Gunpowder, treason and plot!!

Yes it’s that time of year again, where everyone who’s anyone (except Gail) wraps up warm and heads out to watch explosions in the sky! This years public display was held at The Downs last Saturday, unfortunately I was watching it through the clear plastic of my umbrella which slightly distorted the sparkle, but it was fun none the less! It also meant I got to air out my wellies for the first time in 2008, a much better plan than turning up in canvas shoes and levis like our ever jolly SRC President!! Yes the quote of the night was ‘I don’t think I’m wearing socks, they seem to have disintegrated into my feet!!’ but the evening was topped off with Dominoes and X Factor so all was well! :) I hope your 5th November celebrations were equally fun, if not quite so damp!!

Even though it’s only been 2 weeks since my last blog, so much has happened I thought I’d best fill you in, or the end of the months entry would go on till Christmas (quite literally!).

Well to start with we held the first meeting of the Halls Reps Council on the 23rd of October, and it was a great success. Those who attended were so engaged and passionate, I really feel we are going to get a lot of issues solved together this year. We also elected 2 members from every court to become the Halls Rep Council Executive. They will be responsible for taking the issues raised forward to members of the university accommodation staff. So far the types of topics discussed are refuse and recycling facilities, the lifts, shower curtains and the automatic door system. The first meeting of the executive is tomorrow, after which we should hopefully have some actions and resolutions to feedback to everyone!!

We also held the first meeting of the International Students Committee last week, with the first social meeting on Tuesday in Red Bar. The Committee has so far raised 3 projects they would like to work on for the year, organising regular socials for the group, organising 3 trips (one day trip, an overnight stay and an international holiday) and also coordinating an international students fair. This would involve UWE students from all around the world holding stalls to represent their countries, for example showcasing food, music, and traditions. Alice (the Activities president) and myself are really excited by the level of involvement and planning the students have put in so far, and looking forward to see what will happen in the year to come!

The first round of Rep Councils has been and gone (so fast!). I was lucky enough to attend some of them and I really think we’ve got a great bunch of reps once again, I’m quite sad not to be one! Congratulations to all those who ran and got elected to higher councils, we’ll be contacting you regarding training as soon as it’s organised! And to all the brand new members of the SRC, I hope to see you for pizza and training tonight!! Exciting times!

Dom and I also enjoyed our first Rep hour on Hub Radio this week. Yes from 1 till 2 every Monday Rep Hour is officially back in your ears :) However we don’t want to subject you poor souls to an hour of Doms ridiculousness every week, we want students on the student radio!! Or student reps to be precise, so if you’re a rep with an issue, or just a budding DJ who wants to chat about what you’ve been up to in your role and what being a rep is all about, please get in touch with me at Src.vicepresident@uwe.ac.uk

The second meeting of the Disabled Students Group is next week. Lily and I have invited relevant members of university staff to attend, allowing the group to receive answers instantly to the questions and issues the group have already raised, plus of course any new ones questions. I will be posting the results of that meeting in my next blog :)

And finally, it’s the event which is slowly taking over my life… the AGM!

This year’s AGM is Thursday 27th November, 5.30-7.30pm in 2D67! All lectures are cancelled.

This is the unions Annual General Meeting. The chance for EVERY STUDENT to come and have their say about their union, hear what your Presidents have been spending their time on, listen to the changes that have happened in the last year and agree the accounts. You also have the chance to submit and debate motions. Some examples of the types of motions that could come up this year are lobbying the university for sustainable transport (i.e. sharing taxis rather than taking 6 separate ones between campus’), the policies on Nestle and Esso and facilities for Disabled student (for example making all documentation available in different formats.) If there’s something you want to see happen then you must get your motions in by Tuesday 18th November. If anyone has any questions on how to do this please contact me or visit the section of the website ..

We’re looking at getting some guest speakers from the NUS in to talk to you about important national events and hopefully all heading to the bar for festivities afterwards. It’s the event of the year, make sure you’re there!

And lastly (but not leastly!) next Friday, the 14th November is Children In Need. A national appeal where people all over the country dress up and run events to raise money for charities which help children. Here at UWESU we want as many people as possible to get involved, by going pyjamas!!! Yes for one day we don't want you to stress about what to put on in the morning, come in in your pj's and donate some money to Children in Need!! We want everyone involved, staff, students and sabbaticals, so make sure you join in and keep an eye out for your Union representatives who'll be out with buckets collecting the dosh :)

And that about sums it up for now, phew, this was a long one huh! Congratulations if you made it this far, and as ever I hope to hear from you with questions and comments.

Keep on smiling UWE xx

Hehe that's never going to get old! For those of you who know 'The Game' I apologise. For those who don't, you have two choices, start a lifetime of play (a literal lifetime, there is no escape!) and follow this link www.ilostthegame.org OR completely ignore the start of this blog and continue reading...

So hello again peeps, how we doing today? I really love Autumn, not sure if I could call it my favourite month, but it's so pretty with all the leaves and everything. And of course it means I can wear my fave fashion accessory again, oh yes bring on the scarves!!! Just love wrapping up really warm and going for a walk on one of those really cold bright days :) makes me happy. But I'm rambling and it's only the second paragraph, so lets continue!

There's something really odd about the last month, time seems to be both flying and dragging at the same time, if that's even possible! I mean there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day, or days in the week to get everything done, but simultaneously October seems to be lasting forever. Freshers week seems like a lifetime ago, but oh what a week it was! I hope that you all enjoyed the start to the term, whoever you are and whatever you did I hope you've come away with at least one memory which will make you smile for the rest of your year :) I know I did, won't repeat myself by listing all the fave moments which are in my column this month but it was hard to narrow it down to fit the word count!!

Since then though what has happened?

Well the first round of councils and committees are in full swing, so Dom and I are running round the university making sure the student voice is well and truly heard by all. From those here at the Union, right up to Academic Board with the Vice Chancellor and University management, which is happening tomorrow. At this meeting Dom, myself and elected Student Reps , get the chance to tell the University all about the issues which are affecting you as students, and we also get to hear all about the Universities current plans and priorities.

I've also been lucky enough to be involved with Student Rep training this year which I found really exciting. I was very nervous though so thank you to my group who were lovely and not at all scary. Congratulations to all those who are Reps for this year, remember to sign up to a training session (you need to have attended training this year or last year to attend the rep awards at the end of the year, as well as getting paid), join the facebook group and make sure you're out there talking to students before the first round of councils, which are almost here!!

I'm also very VERY happy to announce that we have our first Halls Reps in the Student Village! So a big thank you to all that signed up, I'm really looking forward to working with you. We're holding a training session this Thursday for all the reps to get to know each other and also for us to divulge some hints and tips on being an uber rep! I'll keep you all up to date on what's going on there so watch this space...

There's been so much going on, but I don't want to ramble on at you so I shall leave it there. All in all I think this has been a really fun month, lots going on, lots to learn and lots to do, but it's been interesting and exciting, which is what's important really!

As always I'm here if you need me, feel free to pop up to chat, email me, comment on this blog etc, I love hearing from you guys! But for now, enjoy the end of October (wooo Halloween, I am SO excited!) and keep smiling :)

xxx

Helllooooooooooooooooooooooo!

So it’s the last day before the big show.... yes the Freshers countdown has just 28 hours remaining and if there's anything better than Freshers week it's your 2nd/3rd (and dare I admit it?!) 4th Freshers week so I am uber excited! That being said, what have I been up to in these last few weeks of sanity before the mania descends...? Well after the last blog I decided to take a few days out to make sure I was fully geared up with energy for September, not that I did much relaxing on my holiday (aside from my 2 hours of pampering in the spa, soooo good!) but it was fun! It started with an action packed trip to Alton Towers (in torrential rain, I swear I've never been so soaked without actually swimming before! But it meant a serious lack of queues, which was ace!) and then it was off to London for a weekend of touristy sightseeing! Yup we got a lil snap happy in Madame Tussauds (accidentally ended up in the queue for Scream which involves walking through dark tunnels and having actors jumping out at you, terrifying!!), the Tower of London and saw the London Eye lit up for the end of the Olympics. Just missed the Notting Hill carnival though which was a shame, we did try to do a bit of movie set sight seeing before realising that half of them don't actually exist! Whoops! Proved to myself that fun and frolics can be had while staying in the UK though, so that was good!

Back at the union it was time for training, so Dom , Lily , Alice and I took a trip to Bristol Union (always good to check out the competition :P ) along with Chris Shelly from NUS to learn about being Officers, hehe! There's been a lot of training the last few weeks; it's almost like being back in tutorials all over again!! Then, feeling fully prepped and inspired we returned to UWESU to make sure we were properly ready for your arrival. It’s been a flurry of training preparation, Freshers meetings, preparing new staff for the mahem and generally becoming more excited by the day.

There are some great new projects running this year for students to get involved with, Lily (the Sports President) and I have been working all summer to set up a Disabled Students Group. We want to ensure that all student groups have representation within UWE, and the chance to engage with other students and the union. We hope this group will give all Disabled students the right representation to the university, as well as the chance to set up all inclusive activities (like the wheelchair basketball events last year). So far we've set up a discussion group on the forum, so if you're interested check that out and we'll keep you posted with more information.

Other than that the Halls Reps project is on the way, see posters around the village and listen up in your accomodation welcome talks on how to get involved! Remember we want students to help keep the university informed of any issues arising in the student village, but it's also a chance for anyone interested in organising inter court tournaments or trips to get involved!!

I've been really enjoying the International Student Induction week this week too, it's so nice to see Frenchay full of people for the first time in months. I'm a bit nervous about talking in front of 500+ people at once tomorrow though, so wish me luck! I'll be sure to let you know how it all went, along with the highs and lows of Freshers week in the next blog.

But for now I shall say adios! Make sure you get your tickets for all the Freshers events from your campus bars, offices and the ticket shop on Frenchay. Freshers week is amazing, enjoy every second and do be sure to say hello if you see me around! xxx

Oh yes! For 2 days in a row now my 'usual' parking space has been filled, the bus stops no longer have that sad, abandoned look about them and there's the distinctive sound of chatter in the hallways. It can only mean one thing...the summer is almost over and you're all coming back!!

Well firstly I want to say a massive CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who got those all important A level results last week, you did it!!!

You're officially here, a UWE student, and boy have we got treats in store for you!

Make sure you get stuck in to the mailings we've sent you listing the action packed Freshers line up and of course the extra special Student Guide, which has all the top information you'll need for enjoying every second as a student here. My top tip for new students is not to be afraid to get involved, remember that everyone around you is in the same boat and the best way to make friends is to get stuck in! Go to events, talk to people, and look up things like sports and societies that you might want to join before you get here, that way when you go to the amazing event that is the Freshers Fair you won't be too distracted by the bustling atmosphere (don't get me wrong, you want to get a bit distracted, it's part of the fun!!) and can get the information you want from clubs you're interested in! And then once the hype has died down and it's time to hit the books, remember your union is here to help you if you should need it, it's always best to ask, then we can point you inthe right direction!

For all those lovely returning students we have, you know we want you to get involved too! If there's anything better than your Freshers Week it's your second and third or even fourth freshers week! So get stuck in and enjoy every second before you have to graduate and get one of those job things!!

Ok, so now down to what I've been doing with myself for the past 2 weeks (apart from getting really excited about you all coming back of course!). Well one of the biggest items on my agenda has been starting the new Halls Reps project which will be running in the Village this year. Yes we want representation in every corner of UWE to make sure that every aspect of your experience here is the best it can be. So this year we'll be recruting reps especially for your court in the village, so any issues can be sorted quickly and fairly in true UWESU style! More information on Halls Reps will be available at the start of term...so watch this space!

Another fun yet random day in the union saw a visit from the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Bristol (That's Chris and Sue to most people :P). The came to UWE for a tour round campus from the Vice Chancellor Steve West. I popped along as well to make sure they got the students view and to let them know what the students' union was all about, sothat was fun!

I won't bore you with details of all the meetings I've been too but there's been a lot, and hopefully you'll see the results in the next term!

On that note I've got another one to go to right now, so enjoy the rest of the summer and I'll see you all soon!

Toodles xx

What a first month it has been, talk about whirlwind! Do you ever get that feeling like life is going too quickly? I do, especially when my first month working in this awesome place is over and done with before I've even blinked! But I'm getting ahead of myself, first things first, welcome to the blog, my very first one, how exciting! I hope you're all having a brilliant summer whatever you're up to, I know I am, even though it's the first one in my life without at least 6 weeks off! Yes I have entered the world of work and (really sadly) I love it! Every day here seems to be totally different, even without any students around yet!

So far life has been a flurry of introductions, meeting all the important folks I spoke about in my manifesto :) as well as a few hundred others (I'm not to good with names either so it's been a real giggle!) Alongside that there's been lots of explanations (mainly from Dom!!) to make sure I'm up to speed and slowly but surely I feel like I'm catching up with the other 3, which is saying something considering they've been here a year already! I've literally worn holes in my shoes :D had to buy new ones on the weekend! Thought about keeping the old ones as a testament to all that running around, but the aroma wasn't that pleasant so I left them in a bin in Swansea! And on top of all that I've been lucky enough to go on NUS training to, to make sure I really am ready to be a super sabb for all of you guys!

So remember I'm here to represent you, and always love to hear those opinions so do say hello or ask any questions on src.vicepresident@uwe.ac.uk.

Other than that, thanks for visiting, enjoy the rest of your summer, and know that you are missed (Bristol is soooo quiet!).

Talk to ya soon

Katy P