Calling all PG students!

Are you a current PG student at the University or will you be a PG student in September?

If so, on June 29th we will be holding a focus group at 11am in the Mandela Room in the Guild in order to gauge opinions on what the new PG space will look like. In 12 months time a new PG space will be opened in a more accessible place and we want to hear from PG's what they want from a new space.

It doesn't matter if you are a research or taught student, or if you are leaving soon - all opinions are welcome.

Email h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk - refreshments will be provided!

Uni Cash

At the May Guild Council I was asked whether the Guild would be able to incorporate the UniCash system that is currently used in halls and other university outlets to pay for food.

I discussed this with staff who had already met with the university and it turns out that the UniCash trials have not been succesful and the scheme will be discontinued apart from the meal plans in halls.

Therefore we won't be introducing it into the new Guild cafe! Sorry!

Name your new bar!

As you should have heard by now, the Guild is going under a significant redevelopment over the next 12 months.
One aspect of this sees the bar moving from its current location over to the other side of the building where STA travel, print and post and UB clothing are currently located. And because the bar will be moving to a new location and will be serving food for the first time in many years (and possibly ever), its probably fitting to see if Joe's is still the name that people want for the bar.

So we've set up a competition to name the new bar - which can be entered here http://www.guildofstudents.com/guildbuild/content/131425/_name_your_new_bar/
Just enter the name you think the new bar should be called and a few details, and then we will be in touch. The winner will get £100 in cash and the entries will be judged by a panel in July.

A quick update...

Hello avid readers,

Apologies for not blogging for a while - I took a weeks annual leave and went to France and Spain with some friends - it was very hot and the food was good.

But back to reality, and since I got back to the Guild on Wednesday I have been flat out doing all sorts of things.

I had lots of incident reports to deal with after Fab, which took up a lot of time! Althought I cannot talk about talk about them in detail, its amazing how just a few people being stupid when they are drunk can take over most of your day!

Attended Culture Fest which was organised by Hollie and Rich, well done to them both. I attended a talk given by Action for Southern Africa, went to the Farmers Market, listened to the funky music and got some free starbucks stuff....

Went to the usual meetings and 121's, including Student Groups Committee.

I have some more updates but I shall dedicate individual posts to them!

Improving environmental performance...

One of the things I am doing at the moment is improving our environmental performance, off the back of our Silver Award for Sound Impact. Obviously, this has to be maintained, and there are always we can improve.

At the moment I am looking at operational things - such as making sure that useable crockery and cutlery are used in the new cafe, along with free range ingredients where possible, as these are just as important as anything massively visual that we may choose to do.

When I was at the NUSSL dinner other unions won awards or were highly commended for being innovative in their work. Reading won an award for doing a "Reading in Bloom" competition - students were encouraged to plant flowers in their gardens to make their environment nicer, and Loughborough won an award for the E+E section of their website, found at http://www.lufbra.net/eande/. And UEA got commended for their food labelling scheme - where they labelled food based on food miles.

Although I'm getting on with the operation stuff, do you have any ideas on innovative things we can do to raise awareness about the environment? This can be about the local environment or the wider world.

If you do, let me know on h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

Guild Council Review

This is a really hard blog post for me to write as it is something that I have been trying to achieve for the last year - but sadly Guild Council will not be changing in the new academic year.
There are several reasons for this but it is mainly because not enough time has been given to the project as the scale of the work was not understood by the organisation when it was undertaken. It became apparent last night at the meeting of the Guild Council review group that the models produced as a result of the review day required far more than the straightforward discussion that was anticipated.
I feel as though this is a real failure for students because the current system is woefully inadequate and outdated - in fact Guild Council has not been chnaged since 1975.
I will be handing this over to my successor, Tom Guise, who I hope will have far more support and success than I did.

One last gem...

...from the alternative prospectus....

"The university have 2,000 computers and the vast majority of them have word processing software"

What did the rest of them have on them then?!

The alternative prospectus...

Myself and a friend are doing some Friday afternoon research, and have just found the Guild's alternative prospectus - this was produced by the Guild, by students, about the University, in 98-99.

There are lots of interesting things to note!

1. Ten years ago - a single room in a self catered flat (e.g. Maple Bank/Elgar/Pritchatts/Tennis Courts/Hunter/QHC/Beeches) cost £1,750-£1,850 per year, and with an ensuite it would have been £2,450.

2. In a catered Hall (in what used to be Shackelto/Mason) - you'd pay £2,050-£2,600 for a single room, and an ensuite would have been £2,940.

3. Shackleton used to be called Lake Hall and Widrington Hall - they were effectively two wings round a hub - and each Hall was single gender. Imagine that!

4. Selly Oak rents averaged £33-£38 a week.

5. Maple Bank was a quite place to live.

6. Carnival raised £41,000, and we used to have two newspapers.

7. If you can't work beyond midnight, you shouldn't even bother applying to do Law (according to the writers!)

8. Chem Eng used to have a 20p per frame pool table.

9. Polsis - the nice thing is you don't have to be overtly political and no one will brainwash you.

10. Theology is on the top floor of the arts building to be closer to God (again, according to the writers!).

11. The Russian Circle society organised regular vodka parties.

12. Medical Sciences is a degree for failed Medics - but most people have chosen the course to research Aids, Cancer and other major diseases.

13. The medical stopped using real bodies in anatomy so the squeamish can relax!

14. Med Bar was running back then!

Of course everything I write is from the alternative prospectus, not my own opinion!

Hope you enjoyed it :)

A quick "what I've been up to" blog

1.Attended a few university meetings. I went to my last meeting of the College of Medical and Dental Sciences Quality and Enhancement committee, where we discussed feedback and assement - so hopefully students in this college will be getting better feedback on their work.

2. I have been working on Guild Council review with several members of staff. The models are going to be discussed by the review group next week and they will make a recommendation - this will then come to next Guild Council.

3. I had a tour of the Muirhead Tower with the other Sabbs - it is still being refurbished but is nearly ready. There is increased workspace provision for postgraduates but not much more for undergraduates it seems - and there will be a Starbucks on the ground floor.

4. I have been working with the VPW and LGBTQ Officer on getting students registered to vote. We got a lot of students in the Grad Ball queue last Friday as well as delivering forms to houses in Selly Oak on Tuesday. We also had a stall open outside Spar so students could register.

5. Took part in student staff interviews - we had a very large number of students apply for part time work here, which reflects the increasing needs that students have for part time work.

6. Building on the success of our Sound Impact Silver, I have been looking at ways to improve our environmental performance - a big bugbear of mine is that we don't have enough recycling on campus and in the Guild.

7. Attended the Guild's Great Debate that was organised the President, Jen Larbie, and other officers and staff. The panel included Wes Streeting, President of the NUS and David Eastwood, the new VC of the University. The debate had was interesting, and its great that we have promoted the views of students to the university.

8. I've been writing my handover for my successor, Tom. If anyone thinks there is anything that should be included, let me know!

Interested in a free EU elections event?

Hello all,
Do you want to know more about the EU and how it affects you?
Do you want to meet some of the candidates that you could be voting for in the upcoming European elections on June 4th?
Do you want support and more ideas for getting people to register to vote and to vote on June 4th?

If so, on Saturday June 9th the Electoral Commission are running a free event in Birmingham for anyone interested in the above issues. It starts at 11am and finishes at 4.30pm.

The agenda is available here: http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/article.php?id=150

If you are interested in going please could you let me know ASAP on h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk - I have five places registered.

If you do one thing today....

If you do one thing today, aside from exam revision and coursework, then make sure you register to vote.

It's quick and easy to vote, and means you will make your voice heard in the upcoming European Parliament elections (they only happen once every five years).

1. Between 12-2 outside Spar we will have a unit open where you can register and also enter a raffle to win tickets to the Love Music Hate Racism festival in Stoke on May 30th.

2. Online at www.aboutmyvote.org.uk - this site will also give you lots of information about the European Parliament and why you should vote.

If you live in halls then you will have been registered by the University, so for now sit back, but make sure you vote on June 4th!

If you live in Selly Oak I should be dropping round voter registration forms today (weather permitting!) - obviously I'm not going to be able to do every house in Selly Oak but some should be arriving soon.

Sound Impact - Birmingham takes Silver!

I am pleased to tell you all that at the NUSSL dinner that I attended earlier in the month, Birmingham Guild achieved a Silver Standard in the Sound Impact Awards. The Sound Impact Awards are run by NUSSL and look at how green the union is. Myself, Pippa (EEO) and Mike (Facilities Manager) worked hard on completing the workbook in the autumn term, which consisted of criteria relating to lots of different aspects - such as energy usage, environmental policies and lobbying, and how integrated the "green" culture is into the union. When we first entered we got a "working towards" standard, and last year we achieved Bronze standard, which means we have been making a year on year improvement.
Although it will be very hard for us to achieve a Gold Award (unions that achieved Gold do things such as have Solar Panels on their roofs and are carbon/waste neutral!) there are other awards for most improved and most innovative, which are things I think we should aim for! So if you have any ideas on how we can improve our environmental performance, or any innovative ideas to get students more involved in environmental activities, let me know!

GC elections

Will be taking place in the new academic year due to GC review, and the fact that we get more interest in the elections in October rather than the summer term, meaning that more elections will be contested which is ultimately better for GC.

Just to clear up any confusion.!

NUSSL and beyond!

Hello again to all my avid readers!

So it's almost the end of April and I haven't blogged for a while. Naughty Hannah! However, this is because, yet again, I've been off and away doing fun and excting things.

NUSSL

From 6th-8th April, myself, along with Pippa (EEO) and our Venues Manager headed up to Liverpool for the NUSSL AGM and Convention. NUSSL stands for NUS Services Limited and they supply our bars (in other unions they supply the shops too, but our shop is a franchise) and also give advice on all things related to commercial services and, more recently, ethical and environmental issues.

When we were in Liverpool (at a hotel which resembled the Titanic, and was like stepping back in time) not only did we collect our Silver award for Sound Impact, but we also had the opportunity to take part in sessions and discussions. I went to several - the Ethical and Environmental session, a session on NUS Extra and developments that NUSSL are doing, and another on Alcohol Policy, which also related to policy passed at NUS conference the week before. In addition to this, I attended the AGM where the accounts are presented and where we voted for new committee members. There was also a plenary on ethical investments, given by the co-op, and this is something I am going to be working on for the Guild.

The E+E session focused mainly on the Sound Impact awards and other campaigns that unions had done. Go Green weeks are popular, and although we have not done this here, they aim to promote all things environmental to students and promote more ecological living.
The NUS extra session looked at developing NUS Extra to make it better for students, so introducing features such as auto renewal each year, as well as adding more discounts that may be specific to the local area.
The alcohol policy session was very interesting, and focused on why unions should/shouldn't have minimum pricing, but I'll be doing more on this at a later date. But, essentially there is a movement to introduce minimum pricing in student unions to protect student welfare - however, there is a danger that this could price some students out of drinking at their unions. Ben Whittaker has to be admired for giving the Welfare point of view in a roomful of commercial services officers!

...and beyond!
On getting back from NUSSL I gave myself half a day to recover at home (after doing NUS conference, the VC's leaving dinner and then NUSSL I was very tired!) before going back to the Guild to spend the day doing....budgets. Myself and two staff members form a group that meet with all managers to set budgets for the 09/10 year and I must say that it is incredibly difficult to balance the needs and wants of the organisation, not least because of the impact of the recession. The process lasts until the end of May.

I then took a holiday and went to Poland (definately recomend a trip!), and now I am back, raring to go...!

Any questions - give us a shout!
h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

NUS Conference - elections

The last post on conference I promise!

Elections were held on the second and third days for the full and part time officers to serve on the National Executive Committee for 09/10.
The full time officers were elected on the wednesday, and a tremendous amount of hard work went in, but the results were fairly predictable, and were as follows:
President - Wes Streeting (incumbent)
VP Welfare - Ben Whittaker (current NEC member + Derby University)
VP Higher Education - Aaron Porter (incumbent)
VP Further Education - Shane Chowen
VP Union Development - Richard 'Bubble' Budden (incumbent)
VP Society and Citizenship - Susan Nash (current NEC)

The part time officers (Block of fifteen, with 5 places for FE students) were a little less predictable, but not unexpected all the same:
John Cox (Exeter University)
Jak Codd (Leeds University)
Usman Ali (University of Salford)
Alice Bouquet (University of the West of England)
Liz Williams (University of Liverpool)
James Haywood (Goldsmiths)
Tobin Webb (Bristol University)
Ed Marsh (University of Hull + current NEC)
Christina Yan Zhang (Loughborough University)
Yemi Makinde (current NEC)

(I'm afraid I don't know the results of the FE places)

Well done to all candidates, and I'm sure you'll be great!

I've got a few observations about elections.
1. The number of candidates, considering it is a national union with 7 million people eligible to stand, is not that great. There were 21 places available - and 36 candidates. Thats only a few more than we got standing in our elections for fewer places. So really we didn't do that badly.
2. If you aren't in a faction, then you have very little chance of getting election. Factions operate by block voting to ensure that they get representation on the NEC. Very clever, but not necessarily representative of what students want and what is best for them. Also, if you are an ordinary student, who hasn't been a sabbatical and aren't part of a faction then you have a very minimal chance of getting elected - which isn't very inclusive really.

NUS Conference - Policy

Ok, this may sound really boring, but each year at conference unions submit motions, which then get debated. If they pass, they become NUS policy and the officers are mandated to carry them out over the next 12 months.

Motions fall under four zones - Education, Strong and Active Unions, Welfare and Society and Citizenship. Each zone gets allocated a certain amount of time to be discussed, but unfortunately there is not time to discuss all motions. This year, the education zone was first and it ended up taking the most time which is fair enough, as we are all here for an education, but it also meant that very little Society and Citizenship policy was passed, which is important to a lot of people.

Some motions of note that passed:
1. If you're a PG student, good news - the NUS are now mandated to lobby the government regarding PG funding. Obviously undergrad courses are government funded (to a certain extent) but PG courses are completely marketised - but hopefully this motion will kick start a debate around this issue (I voted for this)
2. Policy has also been passed to continue to support degree reform so that extra curricular activities are included in degree classifications. I voted against this because I think it is subject to terrible abuse from people who just do something for their CV without caring, and also devalues the hard work that people do on their degrees and other activities who still do well.
3. More policy was passed mandating the NUS executive to lobby the government for an alternative funding system, and to demand student (NUS) presence on the government review group. I voted for this.
4. If you're more interested in student groups than representing, then fear not - NUS now has policy to strengthen the networks for activities officers (such as Rich) to share best practice and to increase the work they do with other organisations such as BUCS. I voted for this.
5. There is now policy against initiations - I voted for this.
6. The NUS will now be more involved in promoting student rights at work - if you are being exploited by your employer, and if you are working to help fund your degree, then the NUS will be doing a lot of research and lobbying into this, as well as presenting the findings of this to be included in the 2009 fees review. I voted for this!
7. Policy has also been passed regarding responsible drinking. This means that NUSSL (the commercial branch of the NUS who supply bars) may be forced to operate minimum pricing in the bars it supplies (Birmingham Guild is one of them) to ensure that students drink more responsibly - higher prices = less alcohol consumed apparently. The VP Welfare at NUS is also mandated to lobby supermarkets regarding their prices as they are often low for alcohol. I voted for this - but I must say I sort of regret this. From my point of view, with responsibility for finance, which is as perfectly valid as any other, higher prices will drive away students from the Guild, to places in town or Selly Oak that are often less...interested in student welfare, which is bad for all involved. Plus, less people will spend their money in the Guild which means less funding....bad times!


I must say, I was disappointed by the level of debate that was held. Almost every debate focussed on the recession, and it felt that every time we debated a motion, the same old arguments were coming up again and again. Big respect to the delegate who stood up and spoke against the votes at 16 motion - although I disagreed, it was a new argument that hadn't been heard.
It was also interesting to see the content of the motions - only one was on student housing which I would say is one of the biggest issues to students at Birmingham...
The outcomes were also fairly predictable, due to the fact that motions are often backed by factions, and therefore have block votes which swing it one way or the other - conference would have been more unpredictable if this wasn't the case!

NUS Conference - the first post about fun stuff!

Hey one and all,
This last week along with 16 other people from Birmingham University I have been at the Annual Conference of the NUS (National Union of Students). The NUS exists to represent all 7 million students who belong to their member institutions - of which we are one of them. Annual Conference is where policy is passed and Officers are elected - and brings over 1000 people to Blackpool, where it is held!
I've got several different aspects to blog about - the first will be about the fun side of it all!

We travelled up uneventfully, after a very early start (think 6.30am at the Guild) with delegates from all over the West Midlands. When we got there it was a matter of waiting about for a while in the Winter Gardens (where conference is held) looking at the stalls that were there with information about various groups. The Winter Gardens is well, past its best - I'm sure it looked good about 50 years ago but nowadays it needs some serious TLC! Just the place for a bunch of students then....

Our hotel was similar, in that it had seen better days. We also had a sea view room, which was nice. But that bit is boring.

On the Wednesday night (second night we were there), it is tradition to go to the party at Flares (I swear you find Flares in every town and city!) where lots of people who are running for election the next day (more on that later) campaign, and everyone gets generally merry, including our own president elect, who embraced the mood well....

On Thursday, our last day, we left mid afternoon on what we thought would be a comfortable ride back....we were all tired and all just wanted to get back home to sleep! But a few miles out of Blackpool, it emerged that well, not all windows on the bus (a double decker one, none the less) were secure. One of the upstairs windows was coming loose, and aside from the hour spent in a service station, we also go to sit on the side of the M6 for a bit...very exciting!

Thats it for the "fun" bits - the next posts will be about motions and elections, but apart from that, I'm off to Liverpool for the NUSSL (NUS Services Ltd - they supply our bars) AGM tomorrow - wow!

Islamic Law - Barbaric or misunderstood?

Yasmin Patel, Ethnic Minority Officer, has arranged an event on Wednesday 25th March 2009, in line with her manifesto promise to address the misrepresentation of ethnic minorities.
I have copied the text below about the event - hope to see you there!

Islamic Law: Barbaric or Misunderstood?
The term Shariah (and now its partner-term 'extremism') is mentioned and heard many times, especially amidst the ‘War on Terror’. However, do we really know what Shariah stands for, or what role it has to play?

Is it a system of barbaric harsh punishments that suppresses people and oppresses women? Or is Shariah far from that, and rather a solution to social breakdown?

This event being held on Wednesday 25th March 2009 @ 5:30pm in the Avon Room, University Centre, relates to the many debates students have had on campus this term. This includes whether religion does more harm than good, a discussion about ‘Terrorism (Crossing the Limits)’ and whether multiculturalism has failed. Based on his recent work, Hamza Andreas Tzortzis will contrast the ability of a Liberal and Islamic model to solve social problems.

The presentation will conclude with an open question and answer session.

Contact the Ethnic Minority Officer, Yasmin Patel at y.patel@guild.bham.ac.uk for more information.

Facebook Event link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=70349914195&ref=nf

GC facebook group

This has been dormat for a while, but can be found here - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2217867267#/group.php?gid=2217867267

It used to be the cornerstone for debate and also organising socials/informal events for GCers and it would be great to see that happening again. Any student can join in and find out what is going on, rather than a select few people deciding who they want to talk to about what.

Another quick plug...

The newly reformed PMSA (that's Postgrad and Mature Students' Association) are holding a film night next Wednesday, 25th March at 6.30pm in the PG space (below Spar in the Guild - follow the signs!). The film being shown is "This is England" by Shane Meadows.

So if you are a PG or Mature student, and want a break from studyding, then consider this as a different way of relaxing and a way to meet similar people at the university.

So, it's all over now....

Wow...elections are over! They've pretty much been taking over my life for the last 6 weeks or so - I've had seldom time for anything else, and have falled behing on many things, such as work on GC review, anything environmental related, other random things that I am working on...oh and of course my social life!

Elections were possibly one of the more crazy times of my life - crazier than being on a campaign team or a candidate - and although it was stressful, although I was tired, ill and generally grumpy, I have to say that it has been one of the best times of the year - seeing so many students on campaign teams or as candidates energised, and more importantly, seeing this and some of the work we have done manifest itself in the form of the highest turnout ever (4,723 - 18%) was fantastic. I already miss the madness but am looking forward to working on other parts of my remit!

And now....lots to get on with in the last few months. GC review (to be covered seperately!), events and commerical services stuff, a CSR policy, Redbrick editor, PG stuff...lots to be doing!

As usual, throw questions to h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

Enjoy the spring kids x

The Ethical and Environmental Forum

Hello all,
Here is an extra plug for the Ethical and Environmental Forum, which is being held on Friday 20th March at 5pm in the Thompson Training Suite. This is a chance for all students (so no election required) to come and have their say on ethical and environmental issues in the Guild and University.
So, if you've got an opinion on something relevant to this, make sure you're there = or email eeo@guild.bham.ac.uk

And the winners are.....

.....
President: Fabian Neuner
VP Sport: Katie Ford
VP Student Activities & Development: Emma Packham
VP Education & Access: Brigid Jones
VP Welfare: Johnny Davis
VP Democracy & Resources: Tom Guise
VP Housing & Community: Ed Sparkes

Anti Racism Anti Fascism Officer: Anna Lawton
Community Action Officer: Jo Grainger
Ethical and Environmental Officer: Ed Bauer
Ethnic Minority Students’ Officer: Allan Ssesanga
Home Students’ Officer: Shabhaz Khokhar
International Students’ Officer: Dhivya Raj
LGBTQ Students’ Officer: Matthew Ward
Women’s Officer: Esther Akinnuwa

I wish them all the best - all of the new officers have so much energy and vision that I am confident that next year will be a great year for the Guild.

Vote - from tomorrow at 9am.

Hello all,
So the annual hype surrounding elections is about to come to a climax with voting opening tomorrow on the my.bham portal (my.bham.ac.uk) at 9am, and closing at 12pm on Firday. Voting is online, meaning it can be done from any computer anywhere in the world - which makes voting far more accessible for all of our students, not just those on the Edgbaston campus.

The candidates have all been working incredibly hard over the last 10 days, by going out doorknocking, lecture shouting, speaking to students individually and using all sorts of methods to spread their message and get votes.
A full list of candidates, their manifestoes and further information about them can be found here http://www.guildofstudents.com/content/index.php?page=110175

If you want to hear a bit of what the candidates have to say this week, then you cane come to Mermaid Square at 1pm on Tuesday 10th to hear them all speak, and you will also have the opportunity to ask questions to candidates. If you live on the Vale, there will be hustings at 6pm on Wednesday 11th at the back of Shackleton.

There will be a number of ballot stations on campus throughout the week - http://www.guildofstudents.com/content/index.php?page=114055 - but remember, if you can't make it to them, use any computer at any time!

Lastly, I wrote a (not great) post on why to vote - but let me just reiterate - its really important to have a say in these elections, because the more people that vote, the more students are likely to be happy with the Guild because the people who have been voted in are the ones with the most popular policies. Also, as the VPW and NUS say, voting in elections at university is more likely to get you into a good voting habit for the rest of your life....

Right, now you have read this, and providing it is past 9am on Monday 9th...go and VOTE!

Why vote?

I'm sure there are lots of people out there, both on campuses around the country and in wider society, that ask the question - "Why Vote?".

As I've grown up, I've never seen a reason not to vote - it seems like the natural (and easiest) way to have your say in how your country/council/student union/whatever else may be run. As we have the elections for the Officer Team 09/10 take place NEXT WEEK, from Monday 9th @ 9am until Friday 13th @ 12pm, I thought I'd give you some reasons as to why you should vote in these elections...

*Voting should be based on policies, and you should vote for the policies you most agree with, not because someone is your friend. The candidate that has the most popular policies with the people who vote will win - so if more people vote, the more representative the winners will be, and if policies are achieved, then the happier students will be with the Guild.

*If you moan about stuff, and think it can be changed - then vote - because if you haven't, you technically haven't bothered to have your say. When you vote you can spoil the ballot - and this is an option on our e-voting system!

*On a local and national level, it keeps facist groups such as the BNP out of controlling our councils - something vital in order to protect the rights of our citizens.

*it hardly takes any time at all and can be done at any time on any computer - all you need is your my.bham login.

So there are some reasons why you should vote - and I hope you do next week for those who are going to run your guild and represent you in the 09/10 academic year.

Voting is through my.bham, it opens on March 9th at 9am and closes on March 13th at 12pm.

What I'm up to....

There has been criticism recently that the sabbs are too secretive about what they do. So here is my diary for next week. Enjoy!
(and, I've been trying to blog since 8.30am...and its now 3.13pm - yup, I get that many interruptions!)

Monday:
-Prepare for budget meeting with R+D manager
-Vale Fireworks meeting
-Elections committee briefing
-Elections committee
-Finance committee

Tuesday:
-AMG pre meet
-Environmental Advisory Group
-Grad Ball meeting
-121 with R+D manager
-Selly Oak hustings
-Budget chat
-Candidates meeting

Wednesday:
-AMG (accommodation management group)
-Elections committee briefing
-Elections committee
-Budget meeting

Thursday:
-Sabb catch up
-Team 10 (where the sabbs meet with the SMT to discuss ongoing projects and priorities - both this and Sabb meeting happen weekly)
-Elections committee briefing
-Elections committee
-Elections catch up
-Deb Soc hustings
-candidates meeting

Friday:
-Finance manager 121
-meeting my university council mentor with the president
-discipline meeting
-elections committee briefing
-elections committee
-catch up with tech about results night
-equality and diversity meeting
-finance meeting with all sabbs

As you can see its a busy life! Of course in between all of this I have to answer emails (which is why a blackberry is good - I can do it on the move!), talk to students and work on projects.

If I do this regularly, I hope you'll start to see that its not us being secretive, we just have lots on our plate....

Your View

When you elected me last March, one of my manifesto promises was based on research - i.e. finding out more about our members. Because it struck me, as a "normal" student, and is commented on by the Guild every year, that we don't have any conclusive information on what our students actually want from the Guild.

I'm sure many of you reading this think you know what students want - but I'd argue that the best way to find them out is to ask them themselves - and also give them a reason to do so. My target was to ask 3000 students, and also make sure they were representative of the student body.

In January we held focus groups to get qualitative data - and these groups focused on different groups of people, such as postgrads, international students, mature students, med students, and of course, guild councillors - as well as undergrad students.

We are now doing the your view survey, which I invite you to fill out on www.guildofstudents.com. By filling it out to win £1000. I know this attracted some controversy at the last Guild Council, but as always, I'd say come and speak to us before getting in a stress - we aren't here to waste money or for any negative reason - but to help students. Not everyone cares about the Guild as passionately as some people do, and as a consequence, need a good incentive to fill in this survey. And as I set the target at 3000 students, it needed to be VERY good. And although it seems a lot, the net returns will be much greater for students.

And if you voted for me, but didn't like the idea of research or my target of 3000, why did you vote for me?!

One more....

I have just had the joy of reading Tom Marley's latest post from http://tommarleyvpea.blogspot.com/


"The job of a sabbatical is an incrementalist, not a revolutionary. We may want change now but there are very few easy wins, in fact someone once said if it wasn't hard it wasn't worth doing.. or something like that. Despite this very few people seem over the moon"

I can't reiterate this enough - although it may seem that we aren't doing anything or our changes to small, trust me, we're all here to fight for students, and whilst what we are doing may not be visible or seem significant to you at the time, we are doing it, often at the expense of many other things (such as blogging!)

I must say that it would help me if people commented - I think I have recieved around 6 comments for what is now 25 blogs. If I don't know that people are reading, then blogging isn't going to be my number one priority, is it?

Just a thought.

Yours in democratic love,

Hannah x

Another "what have I been up to?" post....

Hey all,

Again, apologies for lack of blogging. I have the best intentions, but have been rushed off my feet with....elections!!

So, what have I been doing?

- Elections - I have led the officer team on doing lecture shouts and doorknocking to publicise both the fact they can stand and also that the elections will be happening in a few weeks. This is something that most of us who were candidates last year said we would find useful. I have also run candidate meetings for anyone who was interested in standing so they could ask questions about the job to current officers, and have also advertised on facebook and other networks we have. I also had loads of help from the non-sabbs who have been getting involved in getting people to stand for their role - because as I say all along, relevance works! We recieved 36 nominations, and many of the non sabb positions are contested, which is something that hasn't happened in quite a few years! We reopened nominations for DSO and SSO - I am pleased to say that we recieved two for SSO, but not so pleased to say we recieved none for DSO.....
Since nominations have closed, I have been involved in candidate training, dealing with other issues that arise and sorting things for the upcoming weeks. Voting is 9th-13th March.

-I've finally completed the Sound Impact award evidence along with Pippa (EEO) and we will now be able to turn our attention to other environmental projects...

-GC review hasn't been forgotten about - I just felt that the result could be something that the organisation really needed to be ready for and have asked people to prepare accordingly. Will keep you updated...

-I've been to several uni meetings, including University Council and the Joint Safety Advisory Committee (where we talk about safety on campus!).

-I took part in the halls fees campaign. Amazing!

-Other Guild committess have taken place, like student groups committee and health and safety committee, both of which I sit on. I like student groups committee because you know about all the new societies - I am particularly excited about benchball!

-I met Gordon Brown at Downing st!

-I went to a meeting of the National Postgraduate Council (NPC) to discuss their future in relation to the NUS reforms. It was interesting to say the least - I hope that the members of the NPC will do the sensible thing and merge with the NUS as it will be far better for all PGs.

And much much more! If you have any questions please email h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

Guild of Students Officer elections 2009

Do you want to lead the Guild and make change for students? Nominations are now open for the Officer Group elections for the 09/10 team.

Being an officer means that you have a unique opportunity to get involved in an area of student life that interests you. Positions are either full-time (sabbatical) which require you to take a year out of your degree or do a year when you finish, and these roles focus on general areas such as Welfare, Education or Student Activities. Part-time positions (non sabbatical) are more specific, such as focusing on women’s issues, ethical and environmental issues or anti-racism anti fascism, and are done alongside your degree.

Both full time and part time roles are great ways to get more involved and also develop skills that will enable you to stand out to future employers. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been involved in the Guild much beforehand – ideas and the ability to lead are far more important qualities. All positions are elected by the student body in March – but again don’t worry about taking part in an election – we give full training and support to our candidates throughout the process to ensure that everyone has an equal chance of being elected. Most importantly, you’ll have fun whilst standing in an election and also being part of the Officer Team.

Sounds good?

There is a meeting for anyone interested on Wednesday 4^th Feb at 6pm in the Guild Council Chambers (1^st floor above Spar). This will be an informal chance to meet current officers, ask questions about what its like to be an officer and find out a bit more.

E-mail h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk to find out more and to get in contact with current officers.

Visit http://www.guildofstudents.com/content/index.php?page=98615 where you can download a booklet about the positions and also download a nomination pack.

Pick up a nomination pack from Guild Reception!

The full list of positions available are:

President
Vice President (Democracy & Resources)
Vice President (Education & Access)
Vice President (Housing & Community)
Vice President (Sport)
Vice President (Student Activities & Development)
Vice President (Welfare)

Non-Sabbatical Officer Team:
Ethical & Environmental Officer
Satellite Sites Officer
Womens’ Officer
Ethnic Minorities’ Officer
Disabled Students’ Officer
Community Action Officer
Home Students’ Officer
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Queer Students Officer
Anti Racism & Anti Fascism Officer
International Students Officer

So, what HAVE I been doing?

Hello all,
Again apologies for my lack of presence in blog-o-sphere. This is going to be a quick update on what I've been up to...

1. I took a weeks annual leave and went to the Canary Islands. Yes, Sabbs are allowed a break every now and then!

2. I've been working hard on elections. I think in the past elections have been seen to be too much of a process and administrative exercise, so we're moving to change that, so the whole process (for example, advertising nominations and promoting voting) is much more visible, not just the campaigns that candidates run. I'll be blogging more about elections soon...

3. Guild Council review has been taking up a bit of time - a very successful day was held where a group of students reviewed the purpose and effectiveness of Guild Council. I am currently developing some models for us to work with and then move to adopting....

4. One Water - this is now being stocked in bars and in the vending machines, but hopefully, fingers crossed, we will have a more permanent solution soon...

5. Chaired the first Finance Committee and went to a Trustee Board meeting.

6. I've been working a lot on the Redbrick feasibility study, something I was mandated to do in the December Guild Council. It's been interesting and hopefully I should be presenting my findings to the next Guild Council.

7. Went to NUS Extraordinary Conference and voted to change the structure of the NUS to make it more effective for students. Also went to an NUS democracy event - and it seems that all the ideas I have for elections this year get the heads up from the NUS. Interestingly enough, our candidate budget, at £90 per person, is more or less the highest in the country, with £40 being the average. Be lucky I didn't change that....

8. Went doorknocking, then participated in, the amazing Halls Fees campaign! Although I was stewarding it was amazing to see students getting so fired up about an issue. Well done to all who were involved.

As usual, any questions - email me on h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk

Cheers!

A quick "heads up".

Officer elections are on their way!

Do you want to get involved with how the Guild is run and influence the activities that it does?

There are seven sabbatical (full time) positions and eleven non sabbatical (part time) positions, all focused on a specific area. So if you are interested in something specific, such as welfare or ethical and environmental issues, then a position on the Officer Team should be something that you consider! More information about the Officer positions can be found here: http://www.guildofstudents.com/content/index.php?page=29225
All positions are fantastic experience and will make you very attractive to a future employer!

Nominations open on February 2nd and close on February 13th: campaigning starts on February 27th and ends on March 13th: voting takes place online from March 9th until March 13th, with results night taking place on March 14th.

If you don't have much experience but want to get involved, then don't be scared! Email h.lazell@guild.bham.ac.uk for more information.

RA training!

On the 13th-15th December, myself along with some other officers and staff members went away with the new RA's (Residence Assocations) to train them in the joys and responsibilities of being responsible for everything to do with running a hall!

Sessions included representation, event planning and managing differences....as well as the massively fun outside activities of low ropes and bridge building! All of the activities that the RA's did aimed to build their skills to enable them to make their halls the best ever for their residents.

It was a fun but tiring weekend, and I was massively inspired to see so many eager people willing to get involved - I'm looking forward to a great year ahead!

One Water

In October Guild Council passed a motion mandating me to get One Water (and One Condoms) stocked in the Guild - and this was further amended to spread it to the entire university.

One Water will be stocked in the bars in the Guild from the start of term, and we will also have vending machines selling One Water and other bottled fair trade products. My other challenge is Spar, and I have been in contact with their stock manager about it - but as it is a national company it will be much harder.

I have met with the University and they are also keen to sell ethical products such as One Water, but currently cannot get it through their stockists. However, they can get similar products made by companies such as Volvic which are going to be far quicker to get than One Water. Interestingly enough, One Water was actually stocked by the University recently as a trial, but it didn't sell....The University are also looking at how best to stock One Condoms.

On the One Difference website there are sample letters to send to your local stores to get them to stock it - I suggest that you all do that for both Spar, the University and your local shops! Go here - http://www.onedifference.org/home?intro=true