The
May 2010 edition
scene UNIVERSITY SITUATION UPDATE
TIONS CARLISLE ELEC G DEBATE EVENIN
MOVING OUT CHECKLIST
SWWISH AWARDS PHOTOS
www.thestudentsunion.org.uk
FREE
www.thestudentsunion.org.uk
Contents The Current University Situation
p. 4 - 9
National Elections
p. 9 - 12
Representation
p. 13 - 15
Moving out Checklist
p. 16 - 17
Volunteering update
p. 15 - 20
Overseas Volunteering Opportunity
p. 21
Activities
p. 24 - 26
Entertainment
p. 28 - 31
Update from us including LISS and Estates Developments
Carlisle Elections debate plus Elections results
Bye-Election results, The student survey and more...
Advice on what to do when you vacate your student digs
General update plus volunteering abroad
Boost your employability skills with Raleigh
Update from all campuses and annual SSWISH awards
Drink the bar Dry plus the Entz survey
The Scene Student magazine is produced by The University of Cumbria Students’ Union. If you would like to advertise in or get involved with The Scene then please contact our Marketing, Design and 3 Communications Coordinator, Hatti Burt on 01228 616164 or email harriet.burt@cumbria.ac.uk.
UPD ATE THE CURRENT UNIVERSITY SITUATION Important Information for the Attention of All students. As some of you may or may not know the University is currently going through some particularly difficult times and some of the financial constraints are going to have an impact upon both the academic and administrative structures of the University. We at the Students’ Union think that it is of great importance that students know what is happening and are also given the chance to give feedback on any concerns that you may have so PLEASE read the information below, follow the links to get more information and ultimately send us your feedback.
Academic Reorganisation In October 2009 the Vice Chancellor began a review of the University’s Academic Organisation and this resulted in a Consultation Period with the staff of the University. In March this year the first phase was agreed at Academic Board, this included the formation of three new faculties. • Faculty of Education • Faculty of Health • Faculty of Arts, Business and Science. These new faculties will include what
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remains of the current faculties and the impact of various course and campus changes. (The original faculties as they currently stand are; Faculty of Education, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Business, Sports and Social Sciences and Faculty of Science and Natural Resources) The new structure will allow for the new faculties to retain individual traits as the new structure will take into account that they cannot operate with a ‘one size fits all’ approach. If you would like more information regarding this please get in touch.
Project Synergy?? Aka Professional Services Reorganisation. March also saw the beginning of a review of the professional services that many of you rely on on a regular basis, the focus of which seems to have been the administrative services. The aim of the consultation and the team who put this together was to make the services far more efficient both in the interest of money and service. The biggest difference that students may see is that the current proposal is to set up a centralised Student Information Point on each of the campuses which would house and deal with the majority
of student day to day enquiries for all courses, ranging from basic queries to dealing with essay submissions, extensions or referring students on to the correct place. Another area of the service will exist behind the scenes with a great deal more specialism and management of students’ records and quality. This will be used to support the work of the Information Points which all students will be able to see. Areas that already exist under their specific Faculty such as Placements Units and technical support will continue to function within their faculty as they do now. All students should be aware that these proposals will also lead to a drop in staff numbers over the coming months as the University must make savings in order to secure an assured future. If you’d like to find out more about this the consultation paper has been uploaded onto Blackboard. Please email the students Union back with any points that you want to raise at barry.mcgurk@cumbria.ac.uk.
Article in the Guardian For those that didn’t get chance to see it. Here is an article from The Guardian on the current problems within the University Of Cumbria. “Courses are being cut, buildings closed and staff made redundant; the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) had to offer a cash bail-out for workers to be paid. Given the financial difficulties at the University of Cumbria, it’s hardly surprising the atmosphere is gloomy. The university, which has sites in Carlisle, Penrith, Ambleside and Lancaster, as well as in London, has accumulated £30m in debts in the mere three years of its existence. Plans have been dropped for a £70m flagship campus in Carlisle, and two-thirds of the Charlotte Mason campus in Ambleside has closed. Lynette McKone, a second-year creative writing student, says she and her classmates are feeling vulnerable at the moment. “Our worry is that our course could be moved to the Lancaster campus. We all feel very strongly about that, and we will fight any such attempt. We feel that the changes being made are not for the benefit of students.” Nick Pemberton, who was the staff representative on the university board and a creative writing lecturer, says what was good at the university has been eroded, and little has been achieved in three years. “Where has the money gone? That’s what I want to know,” he says referring to the deficit.“I understand it is going to get tougher – it is the way it
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is – but there are things here that people could be more accountable about.” The campus he worked at was the profitable arts college in Carlisle prior to it forming part of the university in August 2007. Pemberton took voluntary redundancy in September after he was asked to close down the course in Carlisle and move it to Lancaster. Roxanne Scott, a BTec national diploma music student, says “The mood among students is one of concern and cynicism. The university are now charging to use car parks, as they need to make money. People are saying they are already giving £3,000 a year, so they are not paying to park. One guy blankly refuses to pay his parking tickets every day.” A student who started at the university in the first intake says the quality has degraded over three years and he is glad to be leaving. The library at the Brampton Road campus was closed last year. “Things like that have made it harder to study for my dissertation. It’s all very disappointing for students in Cumbria as they are going to have to travel away to go to university. And it’s bad for the area.”
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Danny Morville, Acting-President of the Students’ Union, says the failure of the previous board and management to identify and act on flaws, even after they became apparent, has “cost not only jobs, but the aspirations and futures of many students and staff”. “The Students’ Union recognises that difficult decisions have been necessarily made by the new management to ensure sustainability of the university and is confident that savings will be made as required,” he says. “The Students’ Union will work to ensure that the quality of
the student experience does not suffer as a result of the drastic measures taken.” Dr Trevor Curnow, the UCU’s representative at the university, is concerned about the local community, as the economy in Ambleside relies on the student population. “The Cumbrian economy is not the most robust,” Curnow says. “To hit a relatively small community with a large reduction in student numbers is going to bite deeply.” The university’s financial crisis means it must save £10m by the end of July to help it to tackle the deficit. Peter McCaffery, the vice-chancellor, says there is a credible business plan in place and that the university is working “extremely hard” to get a solution that is both academically sound and financially robust. He emphasises that it is business as usual for students. Although courses are being cut, he argues that there were a relatively large number of courses on offer – 533 – and says some of those that were cut had not recruited a single student. He says the university’s problems are historically linked to its creation, when the merger of three institutions left it with too many staff and too much estate. “With regards to further education provision, we are working hard to find the best solution for current and future students,” he says, “while actively recruiting to our courses beginning in September.”
STUDENTS OF PENRITH YOUR LIBRARY TIMES HAVE CHANGED!
Recently at Newton Rigg, the announcement was made that the library opening hours were to change. This change was met with hostility by you, the students. A paper has now been sent to the Head of LISS, Margaret Weaver & The Vice Chancellor, Peter McCaffery explaining YOUR views after consultation. The SU have proposed that the university employ student staff to cover the short fall of university employed staff in the evening so that the library can remain open for your convenience. We feel that by doing this, the university will be staying true to their promise of offering “a very high quality learning experience in a supportive environment which enables students to achieve their personal & professional potential wherever they study” and that is “committed to learning which is innovative, flexible, student centred and which utilises the latest technology.” IF YOU HAVE ANY VIEWS/CONCERNS ABOUT THE NEW OPENING HOURS THEN PLEASE GET IN TOUCH. Elliot Bloomfield - Penrith Vice President Elliot.bloomfield@cumbria.ac.uk, 01768 893664
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LISS & Estates Developments We have been rocked recently with the revelations that the estates & LISS provisions are set to change. Below are the proposals, and SU responses to each for the changes at Brampton Road, Fusehill Street & Ambleside. Fusehill Street, Carlisle
against the closure of the Fusehill street library. Whilst the move of the library will create 14 teaching rooms in the space currently occupied by the library, we believe that the complete removal of the library from this site will have a huge negative impact on the students both old & new. Under the assumption that the deal is in fact already signed, the Union has suggested to the University that; a) The University provide a free/ cheap shuttle service between Fusehill Street, Milbourne Street & Brampton Road
It has been proposed that the Milbourne Street Library be used as the main library facility for the whole of Carlisle. This would involve the closure of the Fusehill Street library and relocation of the resources it Milbourne Street. The Students’ Union doesn’t agree with the closure of the library being included in the new Business Plan that the University has created. There has been no consultation with students in regards to whether they want the move to happen and unfortunately already seems like the decision has been made hastily. In regards to the library, the feedback we have gained is an unresounding stand
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b) The University provide a book delivery service to each campus for all students, not just part time students as in the proposals It is recognise that these suggestions will carry a cost for the university but we feel, by adopting the above suggestions, that the negative perception students’ will have due to the loss of another library will be kept to a minimum and allow the students’ to reduce interference with their degree It is proposed that 5 rooms (002, 003, 004, 104 & 105) within the LG be given over for LISS purposes. These rooms will be used for learning resources and ‘direct delivery’ staff positions. 3 of these rooms will also house information commons for each faculty
The Union is opposed to any such move at all. So many rooms being removed as teaching space & granted as office space is a detriment to the learning experience. Despite concerns from LISS over the distance between the reception & support service, Fusehill Street is a small enough campus, and students sensible enough, to be able to move between an enquiry point & service point as required.
what would be the shop space. The union is supportive of this positive move to provide improved presence & service for the Brampton Road students’. The removal of the library last year severely hindered the Student Experience of students this year and the improvement of the service up there can only be seen as a benefit to the students studying up there
The Union understand that the use of space is limited at Fusehill Street, but would not want to see such a LISS dominance of the Gateway space. It is suggested that a) The proposed information commons suite of 3 rooms be reduced to 2 and that these rooms be located at the rear of the building for quiet perusal b) That one room on the ground floor be given over to LISS for front line ’I-zone’ type services c) That one room on the ground floor be given over to the Project Synergy ‘Student Information Point’ d) That one room on the ground floor be given to the SU front line delivery service e) That all staff from each of LISS, Project Synergy & SU aspects, who are not specifically front line, be located somewhere else on campus Brampton Road, Carlisle It is proposed that a number of room moves in reception take place to create a new information commons. This includes the relocation of the student shop to reception and the SU office to,
Charlotte Ambleside
Mason
Building,
It is proposed that the University introduce a LISS gateway provision within the existing library building, including arrangements for a campus specific resource and student support services The Union is supportive of the proposed developments and believe such will exceed the expectations of those remaining Ambleside students and set this new gateway campus up for a positive future. Written by Danny Morville, Acting Students’ Union President
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Carlisle Elections Debate Evening 29th April It was a bustling evening down at the learning gateway on the 29th April as members of all ages & backgrounds came together to grill the local party candidates on their policies & promises ahead of the May 6th election. The panel was made up of 7 parties. Labour, Conservative, Green Party, UKIP, Liberal Democrats, Independent & Carlisle Socialist & Trade Unionist, Representation for students was also high. Joining me was Tom Drummond (Entz Officer Carlisle), Amy-Lou Coglan (Education Faculty Rep) & Tim Lewis (Academic Affairs Officer). It was Tim who was presented with the opportunity to ask his question first. How do you see the role of the university in the community of Carlisle? And what is your view on the current
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situation of the university and what do propose to do about this if you get to power? UKIP candidate Michael Owen (not the footballer) laid into the old management of the University, labelling them shambolic & dishonest for allowing the situation to get to the level it is at now. John Metcalfe of the Carlisle Trade & Socialist Union Party says that he would want the cap on numbers allowed in to University to be lifted. By allowing this, more people would be paying to go to University; thus helping to lessen the debt. Neil Hughes of the Liberal Democrats focused on how much of a benefit to the city the University is, bringing in diversity & a wealth of talent.
Labours Michael Boaden, who appeared shaky throughout, chose to focus on supporting the current students & staff (something the university doesn’t seem to do very well) but adds that the University should become a University FOR Cumbria & not of it. By this he means that any existing presence in Lancaster should be cut and moved up into Cumbria. Finally, John Reardon of the Green Party says that the Uni is essential for Cumbria then attacked prices of higher education & said that if they have money to bail out banks, why can’t they fund higher education more effectively? I think it is safe to say that the Green Party won that debate. The rest of the evening seemed to fly by once the question of the University had gone by. Following on from the University, the next question is: How committed are you to encouraging cycling / providing for cyclists? Do you agree that cycling is of great benefit to any community, in terms of health, in terms of reducing air pollution, congestion, damage, and numbers / severity of road accidents? The question is met by a few giggles and few obvious jokes by some of the candidates, about their ability to cycle, to appear more at ease with the situation. However, the obvious question here is about Climate change and what the parties intend to do about it. There is a ‘’protest’’ in front of us in support of the 350 Campaign (to get emissions in the atmosphere down to 350 parts per
million CO2). The Liberal Democrats seize their opportunity to try and get a leg up on the Greens by claiming they are promising the world. What a surprise that Labour agree with the Lib Dems.The only other answer worth mentioning is that of the Conservatives who say there is a big opportunity for the next government & that they are committed to renewable energy with business having a key role. The rest of the evening continues as you would expect it to. One party trying to get a leg up on the other whilst battling against jeers for the crowd. We got questions on Overseas Aid, Engagement With Young People (with Labour saying that volunteering for young people should be focused on more), Healthcare & The State of The NHS, (all but Labour & Conservatives want the NHS to go back to the professionals and abolish targets), The Banking Crisis, Faith Communities & Politics, Women & Low Income Citizens in Politics & finally Resisting the National Parties Whip. The whole evening was extremely beneficial to any potential voter & seemed to finish with the Green Party and The Liberal Democrats coming top of the polls. If you voted on May 6th (which I hope you all did) then I hope you made the right choice for you. Democracy is one of the most important things in this country; don’t miss your chance to have your say! Written by Danny Morville Acting-President / Vice President Carlisle
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General Election
RESULTS
As the whole nation took to the voting stations on 6th May, we knew that the government picture could look extremely different when we all rose for lectures & work the day after. The result we got was one of confusion, though it was not unexpected. In the local elections, we saw 2 major changes in Carlisle & Lancaster with the Conservatives gaining sets in parliament from Labour. The Liberal Democrats held onto Ambleside whilst Labour also held onto the areas containing our Barrow, Tower Hamlets & Energus sites. On the national scale, however, things were not as simple as the local elections. By now you will realise that what we got was a Hung Parliament. This simply
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meant that no party had gained an overall majority and, to avoid another general election, the parties would have to form a coalition government. Days of negotiating took place and, finally, on 11th May, a deal was struck between the Conservative & Liberal Democrat parties. Gordon Brown officially stood down as Prime Minister & just half an hour later, David Cameron was asked to form a new government by the Queen, making him Britain’s 75th Prime Minister & the youngest in 198 years.
Easter Bye- Elections Results Union Community Sabbatical Tom Underwood: 166 - ELECTED Re-open Nominations: 9 Student Trustee Laura Brocklehurst: 74 - ELECTED Re-open Nominations: 5 LGBT part-time Executive Paris Lowcock: 67 - ELECTED Re-open Nominations: 13
Tower Hamlets & London Site Representation Alexander Walker: 22 - ELECTED Re-open Nominations:18 Carlisle Non-Portfolio Officer Tim Lewis: 7 - ELECTED Re-open Nominations: 3 For more information please visit www.thestudentsunion.org.uk/election
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Repres
Free Lunch on Students’ Union We have an opportunity to offer 40 students a free lunch on Wednesday 26th May as an incentive to get some people together to sit in a group interview session. It’s dead easy, you’d be taking part in a group discussion about your experiences as a student and if you have any feelings about the work the Students’ Union does. Anyone (except elected officer, club/society leaders and Course Reps – there’s a separate session for them) can join in, and we’d really urge everyone to attend and we want to hear everyone’s honest opinion! We’d be offering a free lunch in the campus Bars from 12.30 and then the interview would be from 1.15pm to 2pm on that Wednesday, and will have sessions at each of the Ambleside, Carlisle Fusehill Street, Lancaster and Penrith campuses. (If you’re a Brampton Road/Caldewgate/Shaddon Mill student let us know and we’ll look at organising some transport for you.)
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the
Ask your housemates, coursecolleagues and anyone else you think might be available if they would be interested and pass their names and contact phone number back to Danny Prescott in the Lancaster SU office. Contact: daniel.prescott@ cumbria.ac.uk or 01524 526575 (UCSU Representation and Democracy Coordinator) There is also a session on Tuesday 25th for sports/society leaders and Course Reps, so if you’re interested in that one instead then again please drop us a line and let us know!
sentation
How satisfied are you with the SU?
Your Students’ Union is offering a £100 cash prize and a chance to enter the prize draw for a digital laptop projector to every student who completes our online satisfaction survey. As part of our recent re-vamp focusing on the needs and opinions of all our members we’ve committed to running at least one major cross campus survey a year, and using the results we will be striving to improve our services and performance to give you the very best Union possible. The survey is live now and we’d really love everyone to go and complete it so we can get as wide a range of student perspectives as we can, so whether you feel that you’ve never used us or if you’re a regular participant in Union activities we value your responses equally. The survey can be found online at the following address and will take less than five minutes to complete. Please go and tell us what you think!
www.surveymonkey.com/s/UCSUAnnualSurvey
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Moving out? It’s coming up to that time of year again when many of you will be moving out of halls or your rented house. Moving out is not an activity that is cherished by many and as a result it is often left until the last minute; often resulting in chaos, dust, the discovery of objects that we were never aware that we owned and a small mountain of belongings we no longer want, along with strangely large amounts of rubbish that has somehow been hiding in our houses/rooms. As uninspiring as the thought of preparing to move out may be, it is important to remember that repairs and any small amount of cleaning will undoubtedly cost you surprisingly large amounts of money. We wanted to give you a handy checklist to remind you of all the things that you may need to think of and sort out to try and minimise any costs you may incur and maximise your chances of getting your deposit back in full.
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Moving out checklist Cleaning Carpets (at least hoovered) Toilets Sinks Remove any marks from walls Bath/Shower Clean the oven Clean the fridge Defrost and clean the freezer Take photos of your handywork
Change of address/ utilities/bills Contact electricity/water/gas/telephone/ internet provider Collect money for bills (if shared) Change details with your bank Take meter readings Keep proof of final bills being paid
Other things to consider If responsible for garden make sure it is in a good state Cupboards emptied and cleaned Check inventory Return your keys
Rubbish & throwing things away Please, please, please for the sake of your neighbours have a rummage through your belongings and if there are things that you decide to throw away then try not to put it all out on the day you leave. Think about when your bins are taken away and whether your rubbish will sit in your back alley or street for days and cause issues for your neighbours and the area that you live in. If you’re throwing a large number of things away then have you thought about whether there are things that you can donate to charity or local homeless shelters etc?
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UCSU Volunteering Upda Planting Day at Eden Rural Foyer, 19th March Following the completion of the backyard transformation at Eden Rural Foyer in Penrith during National Student Volunteering Week, UCSU volunteers returned to plant fruit trees, plants and flowers to brighten up the garden! It’s now looking very colourful thanks to all who helped out on the day.
collecting & sorting books, hiring and driving vans to transport the books to storage and then onto Edinburgh, ready to despatch to Tanzania. Lorri Millar, Clubs & Societies Officer at Lancaster presented the Award at the Sswish Awards Evening on 24th March.
Bag Pack for Cancercare, 31st March
Volunteer of the Year Award, 24th March The Volunteer of the Year Award was this year presented to the READ International Project Leaders for their commitment and dedication to the Project. Becci Martin, Becca Worth, Amy Hayes & Nicola Reynolds have worked tirelessly throughout the year recruiting volunteers, raising funds, contacting schools & colleges across Cumbria and North Lancashire,
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On Wednesday 31st March, 15 students from Hong Kong, studying here at the University of Cumbria for their second semester, participated in a ‘bag-pack’ at Marks & Spencers in Lancaster to raise money for Cancercare and to promote the ‘Starwalk’ on Saturday 8th May.
ate The students met at Marks & Spencers’ at 9.30am and were introduced to the staff at the store. They were then split into two groups - one group worked in twos to promote the ‘starwalk’ to customers in the store and handed out leaflets. The other half worked to help customers at the tills pack their shopping into bags, swapping throughout the course of the day. Each till had a bucket for donations and the customers were very generous, donating an amazing £1020.94 in 6 hours! When asked to comment on their day, one student said, “The volunteering event was fun and meaningful” and another added, “It was one of the highlights of my stay!” Helen Hartin from Cancercare, was extremely grateful and delighted with the amount they raised. She said, “This was so much more than we expected… it will make a huge difference to Cancercare!” Students’ Union staff Trish Lee (Student Advisor) Paula Shallcross (Retail Assistant) and Emma Egglestone (Volunteer Coordinator) participated in the 16km ‘Starwalk’ around Kendal to help raise funds for Cancercare.
Volunteering Hours & UCSU Volunteering Certificate If you have been volunteering throughout this academic year, please submit your ‘hours’ to me before you leave for the summer. If you are graduating this summer, please let me know the address you’d like your UCSU Volunteering Certificate sent to. UCSU Volunteering Online For details of new volunteering opportunities and projects please see our website pages www. thestudentsunion.org.uk/volunteering. Join our Facebook group, ‘UCSU Volunteering’ to stay informed of new one day events, opportunities, training sessions and student-led projects! We also have a blog for you to see the projects that have been running throughout the year http:// ucsuvolunteering.wordpress.com/ Students’ Union Ents Crew & Welcome Helpers Over the summer break, the Students’ Union will be looking to recruit volunteers as Ents Crew and Welcome Helpers for the SU Induction period at
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the start of the next academic year. If you’d like to express an interest in one of these positions, please email Emma at suvolunteering@cumbria.ac.uk. Once we have collated a list of interested volunteers we will email you during the summer break with an application form to complete and return to us, so please keep an eye out on your emails! Volunteering Module The University is now running a Volunteering Module whereby you can gain 20 credits on your University transcript for your volunteering commitments whilst studying here. If you are a 2nd, 3rd or 4th year or PGCE student, can demonstrate that you have committed 40 hours of volunteering during an academic year and can submit a 4000 word (equivalent) reflective log with diary, notes, etc then you’re eligible for this module. The deadline for submission this academic year is 28th May but if you’d like to sign up for next year please email Emma!
Volunteering Abroad this Summer? Are you going abroad on a voluntary/ community project? The Eleanor Peel Trust Fund might be able to help you! The Trust aims to help support extra curricular activities taking place abroad. The fund is allocated to activities that are seen to be of benefit to the social and cultural awareness of the volunteer and that make a contribution to the community. Email Emma at suvolunteering@cumbria.ac.uk for more information. If you’d like to join UCSU Volunteering, please register online at www. thestudentsunion.org .uk/ volunteering and receive our handbook and latest bulletin to find out what’s coming up next. If you are looking for a specific volunteering opportunity and would like some help, email Emma at suvolunteering@ cumbria.ac.uk
Volunteering Abroad, is it for you? Checking Out Organisations It is important that you check out an organisation thoroughly before handing over any money or leaving the country. Ask if you can be put in touch with people who have been on their projects before. If possible try to speak to someone who
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has volunteered with them in person rather than trusting testimonials. Look at insurance very carefully; will you need your own travel insurance, does their insurance cover you for the kind of work that you will be doing, what would happen if you needed to get back to the UK? Think carefully about the kind of
work that you will be doing; is there a genuine need for volunteers to do this or has the opportunity been created as an adventure holiday? Spend some time researching the country that you want to go to, check out the political situation, climate etc. UCSU Volunteering does not have any formal links with any organisations offering voluntary work abroad and cannot take responsibility for their actions. Please check them out before handing over any money or leaving the country. Practical Points to Consider when Looking to Volunteer Abroad • Length of time is a critical factor as projects vary from short term placements of a few weeks to longer term projects of two years or more. • Most organisations will ask you to pay an administration fee for arranging the trip for you. • It is important to check whether the project provides for travel, accommodation, food and pocket money. • Most projects ask for people with particular skills or experience. • Many agencies are small and will place a limited number of volunteers. • Some organisations are aimed at those of a particular religious creed. • Applications to do overseas voluntary work should be made well in advance
Web resources WorldWide Volunteering aims to make it easier for people of all ages to volunteer by providing instant access to information about the widest range of volunteering opportunities throughout the UK and worldwide. The fun and interactive WWV database enables volunteers to build an on-screen profile of their ideal volunteer placement which is then matched against the requirements of over 1750 organisations with more than 1,500,000 placements each year throughout the world. http://wwv.org.uk/ w w w. t i m e b a n k . o r g . u k / g i ve t i m e / overseas.htm offers a directory of overseas volunteering opportunities Volunteer Work Information Service www.workingabroad.com hosts information about organisations recruiting volunteers and has previous volunteer feedback stories The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) also provides information about-short term jobs abroad, internships (stages), international university information to students and recent graduates www. ciee.org www.gap-year.com - online guide to taking a gap year in the UK or overseas
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New Slimline Ladies Hoodies £28 or £25 with NUS card unisex hoodies also available in variety of colours
£23 or £20 with
nus card
Get yours now from the Student Shop or your local SU Office
Activities News from the activities team Lancaster As we look towards hopefully having a good summer, we can also look back at a very, very successful winter with the Lancaster based British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Sports teams. Out of the eleven Lancaster based teams, five have won their respective BUCS Leagues and four reached at least the quarter finals of the National knockout competition. Men’s & Women’s Hockey, Women’s Football and Men’s Rugby League and Rugby Union teams all secured League Championships and look forward to competing at a higher level next season. Women’s Football will be the first University of Cumbria and possible St Martin’s College team to secure a place in Tier One of a National League competition. A trio of Women’s teams, Hockey, Netball and Football all reached the quarter-final of their respective knockout cup competition and the Men’s Rugby League team went one better before succumbing to Super 8 outfit Hull University in the semi-final of the Men’s Rugby League trophy.
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On Wednesday 24th March, students from Carlisle and Ambleside made their way down to Lancaster to compete in the annual Cross Campus tournament. Due to Penrith not fielding any teams, the event was slightly scaled down but over one hundred and twenty students
Activities
took part in a variety of sporting and fun challenges. Being on home turf, Lancaster showed others how it should be done by winning Hockey, Basketball, Netball and the new ‘Give it a Go’ trophy and won the event with Carlisle in 2nd place and Ambleside 3rd. Following straight after the Cross Campus tournament,Lancaster held their very successful ‘SSWISH’ presentation evening with over two hundred students packed into ‘SAINTS’. The event hosted and run by Lorri Millar, Barry McGurk and Allan Stavert celebrated the fantastic BUCS season that the Lancaster Campus had enjoyed. BUCS ‘Team of the Year’ went to Women’s Hockey who pipped Women’s Football only on the last day of the season to finish their League season unbeaten. Men’s & Women’s Hockey won Players ‘Team of the Year’ due to their support for other teams and charity work carried out throughout the season. Winner of Players ‘Player of the Year’ was Sarah McCrea, joint Captain of the Women’s Football Team and Ashley Bolsover, Men’s Rugby League Captain won ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ ‘Read International’ a group of students on a Volunteering project involving the collection, sale and distribution of books for fundraising towards the cost of educational books for children inTanzania walked off with the Volunteering Award. Society of the Year went to Outdoors Society for the second year running.
SSWISH Presentation Evening
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Carlisle
were subsequently relegated.
The Exercise and Health Clinic joined forces with various student groups and the Students’ Union in February 2010 to offer massage sessions to as many people as possible. The Students’ Union were actively involved in the promotion and recruitment phases of this venture, whereas the delivery of the massages came from the Sports Massage Therapy students themselves. This project was designed to give the students an opportunity to gain some ‘hands on’ experience and was available to both staff and students of the University of Cumbria. There were various sessions available and in total £104 was collected for the Sports Massage Therapy department, meaning 52 hours of massages and about 30 different people turned out to experience this. Overall most people were delighted with the bargain they have received (£1 for 30mins massage) and booked in for another slot immediately. We hope this is something which will continue for years to come as it was enjoyed by both students, staff and the students who were involved in giving the massage, I’m sure they were thrilled with the opportunities they received to gain that additional experience.
Ambleside
BUCS Round-Up Carlisle Men’s Basketball finished 7th in Northern Conference Men’s 4B. Men’s Football 1st finished 5th in Northern Conference Men’s 7C. Men’s Football 2nd finished 7th in Northern Conference men’s 7A. Women’s Netball finished 6th in Northern Conference Women’s 5A and
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Ambleside is now winding down but there are still opportunities for students to carry forward any activities to Lancaster, please call in and get the details from the SU office. Also Outdoor Studies students who are staying here will not be forgotten and anyone wanting to keep an activity open will get supported, please let us know what you would like to do.
Ambleside Farewell Reunion On the 3rd July there is an event being held for ex-students and staff to say farewell to Ambleside, this is also open to existing students and to take part please email lastnightinambleside@ googlemail.com as there is a limit on numbers. It is a day and evening event and details will be on facebook page Ambleside farewell reunion.
Campus Clothing Campus Clothing will be attending the Lancaster and Carlisle graduation, and there will be an opportunity to purchase a hoody or t.shirt with all the names of students graduating as class of 2010. There will also be a chance to purchase a University Of Cumbria hoody at the Alumni and SU stand if you haven’t already got one!!
DRINK THE BAR DRY THE GIN CASE 18TH MAY SAINTS BAR 21ST MAY THE OVERDRAUGHT 4TH JUNE
Have your say! Tell us about what you’ve enjoyed this year and what you would like to see next year from your Students’ Union Bars and Entertainments.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BarsEnts 28