Meet Lily-Rose: Your New CUSU Access & Funding Officer

The past two months have been a bit of a whirlwind. From graduating, having handover training to organising Camspire, an access residential scheme. . So I thought it was about time I introduce myself and explain my priorities for the year.

My role as Access and Funding Officer includes a wide variety of responsibilities. On a weekly basis I sit on committees with members of university staff discussing matters such as the design of the Transition Year, an access programme for those who have suffered some form of educational disadvantage. On these committees it is my job to provide a critical student perspective and hold the university to account on access commitments they make. But my role goes far beyond committee discussions. It also includes organising access residentials such as the Shadowing Scheme, and delivering talks to potential prospective students from underrepresented groups. Additionally, I scrutinise university practice – at the moment I am reviewing the guidance on supporting care leavers tutors are given. Finally, part of my job is to urge the university to take seriously directions and issues related to access that are not on their agenda at all.

I ran for the role because I know first-hand how impactful access work has the potential to be. I believe access can have an even bigger impact when we recognise it as an inherently political mission. Whilst direct interactions with potential applicants such as college tours do have a meaningful effect, access is so much more than just that. Access is about confrontingan unpleasant reality. A reality in which we recognise that on a systematic level certain groups of students are privileged whilst others consistently face obstacles throughout their educational journey. Access seeks to redress these inequalities and work to ensure that admissions at Cambridge does not compound them further.