NovUM FASoS

As a student representative party, we seek to bridge the gap between students and the University’s direction. We believe most student demands fall into one or more of NovUM’s five pillars: better and more affordable housing, improvement of education, raising awareness of environmental issues and sustainability, improvement of integration and internationalism at UM and student well-being.

In order for students to feel properly heard and for problems to be tackled, we need to build a more robust and thriving FASoS community, where exchanges between students, representatives and even teachers are held. 

We also need to ensure that the student and their needs remain central to the conversations: the question students should ask themselves is “What can the University do for ME?”.

The emotional, social and mental needs of students are just as important as their material ones. FASoS should be a space where students feel safe, supported, heard and have opportunities to study and learn but also to socialise and make new connections. 

We would like to advocate for the following policies: 

• FASoS community feeling: this means more events, better use of our common spaces, more common rooms, more study spaces, longer opening hours of the faculty 
• Students' well-being: FASoS needs to increase communication and transparency of its “disability” programmes, and needs to make access to mental health services and sexual harassment help easier and less intimidating.
• Exchanges between students of all years and programmes: we can achieve this through more events but also through a student-on-student buddy system. First-year students could sign up to be paired with a more senior student for help and socialisation. 
• Housing: increasing access to affordable housing or affordable parking for students who cannot live in Maastricht is central for NovUM. 

Don't hope for change, vote for it!