The Bucks Student: Edition 107

Shelby Swafford Creative and Digital Industries School Officer

BNU.

The

We’re excited to welcome your new editors for this year... the Sabbatical Officers! Charlotte, Brandon, Jess and Emily have decided that they would like to be the face of The Bucks Student this year, sharing all of their success, news and thoughts with you along the way.

At The Bucks Student, we’re excited to be working with them and look forward to providing you with all the behind the scenes Sabb information we can get our hands on. They’ll also be the face of the newspaper, as you’ll see from the wonderful spooky Charlotte on this edition, and will be reminding you about when to submit content and

editions via their social media - so keep an eye out!

So

you’re interested in anything

do

Sabbatical editors update

SABBATICAL EDITORS meet your

We hope you’re all doing well! As sabbs when we first start the role we are told our time in office will fly by… and isn’t it just. How is it nearly November already?

So much has happened since students came back to campus in September; Freshers Fortnight was a great success and we loved meeting so many of you at all the different events. Give it a Go Fortnight followed straight on, in which we engaged nearly 700 students across all of our sports teams, societies, volunteering opportunities and Sport For Fun sessions and trips. As always our trips had a huge demand so keep an eye on the What’s On Page for even more fun and exciting trips that you can take part in… All free thanks to The Big Deal!

As sabbs we’ve been up to so much behind the scenes… meetings, presentations, writing papers, oh and more meetings! Everything we’ve been up to though has you, the student, at the front of it.

Charlotte has set up ‘Chats with Charlotte’, where she dots herself around the campuses for students to just come up and chat about anything, you may also have seen Charlotte driving the SSHH Bus making sure students are getting home safely after a night out!

Emily has now moved into her Uxbridge office and made her mark in Aylesbury by driving a table tennis table over for the students to enjoy! Brandon has now probably broken the world record for how many times one person can say ‘Cost of Living Crisis’! However, he really has done a tremendous job at really tackling the situation head-on – working with Emily on Monthly Monday Meals, working with the university to set up a Cost of the Living working group, helping with the set up of The Big Bucks Meal Deal and of course we can’t forget Brandon’s Big Budget Busting Booklet!

Jess at the start of the year laid out period products during move-in weekend at halls, free for anyone who needed. After receiving lots of messages from students and the accommodation staff saying how grateful they were for them Jess emailed the right people to see if she could make it a permanent feature… and she has! Over the next few weeks look out for free period products being placed in either halls receptions or in the laundry rooms.

The biggest campaign Jess has been working on since September is Movember! Movember is the leading organisation that works in mental health, suicide prevention, and prostate and testicular cancer. Their aim is to reduce premature death of men by 25% before 2030. So far, they have funded 1250 men’s health projects since 2003. You can help us with this campaign by joining in with our many fundraisers over the month. Movember is most known for growing a moustache or beard over the month of November. If you feel you want to try this or just help by donating, head over to our fundraising page and join our team - movember. com/m/14535001?mc=1 . We need as much support as we can get with this project so Jess hopes you will all get involved!

The start of term has been hectic but fantastic, we can’t thank the people that have supported us as new Sabbs enough!! We hope you’ve enjoyed the start of term as much as we have and as always our offices and inboxes are always open if you ever want to chat!

Brandon Tester

VPEW (HW)

Charlotte Leighton-Woods President

Jess Bradbury VPSI

Emily Crawshaw

VPEW (Uxb & Ayls)

Your student trustees

The

By Peter Ashiagbor, Kathy Hunter, Amy Pile and Ellie Lee

Trust us!

Introducing your student trustees

We have four Student Trustees, who sit on the Students’ Union Trustee Board alongside the Four Sabbatical Officers and Four Lay Trustees to ensure that, as a Union, we focus on improving the experience of our members. One of these four positions is held for an Uxbridge student. Student Trustees are typically elected in our March elections and once elected can sit on our Trustee Board until they are no longer a student. This year we have at least one student from each of the High Wycombe, Uxbridge and Aylesbury campuses making sure that voices from all campuses are heard.

Peter Ashiagbor (he/him)

Hi there, I’m Peter, a first year Accounting and finance student. I was elected as Student Trustee at the end of the last academic year and have been serving in the role since then. I am also the School Officer for Business and Law. If you have any problems at all feel free to email me at peter.ashiagbor@bnu.ac.uk I would help you the best I can or, direct you to some of the Union’s best services.

Kath Hunter (she/her)

My name is Kath Hunter and I’m a Student Trustee, based at the Aylesbury campus. I’m a third-year student, studying Adult Nursing. As a mature student at a satellite campus, I see my main role as providing representation for those who study away from the main Campus or who may have different support needs during their studies. My role as a Trustee has given me greater insight into the work behind our Student Union and an appreciation as to the extent that the student voice is advocated for.

Ellie Lee (she/her)

Hi I’m Ellie, I’m a final year Performing Arts student. I am very excited to be taking on the role as a Student Trustee this year! Representation is something I am very passionate about and something that plays a massive role in my university journey with the Student’s Union. The SU has had a big impact on my education and this is something I am looking forward to being a part of and giving back to other students.

Amy Pile (she/her)

Hi I’m Amy and I’m in my third year studying Adult Nursing, I’m excited to be one of your Student Trustees this year. I will oversee how the Students’ Union is performing financially and the delivery of services provided to all students. Making sure the Union is operating in the best interests of the students.

MOVEMBER

By

BACK

Whether or not you can grow a Mo or just want to raise awareness, there is a lot on offer for you! Since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world, challenging the status quo, shaking up men’s health research and transforming the way health services reach and support men.

This year your Vice President Student Involvement, Jess, is taking on her mo sister duties and working with our student Movember ambassador Ratu to bring you lots of different fundraising events over the course of the month!

Movember is the leading organisation that works in mental health, suicide prevention, and prostate and testicular cancer. Their aim is to reduce premature death of men by 25% before 2030. So far, they have funded 1250 men’s health projects since 2003. This includes projects such as the Ironman registry and men building better relationships. The values they share are fun, respectful, and humble to make all men feel welcome no matter what age. It is so important for any man to feel safe and supported whether you experience any of these or not. You can help us with this movement by joining in with our fundraisers. Movember is most known for growing a moustache or beard over the month of November. If you feel you want to try this or just help by donating, head over to our fundraising page and join our team - movember. com/m/14535001?mc=1 . We need as much support as we can get with this project so I hope you will all get involved!

Over the whole course of the month, we are running a raffle with some amazing prizes, we’ll be coming to Uxbridge and Aylesbury as well as High Wycombe so everyone has the chance to get their hands on tickets! The 30th of November marks the end of Movember and what better way to celebrate than a huge hairy takeover! They’ll be waxing, challenges, quizzes and the all-important Tache Tavern! Make sure you keep looking out for what is going on and get involved with everything you can!

Hi I’m Ratu a 2nd year Accounting and Finance student and this year’s Movember Ambassador. After participating in Movember last year, I was determined to make this year’s fundraiser the most successful one yet. The Students’ Union was very open to my ideas when I presented it to them just before September. However, I have been astonished by the response of everyone I’m working with.

I’ve reviewed several talks about what Movember means to me over the past few months and I have come to the conclusion that this year, more than ever, it’s crucial to raise awareness of men’s mental as well as physical health. My involvement with Movember has strengthened the idea that it’s important to express your emotions in public. You should never discount your own or anyone else’s emotions. It’s okay to occasionally not feel okay, but always talk about it. Always be friendly to people because you never know how much it will affect their lives.

Meet

By Hamood Jaffrey, Sruthi Sabash, Nikky Sabu

Meet your...

Hello, I’m Hamood and I am currently studying BSc (Hons) Cyber Security. I’ve been a Freshers’ Helper since September 2020, helping students with my experience, but want to get involved on a bigger scale to determine what issues students like me are facing and what, and how, they would like them to be resolved. I applied to this role to make student’s life better at BNU and certainly avoiding issues that I had to face! So helping and making sure that all the students are having a great experience during their time at the university.

I would also like to promote different national campaigns from time to time, try to increase the bursaries/scholarships available to students. Ensure education for all. I would also like to help develop additional monetary support campaigns for BAME students like hardship fund/emergency grants.

Visit bucksstudentsunion.org/yourvoice/studentleaders/execofficers/bame to find out more about Hamood and sign up to the BAME students mailing list or email subameofficer@bnu.ac.uk with any ideas you have to support BAME students.

My priority is to provide support and guidance for international students from academics to support their wellbeing through the help of the Students’ Union. I am currently planning a campaign alongside Jess the Students’ Union VPSI to celebrate Diwali as well as looking at running a campaign on cultural festivals so that you won’t feel away from home and will feel closer to the community.

I will be always willing to help you out with all your concerns and queries throughout the term.

Visit bucksstudentsunion.org/yourvoice/studentleaders/execofficers/international/ to find out more about Sruthi and to keep up to date with her termly updates. As an International student at BNU you will automatically be added to the International Students mailing list. You can also email suinternationalofficer@bnu.ac.uk with any ideas that you have to support International students.

I’m Nikky Sabu and I’m studying International Management of Business Administration. I applied for this position as I understand that postgraduate courses require a lot of dedication and time. Being an Executive Officer for Postgraduate students provides me with an opportunity to understand and relate to the requirements of students.

My priorities for the year are to connect postgraduate students with the Students’ Union and the University and help to resolve issues faced by students as the course length is short such as library access and how best to use Blackboard. I will also focus on employability or placement issues faced by the students with more networks and training.

Visit bucksstudentsunion.org/yourvoice/studentleaders/execofficers/post-graduate to find out more about Nikky and to keep up to date with her termly updates. As a Postgraduate student at BNU you will automatically be added to the Postgraduate Students mailing list. You can also email supostgraduateofficer@bnu.ac.uk with any ideas that you have to support Postgraduate students.

Hamood Jaffrey Executive Officer for BAME Students

Sruthi Subhash Executive Officer for International Students

Nikky Sabu Executive Officer for Postgraduate Students

Meet your Executive Officers

By Hamood Jaffrey, Amy Pile, Reanne David

Executive Officers

Hello, I’m Hamood and I am currently studying BSc (Hons) Cyber Security. I’ve been a Freshers’ Helper since September 2020, helping students with my experience, but want to get involved on a bigger scale to determine what issues mature students like me are facing and how they would like them to be resolved. I applied to this role to make student’s life better at BNU and certainly avoiding issues that I had to face! So helping and making sure that all the students are having a great experience during their time at the university.

I would love to hear the concerns of mature students. I would like for there to be more events and mixers for mature students to get together. I am also interested in introducing a ‘games night’ for mature students.

Visit bucksstudentsunion.org/yourvoice/studentleaders/execofficers/mature to find out more about Hamood and to keep up to date with his termly updates. As a Mature student at BNU you will automatically be added to the Mature Students mailing list. You can also email sumatureofficer@bnu.ac.uk with any ideas that you have to support Mature students.

Hi I’m Amy and I’m in my third year studying Adult Nursing. I’m very excited to have been elected to represent you. Having a disability shouldn’t be hidden, it’s a part of who we are. I look forward to engaging with you all, listening and being a voice for you. I hope I will be able to make changes for your benefit. I would love to hear your ideas and any suggestions are very welcomed.

Visit bucksstudentsunion.org/yourvoice/studentleaders/execofficers/disabilities to find out more about Amy and to keep up to date with her termly updates. You can also sign up for our Students with Disabilities mailing list to stay update with all the campaign work that Amy is doing to support your student experience. Alternatively, you can also email sustudentswithdisabilitiesofficer@bnu.ac.uk with any ideas that you have to support students with disabilities at BNU.

Hello everyone, my name is Reanne and I’m your Women’s Executive Officer this year and I represent all the women studying at BNU, I put myself forward for this role to support to bring awareness for women’s mental health, but I am also looking at running campaigns around boosting self- esteem and being a woman myself I understand the social pressure that we have today.

I want to be able to bring all women of all ages together to help and guide them during their time at BNU and make women student know that they have someone here who they can talk to at all times.

Visit bucksstudentsunion.org/yourvoice/studentleaders/execofficers/womens to find out more about Reanne and to keep up to date with her termly updates. You can also sign up for our Women Students’ mailing list to stay update with all the campaign work that Amy is doing to support your student experience. Alternatively, you can also email suwomensofficer@bnu. ac.uk with any ideas that you have to support women students at BNU.

Hamood Jaffrey Executive Officer for Mature Students

Amy Pile Students with Disabilities Officer

Reanne David Women’s Officer

Meet your Executive Officers

By Malikhai Samworth

Executive Officers

Hello everyone, my names Malikhai, but I’m also known as syrup.

This year I was lucky enough to run and get elected to the role of Executive Officer for Part Time and Commuting student. My interest in wanting to become an Executive Officer came from the need to ensure all students are included in the full experience of what Bucks has to offer and to also help raise and deal with issues faced by Part Time and Commuting students.

I am a first-year Law student who commutes from Oxford regularly. My main passion in life is playing rugby and being involved in rugby in my local club but also the club here at Bucks. My main aim this year is to ensure all Part Time and Commuting students’ needs are met. But, overall to guarantee that we can all get involved.

Visit bucksstudentsunion.org/yourvoice/studentleaders/execofficers/part-time to find out more about Malikhai and to keep up to date with their termly updates. As a Part-Time student at BNU you will automatically be added to the Mature Students mailing list. As a Commuting student at BNU, you can also sign up for our Part Time and Commuting Students’ mailing list to stay update with all the campaign work that Malikhai is doing to support your student experience at the link above. Alternatively, you can also email with any ideas that you have to support Part

At Bucks Students’ Union, it’s important to us to hear from you, our members, with any feedback you may have about your time at BNU. Your feedback helps us learn and create change so we can improve the student experience at BNU. We want to make life better for students at Bucks and It Starts with You.

It Starts with You is a new campaign run by your VPEWs, Emily and Brandon, to increase the feedback opportunities available to our members. By filling in the form opposite and providing your feedback, whether it’s positive, negative, or both, your feedback will be passed on to your Student Rep who will raise it directly with academics within your School at their next PCM. This is an excellent way to improve your course and recognise what’s going well.

Shelby Swafford Creative and Digital Industries

School Officer

Black History Month

Black History Month

As we wrap up Black History Month hopefully you have seen how both the Students’ Union and the University have celebrated; be that from sports teams celebrating Black individuals who have made an impact to their particular sports field, seminars including learning about Black Women Resistance Leaders, as well as a whole host of different celebrations across the Institution.

This month we have been particularly taken by the Black History Month 2022 Magazine (Time For Change) which was written by a number of talented individuals focusing on the untold history and experiences of black individuals in the past and present day. Catherine Ross, the editor of the Black History Month Magazine, (who is also the Founder Director of Museumand – The National Caribbean Heritage Museum in Nottingham) talks to how important the telling of Black presence within the UK is in the present day to help consider the need for allies to help elevate people working together to enlist change.

You can read more about the Black History Month 2022 magazine and learn from contributors across many industries including sports, entertainment, education and many more here: issuu.com/blackhistorymonth/docs/bhm_2022_ magazine_210x297_web

Black History is important for more than just a month and we all know actions speak louder than words, which is why we’re committed to ensuring all of our events and activities are not only inclusive, but that we’re also actively focusing on our Black communities and doing everything we can to help make their lives better at Bucks throughout the entire year. Please email surepresentation@bnu. ac.uk with any suggestions that you have.

By Tash Neal (she/her)

Representation VACANCY

As a Student’s Union we currently hold nine School Officer positions across the Seven Schools. School Officers are students within that particular School who are appointed through an interview process to work alongside the Representation Team to promote the benefits of representation. School Officers lead on representation within their school and liaise with Student Reps to gather feedback and help formulate our Education Committee reports, ensuring the student voice is heard at all levels across the University. Extra support from the Students’ Union and various training programmes are provided, as well as a financial reward of up to £350, and invitation to Rep Conference and Union Awards.

We are still recruiting for the 2022/23 School Officer for Health and Social Care Professions. The School of Health and Social Care Professions contains all Undergraduate and Postgraduate Social Work, Operating Department Practise, Paramedic Science, Public Health, Health and Social Care, Child Protection and Adult Safeguarding courses.

By Tash Neal (she/her)

Sneak peek

RepCon is an annual conference held predominantly for our Student Reps and Student Leaders, open to the wider student body, providing an engaging afternoon of employability and personal development sessions.

This year RepCon will be held on Wednesday 23 November 2022. This day is a great opportunity to meet other Student Reps from different courses and chat about your experiences this year.

Each year RepCon has a different focus, with this year’s conference focusing on the new Student Futures Manifesto. For those of you who may not have heard of the Student Futures Manifesto, it is a framework that has been designed to guide Universities and their students to cocreate a plan to help students regain their sense of belonging at university in light of the effects of the pandemic. There are six key themes outlined within this manifesto for Universities to focus on, all of which we aim to include in RepCon this year:

• Support for students before they reach university

• An induction into university life for each year of study

• Support for mental health and wellbeing

Attendees will get the opportunity to attend two sessions themed around the above topics to help support employability and personal development. Some potential sessions for this year include financial wellbeing, building personal resilience and a muchloved Placements 101 session ran by one of our Nursing and Midwifery School Officers, Amy Pile.

RepCon also features a Q & A panel of Higher Education professionals within the institution who discuss a topic and you will have the opportunity to have your say and ask them questions about the direction of your education at BNU.

All our sessions are allocated on a first-comefirst-serve basis. If you are interested in attending RepCon and are not a Student Rep please email surepresentation@bnu.ac.uk so that we can make sure that you get invited to the conference.

If you have any suggestions of what you would like

Council

By Jack James

Union Council

Did someone say free pizza?

Union Council is the highest form of representation at the Students’ Union and is our senior representative body. The Council meets monthly during term time and was formed to represent the voice of the students. The Council is a platform that informs students about the changes to policies within the Union, and the opportunity to vote on Universitywide issues and directs our lobbying approach.

Our Four Sabbatical Officers also give a monthly update on what they’ve been doing and their plans for the upcoming month so students can scrutinise them and hold them to account around their campaign promises from when they were elected.

In addition to this, there will be regular updates from the Four Student Trustees and Eight Executive Officers to report on their work and campaigns so far for this year

Free refreshments are provided at every meeting including FREE Domino’s pizza. So not only can you have a major input on the student experience at BNU but you can also grab yourself some free pizza in the process - what’s not to love?!

For more information about Union Council and how you can get involved, please speak to any member of the sabbatical team or email surepresentation@bnu.ac.uk

The next Union Council meeting will be held on Thursday the 3rd of November at 5pm in N2.06. If you would prefer to attend virtually you can sign up for a ticket on the Students’ Union What’s On page.

To keep up to date with all the dates for this years Union Council you can pick up a Wall Planner from the Uxbridge or High Wycombe Students’ Union Receptions or there are planners dotted around the public areas at the Aylesbury campus which has the key dates for a number of Students’ Union initiatives this year.

Update from Union Council Chair 22-23 Jack James (He/Him)

“I am delighted to be elected for the position of Union Council Chair. The current state of our Students’ Union has been reached a result of committed efforts from student representatives and staff members alongside a vocal student body that highlights its needs and wants. In these important meetings I will be the students voice to ensure that we stay on track to deliver the best outcomes possible for our student body.

There will be a picture of me on the Students’ Union page and quite frankly I am hard to miss! I would be grateful to hear any feedback that could help create a better experience for all, minor or major all feedback is welcomed and feel free to email me at 22140696@bnu.ac.uk or approach me in and around campus. See you soon!”

PAPPED! IN THE VENUE

Have an idea for an event, want to arrange a takeover, or feedback for our events team?

can get in contact with the team by dropping an email to; events@bucks.ac.uk

Halloween may be over, but the memories will surely haunt us forever!

We loved seeing all your crazy costumes and photos across social media as many of you braved to go where no student has gone before. Did you survive the Bloodbath? Or was our famous scare maze the terror of your night? Maybe our TFIF: UV Hallow-scream Rave was the glow up you’d been waiting for. It was certainly the highlight of our October!

But with spooky month coming to an end, we’re welcoming in a season of great joy as The Venue gears up for Christmas. Get ready as we DJ deck the halls with some of the best club nights Wycombe has to offer.

Our weekly Frat House is having a makeover as our VK Takeover kicks off November. We’ll then be heading off to the Jungle for our I’m a Celeb special the following Wednesday. Or if you’re looking for a different vibe, our Friday nights are back with a blast! Sure enough to make you say Thank F**k it’s Friday.

Most importantly, join us for our largest music festival this Bonfire Night as ‘Pick It Up’ and ‘Crash Tribute’ take the main stage. Crash Tribute Festival boasts one of the largest line-ups of Tribute Acts at a one-day event in the UK. Twined with ‘Pick It Up’ a Ska and pop punk festival the previous day. If our club and music nights aren’t your scene, don’t you worry. New this year, Rusty is taking over Beats Study Lounge with our weekly Relax with Rusty. With free soft drinks, games and movies this is the ultimate safe space on campus to help you unwind after a long day.

To see everything we’ve got planned to end 2022 with a bang, head on over to our What’s On page bucksstudentsunion.org/whatson

Volunteering

By Kelly Wiles

Volunteering

We have had an exciting time Volunteering in October. We have Cleaned Brighton Beach, helped pack food parcels with One Can Trust, Planted Chilli seeds and used creative talents to Decorate Kites for Chongyang Festival and Painting Tealight holders for Diwali.

45 Students volunteered to litter pick at Brighton beach and everyone had a great time and would like us to hold it again. Thank you to everyone who took part in the Beach clean, this has a huge impact on the environment, making the beaches and oceans cleaner for us and wildlife. We will be holding another Beach Clean in the Springtime.

Students have run Bucks New Usage, BNU’s very own preloved shop for anything you may have forgotten to pack. Bucks New Usage is completely free to students, keep an eye on the What’s On page for when Bucks New Usage will be open again.

Medium to long term volunteering has seen a rise in new providers, including Theatre Shed, Horizon Sports Club, Talkback, Wycombe Youth Action, and Wycombe food hub and many more these can all be found on the volunteering page. We will be adding more all the time so keep checking for new opportunities.

Bronze Volunteering Award: Arbaaz Patwari

Patrick Fillingham

Renato Sebastiao - martins

Elli Jessica Lynn

Jack James

Tom Benton

Reece Smedley-Clarke

Marissa Leyden

Paige Hamilton Dee Whyte Ratu Nailatikau

Silver Volunteering Award: Arbaaz Patwari

We also went to Lindengate in Wendover. Lindengate is a wellbeing centre Operating from a 6-acre site adjacent to Dobbies Garden Centre in Wendover, Lindengate offers a wide range of naturebased activities to support people in a managed and calm and safe environment, either singly or in small groups, working towards building and maintaining resilience. Lindengate was conceived in 2012, became a Registered Charity in September 2013 and opened in November 2014, we re-potted Trees and pulled stinging nettles from the ground making room for another wellbeing Garden.

RAG week has been amazing and has seen an Obstacle course, Pumpkin carving, I’ve Put a Spell on You Takeover in the Venue, Netball 4 RAG, Scavenger Hunt, Movie Night and Wear it Yellow. Thank you to all of those who have donated and taken part in the events. Your next Rag week starts on the 30 January 2023 keep an eye on the RAG Ambassadors Instagram page for all the latest news on events.

Italia-Cardai Coote

Patrick Fillingham Chloe Hayes

Jack James Georgia Reeve Matthew Christie

Gold Volunteering Award: Patrick Fillingham Elliot West Jack James

Platinum Volunteering Award: Tegan Arnott

By Jess Hughes

ACTIVITIES

It’s all happening at Bucks Students’ Union...with the dust settling from Fresher’s Fortnight we are working hard to keep providing you with activities and skills to keep the fun going!

Some Exciting Recreational Activities and Additional Skills coming up are...

Fireworks Night

Tickets are available for both the Marlow Bottom Fireworks display (Saturday 5 November) and the Hamilton Academy Fireworks display (Friday 4 November).

Both events will have food stalls, rides, and games.

Wycombe Swan 30th Birthday Festival of Performance

Join us on Sunday 13 November for Wycombe Swan’s 30th Birthday celebration with a festival of performance from local performing arts schools including students and alumni from Bucks!

Other activities and skills coming up include:

Online Safety Training

Remembering Britain’s Black Servicemen and Servicewomen

Battle of Britain Bunker Tour Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Training

Paediatric First aid

You can book onto any activity through our website so be sure to keep an eye out on the Bucks Students’ Union ‘What’s On’ page – don’t miss out by not reserving your place early on!

If you need any support to enhance your academic experience, pop into one of the Students’ Union offices and we will be more than happy to help wherever we can.

Or maybe you have something different in mind? If you have an activity or skills session that you would like to take part in, please do not hesitate to get in touch! We love hearing your ideas and providing opportunities that you want! Contact us at surecactivities@bnu.ac.uk or pop in and see us in one of the Student’s Union offices!

We look forward to seeing you all on as many activities as possible this term!

By Amy Pile

Bucks Nursing society

A warm welcome to all new and returning students.

The nursing society is a great way to make friends, throughout your degree gaining support from others can be highly beneficial. We are a very inclusive society where most of our sessions are online this way makes it much easier for members to join.

We pride ourselves with the support we give, three of our committee members are entering their third year and can signpost you and offer advice, for the first year of your journey or you may be in your second or third year and feel you may need some guidance.

Joining the society is free, we have study sessions that will help you gain knowledge and share ideas with others. Drug calculation revision has been well received with our members as this is a vital part of the nursing journey. Breaking barriers where students get together to chat about absolutely anything, with also providing events where you can relax and have fun.

We were absolutely thrilled to be nominated for society of the year and raise and give fundraiser alongside LGBTQ+ society, we are very passionate about charity and volunteering, not only are you helping different charities and the community but also enhancing your CV.

Thinking of joining the society, you can also order your own nursing fleece, this also supports the society, you can contact the Students Union at Uxbridge campus if you would like to order one, they look great and what a great momentum to keep.

We shall soon be posting about our cake and book sale, so please do follow us on social media:

Twitter: BucksNurSociety Instagram: BucksNurSociety Facebook: Bucks Nursing Society

Lastly, we hope you have an amazing time, and we look forward to seeing you all soon.

- Bucks Nursing

PLAY YOUR PART, BE CYBER SMART

Don’t let this be you.

Here are some things we can do to look after our important information while following good practice guidance:

Protect your identity

• Stay safe while using social media – Be careful which personal information you post on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. Regularly review your security settings

• Fraud/Identity theft – Fake profiles (also called catfishing) are created by using someone’s personal information and photos, in order to pretend to be that person online. False profiles may be used to ‘befriend’ users to obtain their personal information.

Use strong passwords

A Leeds fashion student was ‘catfished’ by her best friend, who had pretended to be her online boyfriend for two years.” - The Sun

• Using separate passwords – Keep separate passwords for your BNU account, your email account, and other accounts you may have such as banking & social media.

• Make sure your password is strong – Three random words combined into one password is an effective way to create a strong password that is easy to remember.

• Save your passwords in browser – By storing your passwords in a browser you are allowing your browser to remember your password for you and is safer than using weak passwords.

• Save your passwords in password manager – In case you have trouble remembering your passwords but want your accounts to be secure, you can use a password manager (or password vault).

Protect against phishing

• Defend against phishing – Don’t click on attachments, learn to spot phishing emails and other scams. Do not log in to a website after following a link. If uncertain, visit the site separately and verify its legitimacy.

• Be wary of unexpected emails, text or chats – You may receive fake emails claiming to be from an organization (that you may trust) and asking you to provide personal information by replying or clicking a link. If you suspect you have received a phishing email you can report this to: report@phishing.gov.uk

Play your part, be cyber smart

By Jasmine Dos Santos Collett

Protect your wellbeing whilst online

• Cyberbullying/Online harassment – Bullying that takes place online through a digital device. It can be horrible to experience this type of behaviour online but remember – you DON’T have to put up with it. If you experience bullying or abuse please report this immediately to the University so that emotional support and practical help can be provided: studentwellbeing@bnu.ac.uk 01494 602324

• Balance – It is important to maintain a healthy balance between your online and offline lives so that you can take care of your mental health and well being. Read a book, get some exercise, or take a walk outdoors.

Stay secure by using multi factor authentication (MFA)

• MFA – Ensures that only you can access your university and personal accounts. It requires you to provide additional information, such as a code, to authenticate your identity when logging into the University’s IT services. It helps keep hackers from getting into your accounts, even if they know your password.

Keeping your data secure

• Safe storage of documents – You can save your work to the University G: drive. This is your own personal space for storing documents, which is regularly backed up. This means you can restore a document if you accidentally delete or save over it.

• USB sticks – It’s much better not to put data on a USB stick at all. If you must transport data on a USB stick, all the confidential information should be encrypted. USB sticks can easily be lost or forgotten, and if not encrypted, they can then be accessed by anyone who finds them.

• Importance of backups – Backup your information regularly to ensure you always have a recent version. Doing so will let you recover your data more quickly if it is lost or stolen. Set up automatic backups so that your information is regularly saved into cloud storage without you having to remember to do so.

• If in doubt, call it out – If you think any of your devices or accounts could have been compromised in any way. You can report this to the IT Service Desk by emailing: IT@bnu.ac.uk or calling 01494 605000

The

By Ellie Lee, Ioana Filon, Peter Ashiagbor

School Officers

At Bucks Students’ Union, we have at least one School Officer for each of the seven schools: Art, Design and Performance; Aviation and Security; Business and Law; Creative and Digital Industries; Health and Social Care Professions; Human and Social Sciences; and Nursing and Midwifery. School Officers are appointed through an interview process to work alongside the Representation Team to promote the benefits of representation. School Officers lead on representation within their school and liaise with Student Reps to gather feedback and help formulate our Education Committee reports, ensuring the student voice is heard at all levels across the University. Extra support from the Students’ Union and various training programmes are provided, as well as a financial reward of up to £350, and an invitation to Rep Conference and Union Awards.

This years School Officers are listed below, have a read to find out more about them and how you can contact them:

Ellie Lee (she/her) ellie.lee@bnu.ac.uk

Art Design and Performance

Hi I’m Ellie, School Officer for Art, Design and Performance. I’m a final year studying Performing Arts. Alongside being School Officer, representation at BNU is a big part of my uni experience as I also take on the roles of Student Rep, NUS Delegate, Undergraduate Representative on the University’s Education Committee and Student Trustee. Outside of representation I am the Captain & Secretary of Bucks Musical Theatre Society and can often be found around the SU getting involved in volunteering opportunities.

I am so excited to be taking on the role, representing the student voice to make the university experience the best it can be!

Ioana Filon (she/her) ioana.filon@bnu.ac.uk

Aviation and Security

Hii peeps!! I’m Ioana Filon, the School Officer for the Aviation & Security School. I am in my final year studying Aviation Management and I’m also the President of the Aviation Society. Some of my hobbies include archery, gardening, reading and obviously aviation. I’m looking forward to seeing you around and have a chat anytime!

Peter Ashiagbor (he/him) peter.ashiagbor@bnu.ac.uk

Business and Law

Hello! I’m the new School Officer, Business and Law. My name is Peter, and I am currently in my first year of Accounting and Finance. I am also a Student Trustee of the Union. I work with the Reps in the Business and Law school to gather your feedback for a better experience for you! Don’t hesitate to let your Reps know what’s happening, what you would like to change, and the good things too.

School Officers

By Vytautas Kravcenka, Shelby Swafford, Ashley Archibald

Creative and Digital Industries (Digital Students)

Hi, I am Vytautas Kravcenka, I usually go by V. I am your School Officer for Creative and Digital Industries school, representing the digital courses. In the school, I study Games development 3rd year. This is very exciting opportunity to be your School Officer. While being a school officer I am also Chair of Gaming and Climbing Societies as well as Welfare Liaison for Esports.

I am a Senior Resident the Brooks Street Halls of Residence and 2023 NUS delegate representing our university. I am very happy to have this role and can’t wait to see how much of an impact we can do. I love doing sports and want to encourage everyone in the school to get involved with physical activities as that helps our body and our mental health. Do not forget- it starts with you, so if you have any problems just talk to me and wetogether- can try and solve it the best way possible!

Creative and Digital Industries (Creative Students)

Hiya, I’m Shelby Swafford, one of two School Officer for the Creative and Digital Industries School. I am super excited to be back as a School Officer for my final year. I am an international student on the Music Production and Business course. Alongside this I have various leadership roles within the university and Students’ Union. If you have any issues or questions, do not hesitate to contact me :)

Human and Social Sciences

I am Ashley Archibald, and I am the School Officer for Human and Social Sciences. I am excited and grateful to be working with you and to make sure everything to do with your course goes well. I have been Student Representative for the past 3 years for BSc (Hons) Psychology and have gained great skills along the way. Please feel free to contact me and I look forward to meeting you and seeing you around campus. I will do my utmost to make sure your concerns are heard!

Vytautas (V) Kravcenka vytautas.kravcenka@bnu.ac.uk

Shelby Swafford (she/her) shelby.swafford@bnu.ac.uk

Ashley Archibald ashley.archibald@bnu.ac.uk

I am so excited to be taking on the role, representing the student voice to make the university experience the best it can be!

By Amy Pile, Sue Davies

School Officers

Amy Pile amy.pile@bnu.ac.uk

Nursing and Midwifery (September Cohort)

Hi, I’m Amy, I work alongside Sue and I am the School Officer for the Nursing and Midwifery School for the September Cohort. I’m a thirdyear Adult Nursing student, Student Rep for my course, Executive Officer representing Students with Disabilities, a Student Trustee for the Students’ Union and am the Chair of Bucks Nursing Society. I adore animals, love watching a good film and singing. Feel free to contact me via email!

Sue Davies

sue.davies@bnu.ac.uk

Nursing and Midwifery (February Cohort)

Hello! My name is Sue, and I work alongside Amy as the School Officer for Nursing and Midwifery students (Feb Cohort). I am a third-year Adult Nursing student, a Student Representative, and the Bucks Nursing Society’s Welfare Liaison. Reading, watching Netflix, and listening to podcasts are some of my interests. Please contact me

email if you need anything at

a chat, as I am incredibly passionate

supported

student

of the way.

VACANT

surepresentation@bnu.ac.uk

Health and Social Care Professions

If you are a student within this School and would like support, please feel free to email surepresentation@bnu.ac.uk and we would be happy to help

By Raffy Pantaleon

SWANS

We are happily announcing that the 22/23 season for the Swans has OFFICIALLY started!

We’d just recently finished try outs for our main cheer team but we still have spaces for our dance teams.

There are a lot of changes this year and we hope that you are just as excited as we are; we have a completely new set of uniforms (SPARKLY, may I add!), and a new genre the Swans haven’t done before - Hip-hop, which replaced Jazz.

We decided to reveal the names of our dance teams as well …

BNU Swans Serenity (Pom)

BNU Swans Majesty (Hip-Hop)

If you are interested or thinking of joining these teams, please don’t hesitate to message us @bnuswanscheersquad on insta or drop us an email at swanscheersquad@gmail.com

If you decide to not compete with us bit still want to be a part of the team, you can be a Social Swan. It just means you join our Social sessions every Wednesdaysthis usually involves themes and dressing up!

We are really looking forward to what this season holds, even more as our new members are always ready to do things with a lot of effort.

“

Joining the BNU Swans so far has been a really good experience - everyone on the team has been so welcoming and supportive no matter the level of skill you have. Coming out of lockdown and being able to join this team has also given me a new sense of community, which is very important to me, especially as I’m getting to know my teammates better every week at our socials! Cheer has also been a really great way to unwind outside of my degree, especially when things become particularly stressful. I can’t wait to learn and grow more with this team as the year goes on!”

Alyssa Sorzano

BNU Swans Fresher

“

I was initially quite apprehensive whether to join the Swans or not. I decided to go along to the taster sessions anyway and was astounded by how much the team is so family-like! It made me want to join the Swans because I then wanted to feel a part of that close-knit family. Everyone on the team has been nothing but kind and friendly, and very patient with me considering I have extremely little experience of cheer.

Learning another skill has been exciting, and to work together to reach a goal! I can’t wait to work towards competitions together.”

Poppy Ramsey

BNU Swans Fresher

By Tim Cunningham

BNU Men’s Rugby

University can be daunting for a fresher.

The unknown can be fear-inducing, but when I got here, that feeling soon went away There were helpers all around campus to lend a hand if you were lost, and a wide range of facilities from an on-site gym to restaurants which serve food at affordable prices. I chose to join rugby during the freshers fair and it proved to be a great decision for me, not only being able to play the game I loved, but I met a great group of people. They also made me feel welcome in the club, despite my skills leaving large areas to improve on. The socials were also a lot of fun, with lots of seniors and freshers getting together and generally having a great night.

The club, joint with the Students’ Union, most often always have an answer to problems you have, spreading from your own performance to basic problems such as settling into your classes. However, the highlight has to be being selected for your first match. I felt extremely proud to have been selected to represent the university, especially since I was chosen to start. The match also let me learn a lot of how I could improve as a player, and a pint with the opposing team after the game was always something to look forward to.

I am looking forward to not only compete for my place to start more games, but also participate in activities outside of training and matches, such as volunteering, hopefully helping rugby win club of the year again.

Using only the letters in the word wheel, how many 4 letter or above words can you find?

must always use the middle letter too!)