Over the past year, I’ve heard really mixed reactions to the style of our blogs. On the one hand, some of you want opinion pieces (what a real blog should be IMHO), but on the other hand, some of want dry, dull lists of our diaries.

As you’ve no doubt guessed, I prefer the former – it makes for more interesting reading and actually gives you the chance to find out what we think and where we stand on certain issues.

But I thought I would make this post a bit different for those of you that like the dull lists!

So here’s what I was up to last week:

Monday 7 November

In the office all day, going through my emails and catching up on the paperwork. Also trying to finish the campaigns pack for the UN Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 Nov). I love days in the office when you can actually sit down and get on with things.

Tuesday 8 November

This is the type of day I spend weeks dreading. Yes, you’ve guessed it – it was the NEC meeting. For some reason, this one was especially painful, not least because we didn’t get a chance to discuss any motions. There was some really positive stuff relating to strategy and how we will be moving forward, but there were points during that 6 hour slog when I was tempted to bang my head on the desk, hard enough to knock myself out. I can understand why certain people have said they no longer intend to turn up, but as bad as they sometimes are, attending NEC meetings, regional conferences, National Council and Annual Conference are laid down in that pesky document known as our constitution and not turning up without a valid reason is just cheating.

Wednesday 9 November

In contrast to yesterday, this is the type of day I love – in a students’ union, campaigning on an issue I care a great deal about. Kat Stark, President at Warwick SU, invited me down to help out with their Pro-Choice campaign on campus. We had a great time handing out stickers and generating involvement from the student body. I did get a photo of Kat and Amy (Women’s Officer) by their campaign stand and will get that online asap.

I had to leave early as I had to go to the House of Lords to watch Lord Alli and Lord Smith put down an amendment to the Equality Bill to outlaw discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the grounds of sexuality, but unfortunately the debate and vote took place about an hour and a half before we were told it would so I managed to miss the whole thing! Never mind, the vote went the right way, which, at the end of the day, is the most important thing.

Thursday 10 November

A bit of a weird day, this one. The day just vanished. No recollection of it, whatsoever. Though the evening was fab – I was at City Hall in London for the EOC / Fawcett Society reception for the 30th anniversary of the Sex Discrimination Act. On one level, it’s always great to be in a room packed full of feminists, but on the other hand, wouldn’t it be great if we could forget about the SDA because women were no longer discriminated against? That’s my goal – to make all equality legislation redundant.

Friday 11 November

Today, I went back to Wales for my first UCMC event since starting as NUS UK Women’s Officer. I’d like to say this brand-new event (an equivalent of regional conferences so that Welsh SU officers can find out about NUS UK and our campaigns) was a roaring success, but there were just six people from three students’ unions present. It’s always hard when you’re at an event with hardly any delegates as you never get the same atmosphere but I hope we’ve managed to build a connection with the officers who did turn up – thanks for coming!

So there you have it – a week in the life of a women’s officer. Thrilling, wasn’t it?! I think I’ll go back to my usual rants. That’s the only way you get to be “blog of the week” in the Brief!

Jo xx

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