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