QMSU Newsletter - March 2012

QMSU Newsletter

Volume: 5 March 2012

Find out what we’re doing for you

The BIG Students’ Union Survey - open March 12th to April 6th at qmsu.org QMSU doesn’t use words like BIG without meaning it, so when we do it’s advisable to take heed.

Its YOUR union, have your say!

We need YOUR ideas and opinions to help you have the best student experience possible!

You could win a £200 Amazon Voucher or £50 (x2) or £25 (x4)

ion and have contributed to making this campus a better place.

The ‘big’ in The BIG Survey doesn’t equate to long or laborious questions, it takes less than 15 minutes to complete (we timed it) . The survey covers the sheer scope of the union from volunteering to student media and representation to Drapers. This is the survey that covers all-and-absolutely-everything from your union.

Whether you think the union is brilliant or needs improving or if you’re indifferent to it all togther this is your chance to say so. All you have to do is click a few buttons on the internet next time you’re refusing to do an essay and then sit happy with the knowledge that you have done your good deed for the day, voiced your opin-

I’m sure you don’t really need convincing, no doubt you’ll all view this as a long-awaited opportunity rather than a begrudgingly undertaken duty.

Whatever your motivations, it is a pretty important exercise carried out by the SU each year, it allows us to see which of our services have improved and which need further attention and, more generally, if we are going in the direction our members want us to be. Please find the small amount of time it takes to fill it in....you could even win an amazon voucher!

The survey will be available from March 12th until April 6th at www.qmsu.org/bigsurvey.

Election Results The elections are over and we now know who will be leading the Union in 2012/13. This year we saw over 2700 students go online and cast their vote, which is 18.7% of all students.

It is now up to you to ensure your representatives are truly representing you. If you would still like to take an active role in the Union then we will be running a by-election before the end of the academic year for the remaining vacant positions; Student Trustee, Postgraduate Taught Representative (Mile End) and Postgraduate Research Representative (Barts and The London).

To see the full results please visit www.qmsu.org/elections.

The elected 2012/13 Executive Officer are:

President

VP Education

VP Welfare

VP Barts and The London

Babatunde Abdul-Kareem Williams ‘Babs’

Jade Lee

Ellen Kiely

Andrew Smith ‘Pivot’

Elected with 919 votes in round 3

Elected with 765 votes in round 2

Elected with 863 votes in round 1

Elected with 1056 votes in round 1

For more information and contact details visit: www.qmsu.org

Go Global! - Queen Mary International Celebration Day On Friday 2nd March, Queen Mary will be hosting our first ever International Celebration Day; ‘Go Global’, which aims to highlight and celebrate the diversity of nationalities represented in our student and staff body. Go Global will be a unique opportunity to showcase the international nature of our college, with a variety of student performances, food samples, traditional costumes and international music for visitors to

enjoy throughout the event.

Upon arrival, all staff and students will be issued with a ‘Go Global Passport’ which will give you access to the event. When you have successfully travelled around all the different locations and submitted your completed ‘Go Global Passport’ you will then be entered into a draw for the opportunity to win £200, £150 or £100 of STA Travel vouchers.

societies who have so far volunteered to help out with this new and high profile event. For further information on the event, please contact: claire.britton@qmsu.org

Go Glo

bal

Queen Friday Mary Intern 2 March ati , 4-7.3 onal Celebrat 0pm, Th ion e Octag on.

Thanks to all students and

Student Experience Seminar

London Marathon 2012 Runners

Every year some of the Course Representatives run a seminar to College staff about a topic that is affecting students. This year, due to feedback from Course Reps, it was decided that the Union needs to provide a list of recommendations on how to improve learning resources.

Provide Volunteering and the READ Book Project, based in Queen Mary Students’ Union, have been given 3 guaranteed places to run in the London Marathon 2012. Founded in 1981, the London Marathon is the largest race of its kind in the world. The marathon will take place on Sunday 22nd April 2012 and spans 26.2 miles, from East to Central London. The three runners will be training hard whilst fundraising for the READ Book Project London East. Why not support our runners by helping them reach their fundraising targets?

We are asking you to let us know what you think by filling in the learning resource survey at www.qmsu.org/learningresources by the 29th Feb.

The three QMSU runners are: ( scan the codes next to each name with your smart phone to donate to their fundraising)

Michael Zamecnik – History Student, First Year (http://www. justgiving.com/Michael-Zamecnik)

Keep an eye out at www.qmsu.org/learningresources for the recommendations we put forward to the College.

Awards & Honours - Only 3 weeks to go!

Monday 19th March 2012 Rich Mix, Shoreditch, 7 – 11:30pm Each year Queen Mary Students’ Union holds an awards ceremony to celebrate the students who have made significant contribution to the Students’ Union or achieved great things in societies, media, volunteering, RAG, campaigning or student council. The QMSU Awards

and Honours Event is now only a few weeks away. This year, the ceremony will be hosted at the vibrant music and arts venue Rich Mix, located at the heart of Shoreditch and Bethnal Green. You will be treated to a drinks reception followed by live entertainment and the celebration of the achievements of your fellow students. The event will include exclusive performances Queen Mary Theatre Company, Nepalese Society, BLAS and many more.

Libby Craig – Politics & International Relations student, Third Year (http://www.justgiving.com/libbycraig)

Sian Marshall – QM Staff Member, Whitechapel (http://www. justgiving.com/MarathonMarshall)

You can also volunteer with Provide Volunteering on Marathon Day, where we will be marshalling along Mile 19, Canary Wharf.

Check www.qmsu.org/londonmarathon for all the details.

Tickets are NOW ON SALE (£6).

Please hurry, as places are limited.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

For more information and contact details visit: www.qmsu.org

Merger Cup is coming!

Here at QMSU, the Club Sport team are working hard to organise this year’s Merger Cup. It’s one of the most keenly anticipated dates on the QMSU sporting calendar – make sure it’s in your diary.

Details are currently being finalised, but keep your eyes peeled for more information over the coming weeks.

Saturday 24th March is the opportunity for Queen Mary sports clubs to take on Barts and the London sports clubs in the annual battle for bragging rights.

Men’s Badminton QM 6-2 Mixed Badminton QM 5-4 Men’s Basketball QM 104-66 Men’s Football 1st QM 7-0 Men’s Football 2nd BL 4-2 Men’s Football 3rd DRAW 1-1 Men’s Football 4th QM 4-1 Men’s Hockey BL 8-2 Women’s Hockey BL 3-2 Netball 1 QM 33-20 Netball 2 QM -29-26 Netball 3 BL 26-12 Netball 4 BL 15-10 Rugby 1 BL 22-3 Squash BL 5-0 Men’s Tennis DRAW 6-6 Women’s Tennis BL 3-1

Merger Cup 2011, held on Saturday March 19th, saw BL triumph by the narrowest of margins; 9-8 over the 17 different fixtures. Last year saw fixtures played in Badminton, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Netball, Rugby, Squash, and Tennis.

This year, we are hoping to bring back Rowing, and introduce Fencing for the first time.

Last Years Scores: Fixture

Score

As part of its expanding programme Get Active is now running an Intramural Basketball League with fixtures taking place every Saturday afternoon at Qmotion. There are currently four teams competing in the 10 week league. ‘Los Americanos’ is a team comprised completely of American students who are over studying at QMUL for the semester and were keen to engage in the universities exciting recreational sports programme. QMSU Societies are represented by the ‘Warriors’ team whose players are all members of the Nepalese Cultural Society.

The remaining two teams ‘Mile End Magic’ and ‘TNSB’ are made up of players that have attended Get

Active’s turn up and play sessions throughout the year and were keen to progress onto regular leagues games. Through the first few weeks of fixtures the league has proved to be extremely completive with some really close games. To get involved with Get Active Basketball come down to one of our turn up and play sessions at Qmotion – Monday 4-6pm & Tuesday 12-2pm or for more information about the leagues email get.active@qmsu.org

Club Sport is so PROUD! This year sees the inaugural Club Sport Awards Dinner on Tuesday 27th March. QMSU is organising the dinner to celebrate the achievements of Clubs and Club Sport members. We have been working with a group of students to plan a great event at the Proud Cabaret in the City of London as well as a sit down meal, entertainment and dancing.

QMSU recognises Club Sport members in two different ways.

Firstly, by the awarding of individual Colours. Anyone can nominate for Colours, but the nomination needs to be ratified by a committee member from that club. All those who have been awarded Colours will be notified before the event. There are three types of Colours: Half Colours, Full Colours and Club Colours.

Nominations for these awards can be made at www.qmsu.org/colours and the nomination deadline is Midnight on Tuesday 13th March.

Secondly, by the awarding of trophies in a number of different categories.

For each category, a shortlist is determined from nominations, and the winner is announced on the night.

Group Awards: Committee of the year, Membership Satisfaction Award, Most improved club of the year, Team of the year, and Club of the year .

Individual Awards: Captain of the year, Sports Volunteer of the year, Coach of the year, Sportsman/woman of the year, Get Active contributor of the year, Sports Personality of the Year and Jack Petchey Award Nominations for these awards, with supporting information, should be emailed directly to toby.emmerson@qmsu.org Tickets for the Club Sport Dinner are available from www.qmsu.org at £35 each. You must be a member of Club Sport to attend the dinner.

For more information and contact details visit: www.qmsu.org

GO QM Week Go QM Week, your week of events and activities inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic Games is coming soon!

From climbing in library square to Olympic themed quizzes and triathalons to volunteering in the community, there is something for everyone to get involved in with London 2012 on campus.

GO QM Schedule 12th March - 18th March 2012

GO QM Schedule 12th March ‐ 18th March 2012 Mon 12th Opening Ceremony Library Sq 12.30pm‐2pm

Tues 13th Get Active Sports Library Sq 12.30pm‐2.30pm

Weds 14th Provide Volunteering TBC Afternoon

Thurs 15th Olympic Green Screen Library Sq 11am‐4pm

Fri 16th QMSU Aspire Sports Hall 9am‐1pm

Sat 17th Triathlon QMotion 9am‐5pm

Sun 18th Power‐lifting QMotion 9am‐5pm

Portable Climbing Wall Library Sq 10‐4pm Olympic Quiz Drapers 7pm‐11pm

Sporting Films Drapers

Fancy Dress Party Drapers 9pm‐2am

There are events that still need to be confirmed, so make sure you keep checking www.qmsu.org/goqm for up-to-date details.

The majority of the events you don’t need to sign up for but some of the sporting challenges you do need to register in advance, so please do this at the web link above.

To volunteer as part of the Go QM team of people making the events happen, please sign up at www.qmsu.org/goqm.

Be a part of it!

QM & BL RAG Jailbreak!

30th March 4pm – 31st March 10pm 2012 Queen Mary and Barts and The London RAG will be breaking free from Mile End campus on Friday the 30th of March to raise money for Kidscan and Read International. The aim of ‘Jailbreak’ is to get as far away from London as you possibly can in 30 hours without spending any money. With teams of two or three people heading out from the starting point with little more than the shirt on their back, most teams end up scattered across Europe. Previous Jailbreaks with Universities around the country have seen teams managing to travel as far away as Las Vegas, New York and Hong Kong. The event is being organised and managed by Kidscan, a charity designed to improve existing treatments for children with cancer. To take part in the event you will need to pay a £20 entry fee and raise a set amount of money through sponsorship.

If you would like to get involved, why not attend the information session on Monday the 5th of March, 7pm in the Ground Café or e-mail claire.britton@ qmsu.org

Drapers has undergone a transformation!

Over reading week Drapers has undergone an exciting transformation!

We’ve given Drapers a fresh lick of paint to make the place a lot brighter, warmer and more welcoming. We’ve installed comfortable new seating booths for relaxing and eating in groups; and we’ve replaced our old wobbly furniture with large communal tables. Also look out for free Wi-Fi available from March! These improvements will create a more relaxed and easy-going environment for students to take a break from classes, socialise with friends and also enjoy good quality food…

NEW MENU March also sees the launch of our brand new menu, comprising altogether healthier food choices in every section – be it burgers and sandwiches, salads, platters, or our brand new pizzas! We’ve switched to better quality ingredients, healthier cooking methods and hired a full time chef to ensure consistent quality in every order. Our new menu also offers a lot more options for those students with dietary requirements by being effortlessly customisable; whether it’s Halal food you’re after, or vegetarian, or even gluten-free, our staff will be happy to explain what we can offer you. And what’s more, everything on our menu is as affordable as it used to be; the £4.99 Burger Deal has been extended to include sandwiches too, and our new pizza offer gets you 2 pizzas for £6.50 between 4-9pm!

For more information and contact details visit: www.qmsu.org