SUBU VP Communications

A Little Meeting for BIG Changes

2010-02-04T05:14:00.000-08:00

We saw 162 of you turn up to the Little Student Meeting. Now 162 students out of 17,000 that attend Bournemouth University doesn't seem a lot, but this is the most of you we have had at a General Meeting in over 9 years! This is also the first year in a while we have had more than one quorate meeting in a year! So thank you!

8 motions were put forward by you and out of those 7 were approved. The only one that wasn't was regarding changing semesterisation so there's only one set of exams in a year instead of having exams in the first week back after Christmas. This didn't sit well with you, so it's not being changed!

Now I did a survey involving all members that attended the Student Meeting and pizza wasn't the top of the list regarding the reasons you came! Even though we gave out free pizza during the meeting, the biggest reason why you came was to voice your opinion and because you were interested. One lady at the end even admitted she came because of the pizza, but in the end she was glad she came as she found out more about what SUBU does and had the chance to voice her opinion and vote on things that mattered.

Since the last Student Meeting in October a lot has changed. There has been a few tried solutions to the cancelled 'A' bus and there is now a bus running round Westbourne, The Triangle and Town in the mornings and evenings to transport students. I am still working on the sexual health clinic, which closed down in December, but with participation and co-operation from a few organisations, this is looking hopeful!

So you can see things do change and they will change providing you continue to tell us what you want us to change!

You did your bit in January, so now we will deliver on ours. Expect to see campaigns, protests and news of lobbies to get make your changes to YOUR University experience.

Here is a quick low down of the issues you raised and passed for us to work on, or you can go online to download the motions in full and the minutes of the meeting:
http://subu.org.uk/content/26725/your_union/annual__general_meetings/

1/ Coninuity in Teaching - for BU to consult with students more when redunancies are forecast

2/ Hidden Course Costs
BU should make it clear from the outset if there are expenditures students will have to pay that are separate from fees and get the budgets back to the courses that need them most.

3/ Student Personal Advertising via e-mail
To work with BU to provide an online space where students can advertise accommodation and personal items.

4/ The Union that Supports No2ID
To oppose the introduction of ID cards, compulsory registration and the national identity register and affiliate with the No2ID campaign.

5/ The Union Opposes Government furthering the Rise in Student Debt
To oppose the removal of the cap on tuition fees and the £900m cuts in university funding being imposed by the government

6/ Library Computer Usage
To change the booking system on library computers where the time limit is set to 2.5 hours by proposing the sessions to be renewed every hour.

7/ CitygateChurch
BU to find a suitable, accessible location for lectures currently delivered at Citygate without incurring additional costs to students.

Join some of the debates and leave your comments on the Facebook groups:

Hidden Course Costs - http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=451311855477&ref=ts
Citygate Protest - http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=263921762998&ref=ts

Any feedback is more than welcome, just email Hannah: suvpcomms@bournemouth.ac.uk

We've got the Nerve*!

2009-12-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

Last week was a very exciting week for the Communications team in SUBU!

We had the arrival of Tony our new Technician and Vicky, our new Designer. They are both very skilled in what the do and Vicky can do interactive emails, so my communication to students is going to start getting even more colourful and exciting!

We also had a student on placement for a week; James Trosh and he sorted out Nerve* Radio for us. He fixed the stream to the internet so students can listen in 24/7 again. He also updated, redesigned and organised the website so it's more accessible and easy to use. James also got a webcam up in the radio studio so as well as listening to student's shows you can also watch them...AND...it's snowing!!!! That got me very excited :) Take a look, it's awesome - http://www.subu.org.uk/nervemedia/content/32595/nerve_radio/

After a student requested to bring his friend in to play his guitar live on air on his show we have now started Nerve* Lounge! There is now a permanent slot 3-4pm every Thursday. If you tuned in last week you will know how amazing Zoe Mead was singing and playing the guitar! Jacqui put in a request for her to do an up-to-date chart song, so Zoe got the chords and did it! She sang Rhianna live on Nerve* Radio and she did it amazingly!

James has also set up a Twitter account for Nerve* Radio so students can tweet in shout outs and comments as and when the shows are on. Tweet to @NerveRadio. Thanks James for all your help, you're amazing!

Anyway too much excitment for one week. As for this week tomorrow Scott and I are going to buy Bournemouth House a Christmas present; we are going to Argos to buy a microwave and put it in the shop in BH so students can heat food for free!

Stay Classy Bournemouth

Hannah :)

La la la la Lansdowne

2009-12-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

I guess it's about time another blog came about! We have been working a lot in Lansdowne. There has been at least one sabbatical officer in Studland and Bournemouth Houses talking to students every Tuesday and finding out what they want and how we can better their University experience.

The students at Lansdowne get a bit of a raw deal as to facilities and things on offer; they don't get a bar, a gym or desks for writing on in some of their lecture theatres and they had their refectory taken away in the summer with no warning, leaving them with an expensive Costa Coffee.

After speaking to students Scott has been busy at work trying to make a few things happen:

Provide a microwave for students to heat up food or hot food to sell in the Shop
Provide recycling bins for students to use on a regular basis
We are in talks with IT Services to either update or replace the 5 computers that are available in the space
Improve and update the signage so students can be clear on what services and people are there to help them enjoy University Life
In the long-term run more regular SUBU Leadership Programme sessions in the space opening up access to all Lansdowne students
We are in the process of getting new seating with tablets in Wollstonecroft Lecture Theatre to allow students to take notes.

I am on the case of providing better signage for the Bournemouth House SUBU area and today Scott and I have been asking students what kinds of hot food they would like in the Shop, which we have passed on to our commercial manager.

After a comment from a 3rd year student that Lansdowne aren't really able to get involved in any sports as they don't get Wednesdays off and they aren't fully aware of the clubs and societies available, I am arranging a refreshers' fair in Lansdowne for March time. This will be for all years to attend to find out what's on offer for you and what you can get involved in.

Other things students have brought up are:

The Old Fire Station tickets aren't sold in the shop in BH, so students have to come to Talbot to buy them

To place a compost bin in BH as well as the recycling bin.

To have a fresh water tap available for use.

Costa are charging 55p just for hot water, which is rediculous. James has spoken to the Chartwells manager about this and has managed to reduce the price to 25p a cup. No, it's still not free, but more than halfing the price was a big result.

It is really hot in the Wollstonecroft and a few students find this unbareable.

We are taking on board all of your comments to do our best to help you out. If there is anything else you would like to bring up that is concerning you then please let us know. You can email me at suvpcomms@bournemouth.ac.uk or join us on www.facebook.com/sububournemouth

Stay Classy Bournemouth

Hannah x
VP Communications

SHAG week is not for shagging, but for safe shagging!

2009-11-25T08:08:00.001-08:00

I am very excited right now! Last week I met with Body Positive, an organisation which looks into the ways we can feel good in the bodies we have, about the Sexual Health Clinic.

As you may know the Sexual Health Clinic in Talbot House has lost it's funding due to an overspend of the PCT (Primary Care Trust) and is due to reside all services and close at the end of 2009.

Body Positive are interested in working with SUBU to set up another clinic. I have just gotten off the phone with the Practice Manager of Talbot Medical Centre and she is also excited about this prospect and is eager to keep the clinic open.

I am also meeting with Counsellor Chris Wakefield tomorrow regarding ways in which we can keep the clinic open. It's all looking up for the clinic, but I won't speak too soon.

I will keep everyone up-to-date after all my meetings are done and something starts to materialise!

SHAG Week is coming up! Thursday 26th-Wednesday 2nd December brings Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance Week. There will be many things going on to promote sexual health and make students aware of the facts and importance of looking after yourself in that respect.

The line up so far -

30th November & 2nd December

- 10:30 - 2:30 - F-risky will be in the Atrium giving out free chlamydia self-testing kits and you will receive freebies when the test is completed!

1st December -

8pm - Dylan's Quiz SHAG special

1st December is also World Aids Day

There is to be a talk from the police on women's (and men's) safety...details yet to be confirmed.

Facts will be put around campus about sexual health for students to pick up, hopefully with some kind of freebie attached!

I did an interview with Youthnet in October and they have put together a video regarding opinions from students on alcohol and sexual health...

Here are some sexual health facts from F-risky to finish off...

As many as 1 in 10 young people in the UK have Chlamydia.

As many as 70% of women and 50% of men who have an STI, don't show any symptoms.

There are an estimated 20,000 HIV positive people in the UK who don't know they've got HIV.

In the last 10 years, the number of people infected with chlamydia has increased by 206%

Stay Classy Bournemouth, but most importantly, stay safe!

Hannah x

Row row row your boat...

2009-11-18T09:25:00.000-08:00

The Students' Union Boat Club are well on their way for the 100,000,000 metre row challenge to raise money for Children in Need. They started at 2pm today (Wed 18th) and they will be rowing for 3 days and 3 nights.

They have 2 rowing machines for use in the challenge to allow them to change location and ensure there is at least one person rowing at all times.

Tomorrow they are moving into Dylan's around 11am. They will some point also be around Asda and Lansdowne and then they will take the final leg in The Old Fire Station on Friday night.

The whole club will be involved from freshers to coaches.

The Boat Club is one of the oldest clubs in the Students' Union, setting up in 1993 and still going strong, being one of the most successful sports at BU. They have had great successes over the year and are also well known for their naked calendar!

There's also big news for James Lee. He has asked to act as Team Manager for Great Britain at the World University Rowing Championships in Szeged, Hungary on 13-15th August and in Amsterdam from 19-22nd August 2010, following his involvement with the Boat Club and his work placement at British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) last year.

Hannah Bananna in Pyjamas

2009-11-13T16:33:00.001-08:00

My sister used to call me Hannah Bananna Pojama (yes, Bananna spelt with an extra n so it makes it ryhme with Hannah).

...and now, I'm going to be in pyjamas at work for the day!

No, It's not just because I'm lazy, I will be showering etc as well. It's actually for Children in Need. Staff in SUBU are coming into work on Friday 20th November in their pyjamas to raise money for Children In Need! You can join in too! Just donate some money to CIN in SUBU and stroll out of bed in your pj's!

I just want to point out to everyone that my friend in London has the best pj's ever. They are the same pj's that the boy in 'The Snowman' wears and also the same as this kid in the Colgate advert! He actually looks like the kid as well! I do hope he doesn't mind me using him as an example of great pyjamas! He even wore them last year on Christmas Eve whilst we watched The Snowman!

As for me...I'm going to have to buy some pj's...I don't want to be arrested for indecent exposure. If you are planning on coming in in your pyjamas, please make sure you actually have some!

Also for Children in Need the juggle Soc are doing a 24 hour juggle. Starting at 6pm on Thursday 19th and finishing on Friday 20th December in the Student Centre, Talbot Campus. They will be warming up with a fire show at 6:30 outside of Talbot House on Thursday!

The Boat Club are doing a million metre row...yep, ONE MILLION METRES! Starting off in Poole House Atrium, they will have 2 rowing machines meaning a rower will be in use by a member of the team at all times throughout 3 days and 3 nights! It will also enable them to move location of their rowing to finish off in The Old Fire Station at midnight on Friday night. Come and show your support for the start in Poole House at midday on Wednesday 18th!

Good luck to anyone raising money for Children in Need, it will be a fun and eventful week!

Hannah x

I want to ride my bicycle...

2009-11-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

...I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like...

No this isn't a blog about Queen...

A Community Police Officer for Dorset Police came to see me the other day...no I haven't been naughty!

He came to inform me that 13 bikes have been stolen off both the BU and AUCB campuses over the last month and a half.

They are doing all they can to catch the guy that is doing this. In the meantime they are coming into University on 24th November to carry out bike tagging. If you want your bike tagged come to the compound behind Kimmeridge House on Talbot Campus on Tuesday 24th, between 14:00 and 15:30.

There will also be compound cards available to buy. In fact you don't buy them, it's a £5 deposit, which you get back once you return the card and it allows you access to the compound to keep your bike safe and also access to the showers!

The Shop in Poole House sells good sturdy bike locks at a subsidised price, so they will also be there on Tuesday with these for sale.

I have learnt from personal experience to always keep your belongings locked up and safe. My bike was down the alley at my back door and someone stole it from there. It was vintage! Well, not quite, but it was over 15 years old, handed down from my sister. Had very big personal value :( Bad times.

Anyway, it doesn't only go for bikes. Look after your posessions. Student houses are the most likely targets for burglars. Make sure your windows as well as doors are locked and make sure laptops, TV's and other expensive equipment is out of the view of windows. It wasn't that long ago that 5 laptops and TVs were taken from a student house in Winton. Unfortunately in this sad sad world it does happen!

E-petitions - have your say!

2009-11-13T15:04:00.001-08:00

Oh no, where to start!? I haven't blogged in two weeks...so much has been happening! I will chop it into bitesize chunks and write a new blog for each topic.

Firstly the 'A' bus situation has been 'resolved'. Mr President negotiated with the Estates Manager, Stuart Laird, for a cost effective alternative, as motioned in the BIG Student Meeting in October. 7-day travel pass for £6 can now be bought from bus drivers for use on the M1, M2, U1, U2 and U3 buses.

This could work out cheaper than the 'A' bus as it can be used an unlimited amount of times a day.

Students still aren't happy with this resolution though as it still means some students have to take 2 buses into University and for one unlucky lady it has taken her nearly an hour and a half to travel into University. Joanna Szulc has submitted an e-petition to get students to sign to agree that something more needs to be done. It reads:

"Although we understand the financial difficulty in maintaining full bus services on less popular routes, there is a considerable number of students who have been cut off from essential travel links to the University. Several areas of town, including Alum Chine, Westbourne and the centre of Bournemouth are left without the University bus service. Many students rented their accommodation along the bus route, only to find out at the start of the academic year that the A-bus service had ceased to exist. Although the recent University offer to help with the transport costs by way of weekly tickets is appreciated (as without it the cost of daily travel comes up to £6 per day!), this does not solve the fundamental problem for all affected students. Travel from Alum Chine, for example, requires 20 minutes walk to the nearest designated bus service (M1 or M2) in Westbourne, a 1/2 hour bus journey to Landsdowne, catching the University bus from there and another 1/2 hour's travel, which totals 1,5 hour's journey time each way. This means 3 hours a day in travel time! The A-route buses were always full in the mornings and early evenings and we strongly feel that at least for these times of the day the service should be reinstated."

If you agree please go online and sign the petition...even if you signed the first one for the 'A' bus, this one is new and different: http://subudemocracy.bournemouth.ac.uk

Also on the e-petition front Natalie Sparks sumitted an e-petition yesterday regarding a "review of academic delivery across the institution." In full description it says:

"- Assignments hand in dates are being put too close together - Not enough contact time - MyBU has been a major issue, especially in the way that ConSci students are having problems receiving e-mails - Changes in schools are not being properly communicated to students I propose that the Students' Union pushes for a review of the way that all academic delivery and dealings with students are approached so that the institution has the best interests of the students as central in all of their thoughts and dealings."]

Again if you agree with this and want something done about it please visit SUBU's e-democracy site: http://subudemocracy.bournemouth.ac.uk

Monkeying around in the Community

2009-10-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

Emma Kinsley is the newly appointed Community Officer for SUBU Exec. She has lived in Bournemouth since she was 2 and is already doing extensive work with the council.

Local communities throughout the country have negative perceptions of students and studentification is a national problem.

Last year SUBU launched the I Heart BH campaign to better the relationship between students and the community, which resulted in activities including last year sabbatical officers being wheeled around in bins giving out information, muffin giveaways & listening service in Winton, student recycling projects, lecture talks and awareness days.

So what are we doing now?
I attended a meeting last week with other members of SUBU, the Winton Community Forum, Dorset Police, Bournemouth & Poole Council and Richard Search; the head of BU accommodation. We discussed the current situation and how we can work together to better our relationship. We have had 36 student complaints in Winton during Sept/Oct and 90 in total last year (nothing as bad as Loughborough's 436! They might be high up in the league tables, but they sure are noisy).

Scott is doing a presentation with Charles Elder, the PR manager for BU, at the Winton Community Forum meeting this Wednesday 28th to make residents aware what SUBU and BU are doing to help better the relationship between students and the community.

We need to remember that students aren't always the problem. Students do a lot of great stuff for the community and bring millions to the local economy (£88.9million in 2007 to be precise!)

Just look at the MAD Days we run. This is only a very select few...

Arts and Crafts with Autistic Young Adults

RAG Sleepout overnight to raise money for Salvation Army to help the homeless

Students pledging what they will do!
Painting a School Playground

Some even travelled all the way to Nigeria to teach underpriviledged children IT and paint their centre!

It's the very few students that give all a bad name, so we need to work together to promote the good students do!

I have sent examples of all the good things students did last year and the projects that were run in the community to the NUS as a case study to use in case the Government does decide to introduce legislation as to where students can and cannot live.

Getting back to Emma Kinsley; she used her election budget to adopt a monkey for SUBU! Bixa the chimp, or more precisely the Pan Troglodytes is homed in Windsor Safari Park. She was born in 1977 in Port Lympne Zoo and transferred to the park in 1993. She has no control in the left side of her face, possibly due to a stroke. I'd like to thank Emma for her support of Bixa and her generosity.

Tonight Emma has a meeting with the Council to ask questions on how they are intending on working with students and rid the negative perception of students so we can promote the positive. I wonder what they'll say...?

Well I say...Stay Classy Bournemouth

Hannah x
VP Communications
suvpcomms@bournemouth.ac.uk

Wave to the Surf Champs!

2009-10-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's great when students succeed at things, especially when it's for something they love. SUBU's Surf Club, captained by Stephanie Seymour competed in the BUCS Surf Championships on the weekend of 16th October.

Gordon Fontain championed the men's title, with Jaydene Kerton coming 2nd in the women's. The men's team made it to the podium for the first time ever, coming 3rd in the overall points!

Congrats to Gordon, Jaydene and the whole team -
Anton Hawkins
Sam Higgs
Pete Dobson
Gordon Fontaine
Greg Rogers

Personally I think successes like this should be celebrated and make Bournemouth University proud as a whole. That's why this year I am concentrating on celebrating student success. Look out in 'Your Word' for success stories and on SUBU News. We have already had stories, such as -

Yeovil Heroes - An awards ceremony for the heroes of our partnership college, the University Centre Yeovil to celebrate a year of acheievment for the BA English and History students.

RAG Conference was held in Bournemouth this year by our hugely enthusiastic RAGGIES! It was mega well organised and raggies from all over the country came down to learn and network!

The Leadership Programme Gold award was achieved by two students in the first year of running! Congrats to Jarunda Richardson and George Ghiuta

SUBU also has a very special celebration in regards to our longest serving member of staff, Irene Coogan! Irene celebrated 20 years on 11th September 2009!

We want more successes! If you have a success of any kind, in or outside of Uni then please let me know as I want to hear about it!

Stay Classy Bournemouth
Hannah

Where's my Money!?...

2009-10-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that 175,000 students throughout England still haven't recieved their loans! Student Finance England, run by the Student Loans Company has taken the responsibility of processing the first year applications from Local Authorities around the country.

SFE said that if students have applied on time then they will receive their loan when they register onto their course, but this hasn't been the case. One student I spoke to said they had problems with applying. He sent his application off on time, but they sent it back to him asking for a correction. He sent it back and they sent it back for a 2nd time with something else to correct...why couldn't they have sent all the corrections in one mail? This meant his application was in late and he didn't recieve his loan until 22nd October. He now owes his parent's over a grand.

But what do those students do who can't borrow from their parents and can't afford rent or even food? Well, some have had to quit before they've even started! That's says a lot for the education system in Britain doesn't it!?

I find out what the students of Bournemouth Univeristy think. Take a look at the full report in SUBU News on 23rd October 2009 - http://www.subu.org.uk/content/197615/subu_news/

Staying on the money topic, there is to be a review of tuitions fees coming up; the cap is looking to be lifted. This means that Universities throughout the country are going to be allowed to charge anything up to £7,000 a year and can charge different for each course and each university. So what does this mean? Well it means that students are only going to be able to attend a University they can afford, if at all. There is going to be a prominent divide in the rich and poor and higher education is going to be inaccessible to the less wealthy. Empolyers could end up rating degrees more by where they came from, giving some students less chance in the rat race.

The change will also take its toll on the public and voluntary sector. Graduates will be looking for the highest paid jobs to pay off £32,000 worth of student debt. Some will be suited to the higher paid jobs, but what about those who are driven to pursue a dream in a career they enjoy, may it be in the voluntary, public sectors or the creative industry.

It really is important for students of the future for the votes in the general election to go to the party with tuition fees in their priority. This shouldn't be a subject to be taken lightly.

In SUBU we are working on a campaign against the lifting of the cap. All will be updated in due course.

If you have an opinion on the tuition fee or loan situation please email me at suvpcomms@bournemouth.ac.uk

Keep your money safe and Stay Classy Bournemouth

Hannah x

A lot of BUStle

2009-10-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, where on earth did Freshers' Fortnight go? That went a lot quicker than I expected, with a lot more done than I thought!

In our first bid to gage student opinion and find out what we can do to help you, we have started a petition about the 'A' bus.

'A' Bus

The 'A' bus was run last year by Unilinx through Alumn Chine, The Triangle Westbourne and town, taking students to Uni. On Monday 28th September this service was cancelled leaving students who had chosen these areas to live in due to the good bus links, not knowing how to get to Uni. This angered lecturers also as students were turning up late, if at all, to lectures. It also annoyed the drivers of other unilinx buses as more students had to take the Lansdowne bus route, making them more crowded. Most importantly though, students were riled about this issue and so far over 500 students have signed the petition to get the 'A' bus back.

Scott and I walked around uni to get students' opinions...

Please go to http://www.subu.org.uk/content/197615/subu_news/ and watch the News story from the 2nd October 2009 for what the students think about the busses and more.

El Pres had a meeting on Friday 2nd October with the estates manager about the bus situation. James and Alan (SUBU General Manager) have been invited to a meeting this week with two of the heads of Wilts and Dorset, the estates manager among others, to get an idea of what the next move will be and James is confident that something will be done.

Students are also getting heavily involved in this debate, showing their passion that they want this A bus back! Iain Walshe did an interview with us and set up a facebook group which now has over 400 people signed on. Jonno Clarke has also got the local newspaper involved, the Echo, giving them a press release about the outraging situation.

Sexual Health Clinic

You will also see in the video above that the Sexual Health Clinic in Talbot House is closing down in December due to lack of funding. We are also carrying out a petition on this and will be gaging student opinions. I had an interview on Friday 2nd with Youthnet regarding the effect sof secual helth and alcohol on students around the country and what services both BU and SUBU oprovide for sexual health. They also tried to get an interview with the sexual health clinic in Talbot House, but there were too busy to have time for this. In my opinion if the clinic is busy then this is obviously a service that students will and are using, so funding is needed to be found to keep it open. Funding has stopped from the PCT (Primary Care Trust) due to financial problems.

So what do you think? Do students need a sexual health clinic on campus that is easily accessible or would you be happy to travel 4.5 miles from Talbot Campus to the GUM clinic in Bournemouth Royal Hospital? Sign the petition in SUBU if you don't want the clinic to close!

Sign the petition at - http://subudemocracy.bournemouth.ac.uk/

Freshers' Fair

Freshers' Fair saw the Nerve TV screen and Stage manned by Clarke and the Nerve crew; jason, Emily and Jacqui.

This year has been described as the best in the last few years! What a result. See what went on...

http://www.subu.org.uk/news/index.php?page=article&news_id=95315

SUBU is sad to see two of it's very valued and hard workers leave, Gio (who is coming back!!) and Izzy. We are glad to see the arrival of Zhara though in place of Gio and hope she is going to have an amazing year! The Leadership Prgramme has had massive reaction this year and most of the places for the next two weeks are booked up. If you want to take part in the Leadership Programme and get an accreditated award please book in early to avoid disappointment. Check out the website and the timetable - www.subu.org.uk/leadership

Hannah

"The trouble with learning from experience is that you never graduate" Doug Larsen

2009-09-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

Where to start...!? A whole week of training went underway last week for the executive committee. We were joined by the Learning and Development team of the Union; that's Jon, Jane and Gio to learn many things that will help us to utilise our skills and abilities in the best way possible to create an effective executive team when representing the student body.

We learnt through activities and reflection. We learnt a lot about ourselves as well as others. We learnt our styles of learning, interacting and team abilities. We learnt problem solving skills and we learnt that as a team we are actually already quite good at these things and make a very enthusiastic and coherent team. Even though I had already done a few of these sessions at previous times I still learnt something new by doing them again and with new people...you never graduate from learning people! James, Scott and myself also lead a session on campaigning and lobbying, so we have already started to think about and plan some of the campaigns for the coming year including one against the rise of tuition fees.

Another thing we learnt was that Dominka (campaigns officer) and myself make a successful team in the water, victorious over both of the boys teams in the raft race using the rafts we constructed! Go on girl power! As Scott and James were on separate teams they made a pact that they couldn't let my team win...they obviously underestimated our brute strength, skill and pure muscle! Our communication had a huge part to play in our success too, which was a good thing as seing as we are the communication team of exec!

If you still want to join in the fun join exec. To nominate yourself for one of the vacant positions below email the SUBU President at president@bournemouth.ac.uk. We still have available -

First Year Experience Officer
Postgraduate Officer
Lansdowne Officer
Mature Student Officer
Non-portfolio Officer

More to the learning and training theme of the week on our return on Friday we were back at Talbot Campus ready for a day of training for the guys in yellow...those being Welcome Crew! These amazing 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students are giving up their time over the next two weeks to welcome the freshers' and help and guide them with anything they may be struggling with and any questions they have. It's going to be a busy, but fun filled two weeks!

So on that note I will leave you with a joke and a quote from Aristotle -

"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."

(just in case you can't hear the joke properly for any reason, the joke was - "A man and a giraffe walk into a bar. They have a few drinks and the giraffe passes out after a few too many. The man gets up to leave and the bar man stops him saying 'oi, you can't leave that lyin' there!' The man replies 'that's not a lion, it's a giraffe!'")

Stay Classy Bournemouth!

Hannah x

Radio Ga Ga

2009-09-01T03:58:00.000-07:00

Last week was a very exciting week with my first attempt at a radio show! Scott and I joined Clark in the Nerve radio studio to produce a show live to freshers'. We talked about all that freshers' can get involved in when they arrive and a little bit about what SUBU has to offer during the fortnight and throughout the year. I'm not going to lie I don't normally get very nervous, but I was petrified! After the introductions though I loved every second. Career change maybe?...ok, maybe not.

Those little snippets of us jabbering on though will be made into podcasts and put on the website so that everyone can listen to them whenever they like. You get to listen to our lovely voices over and over again if you wish! How lucky are you!? :)

On a less exciting note (but exciting for me as it took a lot to get these ordered!) the SUBU branded pens will soon be in our presence! The exciting thing is they are called the 'Panther Eco Ballpen'. Lets just hope they work 100 (not 60) per cent of the time everytime! They are even made from recycled plastic, so they tie very nicely into Mr. El Presidente's environmental themes!

You can also now see information of some of the day time events that are happening in Fresher's Fortnight thanks to the completion of my first ever project and use of photoshop! Check them out by clicking on the link below and then on each day for the list of events, then scroll to the bottom of the page to see the details - http://www.subu.org.uk/freshers/content/170325/day_events_guide/

More exciting news - the filming for the freshers' DVD has finished. Izzy is now hard at work in her office putting it together ready for all the freshers to see when they come down. It's one not to be missed. Along with the main content of the DVD, which is an introduction to everything SUBU and all you need to know about Bournemouth, there is also going to be an out-take section - now this could be huuuuge. I must say one-take Ricci could have been a nickname for James as I must admit he was pretty good on speaking in front of the camera. Speaking for myself and Scott though...well I can't speak, that's the point!

On that note I'm going to get back to writing my presentation for this years RAG (Raising and Giving) Conference, that Bournemouth are hosting this week!

Sunshine Lollipops

Hannah x

2009-08-24T06:47:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been a busy few, but then when is it not? That's my job to keep busy!

Well whilst the boys were gallavanting of up North to Sheffield and Leeds for Active Political Leadership training I was getting all the freshers' 'stuff' sorted out.

You can now access the full events guide for Freshers' Fortnight on the website at http://subu.org.uk/files/minisites/4705/Freshers_Arrivals_09proofspreads5.pdf

If you are struggling for what to bring to Uni, or want to get to know more about what you can get out of SUBU, or what to expect in the area you will be living in check out http://subu.org.uk/files/minisites/4705/freshers_guide09final.pdf

Now, all thanks to the hard work of Mr. Alan Dove you can apply for one of the amazing jobs in either Dylan's Bar, The Shop, or The Old Fire Station. Any year can apply. I first got a job working in Dylan's in my 4th year and I think it's the best job I've had so far...actually, maybe the second, it's hard to beat being in the sun all day at work as a lifeguard at an outdoor pool! If you want to apply go to www.subu.org.uk/recruitment

Anyway, this isn't a place for advertising etc etc, this is my blog so...

Last week I went on training too, though the boys left me on my own for this one. It was called 'Developing Your Member' - yes, there were a lot of jokes going round about the name of this one. What is was really about though was ways of communicating to our members (you). The fibchester was the most exciting. We were put into a real life (but fake) Student Union situation; conincidentally it was a Uni called Fibchester! Anyway I met a lot of great Sabbs from other Unions when I was there in London and got some great ideas for the year ahead, so am very excited to get cracking on them.

I don't have much left to say on this one as most of my time has been taken up with training. We have just been doing bits and bobs, tying up loose ends and finishing off the all important bits and pieces as it's been so quiet in the office (what with James and Scott not being here!). The first 'Word' is now finished and ready for issue thanks to the work of Jacqui and Emily. It's a freshers' special jam packed with events and information about the freshers' fair and other exciting stuff for freshers' to get their teeth into. I'm excited and I'm not even a fresher!

That's all for now, I will be back with another soon!

Arrival of the new Sabbs!

2009-08-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

Hello there and welcome to the first blog of Hannah Louise Wright, Vice President Communications in the Students' Union at Bournemouth University!

Firstly to introduce you to the new Sabbs of the year, we have -

James Ricci - President

Scott Bellamy - VP Representation

Hannah Wright - VP Communications

Well, it's been an adventure so far, lots of meetings, lots of meet and greets, first deadlines been and gone and things ever changing!

So what have I been doing up here in the steaming hot SUBU office? (It is very hot!)

Well the main thing that has been completed is the freshers' mail out. We have been working long and hard gathering events and the lovely G has put them all together in an amazingly designed little booklet to be sent out to all the freshers' so they know what they can get involved in in the two most important weeks of Uni life. I had my first overtime session in the 2nd week of starting my post; hand over hadn't even finished and I came in at 6:30am to put together the events for the guide to meet the deadline!

We have also been filming for the freshers' DVD. This is a DVD all about the world of SUBU and what we can do for you! We were very lucky with the weather and went down to the beach to get some footage! It was all giong so well until I nearly broke my back! That's a lesson for you all, keep off the groynes!

The first SUBU news, which is new to the SUBU scene has also been filmed and put together by the amazing Gio and Izzy.

Follow the link to see SUBU's pilot News!...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5hCcV59lBs

Most of the rest of my time has been spent updating the website. The day events for Freshers' Fortnight were put up this week. Have a look at - http://www.subu.org.uk/freshers/content/170325/day_events_guide/

News stories have been going up about recycling, swine flu and the like and we even had a small debate in the office about which method of drying your hands after washing them was the best and most hygenic. We're doing our best here to eliminate risks of swine flu!

We have been going through our initiatives and what we would like to concentrate on in the coming year. Us three Sabbs - James, Scott and I, have decided the following are the most important to us to represent the students -

1. Recognising student success
2. Increased presence in the local community and improving student and community relationships
3. Democratic Involvement
4. Campaigns
5. Expanding on our values of honest, open and trusting
an last, but defintitely not least 6. Looking after the environment.

So that's it from me for today. I will be back shortly with some more exciting things to write about. I will leave you with a random fact for the day -

Female mosquitos are the only ones that bite; The male ones don't!

Stay Classy Bournemouth!

Hannah