Quickly - what have I been doing?!

I apologise for the lack of blogging!
Firstly, I seem to have spent a lot of time lately in meetings. I don't like this very much - I find it hard to sit still at the best of times and I also feel that endless meetings make me lose touch with what students want and what I am here for!

A brief update though:

Elections - it's RA election time! Myself, Oggy (VPHC) and Emma (LGBTQO) doorknocked Pritchatts Park to advertise the elections. We have received approx 122 nominations and the results will be announced on Saturday night. I was also a candidate in the NUS delegate elections.

Environment - As well as ongoing work on the Sound Impact workbook (which has to be submitted at the end of term) I have been asked to attend various meetings regarding environmental issues over at the university. If you want to know more please email h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

Guild Council Review - I will write more about this in a seperate post, but it is all very exciting! I have mainly been busy with 121s with Officers

Visits - I went to Leeds and Sheffield to look at their unions, as they have very good reputations nationally. Leeds has amazing commercial services which we looked at for our building redevelopment, particularly how they do their clothing store. At Leeds, I was particularly impressed with how the had stickers to promote the "its easy" campaign - which is essentially a campaign to get people more involved in student groups. Every time someone buys something from one of their shops, they will see this sticker! Sheffield had a very good "social learning space" which is basically a space that combines the ability to study and socialise.

NUS - I went on the Activists Academy which was in Coventry, and this was centred about creating a campaigning culture in the Guild. I was really inspired by it but I know that it will be difficult to make all the changes I would like in the space of time I have left! I also went to NUS extraordinary conference in Wolverhampton.

Thats all for now - I'm also running around trying to sort out elections and such!

As usual I want questions etc - email h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

Hannah

PMSA elections

The PMSA (the Postgraduate and Mature Students' Association), which have been inactive for the last year, are holding elections tomorrow (December 2nd) to get a new committee and hopefully create a more active community of postgraduate and mature students!

The election takes place at 1pm (and should last no longer than an hour) and will be held in the Postgraduate Space, which is underneath Spar in the Guild.

There are four positions available, which are listed below:
Chair: The Chair is responsible for the overall running and direction of the association
Vice Chair: Supports the chair in the day to day running of the society
Secretary: The secretary communicates with members and publicises events and the society as a whole
Treasurer: The treasurer is responsible for managing the Association’s bank accounts and the financial well-being of the society.

Once these have been elected it will be up to them and the association to create new positions. Candidates will be asked to talk briefly on why they want to stand and why they would be good at it.

In the past the PMSA has been a social network - organising weekly drinks in staff house, trips out and any other activities that are wanted!

For more information please email me on h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

The Grad Ball!

Ok, ok, I know it seems like a long way off, but as with all good events, planning is already underway for the GradBall 2009. In previous years, the Grad Ball has been held at Coombe Abbey Park in Warwickshire, which is about 40 minutes drive away from the Guild. However, due to the fact that it takes a long time to get there, and the ticket costs are high, we are looking at moving the event back to Birmingham. Hopefully we will be able to hold this on campus to make it as local as possible, and to allow people to celebrate their time at Birmingham.

But the most important thing is what you think about it - if you have been before, what did you think of it being held at Coombe Abbey? Would you rather it be held there still, or somewhere else?

If you are going this year, or thinking of going, would you rather go out to Coombe Abbey, or would you rather go elsewhere? And what sort of price would you like to pay for it?

Please remember, this is very much in the planning stages at the moment and nothing is definate - but we want to hear your opinions!

Get your NUS Extra Card!

Do you have your NUS extra card? If not, then get to the Guild between now and December 1st to buy it - and if you are one of the first 50 people who buy it from the Guild then you will be entitled to a free goody bag!

The NUS extra card is provided in conjunction with the NUS (National Union of Students), is valid until August 2009 and costs just £10. Discounts are available at a wide range of places such as Superdrug, amazon.co.uk, La Senza and BB's muffins. It is important to remember that more and more places are asking for NUS extra cards as the university moves to the "one card" system. So in short, it is well worth getting one!

Whilst £10 seems like a lot of money, £4 of this goes back to the Guild which means that there will be more money for the services you use - meaning that we can become a bigger and better union!

The stall in the Guild is by Spar, and is open until December 1st. Opening times are between 11am - 2pm. If you can't get to the Guild at this time then go to www.nus.org.uk.

Travel Survey!

The university are doing a travel survey of students - fill it out and get the chance to win an ipod! It doesn't take long and will help the university in setting up a sustainable travel plan.
The survey can be found here http://www.views.org.uk/bham/

Another update - what I have been doing..!

First off, I apologise for the lack of pictures on my blog. I am working on it, promise!

Lots has been going on since I last wrote....despite the fact I was meant to be on Jury Service all this week! Luckily they gave me Tuesday off for the NUS regional conference and then dismissed me on Wednesday lunchtime. I didn't even get to do a trial though, and it was really quite boring sitting and waiting around! Oh well...

1) Attended the first GC of the year. It was good to see debate and new faces, and well done to the new Independent Chairs for doing a good job in running the meeting.

2) Went on the Guild/HAS Away Day. HAS stands for Hospitality and Accommodation Services, who are responsible for a wide range of things here such as catering and halls of residence. It was an opportunity for us all to understand what one another do better and to look for opportunities to work together more closely on both existing and new projects.

3) I've been working on the Sound Impact Award with Pippa Calver, the EEO. This involves collecting lots of information about what we are doing to be environmentally sound so to speak, and is proving to be pretty interesting! Last year we got a Bronze Award and we are looking to achieve a silver this year.

4) Been working on a short term strategy for satellite sites with Chris Nash, SSO, and the Director of Membership.

5) Went to NUS Regional Conference in Leicester. This brings all the member unions of the NUS together in one place once every term, and has workshops and other sessions to get us all thinking about how to act on certain issues. We had a really useful session on Broke and Broken, which allowed us to think about proposals for the alternative funding model that the NUS wishes to submit. Aside from that it was nice to talk to other officers and students from the Midlands and East about what they do at their unions.

6) Attended the first Trustee Board meeting on Monday evening - exciting!

7) Went up to Queens Hosptial Close to help out with their RA election! A massive congratulations to the winners, but also to Ed Sparkes, Pippa Calver, Cath Taylor and James Ogden for putting so much work into this hall which ultimately resulted in a 50% turnout! It was like a real party and community event, and I am very proud of them. This means that QHC now has an RA to organise all the fun stuff that the other halls are getting...

8) Represented a student on an appeal.

9) Carried on work for the Guild Council Review..

...and all this whilst being on Jury Service (well, for two days at least!)

I will try and make my blogs more exciting in future with links and photos and such, but until then bear with me!

The US election event!

Hey guys,
This is on the website but I thought I would update you here too!
At the request of students, we are holding an event for the US election results on November 4th (and 5th!). It will be in Joes in the Guild and will start at midnight and go on until 7am. Tickets cost £5 and are available from Joes. This money goes to cover costs on the night - although we really wanted to do it for free, we couldn't find the money for it....
It should be a lot of fun and will provide an opportunity to watch what will probably be a historic night with lots of other like minded people.
Any questions? Ask away either here or via h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

Another brief "what have I been up to?"

Wow, two posts at once! I thought I'd give you a quick update as to what I'd been doing....

1. I have been taking an active role in the Building Redevelopment, attending meetings about it, looking at research we did in Welcome Week, and watching presentations by designers....it is all very exciting, and if you have any questions please ask!

2. Working on things for the Guild Council review - I will blog about this in more detail but it is very exciting, and should make our representative structures much more accessible to all..

3. Attended sessions with the university to get to know the staff better, as well as going to meetings such as Accommodation Management Group.

4. Worked on Vale Fireworks with Oggy, VPHC

5. Ran the successful Officer elections and Guild Council elections! A new e-voting system means that it is far easier for people to vote now, which should help with getting people involved in democracy. I was also involved in candidate training and planning for other elections throughout the year.

6. I helped out Tom, VPEA, on his consultation on anonymous marking. This involved going out and asking students a brief question. I absolutely love doing this type of thing, even when it is freezing cold!

7. Visited the central kitchen with the other sabbs - very interesting!

8. Attended the trustee induction - it was great to meet the new trustees and I am really looking forward to my responsibilities as both a trustee and chair of finance committee.

Thats a bit of it - any questions, email h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

NUS Governance and Reform (and other related matters...)

...I know, I know, it sounds really boring! But in reality, the National Union of Students (or the NUS) is going through a governance review just like the Guild did, to make it more effective and relevant for students. The review has been dragging on, and this year will see the chance to shape the future of the NUS once and for all, so your national union, which the Guild is affiliated to, can focus more on campaigning for your rights.

The picture shows the proposed structure - it means that there will be more space for conversation and debate over issues than there is currently, and the trustee board also allows for external expertise (a model which we have recently adopted).

On November 12th 17 student delegates from the University of Birmingham will be going to Wolverhampton to vote on this proposal at an extraordinary conference. Those who go will be going to represent you - so it is important that they know what you think! Either comment on the blog or e-mail me and I can pass any feedback on to the President, who is the delegation leader. Delegates will be elected tomorrow at Guild Council - if you want to stand, come along to the meeting at 6pm!

On a related note, elections for NUS delegates (who will go the annual conference and represent students there) are on 17th and 18th November. Nominations open on October 27th and close on November 7th - packs are available from reception.

Students and the Credit Crunch...

There was an interesting article in yesterday's Observer which featured students from the University of Birmingham. Whilst I'm not going to comment on what they said, it makes me wonder whether people are really aware of the fact that their loans will not be going up with inflation, which will really have an impact on what people can afford to do and eat, especially with jobs being more hard to come by.

The article is here http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/12/recession-economics1, as I don't understand to make it all fancy yet (gotta start somewhere, hey?)

Anyway, that was all just a point of interest - more blogs to come on what I have been doing later!

What have I been doing?!

Hey guys,
Long time no blog - sorry about that! Since I last blogged, its been absolutely mental in the Guild! This is a short post to tell you all what I have been doing since then - I'll write seperate blog posts about some of the bigger points later on!

*I went to the Birmingham City Council Best Bar None awards dinner. Joes have already won a NUSSL award for this, and fantastically Joes won Best Suburban Bar! Massive thanks to the venues staff for working so hard on this.

*I have got the Sound Impact Awards under way with Pippa, our EEO, and our Buildings Manager.

*Welcome Week! I'm not even going to tell you what I did then because it definately warrants its own post!

*Have done a student consultation and been involved heavily in the building redevelopment meetings, to make sure that the Guild, when it is fully redeveloped in 2010, is better for students than it has ever been!

*Done lots of planning for elections!

*Been to a University Council away day and induction session. Myself and Jen, the President, are the student representatives on this, which is essentially the highest decision making body in the University!

*Been to the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford.

*Attended meetings on the Nightbus and the SHAC.

...and lots more! It has been really great having students back as it injects so much life into the building, and I feel as though I have a greater sense of purpose when people are about! Yay!

...and lots of other things! It has been really great having the students back as it feels as though there is

The Guild Building Redevelopment!

Here at Birmingham we are very lucky to have a big building, which we have full use of. Over the summer I have met some Officers from other Unions who are very jealous of us.

Anyway, I digress. As if our building isn't good enough already, over the next 2 years we will be undergoing a massive redevelopment to make sure that our building is bigger and better than ever, and better served to meet the needs of our students.

Phase 1 is due to be completed in mid-October. This is about bringing you better toilets, and these are already open in the Basement and Underground. New toilets on the first floor next to the Common Room will be opened mid-October.

Phase 2 will start in April 2009, and will be making our bars and retail services even better. This will be ready in time for Welcome Week 2009.

Phase 3 is about improving our student services - thats Student Development, the ARC and the Jobzone. That will be finished by Apil 2010.

But what we really need is your opinion! I am currently looking for students who will complete a brief questionnaire for me so we can get your opinions on what you would like to see from Phase 2 of the redevelopment.

Please e-mail h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

Hidden Course Costs!

Last friday I was lucky enough to finally finish my MSc course. Sadly though, after paying almost £6,000 in tuition, buying countless books and spending almost £10 on printing my dissertation alone, I then had to fork out £34 just to get it bound!

Whilst these seemingly trivial amounts of money may be nothing to the minority, to the majority of people they are becoming part of a greater problem which is seeing students graduate with crippling amounts of debt. Student loan debt, combined with top up fees and these other hidden costs are not only forcing many graduates to move back home after they finish, but is meaning that less and less people are attracted to higher education, and ultimately university is becoming a privilege, not a right.

This is why the Officer Team this year are putting Value for Money at the heart of the campaigns we do. We don't think its right that students who are paying large amounts of money for tuition and accommodation are getting seemingly little out of it, whilst having to pay for all these hidden extras. So for the next academic year, look out for our many campaigns, be they to do with printing credits or halls fees, and get involved!

NUS Reform

Hello all,

The NUS (National Union of Students) are currently undergoing a governance review, as the Guild did earlier in the year. The NUS represents millions of students like you around the country, and their work is primarily focused on leading campaigns on issues such as top-up fees and free prescriptions for students. However, they can only continue to do this if their structure can change to be more relevant to students.

This is where you come in. The NUS are leading an e-consultation that ends on August 31st, and they want as much student input as possible. Obviously the summer is a difficult time to be doing this, but it is certainly doable!

To be part of the NUS reform and to have your say, go to this website http://www.officeronline.co.uk/news/275620.aspx and get involved!

If you would like more information either e-mail me at h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk, or come and see me in my office (top floor of the Guild directly above Spar).

Our first few days!

Hello all!

On our last day of training we got sent on a "suprise" trip to Alton Towers, as one last day of fun before we started properly. I say it was a suprise, but most of us had guessed despite the efforts of Sparky (our VPS) to keep it a secret! With limited time we managed to go on a lot of the big rides (I loved Air!!) and also, more importantly, we spent lots of time (and money) trying to win cuddly toys...most of which are now going to be living on the exec corridor for the next year! On the left you can see a picture of the seven sabbs at the end of the day, along with our winnings.....

Friday, August 1st was our first full day. Needless to say, we were all quite excited about getting our offices and shifting them round so not much work got done....

Naively I thought that this week would allow us to get our heads round things and get settled in, but we were properly thrown into it with a 9am-6pm day with the University! Since then I've been occupied with appeals, one to one sessions with staff to find out more about the job, and showing people from UCL round the building so they could learn about us and we could learn about their union!

My slightly delayed election speech!

This is what I realised I should have said on elections night....the sad thing was I only realised it the day after! So I'll put it here for posterity...

So to tell you the truth, I had a complete mental block when I went up on stage last night. I'm not that good with speaking and getting to say what I mean at the best of times, and last night was no exception to that! Words are much better, and when I get my first blog I'll post this there :)Me running for exec has been a long time in coming. I only planned to come to uni for three years, then for various (good) reasons that has been extended a bit - my sabb year will be my sixth year at uni. Yes, I should probably be in the real world by now, and those of my close friends know how long it took for me to decide to actually run this year. This role and this organisation are things I care about, so I've decided to stay.
I must admit that I am a bit disappointed with some things. Firstly turnout - the reasons why it has been so low are anyones guess, but I'm sure as hell going to try and change it. With the exception of a few candidates and campaign teams, I felt as though campaigns have just not been as energetic as they have been in previous years. The lack of candidates must have something to do with this - yes, its good being uncontested, but what I think people don't understand that campaigning isn't just about you, its about your position. And you can't raise massive amounts of awareness on your own. Trust me. I've been especially disappointed with the behaviour of some people, but I congratulate elections committee on the way they have dealt with the issues that have arisen.
Enough of that. We have a new team filled with vibrant, knowledgable and creative people, and I look forward to working with each and every one of you. We have a new constitution, and many people, both staff and students, filled with ideas on how to engage students better and become one of the best student unions in the country. A new university structure means new opportunities for representation too - excellent. We can learn from the successes of the referendum and the problems with the e-voting in order to make elections run smoother. Its going to be good.
And now to some thank yous. Where to start?
Tom Marley, you have been rather elusive at some points, but you've kept me chilled out about the whole thing at some points.
Gaz, when you have been in Birmingham you have been great at campaign managing (all two of us!) and doing stuff and giving course related advice when I've needed it!
Mark Cottle, I hope your fingers have recovered....
To all of the candidates, its been fun.
Hollie and Oggy, you are absolute stars, and I look forward to working with you :)
and Suzy - I'll try and get a staplegun for each student approved!
Alex, Simon, Fabian, Will, Ed and Sarah - you have all given me great advice when I have needed it. Thank you. (oh and team indy chair 07/08 - we rule. miss you guys).
Brad, you are in fact, a constant source of reasoned advice and fun. We will have a cuppa soon....I promise!
David, you are the campaign manger who got away, and I can't thank you enough for the advice you have given me over the last few months. You have dealt well with my very boring guild related rants...well done and thanks again! I did, however, just lose the game.
I *think* thats it...I've probably forgotten someone....if I have I am sorry!I'm going to try and keep my head down over the next few months - I am very behind on my degree so that is number one priority for now!until then guys.....x

My first blog!

Hello everyone,
I'm a little unsure what to write for my first blog....as there has been so much going on! Instead, I'll keep it short for now.
We are three weeks into training and it has been so much fun! We've done team building events, learnt loads about the Guild and its different departments, and had many sessions with the current exec to help us plan out our year in office so that we make the most of it! However, I think my favourite bit so far has to be the building tour given to us in the first week, that took us literally all over the building to places we never knew existed...including the catwalk high high up above Deb Hall! We also were honoured to be present at the official opening of the Amos Room, attended by Baronness Amos herself.
I haven't got any photos up I'm afraid because I'm a bit new and confused by this blogging thing...but I will learn!
Watch this space!

Hannah