Student support society to relaunch

Warwick students will soon be able to benefit from a brand new service coming to campus. Support at Warwick, or S@W, will officially be launched at the beginning of term two in the re-fresher’s fair.

The main purpose of S@W is to provide peer to peer support for students who are going through a tough time. It also aims to provide guidance for those who are seeking advice on how to best support their own friends.

The group’s president, Kayleigh Parsons, is keen to emphasise that this service is open to anybody. “Sometimes it is just good to have someone to turn to. You do not have to be going through anything drastic to use our services. Students who are just feeling a little bit lost or overwhelmed are encouraged to come and chat with one of our team, or send an e-mail with their concerns.”

Students’ Union Welfare Officer Sami Wannell spoke of the potential benefits of the society: “At the momoment, [students] can come and talk to me, but only a handful do. This could be because people aren’t having problems, because they don’t need help dealing with their friends, or because they don’t know about the help they can get. I’m pretty sure it’s the third one!”

S@W is the new and improved version of the Warwick Support Society which has, in recent years, become somewhat lost and neglected due to various “administrative problems”. However, the new exec has promised to “completely transform” the old version. Most of the students interviewed by the Boar were unaware such a society existed.

Second year law student Joanne Button said, “I did not know what the Warwick Support Society was, but it sounds like a great initiative for anyone needing a friendly face.”

One member of the society who preferred to remain anonymous commented, “I have found all the information on the [online] forum really beneficial. There are links to numerous help sites and advisory pages, as well as postings from other students offering friendly words of advice. It is really encouraging to know and speak to other Warwick students going through similar experiences.”

Another anonymous student interviewed praised the exec team for being “really friendly in pointing me in the right direction. All I wanted was someone to moan at for twenty minutes over a cup of coffee, and their welfare officer let me do just that.”

The society’s treasurer, Rushda Joomun, explained the difference between the revamped society and other support networks at the University: “The main difference between the service we provide and anything else on campus is the personal interaction between students. Any of the exec is more than happy to meet up for an informal chat with students who contact us; whilst we can also connect students with similar experiences and difficulties.”

In addition, S@W provides information regarding professional services and help lines for students seeking professional advice, as well as an online forum for those who prefer not discussing problems in person.

The aspirations for S@W starting next term include a huge publicity drive to raise awareness of their presence and gain student co-operation. From that point onwards; they aim to arrange and publicise guest speakers to give presentations regarding how to best deal with issues ranging from general stress to domestic abuse, as well as continuing to provide direct interaction.

Wannell also commented. “I think that the society really has the potential to do a good job this year, and I really hope that it makes proper efforts to establish itself so that it can carry on and be successful for the long-term.”