From political landscapes to Lord of the Rings, Students’ Union CEO Jumara Stone talks about what Welcome Week means to her – and why it’s so important this year. 

I’m sitting in the far corner of Unio, when Jumara gracefully walks over to greet me. She asks if we can move to a front-facing table, in sight of the Students’ Union office.  

“I want my team to be able to see that I’m around, in case they need me.” 

It’s a perfect analogy of the Chief Executive Officer’s leadership – there to catch those that may fall, but without burdening or controlling her staff. 

She offers me a coffee – despite not wanting one herself. With a black americano in hand and feeling particularly welcomed, we begin to talk about what such a word means to her. 

“I think to be welcomed for me, in the current climate, means to be safe,” she explains. 

“With the rise in extremism around the world, I’m looking at Welcome Week differently this year.” 

Jumara says that when she started her position in January 2024, she prioritised making sure that different religious groups felt safe on campus. 

But now, she says, it’s her top priority. 

“How do I make these people safe? It’s so important that we do, but how do we do it? And how do we do it effectively?” 

She explains that, for starters, better risk assessments and health and safety checks are a must.  

“We have to ask ourselves, from an equality perspective, is there a danger to these things? 

“We need to create a space on campus where groups or individuals can disagree, but we all need to be human.  

“They need to be safe in doing so, and it’s our duty to make sure we maintain that.” 

I ask Jumara what words come to mind when she hears the term welcome. 

“Safety, protection, community. 

“I think above all, community.” 

It’s something Jumara knows well.  

Originally from London, Jumara studied her undergraduate in animation at Norwich University of Arts. 

“I’m a self proclaimed nerd,” she quips. 

“My first tattoo was Lord of the Rings themed.” 

After graduating, she became a coordinator at the University of East Anglia’s SU, setting up the successful buddy programme in 2016. 

“It was a golden era for the union. 

“It wasn’t quite the same when I returned as CEO last year. But I won’t pretend that I didn’t know what I was walking into when I took the job.” 

Returning to the UEA after having managed Suffolk University’s SU for (?) years, Jumara remembers an unusual welcome. “If you can call it that,” she says.  

“My first day was wild.  

“I think it’s fair to use the word wild.” 

She explains that nothing was hidden from her when she took the role. 

“Helping to turn it [the SU] around, to turn it into what it is now – it was relentless. 

“Sometimes it does take someone to come in, externally, and say that this isn’t okay.  

“Things needed to change – and I’m proud to say that they have.” 

It’s a sentiment that Jumara encourages others to share; welcomes can be what you make of them. If things aren’t as you’d hoped when you start somewhere new, you can always try again – or adapt to what you have. 

“I’m a woman of colour. It’s from that experience that I’ve learnt to play the game with the cards I’ve been given. 

“Make of that what you will, but I’ve got where I am today with it – barriers don’t have to be there if we work together to remove them.” 

But Jumara explains that, for students, the real welcome is offered by the hands of those that work tirelessly to make Welcome Week happen. 

“It’s the career staff. The heart that they pour into organising welcome week – from banners to events to infrastructure – it can go unrecognised. 

“I’ve shadowed them, and when you see the attention and care that they put into a student that needs water at a club night, or someone lost on campus – you realise that it’s not just a job.” 

Sat in Unio, Jumara’s relationship with the campus community becomes obvious. Staff, students and strangers pass us and wave, occasionally stopping to talk. 

It’s clear to me that Jumara is the hub of this bustling, city-like university. She’s a common denominator between a cleaner and a history undergraduate. A safe space to confide, to ask for advice – or to simply talk to about what you did last weekend. 

We move on to talk about the political landscape of Norwich, and how students can stay safe while living in an area that has seen recent, and unwelcoming, anti-immigration protests. 

“We have to have frank conversations with colleagues, with students, with friends. 

“Norwich is liberal and lively. It’s a beautiful city with beautiful people. 

“But there are protests happening on our doorstep; outside hotels, at the beach. It’s not normal.” 

“It’s my job to call that out.” 

In many ways, Jumara explains that there is safety in understanding your opposition. She says that the only way she’s learnt and developed herself is through learning from the opinions that she doesn’t understand – and trying to respect them. 

“I’m not doing my job if I’m in an echo chamber,” she emphasises. 

Jumara’s stance is clear. To be welcomed is to welcome others, to care for each other and be human. Nurturing and fostering a safe environment, where students can be and believe in whatever they choose, is what makes it a union. 

Her parting words to freshers? 

“Be nice.  

“Oh, and please don’t be a prat.” 

Image Credit: Jumara Stone