Issue 7// February 2016
ENO’S EDITORIAL Hi Guys, It’s that time again. Elections! Elections!! Elections!!! Last month went quite well with intensive promotion for Elections, which saw us receiving a total number of 103 nominations. Well done to all Councillors and Exec who joined in the promotion. Next on the line is Question time, Yahooo! I’d like to encourage you all to attend and come along with at least 3 of your friends too so they can also share in the fun of Pizza snacking and grilling of the candidates. The year so far has been great, so let’s keep making it better. Thank you.
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A CLOSE UP LOOK AT THE MEMBERS OF STAFF THAT HELP MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN AT CUSU
STUDENTS UNION ADVICE CENTRE
I am Caron McKenna, the Community and Student Welfare Manager, and I have responsibility for the Students’ Union Advice Centre, CUSU Campaigns, the Student Warden Scheme and the Tenants’ Union. I am also responsible for developing and maintaining community relationships and networks. I attend a multitude of University and city wide meetings on behalf of the Students’ Union ensuring students’ needs are represented and their voices are heard. We are Susan Salisbury, Justine Docherty and Lisa Brooks and we are accredited generalist welfare advisors. We offer free and confidential advice, specialising in personal finance, housing and academic issues. Amongst other things we assist with any budgeting and financial issues you may have, including difficulties with Student Finance England. We are able to check tenancy agreements, advise you on the process for renting property and assist you with any issues you may have with your home. Additionally we are able to support and represent students for disciplinary, professional suitability and academic conduct meetings. My name is Sophie, and I’m the Student Community Coordinator here at CUSU. My job consists of setting up and successfully managing a ‘Student Warden Scheme’, to encourage students to get involved with the local community, and challenge negative student stereotypes. The Warden Scheme will aim to improve community relations, help to make students more aware of their rights and responsibilities, and tackle issues around; anti-social behaviour, housing, waste and recycling, etc. I’m passionate about making a difference, and believe the best way to do this is by working together, which is the key to the Warden scheme. I also love dogs, camping, cars, the smell of petrol, crepes, and Game of Thrones.
News from the Students’ union Advice Centre and Community Wardens Hello I’m Caron McKenna, the Student Welfare and Community Manager. I’m responsible for the Advice Centre, co-ordinating the CUSU Campaigns programme, the Tenants’ Union and the Community Warden scheme which is a really interesting and exciting part of CUSU. I work with four fantastic staff, Justine, Lisa, Sue and Sophie and of course the elected officers! Whilst the Advice Centre is a long established part of CUSU the Community Wardens and Tenants’ Union are a brand new but very popular addition to our support and services. The Advice Centre, with the hard work of Justine, Lisa and Sue, continues to advise and represent students from the Coventry and London Campuses and the College. The top three areas of advice since September have been Housing Academic Financial So far this academic year the advisors have dealt with over 2000 inquiries and they do this by email, telephone, face to face and by Skype. Inquiries range from one off advice to in-depth casework and representation which can take place over many weeks and months and can affect whether or not a student remains on their course of study. Once again we have had a packed campaigns programme this academic year. There are still a number of campaigns to run so if you want to get involved please contact Akan for more information. There have been some real highlights this year including the “Rainbow Road” for LGBT+ History Month and the Black History Month Ball and Art Exhibition. Campaigns are a primary function of a democratic organisation it is how we inform our members and make the changes that they want. Introducing the Tenants’ Union (TU) and the Community Warden Scheme into the Student Welfare area has been energizing. Hundreds of students have signed up for the TU which has real potential for changing the face of student rented accommodation in Coventry by putting the student voice at its centre. The Community Warden Scheme has been welcomed by the University, Coventry City Council, West Midlands Police and local residents. It has the potential to bring students and residents together in their neighbourhoods to improve everyone’s’ quality of life. If you would like more information about the project please contact Adebowale.
By the time you read this, Volunteering & Employability will have just finished delivering one of the biggest events on their annual calendar – Student Volunteer Week. A week of activities have been planned including activities in the Hub for students to give volunteering a go, a volunteer fair with 21 organisations showcasing the voluntary opportunities they have available and our celebration social where students can get together, receive their certificates for volunteering and hear about what the Student Volunteer Team have been up to. Recruitment for our new Student Volunteer Team is also now open until 14 March, and we will then select a new team of 8 to support us to raise the profile of volunteering and engage more students for 16-17. It’s been a great team this year, and they have all developed their employability skills and experience as well as gained a broader understanding of student volunteering‌ Interested? We welcome applications, so check out the CUSU website for information on how to apply. The 6 add+vantage modules we run are now coming to an end and Devina, our Schools Organiser will be starting to mark around 500 pieces of coursework from those who have undertaken our volunteering modules over the coming months. We are also in the process of business planning for next year and have been looking at where we want to develop and grow.
Students from across the campus came together to celebrate and spectate Varsity 2016. 1400 purchased tickets to the tried and trusted Ice Hockey Opener, while we tried something new in hosting the Rugby Union Finale at The Ricoh Arena and sold 862 tickets. Attendance was also strong at the un-ticketed events. More than 400 Coventry students competed in 35 fixtures, while 30 sports therapy students provided support and 18 children from local schools featured as mascots. All of this was achieved on no budget at all; we place our trust in ticket sales to cover our expenses. On this occasion, Warwick were victorious. However, we came incredibly close to our first varsity win; we led for nine of the eleven days and, in the end, only three wins separated us from the title. We are not disheartened as the Coventry side featured some incredible performances. Pool and Ice Hockey gave us some of our very first victories. Rugby League amounted an enormous 54-0 win, while Netball and Equestrian lead from the very start and brought the win and the rosettes home respectively. We saw a similar story with Women’s Tennis who outperformed the Warwick side and from Cricket who came back from defeat last year to take the deserved win in 2016. Men’s Basketball won once more and Men's Swimming continued to rack up the points, picking up some PBs along the way. Karting took all three podium positions; 1st, 2nd and 3rd! Not forgetting Women’s Football who came back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3, and Men’s Football who put on a cracking show and made it 3-0 at full time. However, our pride is not only with the winning sides. Women’s Basketball brought it back from a deficit of 10 points to lose by only two in the final seconds. A similar story for both Men’s and Women’s Volleyball who came so incredibly close to clinching their first varsity wins only to be edged out at the last minute. The same could be said for Women’s Rugby Union, who were one second and one decision away from their first varsity win. On their president’s birthday, Golf lost by a mere half point on the final putt, while Ultimate Frisbee competed for points for the first time and put a valiant effort in. Our respect should also be given to Athletics, many of whom competed in the Park Run despite running in the half marathon the next day. Of course, perhaps the most prominent near miss was from CURFC at The Ricoh Arena. Rugby Union were mere seconds away from stealing the final points following their best performance this season. Disappointed, the team turned to the crowd – to see they were on their feet, louder than the opposing fans, showing their thanks to the players; and that's what it’s all about; respect for one another. When futsal fell short of players, we put out a squad of willing volunteers from the Hockey, Tennis and Netball Clubs. It goes to show that, at Coventry, we team together to support one another. Varsity 2016 saw many changes in format and descriptors for inclusion, and perhaps, had we buckled to Warwick’s demands and accepted a further reduced schedule of events, we might have won. But for us, it isn’t necessarily about winning; it’s about our students, our competitors, their experience and our spirit. In a competition that spanned 11 days, we held the lead for 9; the longest period in varsity’s 26 year history; a feat we are certainly proud of.
Staffing update We will be holding interviews for the following posts: Sports and Societies Manager – 18/02/2016 Performance Sports Coordinator – 23/02/2016 Fran Docherty has completed her First Aid at Work Certificate.
CUSU Calendar Executive Committee Meeting: 25th February 2016; 14:00-16:00 10th March 2016; 14:00-16:00 17th March 2016; 14:0016:00 24th March 2016; 14:00-16:00 Student Council Meeting: 22nd February 2016; 17:00-19:00 22nd March 2016; 17:00-19:00 Zones Meetings Week Beginning 14th March Board of Trustee Meeting: 11th March 2016; 14:00-16:00
Campaigns International Women’s Day 8th March Go Green 15th and 16th March
Board of Trustee Subcommittee Meeting: 26th February 2016; 14:00-16:00 18th March 2016; 14:0016:00 You can find the yearly CUSU Democracy Calendar by following the link below: http://www.cusu.org/your-union/studentleaders/the-student-council/democracycalendar-and-attendance/
Useful Links CUSU 2020 Vision, Articles of Association, Impact Report and Consolidated Accounts http://www.cusu.org/yourunion/documents/