Merry Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Electing the New RAs

This week saw the election of the Residents Associations for 2008/09. For weeks Hannah and Oggy have been working hard to get students in halls to run in the elections and this week came the VOTE.

It was a very exciting and long week for all- I helped out by manning the ballot station in Tennis Courts on Thursday night (the ballot was open from 6pm until 9.30pm and it was freezing cold! =[).

I also spent most of Friday counting ballots- which was exciting- especially because we had to conduct two coin tosses- but also made me slightly "snow blind"

Tonight was the best part of all though- the results! Candidates and guests gathered in the Great Hall to hear the results, and listen to speeches from the outgoing RAs and some of the Guild Officer Group.

I'm really excited to meet all of the new RAs properly next week, on the residential training weekend!
Congratulations to all of you. Being on a resident's association is very rewarding and I wish you every luck in the year ahead.

Thank you also to the outgoing RAs. You have worked very hard, with passion, and made a very real difference to the lives of your students. I don't know what we would have done without you. Can't wait to see you all move on to bigger and better things.

World Aids Day II

The Guild activity for World Aids Day went ahead today and was a massive success.

We had loads of interest in the event, from students to the local PCT and even coverage from ITV, which can be viewed here (how very exciting)

Along with Emma O'Dwyer the LGBTQO and some amazing volunteers- Ed, Johnny and Alex mwah- I spent the day giving out condoms (we gave out THOUSANDS), literature on HIV transmission and testing, and red ribbons so students could wear a ribbon in order to mark World Aids Day.

We also ran an impromtu mini bucket shake in honour of Terrance Higgins Trust and managed to raise around £90.

World Aids Day

Along with Emma, the LGBTQO I spent a lot of time on Friday preparing for World Aids Day.

This basically meant spending HOURS putting condoms into bags to give out as a part of the sexual health drive we will be conducting on Monday and sorting out all of the advertising materials and literature.

It was no mean feat and I would like to thank Emma for dedicating so much time to this.

Come along on Monday- we will have a stall outside of the Spar where you can get free condoms and information on safe sex.

We will also be giving away red ribbons, so that you can show your support for World Aids Day, and doing a collection for Terrance Higgins Trust.

Sexual Health Provisions in Birmingham- we are finally winning!

More progress on the sexual health campaign... hurrah!

It seems that the pressure has finally paid off, and that student demands on sexual health services in the city are finally being listened to!

Birmingham now has strategy on improving sexual health, and today I received a report written by Birmingham Primary Care Trusts (PCT) in conjunction with city council, regarding their five year plan for the city sexual health services. (Oh dear, I can't believe how excited I am getting about this!)

The five year plan is really progressive, and includes

-a range of routine services available locally and then central venues in each PCT area.
-these services must be located in places with good public transport links
-these services will have extended opening hours
(Birmingham has 3 PCT areas, so this would mean that services would be more local and easier access)

-increased levels of services within communities, some examples given include testing and treatment of uncomplicated STIs, contraception and pregnancy testing and advice.

-services available from both personal GPS and GP led health centres

- 48 hour appointment for specialist sexual health centres

- a city wide website and phoneline for public use

To contribute to this strategy click here go to "get involved" and then click "consultations"

Reclaim the Night

Saturday 22nd of November was the 5th anniversary of the national Reclaim the Night March.

There are an estimated 47,000 rapes every year, around 40,000 attempted rapes and over 300,000 sexual assaults (BCS). Yet our conviction rate is the lowest it has ever been, one of the lowest in Europe, at only 5.3%.
I went along to march and show my support, as these are issues that I come across in both my role generally, and in casework and ones that I feel particularly passionate about.

"The Reclaim The Night marches started in the UK in the 1970s. Marches took place in Leeds, Manchester, Bristol, London and many other cities. The Reclaim the Night marches became even more significant when, in following years, a man called Peter Sutcliffe began murdering prostitute women in and around Leeds. Feminists in the area were angry that the police response to these murders was slow and that the press barely reported on them. It seemed that it was only when young student women began to fall victim to this serial killer that the police started to take the situation seriously. Their response was to warn all women not to go out at night. This was not a helpful suggestion for any woman, let alone for those women working in prostitution who often had no choice about whether they worked at night or not. Feminists and a variety of women’s and student groups were angered by this response. So they organised a resistance of torch-lit marches and demonstrations — they walked in their hundreds through the city streets at night to highlight that they should be able to walk anywhere and that they should not be blamed or restricted because of male violence.

Over the years the marches evolved to focus on rape and male violence generally, giving women one night when they could feel safe to walk the streets of their own towns and cities.

Today we walk for the same reasons. Because we still have not got these rights; because women are still blamed for rape and male violence. An ICM poll commissioned by Amnesty International in 2005 found that over one third of the British public surveyed believed that women were sometimes wholly or partly to blame if they were raped, for example if they had been drinking, if they flirted or dressed outrageously.

Today we march, as so many women have done before us to say that we are NEVER to blame for rape and male violence. Those men who choose to commit these crimes are to blame. We march today to demand our right to live without the fear or reality of rape and male violence, we demand an end to male violence against women, we take back this night to win the day."

The Wolverhampton Great HE Funding Debate

I was invited to the Great HE Funding Debate in Wolverhampton and attended as a panellist.

I spoke on a panel with the a pro VC and the Dean of Students, which was pretty scary. Our topic was "Should Universities be looking for funding from outside the box- i.e business contributions, graduate tax etc" and to summarise I argued this-

-> In the current top up fee system the contribution of the individual is too high. This contribution could outweigh the contribution of the state if the £3000 cap on fees is lifted, and it is a massive financial risk to take with no guarantee of success or graduate premium. Rather than being a sound financial investment, tuiton fees are becoming more like an overpriced lottery ticket.

-> For these reasons a future funding system must ensure two things- that the focus is moved away from the individual student to contribute to their tuition, and that any individual contribution must be relative.

-> The business sector benefits greatly from a profit enhancing graduate workforce, and therefore must take some responsibility in funding higher education.

-> Those who earn more should pay more. The contribution that you make to higher education must be proportional to your benefit. I argued for a fixed rate graduate tax, to be paid off for a period of time following graduation (subject to a minimum salary)

.... to be continued

Supporting a Pharmacy on Campus

Applications have beeen made to site a pharmacy on our Edgbaston campus.
The pharmacy would be open 8.30am-6.00pm Monday to Friday and 9am-1pm on a Saturday.

The pharmacy will include services such as screening services, emergency contraception, gluten free food supply and stop smoking services.

The Guild were asked to comment on the proposals, and so I wrote a letter supporting the initiative.
Will keep you posted

Multicultural Week

For some time now, myself and Rich Walker Vice President (Student Activities and Development) have been making plans for the Guild's first ever Multicultural Week type event of this kind or on this scale.

MCW will take place in February. There is so much still to organise- including naming the event. Any suggestions are most welcome, and if anyone wants to volunteer even better- the more the merrier. Email h.jones@guild.bham.ac.uk (Subject "Multicultural Week") with ideas or to volunteer.

We are hoping for the event to take place across campus, out at halls of residences and in Selly Oak and some of the events that we hope to include are an international volunteering fair, high profile speakers, art and photography exhibitions, drama, cuisine, sport, music and a fashion show.

Will keep you updated

NUS Extraordinary Conference

Wednesday was the NUS extraordinary conference in Wolverhampton Civic Hall. An extraordinary conference is basically an emergency conference which is called in between annual conferences.

The purpose of this conference was to discuss NUS Reform, which I have blogged about on a number of occasions previously.

The Guild passed policy to support the changes that the conference aimed to implement, and I am happy to tell you that the proposals had overwhelming support, and passed with an 82% majority.

There were also many amendments made to the proposals, including a National Ballot, where 5% of NUS membership could request a vote.

Employment Rights

Since being elected, I've been working on initiatives to raise awareness of student rights at work, and implementing processes through which we can help students having problems. Here is a quick blog to update you on the work I've been doing in conjunction with the Jobzone.

Established termly drop in sessions from TUC representatives (although we also have the potential for more regular drop ins if a pattern of complaints arises). The first one of these occured last week and was very successful.

I have also begun to look into establishing an agency for jobs on campus, which was passed by the second meeting of Guild Council. This agency reflects the fact that students in temporary/agency employment are at a higher risk than those in permanent work. 4-5% of the jobs in Jobzone are currently sourced from campus any way, but under the current process- students seeking temporary work on campus have to complete the application process each time they go for a new appointment.
An agency would mean that we would have an established, ready trained pool of students eligible for temporary vacancies on campus without having to apply on each occasion.

Future plans for this initiative include a mentor awareness campaign on rights at work, outreach work through Jobzone/TUC roadshows (with focus on satellite sites) and potentially a drive to increase trade union membership across the student body.

The Jobzone will also continue with its employment enhancement intitatives, for example free courses in English for international students and free food hygeine and customer service training.

Keep checking back as I hope to be able to update you more soon

OIA

This week I attended a workshop run by the OIA.

"The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education ("OIA") operates an independent student complaints scheme pursuant to the Higher Education Act 2004." It is a service that is free for students to utilise.

Last academic year, the OIA recieved 1400 enquiries and 730 official complaints, of which 599 were eligible to pursue.

The workshop was very useful, particularly in relation to the direct representation that I carry out on appeal hearings, disciplinary committees, plagarism hearings and fitness to practise panels. I am also confident now, that if a student is unsucessful through the University structures, we can refer them to the OIA to pursue the complaint independently.

We did a lot of work on ensuring that the procedures at our individual institutions were fit for purpose and student friendly, and also picked up advice on successful representation.

Amsterdam Hitch

This weekend, myself Rich Walker Vice President (Student Activities and Development) and Ed Sparkes, Vice President (External) of Carnival took part in a charity hitch hike to Amsterdam.

We hitched from the Bristol Road to Hull, then got the ferry to Brugge, then hitched from Brugge to Amsterdam. Our group were the first to arrive in Amsterdam but unfortunately we were robbed of a victory by a group of runaway brides.

Every hitcher raised at least £60 for Carnival. This will be added to the massive pot of funds that Carnival has raised over the year, and allocated to a number of charities at a meeting on the 12th of November.

A brilliant weekend was had by all, and it was great to see the amazing things that our student groups do. For more information about Carnival, check out their website here or join the Carnival is Awesome Facebook group.

YES WE CAN!!!

Tonight the Guild of Students hosted a US Election Party in Joes Bar.

Joes was packed out with both Obama and McCain supporters, who hung around until 5.30am to see Barack Obama elected as the next President of the United States of America.

Then came the acceptance speech... which was really inspiring and had the whole of the bar in complete silence.

"It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America. "

"For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: "

To see Redbrick's coverage of the event, click here
To read BULS coverage of the US elections, click here

Balance Your Books

One of my manifesto promises was to make the mentor scheme more dynamic and inspiring, and during my hustings I spoke a lot about making the campaigns that the student mentor scheme runs more relevant and pro active.

The first campaign that I have fed into was launched this week, and can be viewed on the Guild website here.

Balance Your Books is a campaign which addresses the financial difficulties that many students face, and offers easy advice and sources of information. Last year at NUS regional conference, we were presented with a cheque to represent the massive underspend on the part of our University on bursaries. This means that students were entitled to financial help from the University, and for some reason or another, did not recieve it.

This makes it clear that many students are confused by the bursary system, which is riddled with complexity.The campaign aims to heighten the awareness of financial help available to our students, how to apply, and where to find the support to guide you through your application.

The campaign is so relevant in the current economic climate, with the expected increase in food and fuel costs more and more students are going to find themselves in serious financial difficulties.

Check out the website- which has loads of information and a budget planner that you can download

Broke and Broken- NUS Video

NUS Broke and Broken Report

Guild TV News

The first Guild Council of the year...

Last night was the first meeting of Guild Council (and also the first official post GC curry of the year- see photo)

It was a good meeting we had some good debates- and it finished at a reasonable time- an advantage that we are rarely awarded. It was also great to see some new faces in the room.

Guild Council voted on 11 motions all together, but I am most excited about the following...

-> to call NUS Extraordinary conference, and vote in favour of the reform proposals
-> To stock One Water in our bars and to lobby The Spar, and other outlets on campus to stock One Water and One Condoms (woop!)
-> To endorse the NUS 11 Point Manifesto on Sexual Health
-> To look into creating a Guild letting agent
-> And also an enforcement of having an affiliated Taxi company, and relaunching the night bus!

Broke and Broken- Students in the Red

I wrote blogs over the summer, on why HE is unfair and why we need a fairer funding system. If any of you were at my introductory talks during Welcome Week you would have heard me speak about the 2009 review of the cap on tuition fees and the national campaign for a fairer funding system.

Ben Whittaker, from the NUS National Executive Committee (NEC) was also at our fresher's fairs explaining the national campaign (see picture).

Variable fees represent the biggest threat to students in years- student debt is reaching record levels. The whole system is underpinned by an overly complex bursary and support system, typified by massive inequality.

This is why the National Union of Students (NUS) passed policy at annual conference, to oppose the marketisation of higher education and demand that the national campaign addresses all of the failures in the current system.

Vice President (Education and Access) Tom Marley will be writing a series of blogs to keep you informed on the campaign, but I am going to use this blog to tell you about the upcoming West Midlands Area NUS (WMANUS) action.

WMANUS are holding a regional day of action, which will take place some time in November (date to be confimed). The regional campaign will include action on individual campuses, and then a regional collective rally with speakers. The theme of the day is students in the red, and every MP and Vice Chancellor in the region will recieve a red suprise! Keep reading for updates!

Calling Student Parents

The National Union of Student's Welfare and Women's campaigns, have combined to conduct research on the experiences of students with children in both further and higher education. The results of this research will be utlisied to shape the NUS campaigns on improving the experience of students with children in the future.

"We know from the research that we have already carried out that learners can face problems to do with student finance and benefits, course organisation and childcare, and that studying with children can sometimes be an isolating and stressful experience. We also know that individuals and their families benefit enormously from parental education and that further and higher education can have a huge impact on child poverty and children's educational attainment."

The survey should take 15-20 minutes to complete, and everyone who completes it will have the chance to be entered into a draw to win one of three £50 High Street Vouchers.
The survey results are completely anonymous and can be completed here

Central Kitchen

The sabbatical officer group were lucky enough to get an invitation to University Central Kitchen over on The Vale last week. We got a tour of the HUGE kitchen, which produces 37,000 meals per week, for all catering outlets across campus.

We went all around the kitchens, through walk in fridges with very tempting cakes, saw Fresh Thinking- where many student groups and the RAs get food for events and even a fridge just for cheese. WOW WOW WOW.

Some fun facts from the tour....

-> The kitchen use non alcoholic wine in their recipes- to cater for students with specific dietary requirements
-> They get through 39,000 kgs of chips each week
-> And 15 litres of soup per day!
-> AND 140 cucumbers

I will add more facts when the rest of the sabbs remind me what they were!
We are all off to the Hub at Shackleton soon for tea- will let you know how Central Kitchen fair up!

Abortion Rights

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill was debated in the last session of parliament, before the summer recess. The Bill was established to update the 1990 Act- however amendments to restrict abortion law were tabled during the passage of the bill.

During this time, the Guild of Students passed policy to enforce our pro choice position- opposing amendments to decrease the time limit for women wishing to have an abortion and solidifying our commitment to the belief that it is the right of individual women to decide what happens to their own bodies.

The amendments were an area of contentious and intense debate, but they eventually fell by 233 in favour to 304 votes against. Members of last years sabbatical team- Laura, Naush, Rhea and Lizzy went to parliament to join the Abortion Rights lobby and even got snapped by BBC News.

In addition to my role at the Guild of Students, I also help out with the West Midlands Area NUS Women's Campaign. Along with Sophie Kettell, WMANUS Convenor I attended a public meeting in the Houses of Parliament in October, regarding further amendments tabled regarding abortion law, due to be debated on the 22nd of October. Such amendments included extending abortion law to Northern Ireland, letting women take the abortion pill in the comfort of their own homes and removing the law that requires women to visit two doctors before an abortion is approved.

Other amendments, designed to restrict abortion law were tabled, including enforcing a 'cooling off' period before an abortion is approved and increasing the number of doctors required to approve the procedure. After attending this meeting, I set about the task of writing to every MP in the West Midlands, urging them to vote accordingly on all relevant amendments when the Bill is in its final stages of debate (check out the stack of letters in the first photo!).

With allegations of fillibusters and procedural motions to push specific amendments off the agenda, and thus away from the governmental radar, Abortion Rights organised another lobby outside parliament.

Myself and some of the Women's Network Association went along to show our support the Abortion Rights movement, and our solidarity to the women of Northern Ireland (see second picture).

Wellbeing Fair

Myself and Sparky planned and organised the Wellbeing Fair, which took place in the Underground on Monday the 22nd of September. It was really busy and I got to meet lots of students- old and new.

We decided to develop the Wellbeing Fair this year, and progressed from the usual focus of sport and exercise, expanding the theme to include mental wellbeing, sexual health, drugs and alcohol and then general niceness.

The fair definately had something for everyone- there were loads of stalls so I am going to list my top 5 features of the fair.

1 -> FREE massages
2-> "Smoke Free" PINK bingo pens
3-> Self Defence Demonstrations (plus LOADS of sign ups to Domeneque's self defence classes)
4-> My wheelie bin full of condoms
5 -> Wii Sports

There were LOADS of stalls, a body pit stop, where students could find ouy how fit they are and a pledge wall, where 100s of students set themselves goals for the year ahead. There were loads of pledges, ranging from "I will go swimming 5 times a week" to "I will quit smoking" to "I will walk to the pizza shop instead of ordering in"- every step counts I guess! Thank you for everybody that came along! Hope you had a good time!

Welcome Week

As you can all possibly guess, Welcome Week is probably the busiest week of the year at the Guild of Students and my favourite week of the year (other than Christmas Week- I like Christmas).

I just thought I would write a quick blog to fill you what I have been/will be up to this week....

-> I visited students in Mason, Tennis Courts and Elgar Court as they moved in and had their welcome talks
-> I enjoyed a wonderful interpretive dance from Timothy Stillwell, President of Tennis Courts (see picture 1)
-> I represented 2 students in University disciplinary hearings- yes, in Welcome Week!
-> I ran the Wellbeing Fair with Mark Smith, Vice President Sport- to follow in a later blog
-> I went to the Tennis Courts welcome BBQ
-> I collected 100s of questionnaires with Domeneque- Women's Officer on single sex gym sessions and active lifestyle classes- this data will be collated and hopefully used to lobby the Munrow for more female only sessions
-> I went to Gatecrasher as a "POSH VIP"
-> I got over 500 students to sign Oggy's petition stating that halls of residence prices at Birmingham are too high- it was great to see that so many students feel so strongly on this issue- home students to students on campus, first years to post grads everybody had an opinion... it's going to be a biggy!
-> I took LOADS of photos of people with the petition (see picture 2 on the right for a picture of me with it)
-> I got a goody bag full of amazing freebies
-> I gave away 3 wheelie bins full of condoms
-> I had a free massage
-> I made the Guild Officer Group travelling stall for the fairs (it looks AWESOME- see picture 3 below)
-> I started recruiting for the Multicultural Week steering group, with Rich Walker- VPSAD
-> I helped out Hannah at the Change Your World Fair on Tuesday the 23rd of September
-> I joined Birmingham Labour Students
-> I went to the International Student Welcome Ball, and watched cultural performances and a fashion show
-> I disco danced in the silent disco marquee at the Masquerade Ball =]
-> I watched Scott Mills from the balcony in the Deb Hall
-> I talked to students about Broke and Broken, the NUS Higher Education Funding Campaign
-> I joined Carnival
-> I gave presentations on the Guild to new students in Sociology, Accounting, Medicine, Maths and Computer Science

So what have I been up to so far?

Browsing through my blog roll, I noticed that the majority of my blogs have been on issues that I care about that are related to my job role. So as not to lose focus of the actual action behind these random rants and musing, I decided to write a quick blog before bedtime to list the things I've been up to since the 1st of August.

-> I lobbied the PCT to include sexual health provisions in the services offered by Selly Oak's new GP led health centre
-> I secured some funding from the University towards the Nightbus project
-> I planned the Wellbeing Fair, with VPS Mark Smith
-> I set up the Nightbus task group, which has began the research that I spoke of in my Nightbus blog, in addition to researching sponsorship opportunities
-> I developed the terms of reference and established the Guild's Equality and Diversity Committee

-> I started to write a code of practise for taxi companies who bid for our business to adhere to
-> I attended 3 external training courses- NUS APL and ATA, and Common Purpose Frontrunner
-> I revised our No Platform policy

-> I won an extreme rock paper scissors championship at Frontrunner training (see picture)
-> I commissioned a mentor campaign on bursaries and budgeting
-> I helped to plan the launch of B WISTE- Birmingham Women in Science, Technology and Engineering
-> I began to plan Multicultural Week, with the VPSAD Rich Walker
-> I started to develop the actions for our equality and diversity strategy as a part of our strategic planning

The Mermaid

This Saturday (13th of September) was one of the first of the University undergraduate open days for the 2009/10 intake! Weird to imagine that before this years freshers have even arrived the University are recruiting new ones!

The University pull out all the stops on open days to make the campus look its best (I'm sure that you have all heard the rumours about the grass being sprayed green). In keeping with this, they asked the Guild to turn on the Mermaid fountain!

I was lucky enough to switch it on, and I have to say, it was a very exciting job! And it looks very pretty! The fountain will be switched off soon, in order to get ready for Welcome Week next week, so I thought I would share this picture with you- the Mermaid fountain... blink and you'll miss her!

One Water

I am so happy to blog and tell you that the Guild will soon be stocking One Water in our bars! I've been speaking to venues and now whenever you buy water from our bars 100% of the profits will go towards funding Playpumps water projects.

"as kids play, clean water is pumped out of the ground into storage tanks for use by the community. So not only do people get clean water, but because it's readily available it means time isn't wasted collecting water - and that's great because the kids go to school to get an education and the adults look after their crops and families."

One Water.... AMAZING

What is Diversity?

When this video clip was part of the latest all sabb email, bellows of laughter echoed around the exec corridor. However abstract, when I actually thought about it, this clip actually rings true. It always surprises me how few people in this movement ever recognise the value, or importance of diversity and equality of opportunity. Instead as a Welfare sabb, I often find myself having to justify widening participation initiatives, and the liberation campaigns- the very campaigns that should be at the heart of, and shaping the direction of our movement. The only thing that I can attribute this to is ignorance, or indifference, neither of which are acceptable today.

So what is diversity? "Diversity describes the range of visible and non-visible differences that exist between people whilst equality means having the same value - indicating a state of balance. When we talk about managing diversity therefore, we are referring to the harnessing of these differences to create a productive environment in which everybody feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met" (Kandola and Fullerton 1998).

And what is equality? Equal opportunities ensure that everyone is entitled to freedom from discrimination in every form.

Why do we have liberation? The liberation campaigns exist to represent and campaign for equal opportunities, for particular groups who face discrimination in education, and are oppressed in wider society. The 4 liberation groups are women, LGBT, ethnic minority and disabled. We don't have a men's officer because men aren't discriminated against, or oppressed in education because of their gender. We don't have a white students officer, because white students aren't discriminated against, or oppressed in education because of their race.

The NUS produced a booklet entitled 101 Reasons for Liberation in Students' Unions, which can be viewed here.

The Guild, as a Union, has a responsibility to represent and campaign for the equality of these groups, celebrate their diversity and to ensure that the University do not tolerate discrimination or oppression in any form. We do not live in a society where discrimination is either tolerable or justifiable.

This is why, when we began our 3 year plan last week equality and diversity was included as one of our core strategic objectives. This must, remain one of our core objectives until we have achieved true equality. Until this day, we cannot be complacent.

Gay Pride, Manchester 2008

At the weekend I went to Manchester for this years Gay Pride.
I had a brilliant weekend catching up with some friends who have recently moved to Manchester!

Forgive me if this blog is vague, or woolly but I find it difficult to write about an issue that is so close to the hearts of many, but that doesn't effect me as a person. For a much more articulate, absolute gem of an article written by a friend of mine, check out page 14 of The Pink Paper here.

Despite my troubles in expressing this properly, I find it hard to accept the overly commercial focus of the contemporary pride movement. The aim of pride is to advocate and work for equal rights and opportunities for people who are LGBT. Above you will see a photo of the NUS LGBT campaign who, commendably sought to remind us that we should never forget this core purpose. Attempts to mirror Birmingham's very own 'Pride is a Protest' campaign were thwarted by event organisers, true implication that we have forgotten what pride is really about.

The focus of pride that began 35 years ago has detracted from the liberation movement that once existed, and unfortunately the focus of the event is driving profits, with the weekend wristband costing £20 not to mention the additional extortionate entry prices to enter clubs and on top of that drinks prices to rival Selfridges champagne bar. I find it wholly outlandish to ever contemplate that we may one day make money out of people as a part of "Reclaim the Night"- why is pride so different?

Too often in my work, I find myself defending, or jusifying the liberation campaigns, the campaigns that in student unions should be shaping our every action. Not only should gay pride should signify the celebration of the lengths secured towards equality, but should be the lead in campaigning to secure the extra difference.

I can think of no better way to end this blog, than by quoting the wise Wes Streeting, "changing legislation is easy with the right government. Changing attitudes is a lot harder. When every child can grow up in an atmosphere of freedom, tolerance and respect then we'll finally have something to be proud about. Until then, pride remains a protest and shouldn't come at a price."

NUS ATA: Operation Camera, Karaoke and Other Delights

With NUS Action Through Advocacy Training, of course, came fun!

We had lots of evening activity, which included an AMAZING game called operation camera (watch out for it on RA training!) Basically, we had a list of 35 things- from a clocktower, to our team up a tree, to include in just 15 photos! We earned points for every item that we managed to included, and got bonus points for innovation, creativity and cramming as much into one photo as possible!

The picture below is just one of the photos we had to take as part of the game! This is our team wearing red, our team on a bed, our team at a b&b, our team wearing hats and "a team".

Not only was the game AMAZING, my team- "Team Laura" won by at least 40 points. Which was very exciting.




Other than Operation Camera, ATA came complete with the obligatory NUS Karaoke.

The picture on the right of the page is of "team Laura" singing Year 3000 by Busted.

Our karaoke attempts weren't as successful as Operation Camera, but we so much fun all the same!

NUS ATA: Why we need a fairer funding system

Securing a fair Higher Education Funding system is the priority campaign of the NUS this year.

At ATA last week, we listened to a presentation from Aaron Porter, NUS Vice President (Higher Education) on why securing such a system is so vital in ensuring that a university education is available to everybody that has the ability.

The HE funding debate, all began when top up fees were introduced. The biggest threat that we as students will face in the coming year, is the potential lifting of the cap on top up fees, which could see students from 2010 onwards paying even more than they already do for basic tuition.

The political landscape has changed significantly since the last time we had this debate back in 2006 (see picture of the national demo on the right). We now have a new Prime Minister and all political parties are reviewing their stance on HE funding.
Devolution also means that we now have different funding arrangements across the British nations.

In line with these developments, NUS National Conference this year decided to focus it's argument on securing a fair funding arrangement for students, rather than pursuing the battle for free education- which in the current political climate, is neither suitable, nor realistic.

The 2009 review on top up fees will consider how graduates should contribute to the HE sector, and additionally how the HE sector should be funded. It shall also consider International student and postgraduate student fees.

-> The current funding system is regressive in nature
-> The more you earn after graduation, the less you contribute to repaying your student loan
-> England needs a fairer funding system

As Aaron so rightly said, higher education- one of the best drivers of social mobility should not transform into a market where there are winners and losers.

The student movement this year, will therefore focus on keeping the cap on tuition fees, and opposing the marketisation of education.We must also recognise that HE in this country, is significantly underfunded.
The NUS are calling on...

-> The English % contribution of GDP on HE should be in line with the OECD average
N.B- We spend 1.1% of GDP on HE, the average for the OECD is 1.4% and the highest contribution within the OECD is 2.2%
-> There should be a structured business contribution to the HE sector
-> Commercial rates should not exist on student loans
-> Part time students should be entitled to a more proportional amount of student loan

We were shown a graph on the amount of money spent per student, per year from 1948-2008 (and beyond) ------------------------------------>

As you can see, when state contribution was at its highest, in the 1970s, up to £11,000 was spent per student per year.

By 1998, just £5,700 was spent per student per year. The rationale behind tuition fees was to decrease the level of state funding.

Since the introduction of "top up fees", the level of state contribution has been stable.
The key question in this debate is where the money is going to come from in the future?

Keep checking back for more information regarding the national campaign on HE funding on the 5th of November....

NUS ATA: Sexual Health

As part of my NUS Action Through Advocacy training last week, I attended a workshop on sexual health, run by national Vice President (Welfare) Ama Uzowuru.

The workshop began by bringing to light some shocking statistics on sexual health in the UK, which really highlight why we still need to focus on the area of sexual health in our campaigns and activities today.

-> STI diagnoses between 1996 and 2005 increased by 60%
-> Young people in Britain have the worst sexual health in Western Europe
->Sex and Relationship Education is not only hetronormative, but not a complusary part of the national curriculum!
->At least 25,000 people in the UK have contracted HIV and are unaware of their condition
->15% of lesbian women, and 7% of non lesbian women never have a routine smear test.
-> 29% if transgender people are discouraged from accessing healthcare, because of the attitude of healthcare proffesionals.

-> A concern that was highlighted in this workshop is that there is no set ringfenced government money for sexual health activity.
-> There is meant to be a maximum 48 hour waiting time for a GUM clinic appointment- in reality however, these appointments can take weeks.
-> If you are over the age of 21, the GUM clinics do not see you as a priority, so your waiting time may be even longer than the average!

As part of the workshop, we also had a talk from Global Ethics, who produce One Water.
-> From September this year, Global Ethics are going to begin selling condoms, from which the profits will go to funding HIV projects in Africa.
-> 38.6 million people globally are diagnosed with HIV, 70% of which are from Africa.

Look out for the condoms from September- they come in really cool packaging (see the picture top right). Global Ethics will be launching a national competiton to design a packet. Also watch out later in the year, as they will be looking for ambassadors!

NUS ATA: Vulnerable Workers

A workshop I attended on ATA last week was about Vulnerable Workers.
Students on average are working a 17 hour week, however as many as 31.9% of students are working 19 hours or more. These statistics are very worrying, and clearly link into the higher education funding and hidden course cost debates (see other blogs).

By the very nature of our culture, student's typically fall into the vulnerable workers category. This is especially true of students engaged in agency work- the nature of this typical student job means that our work is typified by the following...
-> Low Pay/ Low Skill
-> Bullying and Harrassment
-> Cash in hand economy
-> Temporary and agency work
-> Denial of legal "employee" status
-> Trapped in profession
-> Illness- depression, lack of sleep etc

We study hard for our degrees, and it is not fair that we should have to work twice as hard to pay our way through university. If we are forced to work to get an education, the conditions that we work in shouldn't be substandard, and we should share equal rights with everyone else in the workplace.

Before now, little has been done to resolve the issue of temporary/agency work. In fact in 2006/07 more government money was spent on a campaign to encourage people to use tissues (in order to prevent the spread of the common cold)....
-> However, on Friday 22nd February 2008 over 140 MPs voted in favour of the Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal treatment) Bill, which saw the largest backbench revolt since 1997.
-> Subject to the passing of an EU directive, this bill will mean that agency workers have the same rights, including maternity and holiday pay, after 12 weeks as regular employees (unfortunately sick pay and pensions are not included).

Are you a temporary/ agency worker? Do you plan on doing temporary/ agency work in the future? Want the same rights as permanent employees?
Get involved in the campaign!
Write to your MEP and ask them to vote in favour of this directive!

If you need any help writing your letter please email me at h.jones@guild.bham.ac.uk (Subject Temporary and Agency Workers)

NUS Action Through Advocacy Training

Me, Oggy and Tom went on NUS "Action Through Advocacy" training last week.

Just like when I went on APL, I have returned to Birmingham really excited and with pages and pages of ideas for the year ahead... watch this space!

The training included the process of planning campaigns from the very beginning to the very end- from the inital experience, right through to the action.

Throughout this process we planned each stage of our own campaigns- I planned a campaign to get more lighting in Selly Park, which will be launched later on in the year.

I attended workshops on sexual health, students in the community, vulnerable workers and the OIA (office of the independent adjudicator) (some to follow in later blogs).

We also listened to talks on Student Finance, Introduction to HE Sector, Higher Education Funding and Students in the Community (all to follow in later blogs)

Once again, a great part of the training was that it was a brilliant opportunity to network and meet other sabbatical officers from all over the country as well as some of the NUS National Executive Committee (NEC). Our biggest strength is in unity.

Congratulations

In light of A level results being released yesterday, I just thought that I would write a quick blog.

Congratulations to all of our new students!
Well done for passing your exams!

My time at University has been absolutely fantastic, and I have learnt so much. I hope you are all ready to embrace the experience!
Enjoy the summer and I look forward to seeing you in September for Welcome Week!

Sexual Health Provisions in Selly Oak

When I campaigned to be Vice President Welfare back in the spring, one of my manifesto promises was "to promote the ongoing campaign for a sexual health clinic on campus or in Selly Oak".

In exciting new news, our local Primary Care Trust (PCT) has announced provisional plans to open a GP led health centre in Selly Oak!

This is a brilliant opportunity for the campaign, and the PCT are heavily encouraging your feedback. If there is sufficient demand for sexual health provisions at this walk in centre then the PCT will make it happen!

Your feedback could be crucial to the campaign and would be very much appreciated. The PCT have produced a feedback form. It is really quick and easy to fill out and is available to complete online here

The Nightbus

I am absolutely gutted about what this blog is about to say, but I am a strong believer in honesty and transparency. The Nightbus is your service, and you deserve to know what's going on.
I hope this blog will (and continue to) keep you informed on what is happening with the Guild of Students Nightbus during my year of office.

During our training in July, it became clear that there was no money at all for the nightbus to run from Welcome Week. The bus also had many logistical problems (for example lack of sign posting, which prevented many people from using it), and issues with student safety. Such issues effected the success of the bus, when during its busiest times never exceeded 40% capacity.

These are issues that the whole team feel require extensive time and attention.
The whole Sabbatical Officer Group were left with the decision of the bus's future.

We were left with the choice of whether we wanted to make the focus and concentration of the whole organisation raising the £36,000 it costs for the bus to run, and responding to these issues before Welcome Week in September.

As much as I am prepared to put my whole heart into doing this, I fully believe that the Nightbus should not run at the cost, or to the detriment of the rest of the organisation. As a Guild, a student union, our focus must be, and always will be representation and nothing can ever take priority over our core purpose.

We therefore decided that due to the lack of funding, and the logistical and safety issues with the Nightbus, it will be temporarily withdrawn in the academic year 2008/09.

I will spend time this year looking to address the logistical and safety issues with the Nightbus. Once these issues are resolved, I will be working on the development of a 3 year strategic plan. I will research other Nightbuses around the country, run by both student unions and local authorities and research alternative avenues of funding. I will also be working to ensure that the bus reaches a higher capacity. The strategic plan will ensure the financial stability of the bus, and mean that my successor is left with a Nightbus that is sustainable and therefore will effectively run itself.

I will update you as soon as I know more.
If anybody has any ideas on how we can further develop the nightbus, and make it sustainable in the future please email me at h.jones@guild.bham.ac.uk (subject Nightbus)
Thank you for reading

1st of August

The 1st of August was a very exciting day for many reasons!

*The Guild officially became a company limited by guarantee (CLG)
*We are now well on our way to becoming an actual charity!
*The Guild got a brand new sparkly Guild Officer Group
*I became your Vice President (Welfare)
*The Sabbatical Officer Group all got our own offices!

I think I speak to all of us in saying that we are very excited about the year ahead, and can't wait to work with you! See you in September and remember if you need anything email me on h.jones@guild.bham.ac.uk

Sabb and Surprise

On the 31st of July, our last official day of training the sabbs were treated to a suprise day out!

Only Mark Smith (Vice President Sport) knew where we were going as he had to drive.. but we arrived nice and early at Alton Towers.

We had a brilliant day and as you can see from the photo we won lots of toys! The boys spent about £20 each (and Rich still didn't win anything)! I spent a pound and came home with the lovely Spongebob!

Below is a picture of me, Hannah Lazell (Vice President Democracy and Resources) and Rich Walker (Vice President Student Activities and Development).

We were the only officers brave enough to take on
Ripsaw and Rich Walker got very very wet. It was very very funny. For me and Hannah anyway. Ha!

It was great to have a day out together and it was
really good for team building.
Best of all it was nice to chill out before officially becoming Guild Officers the next day!
If we can take on Alton Towers, I think we can take on anything!

NUS APL: Why HE is so Unfair

Myself, Tom (VPEA), Oggy (VPHC) and Sparky (VPS) attended NUS Active Political leadership (APL) training this week.

Throughout the course we watched many presentations, but the one that touched me the most was "Why Higher Education is so unfair" delivered by a member of NUS staff. The figures that I am about to mention are just a few examples and really highlight how far we have to go to achieve true equality with regard to the accessibility of our institutions.

Students under the top up fee system if the cap is lifted, will be facing roughly £9k a year debt, which will add up to £27k by the time they graduate.

Graduates with a degree in arts will earn, on average £34,104 p/a. This on initial reflection appears to be substantial. However, graduates with arts degrees will only earn an extra £8k in a life time, once their student debt is paid off, than students with 2 A Level qualifications.

This is what we refer to as graduate premium. The graduate premium for a degree in arts therefore is low. Statistics suggest, however that graduate premium is significantly higher in courses with the lowest growth levels.

50% of students from independent schools continue their education in Russell Group universities, where as only 10% of students from FE colleges do the same.

Ethnic Minority Students are massively underrepresented in the Russell Group, with Black Carribean students only constituting 7% of the student bodies. In fact, there are more Black students at London Metropolitan University than in all of the Russell Group Universities combined.

One of the biggest problems for students are additional costs. Accomodation is a key barrier to education, with high costs meaning that many students are forced to study at home, or are put off from entering higher education all together.

The above are just some of arguments presented to us.
The presentation really rang true how far we have to go to ensure that higher education is available and accessible to anybody who has the ability.

NUS Active Political Leadership Training

Me, Tom, Oggy and Sparky went on NUS "Active Political Leadership" or APL training this week. I had so much fun and have come back really motivated, with many new ideas for the year ahead.

We received training in the role of Students' Unions, the history of student representation and building strong unions.
We attended workshops in public speaking, politics inside the institution, lobbying and negotiating, organising and campaigning and finally handling the media (which included me being grilled for what seemed like hours by Tom Marley- a journalist aided by spin doctor Chris Griffin from the Courtauld Institute- scary stuff!)

We also watched presentations on the injustices of the higher education system and NUS governance reform (both to follow in later blogs!)

The course culminated in what is probably the most intense training exercise I have ever experienced- Fibchester- where in teams we became the sabbatical officer team of the imaginary Fibchester Students' Union. In the space of 3 hours I had to meet with 2 Pro Vice Chancellors, write a governance review, lobby the university to improve its accessibility for disabled students and try and save the unions commercial services from a university take over.

STRESS STRESS STRESS STRESS STRESS!

After Fibchester I feel like I can get through anything thrown at me! The best part of the training though, was that it was a brilliant opportunity to network and meet other sabbatical officers from all over the country as well as some of the NUS National Executive Committee (NEC). If we work together we can win together and I for one can't wait to start! Above is a picture of me with the lovely Aaron Porter, NUS Vice President (Higher Education).

Baroness Amos opens Amos Room

The Amos Room in the Guild of Students is so named as a tribute to the Rt. Honourable Baroness Amos. The room is named "to reflect, Baroness Amos' contribution to equality and equal rights, and as an outstanding leader in her field."

Although the Amos Room has been named for some time, Baroness Amos has never been able to officially name it. However, today 18th July 2008, she received a University of Birmingham honorary doctorate and so stopped by the Guild to officially name the room.

Sabbatical Officers 2008/2009 and Baroness Amos

Baroness Amos is the first woman of African descent to serve in a British cabinet and was leader of the House of Lords 2003-2007. Between 1989-1994 the Baroness headed the equal opportunities commission and in 1997 she was made a life peer by the new Labour Party government of Tony Blair. And what's even better she is a University of Birmingham Alumnus!

Baroness had such an aura about her- it truely was an honour and a pleasure to meet her. Hopefully we will be seeing her again in October for Black History Month. Until then, like Simon said we need to get Nelson Mandela to come and open his room!

The Wellfairy Blogs!

Hello students of Birmingham and welcome to the wonderful world of my blog! I'm Hollie Jones and from the 1st of August 2008 I will be Vice President (Welfare) of the Guild of Students- your Students' Union.

I will be posting regularly throughout the year to let you know what I am up to and how the welfare world is changing!

So as VPW, what am I here to do?

As your VP Welfare I am here to make sure that you are represented fairly throughout your time at university. It is my job to protect your rights as a student, but most importantly, to make sure that you know your rights, be it in education, housing, finances or employment. I am here to fight for equal opportunities, religious freedoms and liberation. As VPW I also support and direct the Guild’s welfare services, for example the Advice and Representation Centre (ARC), the Student Mentor Scheme and the Job Zone.

I was elected on a manifesto of change. I promised our members that I would no longer let welfare services just exist, but instead spend time making sure the array of potentially beneficial services that we offer reach their full potential.

I am also very dedicated to fronting campaigns that are relevant, and fighting for our rights as students, because as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray so rightly said “If something is worth having, it’s worth fighting for.”
N.B: If you haven't seen Hairspray I highly recommend that you watch it!!!

I'll keep posting but in the meanwhile, feel free to contact me at h.jones@guild.bham.ac.uk