The
CHANGING
TIMES FREE
Recent news from your Students’ Union FREE February 2013
I got 99 problems but my house ain’t one! At Oxford Brookes Students’ Union we know that one of the most important decisions you make as a student is where to live. Accommodation is the biggest chunk of your budget, and where you live and who with forms a massive part of your university life. What we don’t want it to be is a massive hassle, which is where our #RentSmart activity comes in. Students traditionally get a raw deal in Oxford when it comes to accommodation. Lots of
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agents in the city release their lists as early as October, putting students under pressure to sign up 10 months early for their following year’s accommodation. We think this is ridiculous. You’ve only just started the year and are just getting to know people, how on earth are you meant to decide so soon where you want to live in the following September? This ridiculous situation is what inspired the first stage of our housing campaign, #Dontrentyet. Every year we support a
lot of students who find themselves in a difficult housing situation, often because they have been forced to commit themselves too early. The #Dontrentyet activity was designed firstly to remind students that they didn’t have to make a decision before they felt ready, but also to begin to put pressure on agents, to let them know that we are not going to put up with their aggressive behaviour much longer. We decided it was time for action.
Armed with placards, super hero costumes and a fighting spirit, Oxford Brookes Students’ Union took to the streets, picketing a student list release, protesting overnight outside another agent’s office, and demonstrating around the University. BBC news ran a piece on the TV and on radio too, featuring our very own SU Vice President Tom Smith. The #Dontrentyet activity was a massive success. We raised a huge amount of awareness about the issue, and some agents
have agreed to postpone releasing their lists until February, which is a very positive move in the right direction. The next step is to #RentSmart. We want to help students make the right choices when it comes to housing, by letting people know about all the alternatives that are out there and making sure students understand the renting process, wherever they choose to live. continued on page 2
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Nominate your favourite staff member for an award
Get involved with Re-fresh Week
New O2 Academy student club nights
News from Your Officers
2 | Oxford Brookes Students’ Union News
Five ‘appy students win iPad 3s!
How many apps have you got on your phone? One or two? Ten? Maybe more? Nowadays it feels like there is an app for just about everything, from looking up bus times to planning your weekly shop. You’d think it would be a challenge then to come up with an idea for something new wouldn’t you? That was exactly the challenge that Oxford Brookes Students’ Union, in conjunction with Oxford Brookes Information Services (OBIS) set students in Semester 2 of last year. In a competition to win one of five iPad 3s, students were invited to submit their ideas for new and unusual apps that would be genuinely useful for other students, that OBIS could then develop. Specially designed
... continued from page 1 There’s a lot of choice, both through the University and through private landlords, but OBSU can help you work out which is the best option for you both in terms of price and location. Throughout this term we’ll be sharing
cardboard competition boxes were displayed around the campuses to encourage impromptu entries, and students could also enter online. The response was phenomenal. 311 entries were submitted in total and although it would be fair to say that some were a little more ambitious than others, everyone was hugely impressed with the creativity of the entrants. Choosing just five winners out of all of these bright ideas was a challenge in itself, but after much deliberation, five apps were chosen that the judges felt could offer real value for students. One of the favourites was a Safety Bus app, designed for the late night bus service operated around the city centre by Oxford Brookes Students’ Union
tips, running housing workshops and sending a gorilla out to run about the campuses – you’ll have to come and see us if you want to know what that’s all about! We are also working with the University to produce a mobile app to enable you to compare the costs and benefits of different
volunteers. Students call the Safety Bus if they find themselves stranded late at night and in need of a lift home, and the new app will make the process much simpler. Not only will it make dialling the number much easier for you, (saving you the effort of trying to find it in your phone book after one too many Jager Bombs...), but it’s also equipped with GPS, so you can tell the volunteers on the bus exactly where you are if you’ve lost your bearings. Other winning entries included a PC fault reporter app to aid swifter reporting of university PC problems, a Students’ Union app, linking you to useful SU information and resources, a reference app for business and a conversation app that analyses a couple’s conversation. Plans are also afoot to create a rent comparison app to help you find your ideal accommodation, so watch this space! The Safety Bus app, PC fault reporter and Students’ Union app are all available to download now from Android http://go.brookes.ac.uk/ android and iOS: http://go.brookes.ac.uk/ ios
accommodation options in Oxford. As part of the #RentSmart campaign we’ll be running a housing fair on 1 February. We’ll be taking over Gipsy Lane Reception and Board Room 1, where we’ll be sharing our top housing tips, giving details of the
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Brookes Raise and Give is the charity arm of Brookes Students’ Union. Dedicated to helping Brookes students raise money for charity in fun ways. fb.com/OxfordBrookesRAG
agents who have agreed to delay the release of their lists and generally making sure students know how to #RentSmart! We’ll also be promoting our new housing site – brookesstudentpad.co.uk – so do check it out if you’ve not seen it already. If you can’t make it, we’re
here all year round to answer your housing questions – call us on 01865 484770 or email suadvice@brookes.ac.uk for more information about opening times or to make an appointment.
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Nominate a staff member in the StudentLed Teaching Awards Do you know a member of Brookes staff that you think deserves a thank you? Albert Einstein once said “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” Sat in a 9am lecture might not always feel like to time or the place for creative expression exactly, but we all know that feeling of having a good teacher, someone who can seemingly take any subject and turn it into something exciting, someone who makes you think about things in a new way. For lots of us, that teacher can have a huge influence on the rest of our lives. It may well have been the passion of a subject teacher at school or college who inspired your choice of degree. In higher education too, there is often a teacher who stands out from the crowd and whose 9am lectures you really don’t mind attending.
At Oxford Brookes Students’ Union, we want to celebrate the contribution of teachers like these and help them get the recognition they deserve. To do this, we are launching our first ever Student-Led Teaching Awards, where all students will have the chance to nominate and vote for their stars among Brookes staff. The awards aren’t limited to just teaching staff either, as we know there are an awful lot of staff that go into making our university community run smoothly. Your nomination could be for a lecturer, an academic adviser, or a member of support staff, so long as it’s someone you feel makes an outstanding contribution in their area. The awards have received additional funding from the Higher Education Academy and the National Union of Students, who are both keen to see this sort of scheme rolled out to all universities. The awards are not only a chance for you to say thank you to your favourite teacher, they are also an opportunity for all students to really think about what makes them a star. “These awards are all about us recognising some of the incredible
teaching that goes on here at Brookes,” says Tom Smith, Vice President (Academic Experience) for Oxford Brookes, “and empowering students to nominate those members of staff who they feel deserve recognition from the student body for their contribution to the student experience at Brookes.” Awards will be offered in eight different categories, giving plenty of scope
for you to show your gratitude to more than one member of staff. A student-led panel of judges will be choosing a winner from each category, and there will be an award ceremony in April to celebrate the work of all the winners. The categories are: 1. Most Inspirational Lecturer 2. B est Single Learning Experience 3. Most Effective Feedback
4. Best Taught Module 5. B est Support Staff Member 6. Best Academic Adviser 7. Best Student Support Coordinator 8. Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Nominations will open on Friday 1 February and close on Monday 18 March, so keep your eye on our Facebook page for more details – fb.com/ OxfordBrookesSU.
Work in your Students’ Union, change the lives of thousands of students and begin an amazing career! Find out how to submit your nomination by visiting thesu.com/elections
4 | Oxford Brookes Students’ Union News
Try something new with Re-fresh Week Whilst academic learning is one of the key aspects of university life, it’s important to remember that not all of your personal development happens in the lecture theatre. (Or in the pub for that matter, although socialising is an important skill too right?). With this in mind, why not get involved in the Oxford Brookes Students’ Union Re-fresh Week?
Students’ Union
H S e E R R F A WEEK OF SOCIETY ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS!
WEEK 2 Monday February 4th - Sunday February 10th 2013
Here at Oxford Brookes we are incredibly lucky to have such a diverse and interesting amount of student activity taking place, but we also know that it can be a bit scary turning up at a new group for the first time when you’re not sure what to expect or what will be expected of you. You don’t have the time to sign-up for endless societies, but without a chance to give them a go, how do you know which is the one for you?
StudentS’ union, Headington Hill campuS Monday 4th:
Wednesday 6th:
Brookes Radio Gig
Shami Chakrabarti - Head of Liberty Q+A Session
SU Venue 20:00- Midnight
EDMS-DJ Master Class SU Lounge, SU Venue 18:00-20:00
History Society Pub Quiz Cape of Good Hope 19:30-23:00
Creative Writing Master Class Training Room, SU building 19:30-21:00
Tuesday 5th: Tea Society Tasting Session Mez Bar, SU Venue 18:00-20:00
LGBT Society Drinks and Games evening Mez Bar, SU Venue 20:00-22:00
Circus Skills Society Give it a Go Session SU Studio, SU Venue 19:00-22:00
Christian Union Pub Quiz
SU Lounge, SU Venue 16:00-17:00
Fortune Cookies come along session
Richard Hamilton Building (opposite SU) 18:00-20:00
England v Brazil FIFA 13 tournament
Vegetarian and Vegan Society food tasting Union square, SU Venue 18:00-22:00
Friday 8th: Film Society Presents Anchorman SU Lounge, SU Venue 19:00-23:00
Dance Society Taster session
SU Studio, SU Venue 15:00-18:00
SU Lounge, SU Venue 18:00-23:00
Saturday 9th:
Safety Bus Training
Japanese Society Presents Film night/Games
Training Room, SU Venue 18:00-19:30
Open First Aid Class Training Room, SU Venue 19:30-21:00
Thursday 7th:
SU Lounge, SU Venue 18:00-23:00
Sunday 10th: Harcourt Campus Pub Quiz Westminster Sq SU 20:00-23:00
In week 2 of semester 2 we’re putting on Refresh Week – a whole week of events, allowing you to see for yourself some of
Dixieland
20s Themed gig with live Brookes acts 19:30-Midnight SU Venue
Union Square, SU Venue 19:00-22:00
the activities on offer here at your Students’ Union. Week in, week out your Students’ Union helps students come together to celebrate hobbies and interests so whether your passion is music, dance, sport or simply having a nice cup of tea and a biscuit, we’re sure to have something for you! As well as purely social activities, we also have some great volunteering opportunities – perfect for getting some valuable experience to put on your CV. Volunteering is also a brilliant way to get to know other students, learn new skills, and give a little something back to the wider community. We learn so much through the people we meet, the new things we try and the experiences we have, so why not come along to Re-fresh Week and see if you can find something to inspire you. As Mark Twain once said, ‘Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.’
Paul McCormack Vice PresidenT Student Experience
Facebook.com/OxfordBrookesSU
NO CE! CHAN
T: 01865 484750 | E: obsu@brookes.ac.uk Tw: @OxfordBrookesSU / #WeAreOBSU
OXBSU.03.12 - Refreshers Poster A3.indd 1
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Don’t be fooled...
#RentSmart
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New Gipsy Lane building nears completion If you’ve been to the Gipsy Lane campus in the last couple of years, you can’t have failed to notice the impressive new building that’s been taking shape. After watching our new home grow for some time now, it’s incredibly exciting to think that later this year we’ll be all settled in, and able to offer a comprehensive range of services from a fantastic new central location. The building will be home to a new library and teaching rooms and will bring many of the University’s student support services together under one roof, making it easier for you to access the support you need. The Union’s offices will feature a front of house reception area for dealing with basic enquiries, meeting rooms for you to use, plus private interview rooms for our confidential advice service. The whole Students’ Union team will be based there, so it really will be a one-stop-shop for everything you need.
Although we’ve been working hard over the last few years to revamp the existing Students’ Union spaces across campuses, it’s fair to say that the current arrangements aren’t ideal. This new space though will be purpose built, giving us a lot more flexibility and giving you a space that is useful, friendly and easy to access. There’ll be a brand new Students’ Union bar, serving great food and drink at fair prices, plus a new multipurpose hall that will be equipped with retractable seating and high definition projection – ideal for Students’ Union societies that need a space to practice and perform. These new facilities will form the very heart of the new building, and we’re sure they’ll quickly become a vibrant and invaluable hub for local students. We can’t wait to welcome you there!
Know Your Rights; Understand Your Responsibilities; Have a Great Time at Oxford Brookes. 01865 484770 suadvice@brookes.ac.uk
#RentSmart Housing fair
1st February 2013 Gipsy Lane Reception 10am –2pm
Follow Oxford Brookes Students’ Union on Twitter
twitter.com/OxfordBrookesSU
6 | Oxford Brookes Students’ Union News
New student club nights with O2 Academy
Switch on your weekend with O2 Academy
As regular visitors to the Oxford Brookes Students’ Union will know, our building has undergone a bit of a makeover over the last couple of years. We’ve said a fond farewell to the outdated club night space, and hello to two new smaller spaces where societies can meet, practice and perform. Keen clubbers though will be pleased to hear that the OBSU club night lives on in a new guise, thanks to a fantastic partnership with Academy Music Group, that began in September last year. Academy Music Group run some of the UK’s leading music venues, including O2 Academy Oxford and working together we aim to provide students with an eclectic and inclusive programme of entertainment, with
something for everyone to enjoy. The past few months have included an amazing range of student-friendly events, including acts such as Alt J, Frank Turner, Imagine Dragons, Gentlemans Dub Club, Flux Pavillion, Azealia Banks, Jaguar Skills, Gathering Festival feat. Dry the river and Bastille. In addition to this we have also developed a student focused club trade to include Annie Mac, Hospitality feat. Danny Byrd, Wiley, DJ Fresh, and a regular Saturday night Propaganda. This semester will see even more music and events, with lots already lined up, including live concerts with Jake Bugg, Everything Everything, Modestep, Of Monsters & Men and Lawson to name but a few.
The next few months will also see O2 Academy Oxford developing their weekend events to be more appealing to Oxford Brookes students, with a brand new regular Friday night launching soon with the people who brought you Hospitality and Bedlam. Switch will showcase the best in electronic music and feature big names from their genre including Disclosure and Shy FX. With official student ID discounts and affordable bar prices, don’t miss out on what is set to become Oxford’s biggest regular Friday night event. For full listings, latest announcements and to book tickets, visit www. o2academyoxford.co.uk or check out facebook. com/switchonfridays
We’ve all been there. It’s 2am, you’re cold/lost/penniless and there’s no way of getting home without walking for an hour in the rain. Call the SAFETY BUS and our volunteers will come and take you home.
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A word from your Officers
Ashley-Patson Ayree, President As President of Oxford Brookes Students’ Union, my main job is to ensure everyone is working toward achieving the objectives we have set for the year. In every meeting I attend, although it is impossible for me to represent all 18,000 students, I aim to put across the students’ views and values. Over the last few months I’ve been talking about students’ views and concerns on a variety of issues, including tackling retention and attainment levels with BME students, creating a video exploring issues faced by disabled students in accessing University facilities and agreeing changes to the programme for master’s students to make the merits and distinctions more attainable. I have also been working closely with the Sustainability Team and Oxfordshire County Council, looking into providing a bicycle hire scheme in Oxford. I’ve also been meeting with local residents, helping them to better understand students and talking through any concerns they may have. In the coming months I want to work on tackling social issues faced by both students and society at large, such as female body image and inspiring students to become more politically active and engage in greater social responsibility. If you have any issues or suggestions that you would like fed back to the university, please do get in touch.
Paul McCormack, Vice President (Student Experience) My role within OBSU focusses on the nonacademic side of student life. This can cover anything from supporting student societies to creating safety awareness videos, so it’s a job that certainly keeps me on my toes. Thanks to a big recruitment drive we now have a whopping 60 volunteers for the ever popular Safety Bus - twice as many as at the end of last year. We’re absolutely thrilled with this, as it means we’ve been able to extend the service until 4am. On the subject of buses, we’ve collected over 150 complaints about late Brookes buses through our new text-in service. I’ll be putting these into a formal report that will go to the bus company and the University, hopefully meaning the bus company will finally take notice and, more importantly, take action. I’ve set up a wide range of activities including games afternoons, karaoke and gigs, and we even put on a Brookes ‘Take me Out’, part of a variety show that raised over £2,000 for Children in Need. There will be the chance to try out lots of new activities as part of the Re-fresh Week too (see page 4), so do take a look and see if there is something you fancy having a go at - you never know until you try right? And finally, we’ve got the thumbs up for a new studio in the SU building for the OBSU radio station, so if you fancy yourself as the next Nick Grimshaw or you’ve got something you’d like to discuss or promote, please get in touch to find out more
Tom Smith, Vice President (Academic Experience) The first semester of this year has certainly been a busy one! One of the highlights was leading the #DontRentYet campaign, pushing for fairer treatment for students looking for accommodation. Our picketing and protests landed us on the BBC news and generated a lot national interest, with other unions taking up the slogan and campaign for their students. Student engagement has been a key priority, and we’ve been working hard at getting students more involved in Students’ Union activities. We set up a new OBSU ‘street team’, promoting our events and talking to people face-to-face, and have been experimenting with different technologies, including a live streaming Q&A with SU officers and students. The new teaching awards have also kept me busy, with plenty of work to do around setting up the judging panel, nomination process, and deciding on the award categories. We’re really looking forward to seeing the nominations come in this semester, and celebrating the winners at the ceremony in April. I also represented Brookes at a number of sessions with NUS, which influenced national policy on the education sector, and attended a consultation with representatives from ‘OfQual’ regarding the restructuring of further education. It’s been fascinating to get involved with these national processes, and very rewarding to see first hand the impact we can have on national policy. Here’s to an equally productive semester two!
8 | Oxford Brookes Students’ Union News
coming to oxford brookes in 2013
DEADLINE: FRIDAY 22 February Find out how to submit your nomination by visiting THESU.COM/ELECTIONS
! S T ! N S E T V N EVE E Monday 4th February: Brookes Radio Gig SU Venue 20:00-Midnight £3 Come celebrate the brand new radio studio at the SU with a night of Brookes bands and DJs. We have a licensed bar and a whole evening of great music.
Wednesday 6th February: Shami Chakrabarti Director of Liberty Q+A Session SU Lounge, SU Venue 16:00-17:00