What's on Semester 2

WHAT’S ON SEMESTER 2

1.

refreshers week

2.

rag week

4.

redevelopment

6.

a 50th anniversary

9.

semester 2 plan

10.

sabbatical pages

12.

elections

17.

contents

welcome back

welcome back Welcome to semester two. We hope you all had a lovely winter break and your looking forward to the months ahead.

We’re really excited about all the excellent events in store for this semester. Despite being in the middle of redeveloping the building, we’re kicking this term off with a blast. You’ll find a full timetable for Refreshers’ Week and RAG 2014 in here, as well as dates for A 50th Anniversary, Sexy Health Fortnight, Glitter Ball, Elections, On The Rocks, and so much more. We hope you’ll join us in all that’s going on.

In addition, this is your guide to the redevelopment, what the sabbaticals have been up to so far this year, and what you can expect from us and the redevelopment in the coming months.

Best Wishes The Sabb Team Did you know: Every single penny we make through the bars, the cafes, print-shop or Union Shop, we plough straight back into the Association to help fund welfare support services and representation, free personal alarms and student advocates, and to help fund our 140+ societies, so the more you spend in the union, the more you get back Without all our volunteers, from the members of the SRC and SSC to the people who help distribute flyers and posters, we couldn’t function. You can get involved too Everything we do is for the benefit of our members, you.

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1 – 9 february 2014

rag week

Raising and Giving (RAG) Week is all about students raising lots of money for charity. We want to make RAG Week 2014 bigger, better and more purple than ever!

RAG Week 2014 is exclusively sponsored by: Where does the money go?

This year we are primarily raising money for the Students’ Association three nominated charities – Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, Macmillan Cancer Support and Médecins Sans Frontières – but we will also be supporting other charities including: UNICEF, Anthony Nolan (Marrow), One World, Amnesty International, CoppaFeel! The Jonny Wookey Memorial Fund, Wooden Spoon, Guide Dogs UK, Mary’s Meals, Terrance Higgins Trust Ways to get involved: Library Fines for Charity Pay your library fines on Thursday, February 6th and for ONE DAY ONLY the proceeds will be donated to charity!

Music is Love Charity CD As part of this year’s RAG Week, Music is Love has put together a CD showcasing student musical talent, with all proceeds going to the RAG Week causes. For more information please see www.facebook.com/standrewsmusic.

STAR Radio 24hr Broadcast Tune into STAR to as they attempt at 24hr broadcast as part of RAG Week 2014! Check out www.standrewsradio.com for more details.

Charity Bake Sales These charitable societies are hosting bake sales during RAG with proceeds donated to their affiliated charities.

Monday 3rd: Marrow St Andrews Tuesday 4th: Mary’s Meals Wednesday 5th: Amnesty International Thursday 6th: One World Society Friday 7th: CoppaFeel! St Andrews

rag week

main line up

Welcome to RAG feat. Ministry of Sound! Fine Food Fayre 11am-5pm 10:30PM Sunday 9th February, Younger Hall Saturday 1st February, Venue 1 £3 £4 Class Gift Ceilidh 8PM Sunday 2nd February, Venue 1 £5 Comedy Night 8PM Monday 3rd February, Venue 1 £4 Mr St Andrews 8PM Tuesday 4th February, Venue 1 Standard ticket £8/VIP ticket - £12 Sinners Sport for RAG 10:30PM Wednesday 5th February, Venue 1 £2 for clubs/£3 on the door St Andrews Got Talent 8PM Thursday February 6th, Venue 1 Standard £6/VIP £10 Disney Bop 10:30PM February 7th, Venue 1 £4 Catwalk 8pm February 8th, Venue 1 Standard Tickets: £15

VENUE 2 Monday: Dragwalk presented by LGBT Wednesday (Daytime): Guide Dogs Society Wednesday (Evening): Macmillan Pub Quiz Thursday (Daytime): Design Team Workshop Thursday (Evening): RockSoc for RAG Look out for more information at: www.facebook.com/standrewsRAG!

Around Town Life Drawing – ArtSoc Tuesday, February 4th The Barron Theatre Donations welcome Surgical Roadshow Tuesday, February 4th Medical and Biological Sciences Building Donations welcome & Raffle RAG Week Debate Thursday, February 6th Lower Parliament Hall Music Society Concert Friday February 7th 12-1PM Younger Hall Donations welcome Wolf Whistle (Mermaids Play) Friday – Sunday, February 7th - 9th The Barron Theatre £3

5.

redevelopment

phase 2

redevelopment

Redevelopment really starts to take shape this semester. Most excitingly, our new coffee shop and shop open in the Spring, and we’ll be announcing more details on the timing and products available very soon. Rector’s, our coffee shop, will be a great space for students to meet up and unwind, with quality food and coffees – it’s an exciting new direction for the Union. Rectors’ will connect to ‘Your Shop’ next door, which will sell St Andrews branded clothing, stationary and confectionary. Every pound these new services raise goes back into supporting all of our student activities. Blackwells will also move into its new location nearer the front of the building, and will be opening for Refreshers Week.

We’re still tight on society space, but Venue 2, the Salad Bowl and Committee Room are all available for booking. Venue 2 will soon have all its new glazing, which will offer great views down Market Street and means we can remove the temporary walls.

Phase 2 has begun, meaning the closure of our Main Bar space, so we’ve moved the bar into Venue 1. On nights without bigger events, the bar will screen sport, have pool tables, the comfy sofas and have most of the usual drinks, including our great value cocktails. This is obviously a temporary solution, but it absolutely means you can still enjoy a night out in the Union until Phase 2 is complete, with our new bar spaces being open ready for Freshers’ Week.

Phase 2 sees the Main Bar converted into two spaces – Sandy’s, a traditional pub space; and a Main Bar designed for use throughout both night and day. The physical bar will move, and the raised section in the middle will be removed, so there will be better flow across the venue. There will also be a kitchen adjacent to the bar, so we’ll be introducing a new hot food menu, including late night snacks.

Essentially, everything is still open for business – we encourage you to try our Venue 1 bar, because all of the money gets recycled back into student activities and we still have the same focus on giving students the best value and entertainment we can. Send any feedback you have to doserv@!

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phase 3 and 4 Phase 3 of the redevelopment starts over the summer. It involves updating the middle and top floors of the building into new office spaces for the staff and sabbaticals on the middle floor, and a range of society spaces and a bar on the top floor. It means that our normal society space won’t be available in Semester One of 2014 – but we’re working to secure alternative space with the University.

The middle floor will have an open plan sabb office, so your representatives are as accessible as possible to you. It will also have a large print and design suit available for students to use. STAR radio is moving to the middle floor, as is the Committee Room. The top floor is going to have a new, chilled bar space in Venue 2, purpose-built rehearsal spaces for dance and theatre, more society rooms, and numerous society and meeting spaces of various sizes - all with projectors.

Phase 4 takes place in Semester 2, 2015, when Venue 1 gets developed. It is being turned into two venues – a performance space with a stage and retractable seating, and an entertainments venue with dance floor, booths, and LED lighting. These venues have a retractable wall between them so that we can still cater for big events, such as in Freshers’ Week.

Keep up to date by checking out the Redev. facebook page... fb.com/yourunionredevelopmentyourunion.net/redev

redevelopment

A 50th anniversary

St Andrews Students’ Association Presents: A 50TH ANNIVERSARY brief history: Student representation has existed in St Andrews in its modern form since the very first Students’ Representative Council formed in the 1880’s. The ‘SRC’ was, and still is, the representative arm of the student body, electing members (that is, students) to speak up on behalf of students on issues that were important to them. The SRC admitted both men and women, and it was in St Andrews that we had one of the first ever women to be elected to public office on parity with men with the election of Miss Watson in January 1897 to the SRC. From the 1923 there was also a ‘Union’ formed separately from the SRC, first for men and then separately for women. The Unions existed to organise the social activities of student life, at a time when society was more socially conservative and it was thought best by some that the students should congregate exclusively within their own ‘clubhouses’.

The Men’s and Women’s Unions united in 1963, but the SRC remained a distinct body from The Union until 1989, when the formation of the Student’s Association created what we have today: Your Union.

event: To celebrate the joining of the Men’s and Women’s Unions (and the progress towards equality) we are holding an evening event, with a photo exhibition including photos from each decade, images and information about the redevelopment, drinks and canapés, music, and short talks from Dr Ann Kettle and Dr Lorna Milne on ‘Being a Female Student at St Andrews’.

When: Wednesday 12th February at 7pm Where: Venue 1 like you’ve never seen it before The event is free but ticketed – please sign up for a ticket on: yourunion.net/ents/event/124

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semester 2 calendar

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Refreshers Week Raising and Giving (RAG) Week Union 50th Anniversary Celebration (12th Feb) / Sexy Health Fortnight / Find A Flat Mate Speed Dating (10th Feb) Sexy Health Fortnight Nominations Week / Roller Disco (1st March) / Students’ Association AGM (2nd March) Elections / SAND Festival / LGBT Glitter Ball (8th March) Green Week

Rewind (5th April) On the Rocks Arts Festival/ Scott Lang Dinner (10th April) / Big Top Ball (12th April)

ion

n eU

h yt ! b ll d g ste nt Ha s.or o e h t e Societies Training s a ate arliamsdeb b e Revision Week / May Dip (1st May) s P on t c d er drew i i t l a c w b n du up pu in Lo t sta o y r e l a k Graduation Ball s p e lin ee ciety ard d i w a c th rm out EE g So erm e R t F in 0 M heck .com re ebat the 2 a e n C D out ere ha ter! eatr t k Th e ec or mes idsth Ch m a se are this erm e For more events visit: m er p Th ng u i www.yourunion/events go

sabbaticals

chloe hill

student association president

This summer was a busy time for the sabbs. As well as the annual to do list – getting our heads round the job, content for the book, budgets, and planning for the year ahead, we also had to get the new website ready for the start of term – this involved writing and collecting huge amounts of content and putting my (lack of) technical skills under pressure learning how to use widgets. The redevelopment, which started the same day we started work, has involved endless meetings about materials, technology and branding throughout this term.

Since September I have been working with the accommodation team, environment and ethics officer, member for widening access, community relations officer, and member for external campaigns, on their various projects and campaigns. These have included making a training program for senior students in halls, the 2013/14 ‘Right to Rent’ guide and talks, getting involved in the ‘shop local’ promotion of local businesses, writing a ‘Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment and Discrimination’ policy for the union and promoting it to venues in town, campaigning on the immigration bill and its impact on international students, and working with the university and Ambassadors to write next years ‘outcome agreements’ – specifically on widening access.

In addition, I have be focused on three main areas: I’ve been working closely with Residential and Business Services (RBS) to agree the plan for university accommodation. A paper has been agreed outlining a plan for subsidized accommodation to be mobile – that is, for students entitle to subsidized accommodation to be able to choose their hall in the same way as everyone else, but get their room subsidized, rather than having to live in the allocated subsidized accommodation, as was the case.

I have lobbied for a fairer policy on international fees, and have secured an agreement that ensures that fees for the entire 4-year degree are advertised from the start, and capped at no more than a 5% increase, so that students can budget without getting caught out by unexpected increases. This isn’t perfect, but it is a step on the way to making international fees fairer.

The Students Association had an external governance review carried out over the summer, and I was tasked with taking 12 of the recommendations forward. This has included reviewing our committee structures and our resources, updating the laws, and more – tedious but important work to ensure our union works as well as it possibly can. pres@st-andrews.ac.uk @StAPresident facebook.com/chloe.hill.pres

kelsey gold

director of student development & activities

The past six months have been a whirlwind. My life has become a series of funding proposals, health and safety ordinances, insurance issues, restructuring plans and never ending emails. Sounds glamorous, doesn’t it? In all seriousness, it has been a rewarding few months and I have had a great time working with our student groups.

A significant amount of my time has been spent working with the Societies Committee on reviewing the Union’s relationship with our affiliated societies. This work has created a process that is clearer while complying with the necessary requirements. Changes have made access to funding more straightforward (£10,000+ distributed in grants this term!) and re-affiliation rates increased dramatically.

Individual societies continue to thrive with activities such as the Model United Nations’ Conference, Islamic Society’s Charity Week, Just So’s production of [title of show], Astronomy Society’s Iceland Trip, and so many more brilliant events.

I also spend approximately 15 hours/week in meetings with subcommittees and projects. Naming all of their achievements would fill this entire book but here are a few highlights: Mermaids had a brilliant Christmas Ball and numerous successful productions; Debates excelled in competitive debating at Bogwall and Cambridge while hosting solid public debates, the Charities Campaign completed a sell-out Race2 and is gearing up for a massive RAG Week, SVS have over 250 volunteers on local placements, and Music is Love hosted their very successful Meursault gig and series of Open Mic nights.

I’ve also been involved with the redevelopment of the Union: working extensively on the website over the summer, incorporating rebranding feedback from students in signage, and finalizing a naming and fundraising strategy with the University’s Development Office. I’m currently working on a temporary society space proposal to help student groups during Semester 1 2014 when Union society space is out of action.

On the Student Development front I am happy to say that the DoSDA now has a small budget to spend from. This has allowed me to support various projects thus far – from the Careers Launch Employability Conference to sending students to Glasgow to audition for the Star Wars Film. I also worked with Teddy to implement the role of SRC Employability Officer to work alongside CAPOD and the Careers Centre.

Looking forward to more activities, more challenges and more reforms in Semester 2!

dosda@st-andrews.ac.uk @StADoSDA

daniel palmer director of events and services

It’s been a busy semester as I’ve worked to keep as many events going and spaces open as possible during redevelopment.

We opened with a fantastic Freshers’ - I was thrilled by how many students enjoyed the events, from Radio 1’s Jameela Jamil to a fun-filled set by Bradley & Paul from S Club. It was a varied week with a ceilidh, comedy and Acapellaa; and it’s been a focus of mine throughout the semester to offer something for everyone. Freshers’ was the second most profitable on record, but most of all I was pleased that the hard work translated into a great welcome for new students.

Since then we’ve had a range of events from Silent Disco, Ministry of Sound, RollerDisco (which was so popular we’re bringing it back in Week 5), free crazy golf and our new monthly cheesy night, Rewind. Rewind has been a project I am pleased has taken off, as it meant we could be remove the cheese from Fridays – and the sight of Venue 1 dancing to the Macarena is priceless. I’ve tried to keep the cost for students down, with £1 Week proving popular when loans were running low. Attendance has been down this semester due to the redevelopment, which has been a challenge and restricted what we can do, so my focus has been working on getting people into the building. Much of my time is spent helping students plan their events (from a Venue 2 open mic to LGBT’s Glitter Ball), but also equipment hire and introducing a camera hire system.

A major project of mine has been planning an alternative bar space for semester two, and overseeing the Main Bar closure. As a hub of student life by both night and day, it’s a real shame to see it close; but I’ve worked on the best alternative possible using the expansive space within Venue 1. With the closure of the Byre, I’m absolutely adamant we preserve Venue 1 as a theatre space, as there’s lots to look forward to with On The Rocks and a packed Mermaids lineup. I also don’t want to shut the venue for dance nights, but at the same time, there should be a bar. There’s definitely no perfect answer, but keeping it as flexible has been a fun and challenging project. I’ve also worked on bar branding, introducing a range of great-value cocktails; on marketing with our shop currently on the middle corridor; planning for our coffee shop and shop; and hammering out plans for the new venues.

I have enjoyed working with the SSC, and in particular my sub-committees - STAR and their impressive 98 shows, and we created a PR Team which further enhances the great work Design Team do. Ents Crew impressed me with how they made Freshers’ Week look, and I couldn’t do this without their support. I’ve worked on easing the pressure on our student-run Barron Theatre and their continual upgrades, alongside their rammed schedule.

Going forwards into semester two, there’s the opening of the coffee shop and great events in the pipeline supporting student events.

And then there’s Grad Ball… doserv@st-andrews.ac.uk

@StADoServ

teddy woodhouse director of representation As the Director of Representation, I’ve been focusing my efforts this year on supporting the student experience, in the classroom, in the library, and beyond.

This semester, working with a fantastic team of your elected SRC members, School Presidents, and Class Representatives, we have done some amazing work. We designed and delivered a brand new training scheme for our academic representatives. We advocated for reductions in the inter-library loan scheme: fees for undergraduates will be eliminated this semester. We discussed and developed clear visions on draft University policies like deferred assessments, Honours entry, and late/long coursework penalties. We campaigned on the proposed Immigration Bill and made clear the negative impact that it would have on our University and our community. We created a new Wellbeing Committee that brings together our fantastic student-led groups and our first-ever Employability Committee. We held events on technology in representation, Black History Month, disabilities, and LGBT issues. We printed 1,000 guides for kids and parents for Raisin Weekend and distributed packs in every hall of residence and outside the Library.

What’s ahead? We have collected over 1,000 perspectives on the future of our library to inform future discussions. We’re kick-starting a campaign to prioritise study spaces and establish provision as a KPI for the University. We’re running Sexy Health Fortnight to encourage safe, responsible relationships.

We’ll continue to monitor the Immigration Bill. We’re also running our annual elections in the middle of the term (more on that later).

There’s a lot we have done, but there’s so much more that we can be doing. If you’d like to get involved, send me an email or stop me on the streets to tell me what’s concerning you.

In good health, Teddy dorep@st-andrews.ac.uk @StADoRep

elections For the past two years, we have consistently broken 50% turnout in our elections: the only UK higher education institution to do so. We pride ourselves in our active and rigorous elections process. The strength of our elections comes from the passion of our candidates: we seek out students who are interested in improving the student experience and changing our University.

There are positions covering all walks of activity – from Community Relations Officer to School President, Head of STAR to Charities Convenor – students are the leaders in at least a part of every aspect of life here in St Andrews. The positions that are elected each year roughly fit into four categories: – The five sabbatical officers: Association President, Athletic Union President, and the Directors of Representation, of Student Development & Activities, and of Events & Services. Students in these roles take a year out of their studies to work full-time for the Students’ Association. These are paid positions.

– The SRC officers and members: There are a variety of positions on one of the UK’s oldest Students’ Representative Councils, with different levels of commitment and leadership. Each role has a portfolio; the SRC covers issues of accommodation, community relations, education, employability, environment and ethics, equal opportunities, external campaigns, and wellbeing.

– The SSC officers: The Student Services Council helps to provide student direction on the management of the Students’ Association, its events, and the services it offers. Its members come from the wide array of student-led subcommittees that every student is automatically a member of, including Debates, Charities, Broadcasting (STAR), Postgraduates, Societies, Music is Love, Performing Arts (Mermaids), and Volunteering (SVS).

– The School Presidents: Elected by all students within nearly each discipline, the School Presidents help represent the interests of students and lead their School’s Class Representatives (elected at the beginning of each new academic year). School Presidents also collaborate together to give student input on academic issues facing the University, including the quality of study resources and of teaching.

If you’re interested in running to be a candidate, seeing what positions are available for election, or learning more about what elections are like, please visit yourunion.net/saelect or email Teddy at dorep@.

#saelect

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fb.com/StAndrewsUnion @StAndrewsUnion yourunion.net WWW.YOURUNION.NET