UWI Mona Guild Annual Report 2021/22

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Acknowledgements This document was prepared by Danielle Mullings, Guild President and edited by Jamaiq Charles, Legal Consultant and Co-Secretary. We also wish to acknowledge the various Guild sub-committee secretaries who have contributed to the collation of activities reported in this document. This Annual Report covers our major activities for the academic year 2021/22.

Guild Committee Secretaries 2021/22 ❖ Tehirah Robinson ❖ Aldwayne Brooks ❖ Shanelle Bramwell ❖ Sharese Benjamin ❖ Nickoy Brown ❖ Sharese Benjamin ❖ JéDae Vassell ❖ Shantae Lawrence ❖ Shanna-Lee Taylor ❖ Othandrea Downes ❖ Toni-Ann Afflick ❖ Jamoi Crooks ❖ Kayla Ellis ❖ Shadekiel Kassie ❖ Samantha McGregor ❖ Latonya Clayton ❖ Sabrina Bryan ❖ Simone Murray ❖ Jason Lindsay ❖ Shenaia Beckford ❖ Alyssa Jolly ❖ Aaliyah Johnston

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Table of Contents Acknowledgements

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Table of Contents

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Message from the Guild President

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Overview

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Key Activities and Accomplishments for the Academic Year 2021/22

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Advocacy

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Student Welfare & Development Tuition and Housing Financial Assistance Digital Device Assistance and Partnership with UWIDEF Nutrition/Feeding Programs Assistance for Medical Students UNICEF Mental Health Initiative Other Partnerships for Student Welfare and Development

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Safety and Security Rush Alert Collaborating with Tertiary level Presidents to discuss Safety & Security

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Representation on Boards and Committees UWI Committees Internal Working Groups

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National Engagement Service on National Task Forces, Committees and Boards Courtesy call on the Deputy Prime Minister Meeting with Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS)

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Outreach and Community Involvement St Vincent and The Grenadines Relief Fund Annual Back to School Treat

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Public Education Campaigns Vaccination Campaign Breast Cancer Awareness and Period Poverty Initiative

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Cultural and Entertainment Affairs

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Western Jamaica Campus

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Conclusion

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Annex Guild Councillors 2021/2022 - “The Titans” WJC Guild Campus Committee 2021/2022

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Message from the Guild President

Dear Pelicans, It was my distinct pleasure to have served you during this academic year 2021-22. Attending the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus during one of the most uncertain and dynamic periods the world has ever seen, has required you to operate with a keen sense of self-awareness, resilience, focus and kindness. Each student within this prestigious institution, has been a part of an immensely driven community of young leaders who inspire us to work together and energise each other’s spirits as “together we can make it happen”. I commend you all.

As we complete this academic year and look forward to the next, please remember that you are the chief architect of your life. Draw each line carefully and utilise these years to build a solid foundation for your future. In all that you do, please remember that each person’s growth looks different and there is no timeline on progress. I encourage each of you to get involved, meet new people and believe in your potential to be great. Trust in your astronomical aspirations and continue on this journey with a centred and focused approach.

I campaigned on the slogan #OneOfUs willing to advocate for #AllOfUs. This means that regardless of if you were an international, regional or local student, regardless of the hall you were affiliated with, regardless of the faculty you studied in and regardless of whether we interfaced with you virtually or physically, we, The UWI Mona Guild Council, have believed in you and have tried our best to be there to help you navigate your student experience. This year’s Guild Council pledged to maintain integrity, be resilient and most importantly, be willing to both be inspired by and inspire students to be the best version of themselves. We are happy to have been a part of your journey as a member of the distinguished Guild of Students and wish to see you grow into innovative, creative, technical and passionate young leaders who stand ready to edify and courageously cultivate our student community. Let’s work together to leave a rich legacy behind for years to come.

Regards, Danielle Mullings UWI Mona Guild President 2021/22

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Overview

All UWI students are members of the Guild, however it is led by a 45-member governing body called the Guild Council. The Council is divided into three (3) cohorts – the Executive, the Representative and the Hall Chairperson cohorts.

Having been established in 1951, this current academic year 2021/22 marks the UWI Mona Guild Council’s 70th anniversary. As such, we have been eager to build on the foundation set and to elevate our advocacy efforts, in the best interest of students especially through partnerships with the administration. Furthermore, our mandate for this 70th year was to continue to lead with integrity, innovation, and Inspiration. These are the tenets that we have chosen to embody during these difficult times that we face both regionally and internationally. With respect to our work plan for the year, we have operated under the President’s key strategic objectives as seen below: President’s Key Objectives 2021/22 ○ Advocacy ○ Accountability & Communication ○ Adapting to the Digital Space ○ Improving the Academic Experience ○ Tuition Assistance ○ Health, Wellness & Security ○ Students with Special Needs

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Key Activities and Accomplishments for the Academic Year 2021/22 Advocacy The key function of any guild council is to advocate for the best interest of our student body.

Thus we have engaged the administration on a wide range of issues.

Key Advocacy Issues ➢ Health Cards - The President instituted a small internal working group that assessed the proposed health care packages put forward by the providers and selected the best one.

Moreover, she made an intervention at the Health Services Committee to implore UWI

7 to revamp the approach of the university towards selecting plans and providers. During this, she highlighted the need for a data driven approach in which the current providers should present data on the usage for the past two years. We can then use this data to inform our selection. These interventions were approved and implemented. Therefore students had an increase in the amount of benefits on Health Cards for the same miscellaneous fee price. ➢ Face-to-Face Examinations - President Mullings organised a plethora of meetings with the University from July through to November on the issue and the council engaged the administration in a formal letter outlining the student body’s health and safety concerns with face to face examinations given the COVID-19 pandemic. We also presented a survey response with the views of over 2000 students. Lastly, we engaged the Academic Board and Board of Undergraduate Studies. Thus, the number of students set to sit face to face exams was reduced from approximately 70% to 25% as well as the number of courses to be examined face to face from 40% to 18%. A document was also produced by the University to clearly outline the COVID-19 safety protocols to be used. ➢ USD Tuition - The Guild met with some of the affected student groups to collate all the issues and suggestions they had. This was then fed into the USD TownHall with administration which was advocated for and organised by the Guild. This was the first time the campus administration had ever agreed to meet with students through a town hall on this specific matter. Our aim was to have the university clearly outline the reason for USD quoted tuition fees and to lower the USD exchange rate for the year.

Though we were unsuccessful in lowering the exchange rate for the year, we were successful in providing a space for students to demand an explanation from the relevant members of the administration. ➢ Examination Clearance - The student body has continued to feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as such we advocated for students to be allowed to sit their first exam having paid at least 50% of the semester’s tuition and requesting leniency formally. Additionally, students were allowed to sit mid semesters in both semesters regardless of the amount paid. This gave students more time to complete payment and sit all exams. ➢ Irvine Hall fee increase - The original proposed increase for Irvine Hall was 31%. The council was successful in advocating for this to be reduced to 5%. ➢ Premier League Advocacy - Guild President, 1st Vice President and Games Committee Chairperson met with representatives from administration to discuss the state of the scholarship student athletes who were a part of the UWI FC team that the UWI withdrew from the Jamaica Premier League. The administration agreed with our stance on allowing the athletes to continue on scholarship as the players would be gravely disadvantaged otherwise and as such all athletes were given continued tuition and accommodation scholarships.

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Student Welfare & Development Tuition and Housing Financial Assistance The student body continued to feel the immense economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic over the course of the 2021/22 Academic Year. Thus, The UWI Mona Guild Council has secured funding for students in need. In this the 70th year of the Guild Council, we have donated over

FIVE MILLION JMD to tuition assistance.

● Semester One ○ $1 million to Postgraduate Students ○ $855,000 to support undergraduate students in need ● Semester Two ○ $1 Million in Funding to Finalising Students who are not cleared to sit examinations ○ $1.6 Million in funding to support Postgraduate Students in need ○ $900,000 in funding to support undergraduate students in need ○ $200,000 for the Mona Association of Postgraduate Students Scholarship Fund ○ $115,000 towards hall fees for students on ABC Hall, AZ Preston and Rex Nettleford Hall combined. ○ $44,000 towards data plan assistance for off campus students attached to Mary Seacole Hall. ○ $370,000JMD - The WJC Committee provided tuition assistance for students.

The beneficiaries were either selected based on applications submitted to the Guild’s ‘Fresh Cash’ program, the Mona Association of Postgraduate Students Financial Assistance programme, Western Jamaica Campus Committee, Halls of Residence or the recommendations from the Office of the Registrar.

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Digital Device Assistance and Partnership with UWIDEF UWIDEF has supported the Guild President Mullings in three initiatives. The first is to reinstate the Guild’s Part Time Student Assistance Grant which has awarded grants of $50,000JMD to three part-time students. The second is the Guild’s One Of Us Grant which will award $50,000JMD to six students across both the Western Jamaica and Mona Campus in this academic year. Lastly, having recognized the need for access to digital devices, UWIDEF and The Guild have funded the President’s initiative to secure seven laptops to be donated to one student in each faculty based on the recommendation of the Faculty Administrations.

Nutrition/Feeding Programs ‘Buss Gas’, The Guild’s annual meal assistance program, occurred during semester one. During the first week of examinations, over 600 meals were served to students including an assortment of lunch, dinner and breakfast meals. This initiative occurs under the VPSSP portfolio.

Additionally, various halls also served meals to their residents at various points during the semester. This included the George Alleyne Hall, A.Z. Preston Hall, Taylor Hall, ABC Hall and Irvine Hall which served anywhere from 100 to 200 meals each.

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Assistance for Medical Students The Faculty of Medical Sciences Committee led by Xaria Strachan, the Guild Medical Sciences Faculty Representative, secured a donation from Sagicor which saw JMD$750,000 being donated towards accommodation costs for medical students.

Additionally, the committee organised a personal protective equipment drive which benefited 56 students.

The Commuting Students Committee led by Shamar McGrowder also donated masks, gloves, sanitizers, gowns and face shields to at least 200 medical science students.

UNICEF Mental Health Initiative The Guild President conceptualised this collaboration with UNICEF as a response to the increased mental health issues on campus and the staffing constraints of the counselling unit. Thus the Council held a mental health focus group session with students from various halls and counsellors from UNICEF. Additionally, we conducted testing on their mental health chat line ahead of its launch to ensure that all our students can benefit whether remotely or face to face. The Chatline has now been launched and as such students can access a trained counsellor through WhatsApp 24/7.

Lastly, we hosted a Twitter Space with UNICEF representatives in which we invited students to come and share on the importance of mental health.

Engineering Annual Corporate Mingle ‘Carpe Futurum’ The Faculty of Engineering Guild Committee led by Alwain Bisasor held the Mona Engineering Society Annual Corporate Mingle. This event hosted a number of organisations and companies within, but not limited to, the Engineering industry.

Patrons indulged in cocktail refreshments while networking with each other through focused discussions.

For the virtual community, a ted-talk session was held simultaneously while other activities of the mingle took place which were all streamed online where students could ask industry persons questions and network.

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WIFI on Campus The President, 1st Vice President and GAH Deputy Hall Chair lobbied to have WIFI be improved on campus through the ICT Steering Committee. The campus still has significant issues with WIFI however in the coming year, there should be an increased budget for ICT infrastructure development.

Additionally, WIFI has been installed on Tower 5 of ELR Hall due to the advocacy of ELR ‘Towers’ Hall Chair Mr. Phillip Porter.

Regional Prayer Session The Faculty of Humanities and Education (FHE) Guild Committee led

by Fabian Drecket displayed regionalism in the faculty through the staging of the Regional Arts Festival incorporating the FHE Guild Committees at all campuses. This event upheld the core values of creativity and spirituality which left a number of participants feeling blessed. Additionally, networking opportunities were provided. Lastly, inclusivity was fostered as all campuses including the Western Jamaica Campus participated.

Other Partnerships for Student Welfare and Development JAECE Guild Presidential Work and Travel Grant - President Mullings partnered with work and travel organisations to offer a scholarship covering the program cost to a UWI student. This enables the student to work abroad over the summer.

Pree Dis Show - The VP PSI Committee partnered with Pree Dis Show to give student entrepreneurs a chance to promote their business.

Pilot for A Day - Collaboration with the Aeronautical School of the West Indies to offer four UWI students a free pilot for a day program inclusive of a flight around Kingston and a brief class on aerodynamics.

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Safety and Security Rush Alert VP. PSI Keifa Desnoes, and members of the committee and the Rush Alert team took to the back gate to engage drivers and encourage them to be a part of the new Rush Alert initiative. The initiative, which is the brainchild of the partnership between both parties, seeks to increase student safety, by giving users of the Rush Alert App the ability to log the licence plate of the taxi they take. This will, in the event an issue arises, grant the Rush Alert team the ability to check which taxi the student took and at what time. Drivers who frequent the back gate area will be granted stickers which will identify them as Rush Alert certified.

Improving Campus Environs - The Guild Council through the work of the VP PSI, has successfully advocated for the fixing of lights and bushes in key areas on campus. Work has already begun on sections of the campus and will continue.

Collaborating with Tertiary level Presidents to discuss Safety & Security Following the devastating abduction and rape of a female student on the campus of the College of Agriculture Science and Educationn (CASE) on March 10, the CASE Student Guild reached out to President Mullings for assistance with advocacy. Thus, Mullings assembled a team of Guild and Union Presidents across tertiary institutions in Jamaica to strategise new ways to ensure the safety of students, particularly the heavily targeted female student population, while on campus. The meeting was beneficial and the recommendations were published in the Jamaica Gleaner.

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Representation on Boards and Committees UWI Committees The Guild Council represents the student body on all major decision making bodies within the campus. Please see the committees that our councillors have served on below: Guild Councillor

Committee

President Danielle Mullings

University Committees (Representing all 5 campuses) ❖ University Risk Management Steering Committee ❖ The University Library Advisory Committee ❖ Board of Undergraduate Studies ❖ University Business Council ❖ University One UWI Gender Equity and Justice Committee ❖ University Finance and General Purpose Committee ❖ Sub-Committee of University Council on Tuition Fees Mona Campus ❖ Academic Board ❖ Mona COVID-19 Management Taskforce ❖ Mona Finance and General Purpose Committee

VP SSP Nile Anderson

❖ Mona Campus ICT Steering Committee ❖ Academic Board ❖ The Food Establishments and Service Committee

VP PSI Keifa Desnoes

❖ Grounds & Buildings Committee ❖ Security Committee

Librarian and Co-Secretary Ashleigh Onfroy

❖ Mona Campus Library Advisory Committee

Legal Consultant and Co-Secretary Jamaiq Charles

❖ Examination Irregularities Committee

Western Jamaica Campus Chairperson Shanna-kay Brown

❖ Western Jamaica Campus Management Committee

14 External Affairs Chairperson Britney Gray

❖ Mental Health Committee

Institute of Gender and Development Studies Rep Adrina Ebanks Deputy George Alleyne Hall Chairperson, Rhoda Essien

❖ Mona Campus ICT Steering Committee

ABC Hall Chairperson D’Andra Williams

❖ Occupational Health & Safety Committee

A.Z. Preston Deputy Hall Chairperson Chrisanjay Codner Irvine Hall Chairperson Jeffrey Thomas

❖ UWI Quality Week Planning Committee

Public Relations Officer Jevaughn Gordon Western Jamaica Campus Chairperson Shanna-kay Brown

❖ Mona Campus Academic Board

United Theological College Rep Kenroy Wilson FOS Rep, Millissa Fletcher FOL Rep, Tamoy Campbell FHE Rep, Fabian Dreckett IGDS Rep, Adrina Ebanks FST Rep, Tyreke Mclean FSS Rep, Omolora Wilson FMS Rep, Xaria Strachan FOE Rep, Alwain Bisasor

❖ All Faculty representatives also sat on their respective faculty boards.

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Internal Working Groups In this academic year, The Guild President initiated internal working groups within the Council to focus on key thematic areas as seen below: Face to Face Transition Taskforce Chair - Rujay Blackwood Co-Chair - Jhe’Vonte Webster Secretary - Javian Anderson

Exam Irregularities Chair - Jamaiq Charles

Members 1. Danae Hyatt 2. Samantha Williams - WJC 3. Shamar McGrowder 4. William Mullings 5. Jamaiq Charles 6. Tyreke McLean 7. Keifa Desnoes 8. Alex White 9. Shajunee Gumbs

Members 1. Phillip Porter 2. Tyreke McLean 3. Jhevonte Webster 4. Denvor Pinnock 5. Danielle Mullings 6. Tamoy Campbell 7. Rhoda Essien 8. D’Andra Williams

Health Services Review (Health Cards) Chair - Danielle Mullings

UWI Website Review Chair - Nile Anderson

Members 1. Denvor Pinnock 2. D’Andra Williams 3. Raeann Bernard 4. Jamaiq Charles 5. Omolora Wilson 6. Tyreke McLean

Members 1. Philmark Miller 2. Rhoda Essien 3. Jhevonte Webster 4. Jevaughn Gordon 5. Shajunee Gumbs 6. Tyreke Mclean 7. Phillip Porter

Mental Illness Policy Review Chair - Alwain Bisasor

JYAN Food and Nutrition Policy Review Chair - Britney Gray

Members 1. Raeann Bernard 2. Britney Gray 3. Ashleigh Onfroy 4. Denvor Pinnock 5. Adrina Ebanks 6. Omolora Wilson

Members 1. Ashleigh Onfroy 2. Alwain Bisasor 3. Jenieve Richards 4. Tyreke McLean 5. Jamaiq Charles 6. Raeann Bernard 7. Jevaughn Gordon

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National Engagement With the aim of building partnerships and increasing engagement on national issues, the Guild Council has worked hard to integrate with the broader society. Here are some ways we have engaged at a national level.

Service on National Task Forces, Committees and Boards The Guild President, Danielle Mullings, serves on: ❖ The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s E-COVID (MOEYI) Management Taskforce ❖ The MOEYI Character Education Taskforce ❖ The RJR Gleaner Communications Group Youth Advisory Board ❖ The HEART Trust NTA Career Planning Program Committee ❖ National and Regional Stakeholder Consultations with UNESCO, PIOJ, PSOJ, ParlAmericas among others. ❖ Writing team for paper on “Improving the health of adolescents: Building agency and resilience” that is currently being peer reviewed to be published in the British Medical Journal as part of a BMJ/PMNCH Collection

Courtesy call on the Deputy Prime Minister The George Alleyne Hall Committee led by Hall Chair Raeann Bernard and Deputy Rhoda Essien, accompanied by Miss Cherine Richards and Javìer Gordon did a Courtesy call on the Deputy Prime Minister, Horace Chang.

Meeting with Transport Sustainable Services (TODSS)

Operators

Development

On January 22, 2022 in a meeting with Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), our Commuters Representative, Mr. Shamar McGrowder in his remarks looked at some of the challenges faced by students on and off the UWI Campus in transport. He went on to make recommendations regarding how the committee can partner with TODSS to provide a better travel experience for citizens, especially those who commute. At the Road safety campaign meeting on April 21, Mr. McGrowder highlighted initiatives undertaken by the UWI Mona Guild Council in an effort to endorse road safety.

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Outreach and Community Involvement St Vincent and The Grenadines Relief Fund On April 9th, 2021, the La Soufriere volcano erupted on the island of St. Vincent. This resulted in immediate evacuation orders from the local government as Vincentian residents living in ‘red zones’ were encouraged to evacuate their homes and relocate to homes/shelters across the island whilst others evacuated to other Caribbean countries. The volcanic eruption affected our Vincentian students and their families in a myriad of ways.

In light of the foregoing, The UWI Mona Guild, through a collaborative partnership effort with, The UWI Alumni Association, The UWI Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow (UWI STAT) Mona Corps, The UWI One Life and the Jamaica Union of Tertiary Students (JUTS) devised a strategic plan to assist and/or provide much needed relief to the government and people of St. Vincent & the Grenadines. This collaborative approach consists of: 1) Garnering Financial Support from Alumni and Friends of The UWI; and 2) Collection of In-Kind Donations. We also launched a video campaign.

Please see the thank you letter received from the Honorary Consul to St Vincent and the Grenadines, June Barbour, on the following page.

Cancer Society Donation In October the Guild held its virtual Pink Integration Thursday where we were able to raise $25,000JMD which was donated to the Jamaica Cancer Society to help in the fight against Cancer. Our CEAC and our VP PSI for putting the event together and making the donation.

18 Below: Thank you letter received from the Honorary Consul to St Vincent and the Grenadines, June Barbour

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Annual Back to School Treat We prepared and delivered 200 packages to 4 schools - Hope Valley Experimental School, Grove Primary, Mona High and Papine High. Packages included stationery, masks, hand sanitizers and digicel credit. We give a special thanks to our sponsors, Digicel for the credit and nationwide express tours for transporting us safely. The initiative was led by the EAC Britney Gray Sunbeam Children's Home Donation On Saturday December 18, 2021 the External Affairs Committee conducted its last initiative for the semester in partnership with All Stars Academic Services. We donated a microwave, football, food items, toiletries, sheets, earphones, 300 face masks and toys for the children at Sunbeam Children's Home in Old Harbour. We also painted the three dorms at the facility.

Beach Clean Up The Guild executed its annual coastal cleanup day at Waves Beach, St Catherine in partnership with the Jamaica Environment Trust.

This was aimed at spreading awareness about Climate Change and the effects of dumping garbage on our environment as well as relieving the burden on our natural environment caused by pollution.

Hall and Faculty Outreach Our Hall and Faculty committees have donated items to various children homes, and primary schools. For example, The ELR Hall visited the Morant Bay Primary School to donate school items to students and participate in the beautification of the school.

20 National Consultations The EAC, Britney Gray led the council’s partnership with Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network to review the policy on Food & Nutrition in schools. Additionally, our Treasurer, Kymani Shaw and Deputy Mary Seacole hall chair, Jenieve Richards participated in a UNESCO Road to Economic Recovery session and workshop titled “UNDP/SALISES/CaPRI Socioeconomic Impact Assessment (SEIA) of COVID-19 in Jamaica” . We have also participated in: ● National Stakeholder Consultation Workshop on the formulation of the UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNMSDCF) 2022-2026 for the Caribbean ● PIOJ Consultation on Policy and Programme of Action ● Dialogue with Civil Society and Youth Representatives: 5th Gathering of the ParlAmericas Parliamentary Network on Climate Change

Public Education Campaigns Vaccination Campaign During the summer period and first semester, the Guild conducted a vaccination campaign, with the primary aim of increasing the vaccination rate among the student population and the secondary aim of doing our part to reduce vaccination hesitancy nationally.

The Campaign was managed by the Guild Public Relations Officer Mr. Jevaughn Gordon, The main and most effective channels of the campaign were the Guild’s social media pages on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. We ensured that the core message reached at least a third of the student population, as measured by the level of interaction the campaign material achieved on social media. Material for the campaign consisted of targeted marketing of the UWI Mona vaccination site and the dissemination of facts about vaccines, their effectiveness and their benefits. The campaign also highlighted individual members of the Guild Council who video recorded their receiving the vaccine and encouraged other students to do the same. The Guild was vehemently in support of increasing the vaccination rate on the campus and this also led to our support of the administration’s vaccination policy for residents.

A series of forums and talks were also conducted including one with the Chief Medical Officer of Jamaica hosted by our Guild President, Danielle Mullings.

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Breast Cancer Awareness and Period Poverty Initiative During the month of October (Pinktober), the Guild embarked on its traditional Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign led by our External Affairs Chairperson Ms. Britney Gray and our Public Relations Officer Mr. Jevaughn Gordon. The Guild has always acknowledged that raising awareness and encouraging regular check-ups continue to be imperative in the fight against breast cancer and catching it early.

This year the campaign focused on three main areas; celebrating survivors, encouraging those currently living with breast cancer and encouraging citizens to schedule a check-up with their doctor. The main channels were the Guild’s social media pages on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. Here we ensured that the core message reached at least a third of the student population, as measured by the level of interaction the campaign material achieved on social media.

The material used in this campaign featured Guild Councillors in breast cancer awareness shirts giving words of support to those living with breast cancer, the disseminations of facts about the disease and instructions on how to do self checks. The Guild also sold breast cancer pins and later donated the proceeds to the Jamaica Cancer Society. It must also be noted that in conjunction with the Guild’s primary breast cancer awareness campaign, all halls and faculties executed individual awareness initiatives within their own spaces.

Period Poverty Initiative The Elsa Leo-Rhynie ‘Towers’ Hall: EAC Period Poverty Project- Women First, period impacted 100 females on the hall and even off campus as 100 packs of sanitary napkins were distributed by the EAC (20 of which were reserved for off campus towerites). This was done with the help of the Mary Seacole Hall.

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Cultural and Entertainment Affairs Hall vs Hall Cook Off A major mandate for the CEAC committee led by councillor, Jhe’Vonté Webster, was to focus on the cultural elements at play within the University of the West Indies. Thus, the team embarked on an initiative called Hall v Hall Cook off where the halls of residence prepared meals with the theme Sunday Dinner. The food items were provided by the CEAC and the hall with the best tasting food and alignment with the theme were declared the winners. The winner was Chancellor Hall.

The Ms UWI Mona Pageant was held on April 15th 2022 at the assembly hall where 12 female students of the University vied for the crown and the title of Ms. UWI Mona. Over 200 patrons attended the event as they cheered for their individual favourites. This pageant provided opportunities for our students to come out of their shells and grow as individuals as they were exposed to the real world of pageantry. The winner of the pageant this year is Ms. Aalyia Cato who with her new title will serve as an ambassador of the University of the West Indies and aims to execute a number of charitable projects in the upcoming academic year.

Faculty and Hall Pageants: Many of our committees held pageants to curate spaces for our students to engage with one another and learn key skills of teamwork, confidence and speech. This includes the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Medical Sciences, the Irvine Hall, Taylor Hall, the ELR Towers Hall and the Faculty of Science and Technology.

23 Carnival Themed Integration - Our first major physical event for the academic year was held in April 2022, after the national COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. The event catered to over 1000 patrons and was geared towards re-introducing face to face events on campus and providing students with the opportunity to experience the recreational spirit of their university as it was before the pandemic.

Mona Premier Quiz Competition - The UWI Guild Librarian Committee led by Ms Ashleigh Onfroy, organised this event in partnership with Games Committee Chairperson, Rujay Blackwood. Students were able to put their academic prowess to the test in a tension filled competition. This was sponsored by Grace Kennedy Ltd, Freshhh Ink and Chalcass Medals and Trophies.

Culturama - Since its creation in 1966, Culturama has provided an avenue for cultural exposure to the wider UWI Mona Campus led by the Irvine Hall. The week-long festivities include various displays of Caribbean cultures as they come together to showcase their history, dress, food, music, way of life and all that contributes to making each culture special and unique to their country. For this year, the 55th staging of our Culturama, Irvine Hall Chair Jeffrey Thomas and Deputy Javian Anderson held the event under the theme, “Rebirth: Embracing Cultural Diversity and Pride”. This week was dedicated to finding beauty in our differences and exchanging our cultures as we open our hearts and minds to learn and teach each other about where we came from and the journey we have all been on.

Hall Events: Our halls have been actively engaging our on campus residents through events like sip and paints, Drop the Mic, wellness initiatives etc.

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Western Jamaica Campus

Student Welfare & Development Generation Job Opportunities - The UWI WJC Commuting Representative partnered with VIP Attractions for the Job provision Initiative. UWI students, both Mona and WJC, were hired to both the Norman Manley and Donald Sangster International Airport.

Roughly 50 students benefited/are benefiting from this initiative.

Student Discounts - The UWI WJC VP PSI formed a partnership with Fairview Medical and Dental for students of the university to receive discounts Uniform Drive - The UWI Med Sci Rep resumed her Uniform drive from her previous tenure. Students of the faculty are able to retrieve uniform material and medical devices (stethoscopes, etc.).

Hall Engagement - The UWI WJC Hall Committee engaged the Halls on the Mona campus in their “Friendly Frequency Sessions”. This event was geared towards reducing residents’ apathy and promoting a holistic development for the said residents. The Halls that participated were ABC Hall, Mary Seacole Hall, Taylor Hall and Elsa Leo-Rhynie Hall Big Brother/Big Sister Programme - Both the UWI WJC Med Sci Rep and WJC SoSci Rep executed this program.

Each first year nursing student was assigned a big brother/sister to mentor and assist with academics and/or personal issues. Sixty-Six students benefited from this initiative. In FSS, first year students were paired with second and third year students to mentor and assist with personal and/or academic issues

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Outreach and Donations Tuition Assistance $160,000JMD - The Western Jamaica Campus Committee provided tuition assistance for students from the campus. This was distributed across the WJC Social Sciences Faculty, Commuting Representative and WJC Medical Science Representative.

Hall Fee Assistance - The WJC Hall Committee along with VP SSP collaborated and made it possible for 2 residents of the hall to get monetary grants to offset the set expenses of those items for a period of time.

Credit Assistance - UWI WJC SoSci Rep – Students within the faculty were able to receive credit donations to assist with online classes. Two students benefited from this initiative.

Community Outreach - The WJC EAC and Commuting representatives, along with Club Montego Bay Representatives, donated Food Items and clothing to the Melody Girls Home in St. James. Additionally, the WJC Medical Science Faculty Representative, along with her faculty was able to donate a bed to a family indeed in the community of Adelphi, St. James.

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Conclusion As the tenure of the 2021/2022 Guild Council draws to a close, we look back on the work we have done with pride. The Guild has always been an organisation with the best interest of the UWI Mona student body at its heart. The Covid-19 pandemic brought many challenges to the student body and so for this council, there could be no higher purpose than to serve at this time. In our 70th year of existence the Guild sought to live up to a legacy of selfless student leadership and it is our hope that the students for whom we worked assiduously, agree that we did.

The Guild is part and parcel of the University structure and therefore owes it to our stakeholders to keep evolving as our University does. To that end, the Guild is currently in the final stages of creating and implementing a five-year development strategy which will seek to ensure that our approach, systems, internal policies and relationships within and without the campus are all finely tuned to best serve the UWI Mona student body. This year’s Council is immensely pleased to have laid the groundwork for the execution of this strategy and expect that it will help the Guild continue to empower and assist students of the University. Our tenure featured many accomplishments on behalf of the student body and our vision sought to do all of the following. Maintain an optimistic and determined outlook on advocacy, facilitate student adaptation to the digital space, improve the academic experience and to provide financial assistance to students. We are pleased to say that within this framework we achieved as much as we aimed to and more..

We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the entities who helped make our success this year possible. We extend our profuse thanks to all the members of the University administration who sought to assist us in finding solutions to the issues voiced by students this year and for maintaining a spirit of fruitful cooperation with the Guild. Furthermore, we extend special thanks to the Campus Principal Professor Dale Webber, Campus Registrar Dr. Donovan Stanberry, Deputy Principal Professor Ian Boxill, Deputy Registrar Mr. Jonathan Archie, Director of Student Services and Development Mr. Jason McKenzie and very own Guild Manager Mr. Jovaughn Neil whose wisdom and guidance we could not do without. The Guild would also like to express its gratitude to our corporate sponsors whose support and sense of social responsibility brought many a vision into reality. Lastly and most importantly, the Guild thanks the students of the UWI Mona Campus. You chose us to lead and everything we accomplished was done in your name. The students, our constituents inspired us to aim higher and do better at all points during the tenure and for that we are abundantly grateful. It was our pleasure to serve.

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Gallery

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Annex Guild Councillors 2021/2022 - “The Titans” Name

Position

Executive Body Danielle Mullings Nile Anderson Keifa Desnoes Allesha West Kymani Shaw Jhevonte Webster Britney Gray Jevaughn Gordon Rujay G.E. Blackwood Kijana Johnson Daniel Watkis Ashleigh C. Onfroy Shanna-Kay Brown Jamaiq Charles Shamar McGrowder Alwain Bisasor Fabian Dreckett Tamoy Campbell Xaria Strachan Tyreke McLean Omolora Wilson Milissa Fletcher Adrina Ebanks Kenroy Wilson D’Andra Williams Danae Hyatt Janieve Watson Chrisanjay Codner Alex A. White Philmark Miller

President Vice President - Services and Special Projects Vice President - Property and Special Initiatives Guild Secretary (Resigned in Semester Two) Treasurer Cultural and Entertainment Affairs Chairperson External Affairs Chairperson Public Relations Officer Games Committee Chairperson Postgraduate Representative Guild Publications Chairperson Guild Librarian and Co-Secretary WJC Campus Chairperson Legal Consultant Legal Consultant and Co-Secretary Representative Cohort Commuting Students Representative Faculty of Engineering Representative Faculty of Humanities and Education Representative Faculty of Law Representative Faculty of Medical Sciences Representative Faculty of Science and Technology Representative Faculty of Social Sciences Representative Faculty of Sports Representative IGDS Representative UTC Representative Hall Cohort ABC Hall Chair ABC Deputy Hall Chair AZ Preston Hall Chair AZ Preston Deputy Hall Chair Chancellor Hall Chair Chancellor Deputy Hall Chair

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Phillip Porter William Mullings Raeann Bernard Rhoda Essien Jeffrey Thomas Javian Anderson Shajunee Gumbs Donna Phillip Briana Edwards Jenieve Richards Denvor B. Pinnock Tyrese Scarlett Mickoy Nembhard Diamonique Francis Samantha Williams

ELR Towers Hall Chair ELR Towers Deputy Hall Chair George Alleyne Hall Chair George Alleyne Deputy Hall Chair Irvine Hall Chair Irvine Deputy Hall Chair Leslie Robinson Hall Chair Leslie Robinson Deputy Hall Chair Mary Seacole Hall Chair Mary Seacole Deputy Hall Chair Rex Nettleford Hall Chair Rex Nettleford Deputy Hall Chair Taylor Hall Chair Taylor Deputy Hall Chair WJC Hall Chair

WJC Guild Campus Committee 2021/2022 Shanna-Kay Brown

WJC Campus Chairperson

Koretta McNab

Vice President - Property and Special Initiatives

Kemarie Reid

Vice President - Services and Special Projects

Shantae Lawrence

Secretary

Suzanna Grant

Treasurer

Shona Richards

Public Relations Officer

Jamie Thompson

External Affairs Chairperson

Julie-Ann Longman

Cultural and Entertainment Affairs Chairperson

Nickoli Corby

Games Committee Chairperson

Alexia Roach

Publications Chairperson

Breantt Sanderson

Librarian

Atilla Graham

Commuters Rep

Ronaldo Burke

Faculty of Humanities and Education Representative

Ashley Edwards

Faculty of Social Sciences Representative

Shi-Ann Campbell

Faculty of Medical Sciences Representative

Samantha Williams

WJC Hall Chair

Soyini Brown

Deputy Hall Chair