COVID-19 is affecting us all, but some groups of people are affected more than others. If you fit into one of the liberation groups covered by the SU - BME (Black and Minority Ethnic), Women, Disabled, LGBTQ+ and Trans - you might be finding life in quarantine harder than some. Whether that’s due to trouble accessing shops for essential items, problems with accessing healthcare of any kind, or isolation from your community, we’re here to help. 

Even though everyone is stuck at home, the Liberation Part Time Officers are still doing their best to look out for the students they represent. A lot of their campaigns have been moved online, and there’s plenty of ways for you to get involved! You don’t have to be a part of the liberation group to get involved with a lot of these too - having a good network of allies can really help to lift the voices of marginalised people. 

Disabled Students’ Campaign - Jess Edwards
The best places to go to find updates from the Disabled Students’ Campaign are their social media pages, @uomdisabled on Twitter, and UoM Disabled Students’ Campaign (@uomdisabledcampaign) on Facebook. These pages are open to anyone and are a great place to go if you want to learn more about events and initiatives that the campaign is running, as well as more general information about the lives of disabled people across the country. 

If you identify as disabled, you can join the campaign’s Discord server! This space is still very new, but the main goal is to give students a safe environment to vent about the current situation, ask for advice, or socialise with other disabled students. The Disabled Students’ Campaign also works closely with the Disabled Students’ Society, another group that students can join to socialise, learn, and organise! They can be found on Twitter @uomdisabledsoc, and on Facebook at Disabled Students’ Society University of Manchester (@DisabledStudentsUOM). 

If you have an issue that you would like to discuss privately with Jess, you can email her on uomdisabledcampaign@gmail.com, or on her University email jessica.edwards-3@student.manchester.ac.uk. 

LGBTQ+ Campaign (Kieran Brierley and Mwanso Mutale) and Trans Campaign (Rosa Kucharska and Evelyn Sharrock)
For general updates on campaigns and events, the LGBTQ+ campaign can be found on Twitter @uomlgbtq and Facebook at UoM L G B T Q + Campaign (@UoMLGBTQ), and the Trans campaign are active on Twitter @uomtrans, and UoM Trans Campaign (@uomtrans) on Facebook. Allies can follow these pages to learn more about the issues faced by LGBTQ+ students, and to get involved with any campaigns that might be happening. This applies in quarantine too - online activism can be very effective when done right! 

If you identify as trans or nonbinary, you can message the Trans Campaign to request an invite to the Trans Students @ UoM Facebook group. This is a secret group, meaning you can’t find it by searching, and people on your friends list can’t see that you are in it.

The LGBTQ+ and Trans Campaigns have partnered with the LGBTQ+ Society to create an LGBTQ+ Discord server, open to all students who identify as such! This space is mostly for socialising, with channels to talk about video games and anime, share cute pictures and memes, or just have a chat. Quarantine can be very isolating for LGBTQ+ students who may have returned home to families who do not accept them, students who have had to go back in the closet, and students who have stayed in Manchester because they don’t have a family home to go to. Maintaining a sense of community online is crucial for keeping LGBTQ+ students safe and connected in this strange time.

Once again if you would like to contact one of the PTOs directly, you can do so on uomtranscampaign@gmail.com and uomlgbtqcampaign@gmail.com.

Women’s Campaign - Ayla Huseyinoglu (Full Time Women’s Officer), Hatty Ruddick, Penny Meek
The Women’s Campaign is one of the largest campaigns on campus, representing anyone whose gender identity includes female. Our Part Time Officers Hatty and Penny work closely with Ayla, the full time Women’s Officer, to represent and support women students in any way they can. The Women’s Campaign has recently made the move online - anyone can follow their Twitter page @women_su, and any women students can join the UoM SU Women group on Facebook. These pages are very new so watch this space!

If you want to get in contact with the Women’s campaign, you can email them at womens.su@manchester.ac.uk, harriet.ruddick@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk and penelope.meek@student.manchester.ac.uk. You can also find Ayla on Facebook under Ayla Huseyinoglu SU. 

BME Campaign - Joshua Esiri and Gladys Kiwelu
The BME Campaign represents any student who is black, Asian, or from another minority ethnic background. You can contact them via gladys.kiwelu@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk. 

Another scheme that the SU runs for BME students is the Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador Programme. This programme aims to represent and empower BME students to amplify their voices on campus. You can find out more about the programme and get in touch on their Twitter @DI_ambassadors or their Facebook page Diversity & Inclusion Student Ambassador Programme @diversityandinclusionambassadors.