Representative of Trans Students

On Saturday, 27th April 2025, something incredible happened in Preston. Over 150 people gathered outside Preston Bus Station to rally for...

<p>Congratulations to Avery on winning 3 awards! The first one is the Opportunities for All Award for helping to break down barriers and make the Students’ Union a more inclusive place. Nominations specifically mentioned how she played an instrumental role in implementing a preferred name policy at UCLan, and her campaign to ban conversion therapy. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Happy International Women&#8217;s Day to ALL women out there. As a transwoman, this day often comes with personal conflict and a feeling of guilt, but it shouldn&#8217;t. Throughout my adult life and my discovery of my own gender identity, I have always loved to look into the history of the Suffrage movement and the strength [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Hey, let&#8217;s talk about university life – it&#8217;s like a rollercoaster, right? Exciting, sure, but also full of twists and turns, especially for transgender folks. They&#8217;ve got their own set of challenges that go beyond just hitting the books.&nbsp; Picture this: You&#8217;re on a journey of self-discovery and expression, and for transgender students, it&#8217;s a [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Everyone has done their yearly roundup so here are my most important developments of 2023: • Started the second year of my course &#8211; transitioning from your first year at university to your second is never an easy feat with the rapid increase in workload and most importantly, the fact that this year counts to [&hellip;]</p>

<p>On June 29th, 2023, I set up a petition asking that the government ensures the protection of the transgender community by banning conversion therapy. Conversion therapy being the harmful practice of trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of an individual. At the time of writing this blog, that petition has over 4,000 [&hellip;]</p>

<p>This policy proposes to: The policy passed with 80% of the vote. There were 20 votes cast with 16 votes for, 0 votes against and 4 abstentions. This vote means that UCLan Students’ Union is now committed to working towards a National Conversion Therapy Ban until at least November 16th 2026. This is a major [&hellip;]</p>

<p>This policy proposes to: The policy passed with 70% of the vote. There were 20 votes cast with 14 votes for, 1 vote against and 5 abstentions. This vote means that UCLan Students&#8217; Union is now committed to working towards a Progressive Preferred Name policy until at least November 16th 2026. This is a major [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I am Avery, your Trans* Rep here at UCLanSU. You should vote for me to be one of your delegates for the National Union of Students Conference for the following reasons: 1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Experience:&nbsp;I have firsthand experience attending major conferences, including the Annual Labour Conference in 2022. This experience demonstrates my ability to engage with a wide [&hellip;]</p>

<p>This Trans Awareness Week, we believe it is more important than ever to push the UK government to ban conversion therapy once and for all. Conversion therapies aim to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a person, this is not possible. You cannot change who someone really is, and you should not torture [&hellip;]</p>

<p>After U-Turn upon U-Turn, Rishi Sunak finally announced on Thursday 19 October 2023 that he will be including a ban on conversion therapies for LGBT+ individuals in the King&#8217;s Speech. Initially, this was incredible news but after more reading, his intention is not to ban the practice at all. To establish context, conversion therapy is [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Conversion therapy comprises practices aimed at changing an individual&#8217;s sexual orientation (gay conversion therapy) or gender identity (trans conversion therapy) and is widely condemned for its harm, relying on discredited methods that cause emotional trauma and mental health issues. Conversion therapy in the UK is cruel because it inflicts severe emotional and psychological harm on [&hellip;]</p>

<p>This year, your Trans* rep, Avery is campaigning to the University on their “preferred name policy&#8221;. Currently, UCLan systems such as class lists, e-mails, ID cards and university equipment use a student&#8217;s legal name, as opposed to their preferred name. Preferred names, or chosen names, are those commonly used by individuals as a way to [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Conversion therapy, a harmful and discredited practice aimed at changing an individual&#8217;s sexual orientation or gender identity, continues to cast a dark shadow over the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals. In the United Kingdom, there is growing momentum to ban trans conversion therapy due to its devastating effects on transgender and gender-diverse people. This article explores [&hellip;]</p>