things, but ultimately the purpose is to create the best experiences for current and future students of all backgrounds and ethnicities, developing their leadership and bringing their ideas to life.
I develop platforms for students to lead in their own way, with a particular focus on liberation, democracy, access and fundraising. Students are constantly thinking about what they can do to make student life fairer and better for everyone, and we’re here to support them in that.
We try to provide variety in ways to engage. For example, SU Projects is a platform where students can put an idea or project forward and run it themselves with the support of SU resources and expertise, without being tied long term to a student society or group.
How has the pandemic lockdown affected you personally?
From a professional point of view, we have been working from home since March and it has actually been really easy to adapt to logistically. Working from laptops created a very easy shift from office to home.
When lockdown was announced I went to my family home in Birmingham which has been great, but I really miss being able to turn around and say hi to my co-workers and just bounce ideas off each other.
Being able to let yourself slow down is so important, not just for myself and my personal wellbeing, but in terms of my work, I’ve come back from furlough more energised, creative, and feel able to get the best out of students.
Have you learnt any new skills during this time?
It’s not really a skill, but I have definitely learnt to slow down.
We had a rotating furlough during the lockdown, and I was furloughed for three weeks.
It went so quickly, but, by the end of it I had really let myself relax and detach from work and feeling I should be socialising, and I felt great. Being able to let yourself slow down is so important, not just for myself and my personal wellbeing, but in terms of my work, I’ve come back more energised, creative, and feel able to get the best out of students.
Has the pandemic and the events surrounding it, like the Black Lives Matter movement affected your work with students?
Anything that negatively affects students hits my heart, but when I’m affected too there’s a different way of coping required because as a staff member my role is to get the best outcomes for students.
I prioritise relationships and being more than a name in an email footer. Suddenly my normal way of working by meeting students at the SU and just having a chat about their ideas over a coffee wasn’t possible. In that sense, it became difficult to connect in the same way.
On George Floyd’s death and the BLM protests specifically, these events had me caught in the headlights for a moment. I’ve built up relationships with Black students personally over the past couple of years through various initiatives, so I wanted to reach out but was faced with the personal consideration of what is ‘professional’, whether I should reach out as a ‘Black staff member’ as opposed to just a ‘staff member’, and in any case what that reach out should look like. I was actually furloughed when the protests erupted which added another layer of complexity in determining what was work and what wasn’t. We often say that our sabbatical officers are the face of the organisation so it was very difficult to find the balance there.
I’ve built up relationships with Black students personally over the past couple of years through various initiatives, so I wanted to reach out but was faced with the personal consideration of what is ‘professional’, whether I should reach out as a ‘Black staff member’ as opposed to just a ‘staff member’, and in any case what that reach out should look like.
What has lockdown looked like for you?
Now that I’ve slowed down I’ve been able to get back to being curious so lockdown has been varied. Some of my highlights?
I’ve been baking, my favourites being the tray of Korvapuusti, which brought me back to my year abroad studies in Finland, and the cinnamon pretzel bites I haven’t been able to get since all the shopping centres closed down.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I finally finished ‘Imagine it Forward: Courage, Creativity & the Power of Change’ by Beth Comstock, which is a book I’d highly recommend to anyone interested about leading innovation and change in the workplace. It’s really inspired me to get back to thinking big, and shown how imagination can be transferred to profitable outcomes. It’s a memoir of sorts so very down to earth with powerful lessons layered in between.
My final highlight has to be reciting random verses of Jamaican poetry that my mum seems to have dug up from years gone. ‘Butta Pan’ by Mutabaruka will probably be my lockdown soundtrack, and I would have missed these moments had I not spent lockdown at home.
What do you like most about your role?
I am particularly motivated by the mentorship element of my job and getting to see students develop right in front of me. So many of them have amazing ideas and are passionate about the issues they care about, helping them to bring them to life while watching their leadership style improve as they go, is really rewarding.
The scope to create new initiatives is also exciting. In my first term here, Michaelmas 2018, I launched BAME Leadership Oxford, the institution’s only leadership conference for Minority Ethnic students. It focuses on how they can thrive as leaders in a majority-white institution like Oxford and we’ve covered topics such as authentic voice, handling microaggressions, and experiences of starting your own project. Some of the conversations are heavy, but watching them leave the room empowered is the reason I do it.
The senior team at the SU have been very supportive of me and my development, which I appreciate. I went on a black staff leadership programme called Rise last year. Which was brilliant.
For me, the debate around the Rhodes statue isn’t just about whether it should stay or go, but about us daring and being willing to imagine what could be possible if we changed the status quo.
Are there any unique challenges to the role?
As I mentioned, mentorship and building relationships with students is a big driver for me. But there is a limit to how hands on you can be, which can make things difficult. There is no one size all approach that works for every situation. The considerations are different for every project and student, because students are different. So you have to be very adaptable in your thinking.
Similarly, every year the sabbatical officer team rotate and as trustees they have a strong role in setting the agenda for the year. As a permanent staff member, the frequent change can be challenging but there’s always contrast and new perspectives which is refreshing.
You’ve worked at both the Oxford SU and in your previous role at Sheffield University, how do the two experiences compare?
Transitioning from Sheffield into Oxford life was quite difficult for me. The environment and structure was very different from where I had come from. Sheffield SU was very well established and focused on societies and activities, compared to Oxford, which is much smaller and has higher levels of political and democratic engagement.
On the one hand that means you get to know everyone personally, which makes it easier to find where and how you can contribute. But on the other, in developing new structures I’ve felt like I have to push quite hard to get my point across here, which wasn’t something I was expecting, or had experienced previously so it’s been a huge learning curve.
As it expands, I personally would love to see the SU take more of a personal approach to its work, and really think about and develop students as people.
What do you think the overall function of the SU is?
Oxford does a lot of work to develop students academically, but not as much to support them in developing as well-rounded people.
That’s the gap the SU fills I think, in pursuit of its overarching aim to represent students and deliver the best student experience. As it expands, I personally would love to see the SU take more of a personal approach to its work, and really think about and develop students as people. What are the characteristics of this generation and how can we best serve them in their transition into the world?
Students are of course students, but for undergraduates especially, they are also individuals entering adult life and developing their own identity.
How have the last couple of months of racial tensions affected you?
Honestly, at first I didn’t see the gravity of this moment. I was very sceptical of the real impact of the protests.
Racism is something that we as Black people are used to dealing with quietly, and never seeing anything change.
But, I had the same reaction to Covid-19 in general. I didn’t believe that the crisis was actually that, ‘a crisis’. But I now know very differently.
Likewise with the anti-racism movement, the tensions have really made me realise how much the world and social perspectives are changing.
There is a question for me around how sincere some of the brand and organisation statements at the moment are. Is it just for publicity, numbers, money — is it a true heart change?
I’m intrigued to see what level these changes are going to be made at, because if it is just about filling junior level positions but no one is coming in to make strong decisions at a leadership level then there is no point. You need a shift in senior management to alter the culture of the organisation, and put inclusive values and accountability into practice.
I am trying to trust them a little bit and in general I have been quite impressed. Prayer is a big thing for me, and I’m at the point where if we have pushed for change and hoped and believed it will come, I’m trying to have a little bit of hope and trust that the words are genuine and we are moving towards something new.
Students’ time here shapes their perspectives and direction in life, and in assessing our performance we need to ask “what is our institution telling young people through their experience here about the position, contributions and deserved treatment of Black people in our world?”
Do you think this time could be a learning curve for the SU as well?
I have had productive conversations with the SU’s senior leadership following the protests, outlining my experiences and where I think there can be improvements. I respect that they are taking the time to consider the lessons and next steps towards being an anti-racist organisation, rather than making promises with no clear aim.
There is something about this time that has given me an open platform to exhale and discuss my everyday experiences in detail. I can’t speak for the SU but potentially hearing this in a raw form is where the learning curve has been. I don’t always talk about my experiences because my approach is to ‘just get on with it’ — potentially I’m not the only one — but for all organisations, getting into the nitty gritty of how racism manifests among colleagues daily will be key to understanding the structures, policies and mindsets that need to be addressed. This can’t happen without leaders sitting down and talking to colleagues, personally.
What would you like to see the University do next?
There are so many lessons to be taken from the past few months. Students and staff have shown that they are ready to hold the University to account for their responsibility in building an anti-racist institution and their public influence.
Students’ time here shapes their perspectives and direction in life, and in assessing our performance we need to ask “what is our institution telling young people through their experience here about the position, contributions and deserved treatment of Black people in our world?” I don’t believe we can currently give a positive answer to that question. Our students go on to be world leaders and if our curriculum, colleges and disciplinary systems are not reimagined, we will inevitably raise another generation to perpetuate the same injustices as the last. I hope the institution has realised and been taken aback by the force of its resistance to reimagining our institution. The pandemic has shown that while change isn’t easy, it is possible, and takes active effort.
For me, the debate around the Rhodes statue isn’t just about whether it should stay or go, but about us daring and being willing to imagine what could be possible if we changed the status quo. This is just one very physical example, but the thought can be extended to the structures and ideologies that underpin our institution.
I am actually due to begin a Master’s Degree here this October and the fact that I’m currently running a fundraiser in an attempt to secure the funding needed to further my education, as a current staff member who has invested my all into this institution and the education of students here, speaks volumes. The fact that students are more willing than the University to ensure I can study at Oxford, speaks volumes. The values the University claims to hold, such as access for underrepresented groups and Black Staff Development, need to be evidenced in actions and outcomes.
I would like the University to take the steps to reimagine, and move to a place of acting proactively to address inequalities with the same boundary-pushing approach it takes to its research.
Further information:
Oxford University SU: https://www.oxfordsu.org/
SU Open Letter to the Vice-Chancellor on structural anti-Blackness: https://www.oxfordsu.org/news/article/6013/Open-Letter-to-the-Vice-Chancellor-on-structural-anti-Blackness-at-Oxford-University/
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