Inside you’ll find: • Introducing the UPSU Outreach Team • #Plymfresh15 • Meet your Exec • Student Spotlight: Val Bannister • 10 Reasons to visit the main campus!
...and much more!
1 Welcome to your brand new for 2015/16 Partners’ Newsletter! Every September the new academic year erupts with a flurry of new stationary, text books and timetables. Whether you are returning to study after a break away or continuing on from your A-Levels, starting a new course in a new institution can be a daunting prospect. As clichéd as it may sound, your Students’ Union; UPSU, can help with every step of your academic journey from enrolment to graduation.
Who and what is UPSU and why should it matter to you? UPSU stands for University of Plymouth Students’ Union and we are an independent student led organisation that seeks to represent all the students of Plymouth University – this includes you; our partner institution students! We often hear comments such as, “oh the students’ union isn’t for me; I am well past my partying days.” Or “the students’ union, don’t they just write petitions and walk demonstrations?” but being part of the students’ union is so SO much more than the night time economy and banner waving. We pride ourselves on a full range of engagement opportunities that are fully inclusive for all interest areas from volunteering and student led fundraising to the UPSU:Advice Centre and course representation. Throughout the year you will hear of many great ways you can get involved with your union! We fully appreciate that without a physical building to walk into, it can be hard for our partner students to find ways to engage with the SU. However, through the work of the Outreach Team we are hoping that you will find UPSU a constant resource that you can rely on to greater endorse your academic journey! We are always looking at new ways to increase
engagement with our partners, if you have any ideas that you think would help with this please do let us know! We are also really keen to hear about you, your experiences and success stories. Make sure you contact us if you have achieved something epic and we’ll shout about it! We hope you enjoy reading our update, these roll out every month so keep an eye out for the next edition. Thanks,
Cat & Dave (Outreach Team)
Who’s Who? Cat Tetreault Cat’s the Outreach Coordinator at UPSU. She’s responsible for providing the link between our Partner Institution students and the SU - promoting opportunities for involvement.
Dave Bertelli Dave is responsible for representing and improving the experience of our off-campus and International students. He works to support and increase the voice of International students at Plymouth.
In this months edition...
Executive Officer Team
10 Reasons to...
Campaigns:
...visit the main Plymouth campus! The first of our ‘10 reasons to...’ articles takes a look at the facilities and opportunities available to you on our main campus.
Your Year Ways that you can get involved with UPSU throughout the year.
An Interview with... Each month we’ll be interviewing a member of staff from the SU or the University. This month we speak to your elected VP International and Outreach, Davide Bertelli.
Social Corner Find out what’s been going on with UPSU and your Outreach Team over social media in the past month.
Top Tips UPSU:Advice share a few of their Top Tips for the start of a new term.
Student Spotlight Meet Val Bannister. Val is an 82 year old student undertaking her second degree at Strode College.
RAG Awards Read about Plymouth Raise & Give (RAG) winning a national award and how YOU can get involved this year.
Meet the team elected to represent you for 2015/16 and find out what they’re currently working on and how they plan to represent you for the next 10 months!
Know the Line Our Executive Officers are leading a campaign to tackle sexual harassment. Read more and sign the pledge today!
Little Book of Help Compiled by your VP International & Outreach (David Bertelli) and VP Welfare (Jessica Small), this guide details the support services available to Plymouth University students.
#CutTheCosts Your President, Ruth Titmuss, has been working on a campaign to challenge the government’s plans to scrap maintenance grants. Find out more on page 16.
#plymfresh15 Check out the highlights from this years Freshers’ Week 2015 on the main Plymouth campus.
Your SU
An overview of all the departments within UPSU and how you can get in touch!
Coming Soon... This section is an opportunity for us to tell you all about what’s coming up in the future and things to look out for!
3
1. Attend a 2. club night. Meet the 3. Outreach Team. Visit the 4. Charles Seale Hayne Library. Speak to the 5. Volunteering department. Enjoy the amazing views 6. from the Hoe! Walk the 7. historic Barbican. Sample the local 8. Plymouth Gin. Enjoy the many 9. great places to eat. Attend one of the many guest 10. speakers, conferences and exhibitions. Visit the Students’ Union.
5
Throughout the year UPSU run key events that we think you would be interested in. There is something for every interest, check out the opportunities below!
Summer Ball Run for Student Rep roles Plan for next year!
Induction & Welcome Talks Part Time Officer Elections Student Forums Course Rep Recruitment & Training
Summer Ball Run for Student Rep roles Plan for next year!
Full Time Officer Elections Student Forums SSTAR Award Nominations
For up to date information on current events throughout the year, visit upsu.com/ents
Interested in running in one of our elections for full or part time positions? Visit upsu.com/studentvoice for a list of opportunities.
An Interview with... CASE STUDY NAME: Dave Bertelli OCCUPATION: VP International & Outreach UPDATE: Hi! My name is Dave Bertelli and I am UPSU Vice-President
International and Outreach. I was elected in February and I started working early in the summer. My role is to be the voice of international and partner institutions students. I decided to run for my position because I thought it was the right time to have an international officer in the Exec Team. A great number of students from outside the UK come to study in Plymouth and I feel I can be closer to their personal experiences and backgrounds. I studied Geography and International Relations which helped me becoming passionate about representation and positive change. My key campaigns these years are mobilising the student body and the wider community around climate change: by organising and hosting a South West Climate Change Conference at Plymouth University we will be able to raise awareness and encourage engagement in the student and the local communities. I want to lead a student campaign of divestment from fossil fuels, to make the University’s and the Students’ Union’s investments fully sustainable and ethical. I will also keep on campaigning and lobbying against Government’s changes in immigration rules which will heavily affect international students. My focus this year will also be enhancing engagement of partner institutions’ students. For me it is key to make sure that all partner students have the same possibility of accessing our services and democratic structures as much as on campus students. Cat Tetreault and I, the Outreach Team, are working on making sure that we will visit all our partners throughout the year and to be recognisable and approachable.
See you soon – Dave
7
Social Corner…
Catch up on all the tweeting and chatting from the Outreach Team this month! It’s been a busy month for the Outreach Team with Welcome Talks, Inductions and Freshers’ Fairs! With over 1000 students visited, here is snap shot of what we’ve been up to!
Read more about the Know the Line campaign on page **
Read our Student Spotlight feature on Val, page **
Watch the full Freshers’ Welcome Video here: goo.gl/ta9ljU
stay up to date with all things Outreach by following us on: @UPSU_Partners
/UPSUPartnerInstitution
9
UPSU:Advice share a few of their Top Tips for the start of a new term!
Try something brand new
r e t s i g Re with a GP
Insure your belongi ngs
Make the most of freebies
follow us on Twitter: @UPSU_advice
11
“ Between the ages of 6 and
12 I couldn’t go to school, no home tuition or anything like that during the war. My Dad was away in the Navy, so I spent most of the war in South London with 2 short breaks (Portishead). During that time I was selfeducated I loved to read long words even if I didn’t understand them. Then I went to Grammar school at 12 (someone must have pulled some strings!), but my education was a bit patchy - I was way ahead on history and literature, maths pretty well nil. I got a good crop of O and A levels but no University as school refused reference - I was an “immoral character”. No, not boys! I was part of the Young Communist League.
So where did you go from there?
Name: Val Bannister Born: 1933 Val started school at the age of 4 and quickly learnt to read. When World War II started attending school was no longer an option, so between the ages of 6 - 12 Val was self-educated. She recalls visiting the local library and studying the Harmsworth Encyclopedia - moving rapidly from Just William books to the complete works of William Shakespeare.
Social work, child care officer in East Ham. When my 3 kids were young, I switched to remedial teaching (I had a music teaching diploma!). Then good fun back working with teenage lads (with problems).
I then went back to a special social work project for 3 years, then career switch. Researching/ editing for Lloyds, liability law and insurance. (The lawyers and brokers making the teenage lads look mere novice delinquents!). I retired at 70. I took weekend courses (Dillington House etc) but this wasn’t not enough. I did 3 A levels at Bridgwater College, and 3 GCSE’s (science, not had the chance earlier).
Why another degree? I wanted something challenging enough to keep my brain alive (I don’t get on with distance learning).
Why this one? Probably because it covers my main interests (apart from travel, music, theatre) and because it’s so accessible (1 day a week, part-time, only 30-mile round trip in total).
What next? Stay out of a care home, and put off trip to Zurich until necessary... or maybe if there is another one...
What made you choose to study a degree at this stage in your life?
What messages would you have to anyone thinking about studying for a degree?
My 3 kids completed Uni (doctor, professional musician, computer trouble-shooter), I got divorced and decided it was my turn to have fun so enrolled in my early 50s as a full time Law student at University of Kent at Canterbury.
Stop thinking about it and make a start. Take things step by step; remember, the other students don’t know it all, either; ask and give - help as required; ENJOY IT. Learning is fun.
I certainly had fun - especially caving; my old school did me a favour in putting it off!
Want to be featured?
Do you want to be featured in our Student Spotlight, or do you know someone who you think should be?
Get in touch: partnershipstudents@upsu.com
The National RAG Awards were hosted on the 26th August 2015 at Leeds Royal Armoury, delegates from over 50 RAGs attended along with representatives from national charities and other student fundraising organisations. Plymouth RAG received the award for Best Event on the night for their South West RAG Training day. An event which brought together seven different RAGs from the region to learn from charity industry experts. Sessions were ran from Meningitis Research Foundation, East African Playgrounds, Dementia UK, The Children’s Society, Practical Action and Choose a Challenge. Sessions covered upskilling volunteers, crisis management, the sexy world of health and safety, how to run a good collection and much more. RAG is the student-led fundraising arm of UPSU Volunteers. Led by a team of student volunteers who spend the year raising money for local, national and international charities. It was an amazing achievement, it was such an honour to win the Best Event Award, and we couldn’t have done it without the hard work and dedication of our RAG team and the amazing charities that provided workshops and seminars on the day. Being part of RAG has had a massive impact on my life and I’m proud to say I’m apart of such an amazing movement of hundreds of student fundraising organisations around the country. It was a fun event to organise and so great to work with RAGS from the region. - Jess Vagg, President of Plymouth RAG, 3rd Year Geography student After such an amazing year for our RAG Volunteers it is great to see this national recognition for the amazing work they have done. I’m incredibly proud to see students of Plymouth University selflessly committing their time and efforts to help raise money for charity. - James Stoner, VP Activities, UPSU
9 13 Executive Officer Team
Matt
Meet the team you for 2015/16 Jesselected to representRuth James and find out what they’re currently working on and how they plan to represent you for the next 10 months!
Our six Executive Officers are elected by Plymouth University students to represent you for one year, and they get paid to do it. Any student can stand for one of the positions, just check out the elections page at upsu.com. The successful students either take a year out from their studies or do an extra year at the end of their degree, all to improve your student experience.
Dave Steph
The Executive Officers focus on specific areas of the student experience for example, education, sport, student welfare etc., as well as working together on the big issues affecting the student body. They are also Trustees of UPSU, so the whole organisation is led by our students. Find out more about them at upsu.com
Our Executive Officers are leading a campaign to tackle sexual harassment. Read more and sign the pledge today! Everyone should be part of a community where they feel safe and secure. Staff and students can all play a role in ensuring that Plymouth University is a sexual harassment free zone. Our mission is to create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone, by establishing zero tolerance to sexual harassment on our campus and in our City. As part of this we’re asking everyone (students and staff) to take a pledge. This pledge will show that Plymouth University and its students do not tolerate sexual harassment of any kind. The more pledges we get, the louder our voice!
1. Think about your actions, have you crossed the line? You may never intend to harass someone, but if you do anything which creates an intimidating, humiliating or offensive environment, or makes someone feel stressed or anxious - its harassment, even if it’s unintentional. One person’s ‘harmless banter’ can have a real impact on many others’ enjoyment and well-being at University. No one should have to feel uncomfortable for the sake of your joke.
2. Talk to your mates about sexual harassment. What it is, how it makes people feel and why it’s not OK. Encourage them to sign the Know the Line Pledge.
3. See it, challenge it, report it! If you see any form of sexual harassment taking place, and you feel safe to do so, challenge it. Then, even if you don’t know who was involved, report it. It’s really important that we know when, where and how sexual harassment takes place so that we can tackle it together.
4. Practice a culture of zero tolerance in your student societies and clubs. The Students’ Union has a Safe Space Policy and a Zero Tolerance Policy, so make sure you’ve read them, understand them and are implementing them in your meetings, socials and online spaces. The Students’ Union will be running Zero Tolerance training for all new Societies and Sports Club Committees and any other students interested throughout Term 3. Contact the Executive Officers for more information.
5. Sign the Know the Line pledge! The more pledges the bigger our voice. Sign now to eliminate sexual harassment in our city!
6. Get in touch and make a difference! Let us know if you have any other ideas about ways that we can tackle sexual harassment by emailing us at: info@upsu.com
15
The Little Book of Help has been compiled by your VP Welfare (Jessica Small) and your VP International & Outreach (Davide Bertelli). The guide’s broken up in to four different sections:
- your SU - your health - your services - international students Each section details the services available to you throughout your time as a student of Plymouth University. Read the Little Book of Help here:
goo.gl/NJojdZ
#CutTheCosts Your President, Ruth Titmuss, has been working on a campaign to challenge the government’s plans to scrap maintenance grants. The campaign is being run on a national scale by the National Union of Students (NUS). Here is an excerpt from their website:
The government proposals would stop all grants to new students from September 2016, forcing poorer students to take on further debt to fund their studies.”
“The current government plans to scrap maintenance grants for full-time Higher Education students in England and replace them with a loans-based system – a move which will end non-repayable state support offered to hundreds of thousands of students from lower income households every year and saddle poorer students with yet more debt, should they aspire to study. We must now face the reality that if the government gets its way and maintenance grants are replaced with loans, the impact will be detrimental to hundreds of thousands of the poorest students studying in England for years to come, and may place pressure on the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to follow suit.
What are maintenance grants and what are the proposed changes? Maintenance grants are given to students from lower income households to help with their living costs. The maximum grant is £3,387 per year for students whose household income is less than £25k. NUS understands that currently, approximately 500,000 students rely on maintenance grants
Find out more about the campaign and how you can get involved by contacting SU President, Ruth Titmuss:
17 9
We’ve come to the end of a very busy Freshers’ Week. Here’s a recap... Follow UPSU to stay up to date with everything that’s on offer:
search #plymfresh15 to see more photos from the week
to transform lives through experience
The University of Plymouth Students’ Union (UPSU) is an independent registered charity that seeks to represent all the students of Plymouth University. We facilitate student representation at all levels, host the sports clubs and societies, manage campus sport facilities and provide volunteering opportunities, independent advice, entertainment, shop, accommodation, catering and bars.
We employ over 80 permanent staff and ov Take200 a Virtual ofstaff. your SU is a studen casual Tour student UPSU and on democratic organisation. The majority located the Plymouth our trustees are elected student officers an University Campus! of our major decisions are made by studen goo.gl/SZwBPc We operate with high standards and have received awards for our performance, inclu the Students’ Union Evaluation (S Visiting campus? Have a look Initiative at Bronze, Investors in Volunteers, Green Imp this handy Campus Map.and Investors in Pe Excellence Outstanding – Gold Award. goo.gl/gxucEc
get connected
Want to get in touch? Below is a list of the departments within the Students’ Union.
:student voice
get your voice heard and make changes studentvoice@su.plymouth.ac.uk @UPSUvoice
:societies
do what you love and meet new people societies@upsu.com 01752 588388
:advice
feel supported during University advice@su.plymouth.ac.uk @upsu_advice
:volunteering
help others in the local community volunteering@su.plymouth.ac.uk @UPSUVolunteers
:partners
be a part of UPSU wherever you are partnershipstudents@upsu.com @UPSU_Partners
:give it a go
try something different giveitago@upsu.com @UPSUgiag
:shop
for everything you need shop@upsu.com @UshopUPSU
:bars & catering fuel your studies
bar@su.plymouth.ac.uk @UPSUbar
:accommodation
find accommodation to suit your needs info@psuaccommodation.com 01752 588381
:sport clubs
realise your sporting potential sportsclubs@upsu.com 01752 588366
:sports centre
actively engage and enhance your lifestyle recreation@su.plymouth.ac.uk @UPSUSportCentre
:MGA
motivate generate activate sarah.winn@su.plymouth.ac.uk @UPSU_MGA
Student Rep Elections Nominations open 5th - 9th October
The Student Rep Elections decide Forum Chairs, School Reps, members and Chairperson of the Accountability Board and the Chairperson of the Union Executive Comittee.
Wellbeing Fair
Friday 9th October, 9 - 5pm, Plymouth University Campus This event will be an interactive celebration of wellbeing for World Mental Health Day, with representatives from many of the different health and wellbeing services in the Plymouth area.
Late Oktoberfest Friday 16th October, The SU
It’s Oktoberfest at the SU! Get on your lederhosen and experience the great German festival! Sample authentic German beers and traditional German food to the sounds of the Hugaal Oompahs Oompah Band!
Find out more at upsu.com