SOAS Students’ Union Handbook 2015/16
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Hello! Welcome (back)! “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” - Jalāl ad-Dīn Rumi You should be hugely excited about the academic, political and personal journey(s) that you’re about to embark on. You have entered a space for critical thought and heterodox perspectives. At its best, SOAS has the potential to be a radical and subversive force for change, not only within SOAS and our respective communities, but within the wider world. However, getting to this point is no easy task; it requires of each of us a will to be self critical and to ask often difficult questions. It is this which marks SOAS out as a truly important and unique institution. Whether in the classroom, in the JCR or Bar, on a protest, at a society event, party, in the Hare Krishna queue or on the legendary SOAS steps, you’ll find endless stimulation and inspiration that will challenge the status quo. For us, learning is not confined to the classroom; these events will provide rich opportunities for self and mutual education and we look forward to sharing them with you. The Students’ Union is the beating heart of SOAS, and the JCR will no doubt become your second home. All students are members of the Students’ Union, our elected officers are here to represent and support you. You decide Union policy in Union General Meetings, in which you also hear about what we’ve been working on and can hold us
to account. Our office (next to the JCR) is always open so come and see us if you want any help or advice, want to throw around some ideas, or just say hello! So, please, come to UGMs, drop into the SU office, and get involved in shaping our community. Welcome to the SOAS community!We hope you embrace changing and learning about yourself, as much as we embrace changing and learning about the world. ‘Follow flow as flowing fluid’
Hannah, Tom and Zain
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Contents Elected Union Executive Union Staff Democratic Structure Union General Meetings (UGMs) Student Reps SOAS Campaigns Our History Sports & Societies Union Priorities Union Advice Service Finance & Budgeting Health & Wellbeing Accommodation Travel in London SOAS Student Advice & Wellbeing Service SOAS Careers SU Equality & Diversity Statement Bust Card Lockers & Mobile Phones SOAS Student Enterprise 2015-16 Diary Notes The Union’s Charity Status SOAS’ Hidden Treasures International Students’ House & Unitu Useful Contacts
3-10 11-12 13 14 15 16-19 20-21 22-40 41 42 43-44 45 46 47-48 49-51 52 54 54 55 56 57-102 103-106 107 108 109 110-112
Co-President Activities & Events Zain Dada zd4@soas.ac.uk 0207 898 4994 @SOASZain Room G8 “The timeless in you is aware of life’s timelessness. And knows that yesterday is but today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream.” Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet After all the stress of getting into university, you’ve now made it. It’s no exaggeration to say that you’re at one of the most unique institutions in the UK. As cliché as it is to affirm this, SOAS offers something that is truly rare and that magical rarity is exemplified through the eclectic range of societies, events and activities that happen here. To use a term closely associated with the great Columbian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez it is a space where the lines of “magic realism” are blurred. As Co-President of Activities and Events I am here to make sure you explore all the wonderful things SOAS has to offer. Whether it’s getting involved in casual sports or joining a campaign or even start a society, I am here to help. The scope ranges from cultural, political, musical, entertainment based societies to new sports teams. All the information for all the great societies and sports is on the website
(www.soasunion.org/activities) for you to join, create and enjoy. It is an exciting time for the university, with the 100th anniversary of SOAS coming up, it is a crucial opportunity to assess the origins of SOAS and where we as an institution, hope to be in the next 100 years. With this in mind, the Union will be launching the “Decolonising SOAS” campaign which will be a series of lectures, workshops and events examining SOAS’ legacy. If you’d like to get involved with the campaign, please do get in touch. Feel free to come to see us in the Union Office (G8) anytime, alternatively you can email me on zd4@soas.ac.uk. We are here to make sure you make the most of your time here at SOAS!
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Co-President Democracy & Education Hannah Slydel hs56@soas.ac.uk 0207 898 4995 @SOASHannah Room G8
‘’Once you do away with the idea of people as fixed, static entities, then you see that people can change, and there is hope.’’- Bell Hooks Hello, and welcome (back) to SOAS! I’m Hannah, and I’ll be your Co-President Democracy and Education for the next year. Tasked with trying to write an introduction to the wonderful mess that is SOAS, I immediately began to panic. How do I reduce an institution so vivid, so complicated and so absolutely ridiculous to an A5 page? So, I won’t. Instead, I’ll offer just a few words on my own experiences here. SOAS can be a totally intoxicating, supportive and truly exciting place. However, life and academia aren’t divorced from each other and, at times, both can be incredibly difficult to negotiate. It is for reasons like this that Students’ Union exists. So if, for whatever reason, you find yourself struggling, please do consider reaching out to us. My job is to work to ensure that the union’s democratic processes are accessible, effective, and transparent. Whether through Union General Meetings (UGMs), Referendums, Elections, Open Forums or Participatory Budgeting initiatives, I will be campaigning for a union that is decentralised and relevant to the heterogenous (and often conflicting!) experiences of the SOAS
community. In line with our Decolonising SOAS campaign, I will be focusing on how issues of (in)equality and liberation structure, and are intrinsic to, academia and education more broadly. Drawing from the heterodox and self-critical practices for which SOAS is famous, we will be asking difficult and uncomfortable questions of SOAS itself and exploring the ways in which it perpetuates systems of oppression. Ultimately, the political, economic and social direction of the union should be determined by its members (that’s you!), so please, get involved! With love and solidarity, Hannah
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Co-President Welfare & Campaigns Tom King
tk68@soas.ac.uk 0207 898 4997 @tomilo Room G8 “My weaknesses have always been food and men - in that order.” - Dolly Parton Welcome (back) Soasians to the active, diverse, vibrant, dynamic, radical and inspiring community that is SOAS! I’m Tom, your Co-President Welfare and Campaigns. My role is to ensure you feel welcome in both the Students’ Union and SOAS as a whole, to ensure you have access to the support you need, and to fight for your interests both within SOAS and beyond. Having just completed my BA Politics, I can tell you, your time at SOAS will fly by, so make the most of every second! SOAS is one of the most active campuses in the world, so get involved. Join and start campaigns, societies & sports teams. Attend & organise events, talks & protests. Submit motions to Union General Meetings. Come to our forums. Become a student rep in your department. Run as a candidate in the Union elections. Put simply: embrace SOAS life! University, especially SOAS, provides invaluable opportunities to engage with the world around us and to unite around common concerns and fight for change - at SOAS, in the local community, and the wider world. This is the time to be idealistic, active, advance the causes you are passionate about and fight for what you believe in! As amazing as SOAS is, it is far from perfect.
The Union is fighting for the improvements we need, but change can only come with your engagement. Although the privatisation and marketisation of higher education involves students being seen as consumers, at SOAS we see students as members of a unique community, and education as a social good, rather than a product to be bought and sold. As SOAS faces difficult times, it is more vital than ever that we work together as a community to defend what makes this place so special and important. All three Co-Presidents are here to support you, facilitate your activities, and to help transform your brilliant ideas into reality! Our office is always open, so pop in and see us if you have any queries or problems, if you want to share ideas and plan amazing campaigns, or to just have a chat over tea (and chocolate? Bring chocolate). So, welcome to this exciting, critical, radical community. I can’t wait to meet you all. Tom
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Executive Officers Liberation Officers“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless’. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.” -Arundhati Roy
Women’s Officers Hello all! We are Aida and Jonelle, your women’s officers for this academic year. Our role is to provide support, assistance and facilitation to all self-identifying women at SOAS; whether this is in form of carving out self-identifying women’s only spaces, engaging in campaigns and events that challenge societal structures sustaining inequalities or providing welfare advices. Jonelle Twum & We believe feminism to be plural and intersectional. Henceforth, Aida Balafkan to challenge different forms of oppressions and hierarchies women@soas.ac.uk and include multiple experiences, we will engage in a vibrant interaction with various liberation campaigns, societies and individuals to mobilize for a more inclusive SOAS. We are very approachable, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch! We will be having office hours every week and monthly informal meetings if you ever need to talk or meet other feminist allies. If you can’t make it, you can always reach us by email to arrange another time.
Disabled Students & Carers’ Officer
Laila Ahmed
Welcome to SOAS everyone! As your Disabled Students and Carers Officer, my role is to provide support to all students who self define as disabled and/or as a carer. Disability is really fluid, where some disabilities are permanent and ongoing such as mobility issues, sensory impairments, learning differences and so on, whereas others can be ‘temporary’ such as a study-induced anxiety, a broken leg, concussion etc. It is so important that SOAS is completely accessible and inclusive for all, which I will do my best to facilitate with your help. Please get in touch for support, advice or talks about campaigns.
sudisabilities@soas.ac.uk
Working Class Students’ Officers
If coming to university has felt like a huge financial risk to you, you’re going to have to fit work in around your studies to support yourself or you’re worried that not having gone to the ‘right kind’ of school means you’ll be left behind or out of place, then we’re here to support you as your Working Class Students’ Officers. If you ever feel like your class background is being used against you or ignored, if the extra pressure of having to work and study is getting too much or if you just want to meet other students who know what it’s like to be working class, then get in touch!
Monna Matharu & Saul Jones workingclass@soas.ac.uk
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Black Officer Hi ! I’m Alaa Ahmed and I will be your BME officer this year. I will be entering my 3rd year studying law at SOAS and hope to be able to use my experiences and the knowledge I have gained so far to support and represent Black and minority ethnic students. I will aim to raise awareness to many of the issues which we face as BME students, particularly the importance of academic representation and reclaiming the ‘A’ in SOAS, as well as Alaa Ahmed awareness of intersectional issues, to solve many of the problems we may face as students. I aim to facilitate discussions between students black@soas.ac.uk and the academic staff themselves to ensure that our voices are heard and effectively reflected in academic life. Most excitingly I look forward to working with SOAS’ wealth of excellent societies to organise this year’s Black History Month events. I look forward to meeting and hopefully working with many of you ! Please feel free to contact me at Black@soas.ac.uk !
LGBTQ Officer Hey SOAS’ians ! I am a third year BA student in Development Studies and Politics. My role is to defend the rights and interests of self-identifying LGBTQIA+ students. The culture of prejudice and discrimination against diverse sexual orientations and gender identities still is a reality many have to confront on a daily basis, including in SOAS. My aim is to continue dismantling these structures of power, primarily inside the school life and its institutions but also to provide direct support to students in need. Imrane Liberation struggles are collective ones so I will be working on an open platform with other liberation officers, societies and anyone wanting to Trocme get involved. As for cultural events I will be organising talks and debates, queer film projections, and crazy rainbow parties ! Hope no one minds lgbtq@soas.ac.uk glitter ;-).
Anti-Racism Officer Hello! I’m Osamah, I’m a second year Politics student and I will be the Anti-Racism Officer this year. I aim to highlight and tackle racism on and off campus in all its manifestations, specifically that which is trivialised and ignored Protesting against racist governmental legislation on a national level and the BME attainment gap on a campus level are part of the bigger struggle against racism. Together we have the capacity to create the environment we want to be a part of. Most importantly I want to make reporting racism more accessible and effective for students and Osamah Aiar staff through drop in sessions, safe spaces for anti-racism@soas.ac.uk expression and surveys. Do approach me, say hello 9 and voice your concerns! Every concern is significant.
International Students Officer Hi there! My name is Juhi Verma and I’m currently a History undergraduate. I am not the type of person that can sit and wait around for things to change, whether that is in my personal life or at my university. Change is in our hands, and that is something I strongly believe in. This is why I have chosen to take on the position of the International Students Officer. Although I’m not an international student myself, I understand the importance of effective representation of the student body and the university. I will make sure that international students have a voice in all decisions Juhi Verma concerning them at SOAS and this will always be my first international@soas.ac.uk and main priority within my role in the Students’ Union.
Mature Students’ Officer
Monique Bell mature@soas.ac.uk
I’m Monique and I’m in my second year at SOAS studying Religions and Politics. My main aim is to support mature students throughout their academic journey. As a mature student myself and with 10 years out of education prior to University, I understand how difficult it is to come back and get into the swing of things. I will establish a Mature Students Society which will focus on making events more inclusive of mature students. I will also liaise with various agents within the University to lower the mature student drop-out rate as well as being a point of contact for any concerns or challenges you may face during your time here. I’m really excited to be in this role and can’t wait to get to know you all.
Campaigns Officer
Jovian Salak
campaigns@soas.ac.uk
I’m super passionate and ready to help the co-presidents represent you and your campaigns. I will have a strong focus of Liberation campaigns as well as supporting many of the pre-existing campaigns. I will also be introducing new campaigns surrounding academic welfare, stress and race in an academic setting. Students deserve more than they get from SOAS at the moment and we want to support initiatives for change. This may be increasing the number of bursaries, accessibility to more and clearer information, as well as challenging school collaboration with oppressive authorities. I’m also happy to support you in staying meaningfully connected to activism and struggles in outside university, beyond London. We are approachable, always available to talk to you and offer support in any meaningful way (i.e. awareness, resistance and direct action). 10
Entertainment Officers
Adwoa Darko & Will Paintin
entertainments@soas.ac.uk Hey, what’s up, hello SOAS! As CoEntertainment Officers, our main theme for this year is “SOAS on a hype”. By this we mean to fulfil the promises we laid out in our manifesto; regular and varied social events covering the diverse demographic of our university, a continued effort to utilise our precious space in the JCR and bar into somewhere we can all enjoy, improved equipment and training for it, and finally, an even bigger SOAS festival at the end of the year showcasing the incredible talent here at SOAS. Feel free to holla at us with your ideas, if you would like to be part of our process or if you need any help with regards to entertainment @ SOAS.
Environment Officers
Isobel Annan & Hannah Short environment@soas.ac.uk
We are Izzy and Hannah, and we are fourth year BA Chinese students jointly holding the position of Environment Officer! To make SOAS the most eco-friendly place it can be, we aim to: coordinate between the various environmental groups; organise events and fun green socials; be approachable points of contact ourselves; facilitate the continued work of Solar SOAS (a student-led renewable energy project on campus roofs); organise Green Week to engage students in environmental issues; and work with the Green group to raise SOAS’ ranking in the People & Planet University Leagues. Green power to the people!
Research Students Officer Hello! I will aim to be social, give support and provide more clarity by; Working with the school to allow more funding for PhD researchers. Having our regular parties in the beginning and end of terms. Creating an active area for sports, pray, play, relax and socialising for PhD researchers. Provide more emotional and mental support for researchers in their had times. Organising fieldwork workshop/seminar. Trips for researchers. More support for Fractionals for Fair Pay movement. Achieving more issues of the Research Students’ Mohamed TahaAssociation (RSA) journal and extend it to new areas. Performing first elections for RSA secretary and treasurer and making RSA more pgr@soas.ac.uk democratic. Try to find a way to put PhD on the national research ranking system.. Include more researchers in faculties research committees and doctoral school meetings. Being more active on Twitter #soasphd - Facebook and getting PhD researchers at SOAS know each other more. 11
Sports Officer As someone who has always enjoyed sport despite not being naturally gifted with much hand eye coordination, I want to increase the accessibility of SOAS sports to all those who wish to participate while simultaneously making SOAS sports a more competitive and successful sporting environment. But most importantly, I want to turn SOAS sports into one big family that welcomes anyone and everyone who enjoys watching, playing or learning about sports. So please, if you have any ideas as to what you would like to see happen within SOAS sports, please contact me!
Lizzie Wright
sports@soas.ac.uk
Academic Affairs Officer Hi there, I’m excited to be your academic affairs officer this year. I’m aiming to make academic life at SOAS more accessible, e.g. the library, exams etc, as well as organise alternative educational events – there’s so much out there which isn’t in our official teaching curricula. I will also push for different and more varied forms of assessments as well as keep immigration controls out of our classrooms. Please feel free to approach me about any problems which arise in your academic life at SOAS – and have a great year!
Matija Vlatkovic academic@soas.ac.uk
Become a Students’ Union Officer! In October we’ll be holding elections for the following positions: Postgraduate Taught Officer, Accommodation Officer and Trans and Gender Identity Officer, These positions are voluntary, part-time and involve representing your constituency group of students and being part of our Students’ Union Executive team, and so helping to run the Union! We’ll also be electing our two delegates to the National Union of Students National Conference! If you’re interested come and chat to us to find out more, or have a look on the website. The deadline for submitting your nomination is 8th October, and the elections will take place on 13th and 14th October! Make sure you vote too!! 12
General Manager: Peter Baran
The role of General Manager is to do all of the boring stuff in the Union - I manage the day-to-day operation of the Union to make sure it is continually successful. I head up the staff team who provide the commercial and support services, and do all the money things - if you see me with a furrowed brow I have just been paying some tax or sending in a return. So basically I manage the statutory charitable aspects, making sure the Union is properly administered and run. I also give advice to the Union officers and Trustees, as I have been around a long time I can help them avoid past mistakes and plan for the future. That kind of experience can also help all students; my door (G6) is always open to answer any questions you may have. My role is to do anything that helps the Union run smoothly, from ordering beer to assigning lockers (and breaking the locks). I’m also a bit of a film buff, so if you want to just pop in for a movie recommendation feel free..
Commercial Services Manager: Khaled Ziada Hi, I’m the cheery smile that greets you every day into the Union. Now, you may be asking yourself, ‘why does he smile so much?’ Well, I’ve got a secret: you can’t get better service & prices on those day to day items that right here in the Union Shop or Bar. Sounds crazy, I know, but trust me – I’m a Palestinian. Profit is not my aim, spreading love and happiness is. Love and happiness is the only way to achieve world peace. I find happy people like to buy me duty free fags. (Marlboro Light please)
Academic and Welfare Caseworker: Susanna Momtazuddin My role to help support and empower students who may be facing difficulties regarding academic or welfare issues. I’ll be working closely with the Co-President Democracy & Education to help solve any academic complaints and to make sure students get good, independent advice on issues they raise. I was a Master’s student at SOAS back in 2007 so I have very fond memories of my SOAS experience! Since then, I have been living and working in London. Previously to this role I was the Welfare Adviser for the University of Westminster and also have 5 years experience working in Welfare and Advocacy particularly focusing on disability and mental health. 13
Governance & Communications Coordinator: Amy Dawson My job is to keep the website up-to-date, oversee the Union’s Social Media and produce handbooks, flyers & posters. I also support the CoPresident Democracy & Education with the organisation and preparation of the Union General Meetings and Executive Committee Meetings. I will act as elections clerk for the Autumn and Spring elections where all the Part Time Executive Officers and Sabbatical Co-Presidents are elected. If you’d like to be more involved in the Students’ Union’s democractic side, for example if you want to submit a motion or stand in a election, send me an email or come to the Students’ Union and have a chat! You should be able to find me in G6.
Sports, Activities & Events Coordinator: Seb Cirillo
My job is to help you realise any extra-curricular plans you might have. I’ll be working very closely with the Co-President Activities and Events, and together we’ll do our best to improve your experience at SOAS. Also, I’ll be working closely with our Sports Officer to improve provision of competitive and non-competitive sports. We have an enormous variety of student-led societies and clubs and are always looking for ways to create more. If there is anything you would like to do, just pop into the SU. In an environment as diverse as SOAS, you’re bound to find people with whom you share interests, and I’ll do all I can to bring you together to experience your student life in the best way possible.
Representation & Research Assistant: Antonia Bright I have responsibility toward the student rep system. In this area I mostly work with the S.U Democracy and Education Sabbatical, and the Academic Affairs part time officer(s). Student reps take up issues within their course or faculty. We provide training, and organise the network that links reps across the school. If you’re interested in being a Student Rep, or want to know more about it, just ask! I can be found in the SU offices, in Russell Sq but only for four days of the week - I’m a part-timer. You can always email too. I also provide assistance and advice regarding research. This includes running surveys to gage the views of students, student reps and the S.U student-staff; conducting discussion groups to look more in-depth into aspects of the student experience; and bringing together the strands of data and pieces of research that already exist elsewhere, (like external surveys and research). This is all about using research to inform and assist the Union to influence student’s experience and education, and inform the Union’s 14 priorities and strategic plan.
Democratic Structures
How the Union works!
The Students’ Union is a democratic organization, run by and for Students. This means that the union’s policy, strategic direction and actions are elected, shaped by, and realised by its members (that’s you!) and elected officers (pages 3-10). To do this, we have a number of different democratic processes and structures, as listed below.
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UGMs
(Union General Meetings)
Much more exciting than they sound, UGMs play a central role in shaping the union’s political and economic direction and are famous for the passionate and heated debates. Union General Meetings are an opportunity for you to meet, negotiate and democratically pass policy. Once policy is passed, the union is mandated to work with the relevant bodies and students to implement it. Co-presidents, union executive officers, student reps and society presidents are all mandated to attend, so UGMs provide important opportunities to stay updated with the work they are doing and hold them to account.
Our first UGM of the year will be on Thursday 8th October, 5pm, in the JCR. Motions must be received at least 4 working days before the UGM. For more information on UGMs, look online at soasunion.org. There, you’ll find a handy guide on the correct procedure for proposing a motion. Make sure you check the constitution online to see the framework upon which this union depends. If you need any help, or have any questions, email Hannah Slydel at hs56@soas.ac.uk
SOAS Spirit Editor The SOAS Spirit is your monthly student-run newspaper and as Editor-in-Chief, I’m committed to expanding both the online and print platforms of the paper over the next year so that it properly reflects and interacts with the diverse spirit of the SOAS community. The Spirit has a legacy dating back to 1935, and I hope to produce a paper which both feeds off and into the minds of our active, critical and international student body.
Melissa Plant mel.editor.soasspirit@gmail.com
Student Representatives
soasunion.org/reps
A well-coordinated network of student representatives gives students the means to influence their educational experience directly. Could you be actively involved in shaping the academic experience at SOAS? Have you felt the drive to be active and vocal on student issues? Do you want to see what goes on behind the scenes? Can you speak up for your peers? Become a Rep, you won’t regret it! Democratic Student Representatives are elected by their peers in all departments (generally 2 p/ year). The S.U runs online elections following a nomination period. Some reps are already in place for second and third years, but for first years and all vacancies left from last term, elections are set for October 7th so start considering it now! NB: Languages & Cultures, History, and Development Studies: your reps will be elected through Unitu online programme – look out for details. Everyone else will be elected through the S.U online process. Vocal and Active Reps attend Department Meetings and staffstudent forums ensuring students’ concerns are raised, and pressing for solutions. Reps are a crucial contact for departments and for the S.U. They play an important role in periodic reviews of academic programmes, including the Quality Assurance Assessment. The Union looks to rep’s input in determining what education campaigns to prioritise. Am I fit for it? Becoming Student Rep does NOT require previous experience of representation. You might never have experienced student activism before. ANYONE can nominate themselves as a Rep, and gain the support of
their peers, as long as you are ready act on the mandate to speak up for students. Support Reps will be trained on their role; taking up to an hour and a half. Reps share experiences with each other to solve problems and make progress on student concerns year-on-year. We (the SU) are here for those times when it gets frustrating, working closely to create a network of reps able to lean on the Union and each other. Reports will appear on the Union website, so students can see what has been discussed and the action being taken. Reward Students gain from representing their peers and being involved in their department. You will get to know your academics better, working with them and the SU to improve the educational experience of yourself and your peers. There is nothing more rewarding than making positive change happen! As well as the insight gained into the functioning of a HE Institution, an extra line of your CV and greater confidence, you will also have the immediate benefit of FREE HOT DRINKS as you follow each step. After attending training and completing a termly report you’ll collect your booklet of vouchers. At the end of the year those who finished their final report will be able to request a reference and / or certificate acknowledging their role and skills gained. SO...what are you waiting for?!? Become a Student Rep! Get involved! Make a change! For any further question contact: hs56@soas.ac.uk ab93@soas.ac.uk 17
SOAS Campaigns “There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches
Our campaigns, like our academic studies, are about challenging social and structural inequalities and injustices. Whether campaigns are social or environmental, local or international, SOAS-specific or external, they intersect and relate in complex and varying ways. In short, the struggles we face as individuals do not exist in isolation, but are informed and connected to wider social issues and systems of inequality. Campaigns are about taking what we learn in lectures, putting it into practice, and using our activism to inform and shape our academic life. Our priority campaigns are decided by students in Union General Meetings. If you’d like to start a campaign, submit a motion and get involved! Listed are some of our long-term campaigns, for more info check out the campaigns section of our website.
Ending Austerity
Campaigning a g a i n s t austerity, cuts and privatisation has been a Students’ Union priority since the tuition fee protests and occupations of Autumn 2010. Austerity is not about ‘fiscal responsibility’; it is a neoliberal ideological programme to shrink the state and transfer assets and wealth from the poor to the rich. It has caused economies to stagnate. It has dismantled our welfare state, with attacks on the National Health Service and the privatisation of higher education. Health and education should remain public goods, not marketised commodities for private profit. Cuts have hit the most vulnerable and marginalised people in our society hardest, and created scapegoats of those worst affected; feeding Islamophobia, antiimmigrant rhetoric, sexism, LGBTQphobia, racism and heightening the stigmatisation and pathologisation of disabled people, and the demonisation of benefit claimants. Public spending cuts and privatisation have been accompanied by a decline in employment, wages, and conditions. The Anti-Cuts
campaign argues for an economically sound and environmentally sustainable alternative that puts people’s needs, rather than private profit, at the heart of our system.
Liberation:
Whilst fighting for free education, it is important to remember that education is not divorced from wider systems of oppression and discrimination; simply abolishing fees would not make education freely accessible to all. In short, people that experience wider forms of oppression(s) are structurally marginalised and underrepresented within education. Groups that organise around/in response to this are often called ‘liberation groups’. This includes, but is not limited to, women, black, disabled, working class, lgbtqia+ and international students. Rather than seeking ‘equality’ or ‘diversity’, liberation seeks to challenge the systems of normalised violence and structures of oppression that underpin discrimination and marginalisation. Liberation campaigns are facilitated by the relevant part-time officers and those who self-identify into these groups. For more information on these officers, see pages 6-7 . Those who do not self-identify with the particular group that a campaign represents can support these campaigns and show solidarity, taking their lead from those who self-identify as belonging to that group. 18
Free Education/Grants not Loans
The trebling of tuition fees and the ever increasing fees charged to international students has resulted in universities being run like private businesses. While the quality of education is rapidly declining due to cuts to courses and staff pay, funding for marketing & new buildings is surging, and university managements continue to expand, as do their salaries. Students are being treated like cash-cows, being charged extortionate amounts for degrees that are of increasingly declining quality. They are being driven in and churned out like products on a factory line in order to maximise profit. Universities are being turned into profit-seeking businesses rather than educational institutions. Meanwhile, the government is planning to scrap maintenance grants for students and replace them with more loans & debt. These changes will mean that those from the poorest backgrounds will graduate with the most debt, while rents, heating bills, transport & food continue to rise. We can reverse this process and reinstate higher education as a public good which is run in the interest, and for the benefit of, students, staff and the wider community. This would ensure it is open to all, funded by taxes on the rich and big businesses. The government’s own figures show that for every £1 invested in higher education the economy expands by £2.60 so free education would pay for itself! We only have to look to Germany, Denmark, Brazil and Scotland to see that another education system is possible! SUs across the country are fighting for free education and for grants not loans! Join the student movement’s “No barriers // No borders // No business” national demonstration on 4th November.
Democratise SOAS
SOAS is not currently run in the interests of the students and staff, who together make up the SOAS community. In the context of the privatisation of higher education, increased tuition fees are being spent on expanding, marketing, branding, bureaucratisation, and outsourced contracts, whilst certain departments are severely underfunded and courses are being cut. Staff has seen a real terms cut and fractional teaching staff (tutors, teaching fellows, and senior teaching fellows) are not paid for the full hours that they work, with many not even being paid the London Living Wage. There are substantial pay gaps for women and BME staff, and significant attainment gaps for women and BME students. The cleaners suffer victimisation from their outsourced employer on our campus. The undemocratic nature of SOAS means that staff and student grievances have not been listened to by SOAS management, resulting in strikes, protest and dissatisfaction. Democratise SOAS aims to change this by transforming SOAS’ governance structure; giving academics, students and support staff greater say in how our institution is run. We want greater representation, transparency and accountability - a model of shared governance where everyone has a stake and a say. Join our forums and the campaign to democratise SOAS and ensure it is run in the interests of the entire SOAS community. Keep updated by liking the Democratise SOAS 19 facebook page!
Justice for Cleaners SOAS Justice For Cleaners is led by SOAS cleaning staff, who started the campaign in 2006. In 2008 the campaign won the London Living Wage. Supported by the Students’ Union, and staff unions UNISON and UCU, the campaign for fair and equal pay and conditions has grown. Last year the campaign had a victory, winning its demands for sick pay, holiday pay and pensions, but not the full campaign demands so the fight continues! The key demand of the Campaign is that the cleaners be brought back in-house - employed by SOAS directly rather than by an outsourced private company - has not yet been granted. The cleaners suffer victimisation and intimidation on our campus at the hands of the outsourced company, including the targeting of campaign activists and union representatives, and from continual attempts to cut costs by undermining working conditions. These injustices can only be prevented by bringing the cleaners back in-house, ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect. In 2012, a referendum was held in which 98.2% of participants from the SOAS community voted in favour of the cleaners being brought in-house. We believe that SOAS is currently not practicing the values of equality and social justice that is preached in its classrooms. The cleaners work is crucial to the functioning of SOAS and they are a vital part of the SOAS community, and must be treated as such by the university.
Campaign Timeline 2006: Campaign was begun by SOAS cleaners. 2008 June: SOAS cleaners won the London Living Wage. 2009 June: Cleaners were called to an ‘emergency meeting’ in SOAS where they were faced with immigration officers. 7 cleaners were deported, one of whom was pregnant. 2012 October: SOAS cleaner and activist, Lenin, faced with disciplinary proceedings and court hearing after refusing to carry out extra work without extra pay. 2012 December: Referendum held by ballot box. Out of the 1,294 students and staff who participated, 98.2% voted in favour of the cleaners being brought in-house. 2012-2013: much support expressed at numerous demonstrations and events, such as Justice For Cleaners Latino Nights and the Justice For Cleaners Day. JFC Badges, bags, and t-shirts worn, including at Graduation. 2013-14: Series of strikes,climaxing in a 3 day strike. Resulting in improved sick pay, holiday pay and pensions. 2014-15: Continued harassment and victimisation of cleaners. Continued protests and disruption of a governing body meeting.
One workplace, one workforce, one SOAS community! La Lucha Continua!
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Decolonising SOAS “Prescription of the correct cure is dependent on a rigorous analysis of the reality.” Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Decolonising the Mind
The School of Oriental Studies began as a colonial project in 1916 to deepen Europe’s understanding of the Global South. “Africa” was eventually added to the schools name in 1938. With the 100th year of SOAS coming up, it’s important to assess the colonial origins of the institution and look ahead to the ways in which the school is developing. Despite being an institution that specialises in Africa and Asia, the curricula at SOAS are not adequately representative of thinkers that emerge from the Global South. We are launching a campaign to examine this and we hope to host a series of events looking at how we can establish a “decolonised university.” Decolonising SOAS will be in collaboration with UCL’s Why Is My Curriculum White Campaign which garnered national press for its examination of UCL’s “Pale, Male and Stale” curricula. One of the key aspects of this campaign is for us to examine the ways in which Western philosophy puts a specific conception of Man at the centre. This enables the myth of “universal truth” as being a body of knowledge that has dictated the current colonial structure of the world we live in today. The campaign will be looking at ways SOAS as an institution can incorporate other forms of knowing and grant the same credence to metaphysical and transcendental systems of knowledge from the Global South as it does to systems of knowledge that have emerged from Western Europe. Keep an eye out for events, meetings and working groups and be sure to pop into G8 (The SU Office) to ask for more details and get involved!
For over 30 years SOAS Palestine Society has been one of our most active societies. SOAS Students’ Union was the first UK Students’ Union to support Free Palestine and to implement and campaign for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). SOAS students have continually voted to support the Free Palestine campaign and the Students’ Union is committed to promoting freedom, equality and human rights across the world, and therefore opposes the occupation of Palestine, which we believe to be the only way to create lasting peace in the region.
Fractionals For Fair Play (FFFP)
campaigns for better wages and conditions for academic staff members at SOAS who are on temporary, part-time contracts, many of whom are PhD students who teach. On average, fractional staff at SOAS are only paid for 50% of the work they perform. Despite several rounds of negotiations, petitions, disruptions to essay marking, and the possibility of industrial action, SOAS management is still refusing to pay fractional staff a fair wage. All three unions on campus have given support to the campaign, which 21 continues into the new academic year.
Our History 1916: School of Oriental Studies founded. 1927: SOS ‘Union Society’ Founded “with a view to promoting social intercourse amongst students and staff”… Union membership fee ½ crown.
1934: The SU Magazine founded, precursor to today’s Spirit. 1938: Renamed the ‘School of Oriental and African studies’ 1941: SOAS moves to the current Russell Sq site. 1945: SOAS SU gains first constitution; The Mallet magazine founded. 1957: SU split ideologically after Soviets march into Hungary. After a debate regarding ‘Jailhouse Rock’, the Union bans Elvis as a fad which will never take off. 1959: SOAS SU one of the first institutions to instigate a boycott on South African goods. Ban on Elvis overturned. 1964: First ever Union handbook published.
1916-2015
Government discuss introduction of student loan system, rejected and heavily campaigned against successfully by SOAS SU. 1970: SOAS SU disaffiliates with the NUS, claiming it was “too reactionary”. College bar opens. 1972: First full-time sabbatical officer: President. 1974: Union gains
representation on the School’s Academic Board. 1977: Students occupy the Registry in protest of the government’s regulations quadrupling overseas fees. 1978: Union gains Common Room (JCR). As protests endure against government cuts, SOAS SU becomes the Reggae venue of choice for London. 1981: Overhaul of the Union constitution. Union gains second sabbatical post: Vice President. 1985: School shut down twice by the Union over the new Education Reform Act as
well as Palestinian Rights. 1989: SOAS becomes famous for its American New Wave Rock scene: acts include Mudhoney and Soundgarden.Nirvana play first ever UK gig in SOAS. 1991: Union gains third Sabbatical officer. During the Gulf War, SOAS Union helps set up a helpline for victimised Arab Students. SOAS Spirit Founded. 1994: Union disasagrees with SOAS & NUS’ stance on noplatform for Hizb ut-Tahrir, following 400-member strong UGM with the press waiting outside. 1996: Union loses its third sabbatical officer due to financial mismanagement. 1997: The three-week ‘Great Occupation’ of the library regarding School’s refusal to buy library tickets to Senate House Library for students. Students win tickets back. 1998: The First SOAS Festival of Arts and Diversity formed, as a result of fears over merger with UCL. Merger does not happen. 2000: Union occupies the Directorate over the introduction of tuition fees. Leads to largest ever UGM of over 500 people to
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Our History 2011: First ever SOAS recipe book published. SOAS Radio taken over by the Union. Uprisings and occupy movements occur across the world. News of ask them to come out. 2001: Union takes over the SOAS bar from the School. Deals with legacy of drug use on the premises. Gains representation on the School Governing Body. 2003: Addition of Sports & Societies Co-President. SOAS SU had the largest proportional turnout in the country for its annual elections. 2005: Smoking ban in the bar solves the drug problem! SOAS Radio founded. 2009:Summer demos lead to SOAS cleaners winning the London Living Wage. First ‘Beyond Borders’ tour takes Football team to Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. 2010: Huge refurbishment of JCR & bar. Food Co-op ‘hub’ is built - wholesale nuts, pulses, lentils etc. go on sale every Weds. Occupation of the Brunei Gallery regarding proposed education cuts and imposition of fees, again. Union starts ‘Saturday School’ volunteering scheme.
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Food Co-op, JCR
the Arab Spring is televised in JCR. Paint-throwing for Holi becomes an annual event among students around Bloomsbury. 2012: For London’s Olympic Year, internationalisation is celebrated throughout SOAS & the Union sets up Cultures Of Resistance Scholarships. SOAS purchases the North Block of Senate House with big plans for expansion. Scandal occurs in the S.U, the General Manager catches a CoPresident stealing money. Resignation and court follows. 2013: UGM votes to end the CoPresident positions as they were, and create 3 new Sabbatical roles. University of London called police on protesting students and criminalised peaceful
Holi, 2013
protest on campus. Over 50 people arrested, including SOAS students, staff & Sabbatical officer, sparking huge Cops Off Campus protests. 2014: Series of protests and industrial action by full time academic and support staff, the cleaners, and fractional teaching staff. Democratise SOAS Forums, petition &protest outside Governing Body meeting. Justice For Cleaners campaign victory with improved working conditions, but the cleaners fight to be brought in-house continues. ULU shut down by University of London. 2015: SOAS becomes the first English University to divest in Fossil Fuels. Union also leads the way with a schoolwide BDS referendum & finally get the go ahead to expand the bar into the outside moat, getting rid of the unsightly ramp.
Sports & Societies at SOAS Students’ Union Sports and societies are the communities that truly animate the Students’ Union. The next few pages will take you on tour of what we have to offer. Our societies have an extraordinary collection, with quite different focuses. These range from SOAS media publications like the SOAS Radio and the SOAS Spirit to recreational groups that explores the great outdoors. Furthermore we have communities of artist who are heavily involved with creating the entertainment at SOAS, cultural and faith groups that illustrate the diversity of SOAS, and political campaigns, ethical business and humanitarian groups that aim to promote social justice.
Though we’re a small university our Sports Clubs known as the ‘SOAS Warriors’ are an area we are particularly proud of. In this category we have competitive ball sports, a wide range of martial arts including Karate and Shorinji Kempo, and even non-competitive sports like Capoeira. To join a Sports Club or Society just come along to the Freshers Fayre on Saturday 27th September and visit their stall. Don’t worry if you miss the Fayre, you can also join at any time through the year buy going onto our website: www.soasunion.org and “buying” a membership to the club or society. The vast majority of them are free to join! 24
SOAS SPORTS CLUBS SOAS has a number of sports teams that you can join; both recreationally and competitively. The SOAS Warriors compete in both BUCS and LUSL Leagues giving our teams the opportunity to both visit and compete against other University teams from around London and the South East. Our Home games are played in a variety of locations including The Peel Centre and Regents Park. If you are looking to play competitively most teams will be having their trials on Sunday 27th September; make sure you sign up at the Freshers Fayre on Saturday 26th September.
Badminton
Casual Mixed
5-a-side
Basketball
Football
Cricket Club
Women’s
Cricket Men’s Basketball
Rugby
Lacrosse
Men’s Basketball
Tennis
Netball
Squash
Volleyball
Running Club
Women’s Football
Snooker and Pool
Men’s Football
Basketball
Head over to the website to find out more about the sports teams: http://soasunion.org/activities/sports/ 25
4D Presents 4D Presents aims to bring together a community of SOAS musicians by providing a platform to release and perform music. We have six years experience in putting on events at SOAS and around London, and expanding on last year’s efforts, we are continuing to diversify, broaden and expand. We bring together the diverse flavours of music at SOAS, and with the professional expertise of Cultured Sounds we hope to collaborate with talented SOAS musicians, producers and DJs. Get in touch and get involved, we’re always looking for people to join the team! Anime Society
ABACUS
The Association of British and Chinese University Students (ABACUS) is a distinct society that embraces both the British and the Chinese cultures. Originally founded at Cambridge University in 1994, it has since spread rapidly across the UK,
Afghan Society SOAS Afghan Society aims to promote Afghanistan and Afghan culture, through hosting political and cultural events as well as film screenings and music evenings. Through setting up the society we hope to inform people about an alternative Afghanistan that is rarely discussed in the mainstream media, whilst at the same time hosting events on the various issues plaguing Afghanistan. The society is open to all with an interest in Afghanistan.
AMSA Our aim is to spread the peaceful message of Islam through the motto ‘Love For All and Hatred For None’.
Arabic Band As well as performing material from the classical popular repertoire of the Arab world, we feature political songs including songs of the Palestinian liberation movements, and songs of the protest movements in Egypt and elsewhere. Open to all musicians and singers within the traditions of Arabic music.
- Weekly screenings where fans of anime/ manga can meet up, chill out and watch anime. - Inter-uni events with anime societies from other London unis (e.g. KCL, Imperial, UCL, LSE etc) such as movie screenings, quizzes and socials. - Group trips to conventions around London.
Ahlulbayt Islamic Society The Ahlulbayt society aims to propagate the light of Islam, the Holy Qur’an, the Prophet of Islam and His Progeny (Peace be upon them). Our aims are to unite individuals, irrespective of social or ethnic backgrounds. Through this, we encourage justice and peace. we aim to create a platform for interfaith dialogue and bringing about unity regardless of faith, race or background.
Armenian Society The Armenian Society is a group of students who are interested in the history, language and culture of the Armenians, an Indo-European people who live both in the mountainous, former-USSR Republic of Armenia and to a larger extent in the global diaspora. The Society organises many stimulating, thought-provoking and interesting events 26 throughout the year.
Asio-European Cultural Exchange Society (ACES) Aims to increase and also celebrate crosscultural connections of the Asian and European continents by organising and delivering events that try and integrate social cultural aspects by cooperating with both European and Asian cultures. ACES aims to develop understanding of cross-cultural values which we regard as essential in the process of globalization. We organise speeches, plays, book launches and more.
Bangla Society Hello! We are the SOAS Bangla Society. Our aim is to host a number of events for Bengali and non-Bengali’s alike in order to provide an insight into the culture and traditions of Bangladesh. We hope to organize food festivals, music shows, language taster sessions and loads of opportunities for fun socials. So if you’re a fan of great food, cultural music and dance or want to learn a little more about Bangladesh’s history, Bsoc would love to have you!
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Society Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting. BJJ promotes the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant by using proper technique. It is a physically-intense but also technicallycomplex martial art, where the practitioner is able to adjust and refine techniques to suit his/ her body type. Regular practice will improve cardio and stamina, physical strength and flexibility, and increased confidence. 2016 will see the launch of an annual interuniversity BJJ competition, so there’s never been a better time to join up if you have a competitive nature! If not, the club is still open to both men and women, and fosters a strong sense of comradery, community and a safe and friendly environment.
Art Society The SOAS Art Society provides opportunities for students to take time out from their academic studies and dedicate that time to artistic exploration in all forms. We offer practical activities such as regular life drawing classes, workshops and drink-anddraw sessions in the JCR, as well as a chance for our members to explore the amazing opportunities living in London affords, through gallery and exhibition visits as well as weekly newsletters outlining the artistic goings-on around the capital.
British Asian Society To celebrate, inform & educate students on the role of British Asians & the cultural developments in the diaspora. We aim to curate events which explore the economics, politics & social development of the British Asian community. Throughout the year we will organise a range of events, host credible speakers and scholars and organise exhibitions and showcases of culture. Open to all!
British Pugwash Society Pugwash Conferences on Science and International Affairs has a long and distinguished history of bringing together all sides concerned about the social impact of science, with particular emphasis on disarmament, elimination of weapons of mass destruction and the promotion of peaceful settlement of international disputes. We provide a platform where matters that lie at the intersection of science and world affairs with regards to conflict, security and development studies in Asia, Africa and the Middle East can be constructively debated. 27
Capoeira Society To provide physical and musical education enabling participants to play capoeira. To promote the history and cultural importance of capoeira as an Afro-Brazilian martial art. To hold an annual capoeira festival involving capoeira communities across London and internationally.
Catholic Society
The Catholic Society aims to both facilitate Catholicism at SOAS and to make dialogue with the wider SOAS community. We offer a variety of activities ranging from topic discussions, prayer sessions and social volunteering. We welcome everyone to both our religious and non-religious events, because it is the Catholic Society’s belief that God intends us all to live and work together for common good regardless of any particular creed or way of life.
Chasing Zero To raise money for the charity Chasing Zero which fights HIV in the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa and to raise awareness about the current HIV crisis.
Charitable Causes Society Charitable Causes aims to help children in need around the world. We are currently raising money for ChildHope and helping with the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. We will have a range of events throughout the academic year and are looking forward to welcoming our new members.
Climbing & Mountaineering Club
Canadian Society The Canadian Society at SOAS seeks to unite Canuks studying at SOAS and to share Canadian art, history and hockey with fellow SOASians. Throughout the year we will be organizing social events for members to meet up and get to know each other. So don’t be shy and come have a double double with us.
Ceilidh Band The SOAS Ceilidh Band (pronounced cay-lee) plays the traditional dance music of the British Isles and Ireland. We restore the rhythm to life. We also have a strong activist presence. Our “flashmob guerrilla ceilidh” posse is regularly found playing at university occupations and protests. Each year we tour to foreign parts, as part of our commitment to “Ceilidh Beyond Borders”. We invite new members to JOIN THE BAND – fiddles, flutes, guitars, drums, whatever you play. No audition, just turn up.
Chinese Culture Society We aim to promote friendship among students and between different ethical groups, as well as to encourage cultural exchange in the local community. We also join hands with local business and other student societies across the UK to bring in more benefits and opportunities for our members. Also we aim to providing a platform for exchange of information and experiences on living, studying and working in London as well as encouraging cultural exchange and communication with other international groups and within the local communities.
To introduce climbing as a sport to those who have not had the chance before and encourage those who already have some experience. We will organise several trips to climbing venues in the UK throughout the year and one big trip abroad during the easter holiday. 28
Chinese Music Ensemble (Silk and Bamboo) We perform for both formal SOAS events and run workshops and performances elsewhere in London and further afield (including at the V&A, Maritime Museum, Notting Hill Carnival, Leicester Square Buddha’s Birthday Festival etc). Our core repertoire is the traditional jiangnan sizhu folk chamber style, but we also play other styles and modern numbers and, now boasting an impressive set of Chinese drums, will be expanding training in the shifan luogu percussion repertoire. We welcome both newcomers and experienced players.
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) Society After the bombing of Hiroshima, CND created its famous symbol in 1958 and has spread across the world as the symbol of peace and environmentalism. Since the compelling case of Fukushima SOAS CND was founded in 2014 to enable students to pursue anti-war and green activism alike. SOAS CND hopes to host talks and film screenings in the the college and link with nearby universities.
Dance Society Whether you are an experienced dancer or a complete beginner everyone is welcome to practice their pirouette! This fledgling society will cover a variety of styles including Ballet, Tap, Modern/Commercial, Lyrical/ Contemporary, Hip Hop and Jazz. The aim of this society is to be a place for all dance lovers to have a creative outlet. Anyone with an idea for music, choreography, costumes or a theme will be encouraged to share. We want contributions from everyone!
China-Britain Youth Association The China Britain Youth Association (CBYA) aims to strengthen mutual understanding between young people in China and Britain. We have a growing membership of young professionals and young academics in Britain and China. We believe that through our diverse range of events throughout the year we raise students’ awareness of what is happening in China and how it is interacting with the UK. Through formal lectures with external speakers, language exchanges, translation workshops, movie screenings and socials, we provide a space to discuss all aspects of China and its dynamics with Britain.
Consulting Society SOAS consulting society is run by student members and aimed to equip members with skills needed in the consulting industry. SOAS Consulting society, aims to increase the awareness of Consulting within the student population and the societies and universities presence in the industry.
Cuban Big Band SOAS Cuban big band welcome all musicians and singers. We play a wide range of glorious Cuban and Latin music. The band rehearse weekly on a tuesday night and play regular gigs. We feature members from all walks of life: Students undergraduate and post-graduate, staff and members form the wider community. We strive to play Cuban music with the swing and exuberance that has made it popular throughout the world. The band is directed by two professional Latin musicians - Elpidio Caicedo and Sara McGuinness. We’re 35-40 strong & still growing. 29
DAF Society
Debating Society
The SOAS DAF society aims to teach, promote and perform the daf (Kurdish frame drum) and mystic and traditional rhythms from Asia minor to India. We plan to have weekly meetings in order to teach the instrument and collaborate with other bands at SOAS. We are also going to make a choir to sing together with the daf players. We plan to perform in other cities and invite musicians from other universities to perform with us
The Debating soc trains its members in the art of British Parliamentary style of debating. We aim to inculcate the skills of public speaking and debating in SOAS students by organising weekly workshops during termtime and by sending teams of SOAS students to all major tournaments. We also send teams to the European Universities Debating Championships and the World Universities Championships. We are responsible for organising 3 tournaments every year., with participants from over the world.
Detainee Support Group SOAS Detainee Support Group is a studentled initiative working in solidarity with asylum seekers and other migrants in and outside detention centers. We aim to reduce isolation through visits to empower detainees and to campaign for an end to the use of immigration controls and especially the use of immigration detention. We have a training day just after freshers week and many more throughout the year in which we equip students with the necessary skills and information so that they are prepared and ready to visit. For those interested in things other than visiting we run film nights, release parties, different campaigns and are open to many more project suggestions.
Decolonising Our Minds Society Decolonising Our Minds Society was established in January 2015 by a group of disenfranchised BME (Black, Minority and Ethnic) youth. One of our aims as a society is to facilitate critical discussion regarding issues affecting BME youth here in the UK and beyond. We aim to challenge modes of white supremacy and colonialism, both politically and epistemologically. Our vision involves doing this in a holistic manner, addressing not just politics and socio-economic issues, but matters of art and culture as well.
Drama Society
At SOAS, Drama is a young, but proud tradition. With such a diverse student body, we embrace ideas and styles from around the world to make our shows something truly unique. We encourage student-written plays, and organise weekly workshops with varying themes including playwriting, physical theatre, stage fighting and improvisation. Each year we put on around three plays, and also organise group excursions (often with discounts) to theatres and shows around London. This year we hope to send a production to the Edinburgh Festival!
EFS
We are the hub for dynamic SOAS students with a passion for economics, finance and business, bridging their talent with opportunities. 30
Entitled Magazine focuses on under-reported and misrepresented issues in the context of race, gender and culture. Many publications do not adequately represent people of colour, the queer community and women, and we seek to address this with mixed-media content that balances humour and meaning, and not shy from taboo or hard issues. Entitled hopes to encourage new alternative sustainable lifestyles which are more inclusive and hope to get people to consider their personal relationships with the greater whole.
Feminist Society
First Love Church Society
SOAS Feminist Society is committed to taking an intersectional approach towards tackling gender-based inequality and to centering the experiences of marginalised women. We aim to create an inclusive space in which people of all genders and none are able to discuss topics of equality, activism and liberation and challenge ideas about gender and its intersections with other oppressions. Throughout the year we’ll be holding socials, panel discussions, film screenings, talks, art shows and meet-and-greets to explore the complexity of the feminist movement and its significance to people across the world.
The aim of this society is to have a church service on campus as well as share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with every student in SOAS. The idea is to have a weekly church service on campus such as to: 1. Enable students from abroad having no church to join a church on campus 2. Allow students unable to attend weekly church services to easily access one on campus 3. Offer all students the opportunity to attend a church service and see what it’s like
Foodbank
Fossil Free SOAS
The SOAS Food Bank is a collection point in partnership with the Islington Food Bank who provides emergency food and support for local people in crisis. Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. There will be a weekly collection point in the SOAS main building of which donations will be taken to the Islington Food Bank for distribution. Food donations must be nonperishable items.
Fossil Free SOAS campaigned hard over the last two years and succeeded in getting SOAS management to divest (remove its approx. £1m shares) from the fossil fuel industry in April 2015. SOAS is now the first university in London to divest, and the third in the UK! Following on from this awesome achievement, Fossil Free SOAS has big ambitions for 2016, and we need your help! Our plans are: 1) ensure SOAS continues to reduce its carbon footprint (which was part of the agreement to divest); 2) provide advice and support to other university divestment campaigns (particularly across the University of London); and 3) campaign for SOAS to reinvest the divested funds into sustainable alternatives, such as renewable energy.
Friends of Israel Society The society’s purpose is to stand up for Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, to bring balance to a hugely one-sided debate, and to celebrate the protection, evolution and existence of the modern Israeli state.
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Games Society Games Society is a catch-all place for nerds and non-nerds. We play video and board games ranging from Street Fighter, Super Smash Brothers, Just Dance to Werewolf, Avalon and Shadow Hunters to name but a few. We meet every Friday from 6.30pm until 11pm at Russell Square Campus. Game Society provides an alternative atmosphere where people with all levels of interests, whether gaming, nerd culture, anime or just people who want a relaxed Friday evening in an inclusive, safe space that is Games Soc. In addition to our regular Friday evenings, we organise trips to conventions, arcades, quizzes and host non-gaming events like parties and days out.importantly, have fun whilst doing it!
Green Group The Green Group will work closely with the SU environment officers to help SOAS be as environmentally friendly as possible! From supporting cyclists and replacing unnecessary plastic on campus to improving vegan and vegetarian options, the green group is a unique opportunity to take matters into our own hands to help reduce SOAS’ carbon emissions and to raise awareness about environmental issues. We will have the tangible goal of increasing our ranking in the People and Planet Green University League (currently we are just 49th in the UK), and it will be up to us to decide what changes should be made - and to make them happen. We will also have monthly themes and organize regular documentary screenings, public talks, and group discussions to educate ourselves further about different environmental issues and what can be done about them. Lastly, we will organize a super fun and accessible ‘Green Week’ to highlight the importance of the environment to the rest of the SOAS community. Please come along if you are interested in helping to create a more sustainable university. Green power to the people!
Guerrilla Choir
Happy Film Club
We meet once a week to enjoy a good sing and learn new songs. We like to sing at demonstrations, occupations and picket lines. We meet for 2 hours each week. No audition, first time singers welcome!
Through the medium of happy films, we aim to: 1. See no evil 2. Hear no evil 3. Speak no evil
Halal Gems To showcase the best of halal conscious dining around the world through the medium of events and promotion of the Halal Gems brand. To collaborate with like-minded societies and organisations to showcase high quality, innovative and interesting food.
Hungarian Society Our mission is to provide a platform for SOAS students where one can learn about the unique cultural heritage of Hungary and its current affairs. We also aim to create a strong community of Hungarians and non-Hungarians through regular professional and casual meetings and discussions. We also wish to co-operate with other universities in the UK and hold open events with them. 32
Hiking Society
Huraia
We offer short hikes, long hikes, easy hikes, difficult hikes, language exchange hikes, and other themed hikes! No matter what level of fitness you have, there will always be one suitable for you. The most important thing is to leave the city behind, enjoy the countryside and just have fun. In addition to our monthly one-day-hikes, we are looking to organize overnight trips during reading week or Easter holidays. So come along, breathe some fresh air and make new friends!
Huraia is a vibrant network of writers and journalists interested in the Middle East. Creating and working for an international audience, our goal is to increase knowledge on recent political and legal issues in the region. We seek to raise awareness of the diversity and complexity of the modern Middle East, replacing the superficial and often manipulated standpoints adopted by the media. We want to create a reliable and unbiased platform, enabling the public to confront current issues with an open and critical mind.
Indian Dance Society
Indian dance bustles with different forms and features from across the length and breadth of the sub-continent. Our “Indian Dance Society” welcomes, introduces and acquaints those interested in dance with some evergreen dance styles. The Society conducts regular workshop sessions and is also keen on experimenting with Indian dance through dialogue and creative exchange with experts. We invite you to dance, express yourselves and gain from the interesting sessions on India’s rich cultural heritage in dance.
Islamic Finance and Ethics Society The Islamic Finance and Ethics Society consists of a consortium of member universities from the following institutions: SOAS, King’s College London, the LSE, and CASS Business School; all located in London. The Society intends to explore the solutions Islamic Finance can provide to current social, economic, and environmental problems.
Iraqi Society
International Law Society A look at interdisciplinary international issues from a legal perspective.
Iranian Music The SOAS Iranian band was established in 2009 and follows a cross-cultural, yet authentic approach to Iranian classical music. Each September, new musicians and singers join the band and get to know Iranian music and culture throughout the year. We perform and promote musics of cultures within Iran and beyond the borders. We have monthly concerts and weekly music classes for santur, daf and music theory on Thursdays.
The Iraqi society is a platform to ensure that various different people embrace the culture that is slowly vanishing. We aim to abandon the constant pessimistic news regarding our nation and to cherish the traditions that Iraq is recognised for, whether this being our traditional foods such as dolma, to the classical attire worn by many called a Jalabiya. We hope to share our positive experiences and to create a unity between all groups that live within the Iraqi region. Regardless of your background, ethnicity, religious beliefs and gender, everyone is welcome to sign up for the opportunity to meet new faces! 33
Investment Banking Society
Islamic Society
SOAS Investment Banking Society (IBS) will aim to engage with and encourage its members to gain commercial awareness. This society will help encourage students to analyse and understand the news. We will appoint members to be analysts who will cover a wide range of topics and business areas. They will then aim to write brief articles for each topic in relation to what is happening in the news currently on a weekly basis. We will also try to get companies in, to host events which will help the members get closer to their career aspirations in the banking and investment industry.
We are one of the largest and most diverse societies at SOAS with an eclectic mix of individuals from all walks of life, sharing the faith of Islam. As representatives of Islam and Muslims on campus, we at the ISoc endeavour to exemplify this beautiful message to foster a greater sense of community, provide a platform for interaction and promote interfaith dialogue. Over the course of the year we offer a range of events as well as organising weekly Friday prayers. We also hold our annual campaigns such as “Islam Awareness Week” providing plenty of opportunities for you to get involved. The Islamic Society welcomes all students, those of faith and those of none, to share in our vision and effort to promote a more cohesive and inclusive University experience, inspired by Islamic values.
Israel Society The SOAS Israel society is a platform for open, considered and critical exploration of Israel. An alternative space in which to voice perspectives on Israel and Palestine often lost in the heat of campus politics. We are open to anyone interested in a more nuanced discussion of Israel, in asking questions beyond the routinely discussed topics. We look beyond the boundaries of the conflict and delve into the interplay of social, political, economic and cultural dimensions in Israeli society.
Jewish Society J-Soc shares Jewish culture, religion and values through the celebration of chaggim and Shabbat, as well as through cultural events and regular meetings. J-Soc also provides assistance to Jewish students and recognizes its responsibility in preventing antisemitism on campus. The SOAS J-Soc regularly hosts events such as Friday night dinners on campus, movie screening, talks, discussions, and organizes study groups and excursions to Jewish events around London.
Jam Society
It aims to bring together all sorts of musicians from diverse musical backgrounds. Musicians and audience blend together to create a relaxing atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable enough to pick up an instrument and just play. This gives non-music students a chance to play and jam too.
Japan Society Japan Society returns once again to provide events and activities for those interested in everything ‘Japan’. Our goals are twofold: to inspire and to educate by creating opportunities for interactions between those interested in Japan and by spreading and participating in a joint passion for Japanese culture. In addition to continuing the highly successful Japanese-English language exchanges we intend to run fortnightly Japanese film and documentary screenings, and to arrange a variety of social events at pubs and restaurants around central London. 34
Jingkun Opera Society
Kali
The Society connects those with experience performing, or interest in learning the Chinese operatic genres of Jingju and Kunqu. We will participate in concerts and aim to provide vocal/ instrumental training for SOAS students who wish to learn these traditional art forms. In the last few years, performing at events such as a Beijing and Kunqu Opera Gala at the Rudolf Steiner Theatre, at the V&A, & for a gig with an audience that included the likes of Kate Moss, Stephen Fry, the Duke of York, Tony Blair, and Tom Jones. We were involved in the British Museum Chinese New Year events and ran a symposium on Mei Lanfang In 2015-6, We will continue to provide regular training, host events, and expand our network of contacts.
Practical combatives from the Philippines from the acclaimed Rapid Arnis organisation. Upbeat and challenging classes that will develop skill, fitness and a tactical mindset. In common with many other Filipino martial arts, Rapid Arnis covers several areas of combat, namely: solo baston (single stick), doble baston (double stick), espada y daga (sword and knife), baraw (knife), mano mano (empty hands), largo baston (5’ long stick) and Dumog (grappling).
Korean Society The SOAS Korea Society aims to provide you with the rich culture and charms of all-things Korean! Whether you’re a Korean student, interested in K-pop, or keen on learning the language, we have a range of exciting events planned for the coming year to suit you! In addition to language exchanges and other opportunities to meet and make Korean friends, there will be events to whet your appetite with amazing Korean food and drink, regular film screenings, K-pop song contests and many other cultural activities!
Korean Drumming Society Our group performs samullori, the genre of contemporary Korean percussion music. This genre was developed from thep’ungmul of traditional local percussion bands and now forms a significant part of the soundscape of today’s Korea. We are open to beginners as well as all those with performance experience. We aim to have a weekly practice session, to provide SOAS students with the opportunity to learn this Korean drumming, and to give our regular concert at SOAS
Kashmir Solidarity Movement The society aims to study the Kashmir conflict through various means, including hosting political, historical and cultural events. The society intends to mobilise students in order to achieve a positive settlement for the Kashmiri people, by organising campaigns, fundraising and lobbying relevant bodies to uphold international human rights law.
Korean Dance Society Korea has a rich dancing tradition ranging from colourful court dances to mask dances full of vigour. We will explore the very wholesome concept of Korean dance by learning basic steps and accompanying rhythms taught by a dance professional, and end the year with a furious gig in cooperation with the Korean Drumming Society. Just drop us an email and let’s dance!
Kurdish Society SOAS Kuridsh Society aims to bridge students with Kurdistan’s culture, language and political discourse. We are keen to promote the academic discipline of kurdish studies in organising seminars, conferences, presentations by PhD students, journalists, scholars and politicians of the wider Kurdistan reigion and the world. We are also proud to offer cultural events, like the annual Newroz party.
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Language Exchange
Lawyers without Borders
An intercollegiate society aiming to provide a platform for all members to learn or improve a language and to assist others with language learning.
Along with Oxford, Cambridge and New York Law School, SOAS LWOB is one out of the six official student divisions of Lawyers Without Borders. Representing the unique student body of SOAS, we are often allocated legal memo writing tasks for human rights cases in developing countries such as Iran and Sierra Leone. Over the years, we have been invited to the Special Rule of Law Competition hosted at Oxford University and was awarded ‘Best Oral Presentation’ amongst different universities such as UCL and Exeter, and a conference at Oxford.This year we pledge to provide even more Pro-Bono opportunities for the SOAS Law students.
Linguistics Society The Society’s aim is to promote the Linguistics department at SOAS to both students and enthusiasts. Using this platform, we advertise related talks and events which are going on in and around the university in an effort to provide access to linguistics discussion. We also work across societies and projects to make members aware of what is available.
Law Society The SOAS Law Society is a representative body elected by the students, for the students. Our aims are to ensure that all law and non-law students who are part of our society get the most out of the services we offer, and to help out all of those who wish to pursue a career which involves law; to provide a space where those interested in law can network with each other, and network with firms, solicitors, barristers and other law schools; to build up a reputation within SOAS and within the University of London as an interactive and proactive Law Society. We pride ourselves in our diversity and originality. Join the SOAS Law Society for access to exclusive careers and networking events, skills workshops, Law Clinic, mooting competitions, social events and so much more!
Martial Arts and Karate Club The SOAS Martial Arts and Karate Club focuses on the study and practice of Japanese Karate and self-defense techniques. The style practiced is traditional Gensei Ryu. Society members will have the opportunity to sharpen their mind and body, get fit and learn traditional fighting techniques in a friendly environment. The club welcomes all new and old members, regardless of their martial arts experience.
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LGBTQIA Warm welcome to all. SOAS LGBTQIA society is a vibrant and inclusive society for all; whether Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans or Queer, everyone is welcome! Our society hold various weekly events such as film screenings, open mic evenings, host international speakers, speed-dating and night out in the West End and Soho. LGBTQIA society is also very vocal and active at demonstrating and remonstrating the LGBTQIA and overall equality cause. The society is open to any ideas from members. Join us at one of our events and make your SOAS experience that bit better!
Malaysian Society The Malaysian Society aims to support and bring together Malaysian students. The new society is dedicated to host more gatherings, dinners, sports days, and possibly even day trips to foster a closer bond between fellow Malaysians so that home doesn’t feel too far away.
Mature Students’ Society The Mature Students’ Society aims to provide inclusive events and opportunities for the mature student body of SOAS, University of London. From informal meet ups to wine tasting to family friendly events to just creating a space for mature students to make friends on their academic journey this society should have something for you. We would also like to provide a support for you as a mature student if you face a barrier in accessing certain student services. We are always keen to hear what kind of events and opportunities you would like too, so please get in touch if you have suggestions!
MMA Mixed Martial Arts, which combines elements of Muay Thai, Brazillian jujitsu, and just about anything else, is a dynamic and challenging way to improve your fitness. We maintain strong links with the UCL MMA training group out of 5 rings dojo, with occasional inter-club sparring competitions open to those interested. Both of our instructors have ring experience in competitive MMA.
Muslim Students Association At the Muslim Students Association, our main aim is to raise awareness of issues that affect Muslims in the UK and around the world, in order to challenge and critique these issues through analysis, debate and panel discussion. We aim to tackle, in particular, issues such as islamophobia, and the solution for Palestine. With the media paying particular attention to Islam and Muslims in recent years, we are sure there will be plenty of debates and discussions in the academic year to come!
Nepali Society
Middle East and North Africa Society SOAS MENA so aims to bring together people from and/or interested in the MENA area, and explore the different aspects of the rich culture and political climate that connects the area. In our first year we hosted many significant political and cultural events with leading artists and political figures from the MENA region. We hope to replicate this again with your help!
Model United Nations Society The aim for the MUN society at SOAS is to give students the opportunity to discuss and understand current affairs, global issues, and how the UN works to solve these. We want to hold weekly meetings. We also aim to attend Model United Nations conferences, such as the yearly LIMUN conference.
Muslim Research Forum To facilitate an environment that enables Muslim post-graduate students to showcase their latest research.
Native Spirit Society The SOAS Native Spirit Film Society is partnered with the Native Spirit Foundation, a no-profit organisation which promotes the knowledge and understanding of Indigenous Cultures and supports educational projects in indigenous communities. The society will organise the annual Native Spirit Film Festival in October at SOAS, as well as the 13 Moons Screenings every month. These events aim at celebrating indigenous culture and will consist of films followed by panel discussions, workshops and performances.
Our aims are to represent Nepal in SOAS, unify all like-minded individuals to explore Nepalese language, culture, art or music within SOAS, promote Nepali academia and charitable causes, be a home away from home for Nepalese students and those who love or have travelled to Nepal. We welcome anyone and everyone with little to a lot of interest in Nepal or something to do with Nepal. We will enjoy Nepalese festivals, momo, parties, and anything awesome!
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Nigeria/Ghana/West Africa Soc
Nippon Kempo
The Nigeria/Ghana/West Africa Society serves as social networking society for Nigerian/ Ghanaian/ECOWAS students or those students who might be studying or interested in the West African region and would like to meet people of similar background. The society exists to unify all those with an interest in West Africa custom, languages and people. Events will consists of Guest speakers/performers, outing, discussions and intercommunication with other Soas’s societies. The society will serve as a platform that celebrates West Africa.
Nippon Kempo is the oldest martial arts club at SOAS (since 1980) and many of the instructors are SOAS alumni. There are opportunities to train in London and visit other clubs in the UK, Europe and Japan. The club is free to SOAS students and the protective armour is supplied by the club. It is open to all shapes and sizes: the beauty of Nippon Kempo is that you learn to adjust your techniques to overcome your opponent. Experience in other martial arts is not required.
Nordic Society
The SOAS Origami Society was established in 2010 and we continue to grow! Our sessions are open to anyone interested, whether you are a newbie or regular attendee. All models are taught from scratch and your are welcome to join for the entire session or only a few minutes. Our workshops concentrate on seasonal themes including Halloween Emoji or Christmas tree decorations, carnival hats, Valentine’s hearts , flowers for Mothers day, you just name the occasions! Occasionally we take our folding workshops to local restaurants, parks for alfresco sessions, schools or even floating Origami workshops on the Thames. We also make origami installations!
Are you from one of the Nordic European countries or just got an unexplainable fascination for them? Or do you know nothing about them at all but want to learn more? Nordic Society is definitely the right place for you! Throughout the year we will have various events related to the Nordic countries; Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, and we hope to see all of your pretty faces there!
Oromo Society The primary motivation behind the Oromo society is to advance SOAS diversities and praise rich history, language and culture of the Oromo people by timely arranging various social events. We further help and guide researchers from all specialties willing to investigate/ learn socio-economic and values of the Oromo’s and beyond.
Pakistan Society Established in 1968, the society has grown to be one of the largest societies on campus, with a vibrant range of Pakistanis from around the world. We aim to provide a forum for people of Pakistani descent to get to know each other, as well as promote Pakistani culture to nonPakistanis and raise awareness of both issues that face Pakistan and the Pakistani diaspora.
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Origami Society
Palestine Society The Palestine Society (PalSoc) aims to raise awareness on the Palestinian struggle for liberation and on the socio-political and economic realities facing Palestinians in and outside Palestine. PalSoc has liberation from Israeli settlercolonialism as its compass and underlying dynamic. We provide political platforms to encourage debate and discussion and to build a student-led movement which recognises the interconnections between all liberation struggles around the world.
Poker Society
Policy Forum
The SOAS Poker Society has had low stakes poker games running in the Postgraduate Common Room for the last 9 years, ranging from no limit holdem to pot limit omaha, and other mixed games too. We have about 15-20 members, many of whom are alumni and friends of alumni who have played here for several years. We welcome one and all to spend their Friday nights in the PCR with a fun, friendly group of individuals who share a common passion for the game of poker.
The SOAS Policy Forum is the student-led think tank at SOAS. Based on the belief that students are capable of researching and recommending policy, we engage students to participate in the active public discourse and to produce research that is meaningful and relevant. We organise a wide range of events from workshops, roundtables, speaker events, socials to publication launches. We offer our members trips and opportunities.
Piano Society
We host social gatherings for anybody interested which promote Polish culture including music, art and cuisine. Our past events include : glass painting, paper cutting, opium cake baking workshop! (actually a poppy seed cake), trips to Polish restaurants, music concerts,, St . Nicolas gift giving, international carols evening, trips to ice skating rink, and annual the congress of Polish Student Societies in the UK.
The aim of the society is to organise regular piano concerts by bringing together those who love piano music, to share different musical interests through piano, to collaborate with other musical societies, and to look after pianos in SOAS.
Polish Society
Quechua Society The aim of Quechua Soc is to promote knowledge and understanding of Quechua/ Andean culture and society, in particular by offering classes in the main varieties of Quechua together with native speakers, as well as Andean music, cuisine, textiles, and other forms of cultural expression. The society is also a platform to promote events on related themes run by other organizations in London.
Rebetiko Band
The SOAS Rebetiko Society exists to further the study and performance of the Greek musical genre known as Rebetiko rs21 (Revolutionary Socialism We organise regular gigs, concerts & overseas tours. We shall also organise a monthly Greek in the 21st century) Solidarity evening, including talks and films. New We are committed to discussing what it means members of the band are always welcome – to be a socialist in the 21st century. We aim come along to our rehearsals on every Monday organise regular discussions and debates on during term time 6.30 to 8.30pm. campus and work with others in campaigns against war, oppression and austerity. Rumba Society We stand for socialism from below, Our society aims to promote AfroCuban folklore uncompromising opposition to all forms of while exploring all aspects and dimensions of oppression, anti-Imperialism Rumba
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Running Club
SOAS Spirit
The SOAS Spirit is your monthly independent student-run newspaper. We have a long history as part of SOAS life - having been founded in 1935. As well as keeping our readers up to date on the latest news on campus, in London and from around the world, we provide opportunities for students to share their opinions, review the latest cinema and book releases and hunt out the best restaurants around. To do this we rely on an amazing team of writers, editors, photographers, copy-editors SOAS Radio and sub-editors. f you think you want to join SOAS Radio is an online station and social our team, just send us an email to apply.soas. media enterprise. We work with students and spirit@gmail.com academics to produce radio programmes, Save the Children Society sharing the knowledge of SOAS with a worldThe aim of SSTCS is to awaken young people wide audience and helping students engage and make them aware of the disadvantages directly with the parts of the world they are that a staggering amount of the world’s children studying. have, and of course to let them know about the Sambatage things we can make a difference in together Sambatage is SOAS very own Samba band! We with Save The Children. are usually found at parties, demonstrations Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido and strikes at SOAS and beyond. We use Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, meaning “Aikido with drumming as a tool in protests. If you would like to get involved and learn to play different mind and body unified”, is a versatile martial art Brazilian drums, come along to a practice - no originated from Japan. We are a group of martial artists dedicated to learning and teaching the experience required! principles of mind and body unification through Shorinji Kempo Society the art of Aikido. We are a dynamic and growing SOAS Shorinji Kempo Society aims to help organisation, and we always welcome new individuals develop their potential through the members. practice of the martial discipline of Shorinji Sikh Society Kempo. There are three main benefits to This group has two aims; to allow Sikhs to come practicing this discipline – development of a together and experience Sangat (company of healthy mind, healthy body and capability in the holy) through various religious activities and self-defence. . to give everyone interested in Sikhism as a world Solar SOAS religion a space where they can learn about it. Solar SOAS is a student-led project to get Singapore Society solar panels set up on the university campus’ The SOAS Singapore Society seek to provide unused roofs, and to take energy generation a community for Singaporean students. That back into our own hands. Our aim is to get being said, anyone who’s got an interest in students, staff and friends of SOAS involved in Singapore in general - whether it’s rooted in our generating clean energy locally. Please join if cultures, politics, economics, or simply our foods you care about combating climate change! - are more than welcome to join us! 40 Whether you’re training for a Marathon or a reluctant first-timer, The Running Club exists to help you achieve your running goals. All are welcome; the club strives to meet the pace and wishes of its members, with Sunday brunch after early morning weekend runs. We also hope to organise specialist training sessions, particularly for those with competitive ambitions, as well as the occasional social event on rest days.
Somali Society
Sapa Jam
As a society, we aim to promote the diversity existing within Somali community and traditions by engaging in social events that celebrate, challenge and promulgate Somali customs. We aim to shed light on some of the economic, political and social challenges facing Somalia and its diasporic communities across the world through a variety of events. Also, in collaborating with other societies and Somali students, we wish to strengthen ties within the Somali community in London.
Sapa Jam promotes the performance and learning of South Asian Performing Arts such as classical dance and music, folk and Bollywood dance. So far we have organised classes in classical dance such as Odissi, BharataNatyam, and Bollywood,also Karnatic singing and this year we have started a tabla club. Our regular Jam sessions explore fusion dance and music with Western and other traditions.
Syria Society
Sylheti Language Society
The SOAS Syria society aims to raise awareness about the current situation in Syria - supporting the revolution through and through, and we hope to provide a platform for discussions and debates on the current situation. As well as celebrating Syrian culture, tradition and history. We welcome all, Syrians and non-Syrians
To discuss the grammar of the Sylheti language, developing lessons and teaching materials to other members of the society. Members are encouraged to eventually teach at least one lesson (but attendance to just learn and experience the Sylheti language is fine).
Traditional Aikido Society - To practice and teach the martial art of
temple visits, Thai restaurant outings & film nights. We will continue to organize Thai cultural and political talks inviting experts on these fields to come speak. 41
Spiritual Dialogue Society
We aim to bring people together to explore different spiritual paths, in particular focusing on the spiritual aspects of Islam. It will allow people on a spiritual journey seeking The Spoken Word Society enlightenment to nourish their souls with light, The SOAS Spoken Word Society organizes free love and knowledge - in a friendly and inclusive monthly poetry nights on the last Tuesday of environment. Or for those who are simply the month in the JCR. From revolutionary poetic interested in spirituality. We don’t close the protestations of Neruda to the transcendental door to anyone! musings of Hafez, each night will be themed on Student Action for Refugees a poet, contemporary and old. Student Action for Refugees is a national partnership of 13,000 students that campaign, Students for Social Change volunteer, fundraise and raise awareness about We believe society evolves like an organism. refugee and asylum issues in the UK. The To understand the problems of society today, society will hold monthly informal meetings, we need to see them in the light of historical monthly film screenings with Q&As, and run development. Our society aims to discuss the challenges in front of the world today to better campaigns around issues of destitution, equal access to education and UK detention centres. understand our future.
Traditional Aikikai Aikido.
Thai Society - We seek to organise
Team Up
Tamil Society
Team Up uses tuition, delivered by inspirational university students, to enable pupils from low income backgrounds to meaningfully increase their academic attainment, in order to improve the choices open to them.
The aims of the Tamil Society can be divided into 4 sections: Cultural – musical & dance performances, traditional Tamil games and sports, Tamil festivals and Tamil language sessions. Political - Analysing the way in which Tamils are treated, raising awareness of the ethnic war in Sri Lanka and awareness of the courageous journalism of Channel 4 in covering the war. Historical - Educating others about the history of Tamils. Diaspora - this is not just a Sri Lankan Tamil Society but rather an inclusive society for all tamils and non-tamils,
Turkish Society
The SOAS Turkish Society aims to provide a platform for students interested in Turkey. This year, we will host cultural events such as film screenings and music nights as well as academic events that provide thoughtprovoking political talks to help give a deeper understanding of the politics of Turkey. We will continue screening Turkish films dubbed in English for students who would like to improve their language skills. Our society represents all peoples of Turkey and welcomes all students of SOAS.
Vegetarian Society Creating a forum to celebrate and promote vegetarianism within the university - as well as outside of it. Organise monthly meetings to enable vegetarian activism. Have socials, to enable non-members and inactive members to get to know the society and its members better. Organize film screenings to inform the general student population about vegetarianism.
Yemen Society The SOAS Yemen Society is open for everyone and aims to bring people together with an interest in Yemen. Through a wide range of events and activities we hope to provide opportunities to learn, share, and explore Yemen’s culture, history, traditions and much more. We hope to create a forum for discussion, participation and education on Yemen, and update group members about activities events and opportunities.
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Urdu Conversation Group To promote the language of Urdu through conversation. To promote the speaking of Urdu without the use of English. To promote an awareness of Urdu as distinct from Hindi. To promote as a diasporic and international language. Everyone is welcome!
Women’s Muay Thai Kickboxing To provide female students with the space to train in Muai Thai Kickboxing. Where members will learn the tools required for self defense as well as working on: discipline, commitment and durability through what they call the ‘art of 8 Limbs’ from the combat sport of Thailand. The aim, is to help build up your level of fitness, that will work toward boosting both the physical and mental well being of our members.
Yoga Society
The Yoga Society offers authentic, in-depth teaching at affordable prices. Over the past six years, we’ve become one of the most popular SOAS societies, with more than 400 members. All of our classes are taught by experienced professional teachers, and are open to everyone, whatever your level of experience. We also promote a deeper understanding of yoga through special workshops, and provide meditation and restorative classes around exam times.
Union Priorities
Every year, the Students’ Union sets out its priorities for changes it wants to see made in SOAS based on the manifestos of elected officers, the policies of the Union and key issues affecting students. These priorities, relating to academic, welfare and extracurricular issues, will be formally adopted by the Union at our first UGM and will then be submitted to the School’s committees. Broadly, these priorities set out the direction of the Union for the year ahead.
Educational Priorities Welfare and ExtraAlternative assessment
Curricular Priorites Increasing Students’ Union Space
Liberate the curriculum Attainment gaps
Increasing resources for Student Advice and Wellbeing
Decolonising SOAS
Decolonising SOAS
Visas for PHD students Part-time degrees for undergraduates
Funding a Co-President Liberation
Improve the year abroad experience Increase representation and transparency in the school’s governance structures
Keeping Wednesday afternoons free for sports and societies Supporting international students Bringing the cleaners in-house
Improve personal advisor system Improving SOAS accessibility and inclusivity Stop the cap on Postgraduate Taught dissertations
Improving staff pay and conditions Preventing Prevent
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Students’ Union Advice and Information We are here to help! We provide an academic and welfare service that is confidential, free and independent of the University. We aim to give practical advice and advocacy to all SOAS Students. • Academic Advice/advocacy regarding academic appeals, mitigating circumstances, course issues, complaints and plagiarism issues.
• Employment
Information on employment rights, pay, national insurance and tax.
• Crime
Supporting students at SOAS to stay safe in London and advice on what to do should you be a victim of crime or the police.
• Accommodation/Housing
Advice regarding student living, accommodation, tenancy and renting privately.
• Finance
Support regarding student loans, fees, funding, budgeting and debt management.
• Health & Wellbeing
Information and resources regarding physical, mental and sexual health
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Finance & Budgeting When you receive your loan the first thing you may think you’ve just got rich! Think again. University can be an expensive place, and London’s not cheap. The good news is, with forward-thinking it’s actually quite easy to manage your money. (A) Monthly Allowance = (Loan + other income) ÷ 12
long time so check the interest rates, overdraft facilities, and graduate conditions. Though far off now, when you have a 3/4 year debt pileup, it helps to have an interest-free graduate (B) Monthly Essentials overdraft to tide you over! = Rent + food + bills + transport International students: The accounts available for you are more restrictive and don’t (C) Contingency = Unexpected cost offer free gifts and overdrafts. To open (emergencies, replacements) an account you need your passport budget and a letter from SOAS confirming = A–(B+C) your student status, home and UK addresses. This letter can be requested Student Loans: For all home via the Student Information Desk www. student undergrads, on the day you soas.ac.uk/sid/ Some banks will require enrol SOAS will inform the Student Loan Company of your student status, and your further documentation. student loan will be released. It should be in your bank in 3 days. If you applied late or your KNOW YOUR BUDGET loan is held up and you run out of money, the School’s welfare advisers may be able to help It’s important to work out a monthly budget. you. If there are any problems with receiving If the figure is in minus, look for savings. Be realistic. If you can’t cut back, consider looking your loan, you should contact registry. for a part-time job! International students and postgrads must make their own arrangements to cover their expenses through loans, sponsorship, savings or money from family. Further advice can be found through Student Advice and Wellbeing. Bank Accounts: Home UK students: Student bank accounts often have enticing offers! But remember, you will probably stick with the bank for a
Debt: With the increase in tuition fees, uncapped rents and the privatisation of public services, London can be an expensive and difficult city to navigate. Increasingly, debt is becoming a normalised part of student life. There are, however, a few things you can do to try and combat this. - Don’t rely on credit cards or ‘pay day’ loans: they profit from your debt by charging nightmarish interest rates! You will already be building a substantial debt to the Student Loans Company. If you don’t control your debts
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early on, credit card bills or short-term loans can plague you for years to come. - Search out savings and discounts: We’ve negotiated that your SOAS ID card will double as your NUS card. It’s always worth asking for discounts at local shops, cafes, restaurants and bars. You can also buy an NUS Extra card for £12 online (+£2.99 to add ISIC, for international use). Money from this goes towards the Cultures of Resistance Scholarships. Go to www.nus.org.uk/nus-extra. - Hardship Fund: Student Advice and Wellbeing has money set aside as hardship funds for students in dire need. You must show that you really are struggling financially to obtain it. Most of this money is aimed at home students, though there can be small grants to international students in hardship due to unexpected exceptional costs. Nevertheless if you are in difficulty the welfare advisers based at Vernon Square are good people to talk to about ways to improve your financial situation. - Benefits: Home/EU students with disabilities, with children or part time students, may be entitled to certain social security benefits. It’s worth asking at your local JobCentre Plus. - Jobs: Most undergrads in central London need an additional income. Take advantage of studying in this exciting city and find a parttime job to match! The trick is to balance it with studying. Managing your time well means that a decent 2:1 or even a 1st is still possible.
Some Ways to Save • Bulk buy special offers on staple items. (Though, beware buying things you dont need just because of tempting offers!) • Use the weekly Food Co-op in the JCR. • Use markets for fruit, veg & toiletries - shop around and get familiar with the choices beyond your supermarket. • Bring packed lunch, or have a Hare Krishna lunch outside (small donations) • Use charity shops and markets for clothes. • Cheap cinema before 5pm, on weekdays (weekend is always the most expensive time) • Cycle! Cheaper, greener, quicker travel. • Ask for a ‘Student Discount’ • For extensive advice on hunting down deals, using loyalty cards to best effect and keeping down utility and phone bills etc, try ‘moneysavingexpert.co.uk’
As always, we urge anyone struggling financially to get in touch with the Students’ Union, Student Advice and Wellbeing, and/or the finance department. 46
Health & Wellbeing The Students’ Union also provides free condoms, femidoms and dental dams and will provide free STI and HIV testing on campus throughout the year.In addition to this there will also be ‘I love consent’ workshops.
--0207 631 0101-Nightline is a London-based helpline run by students for students, offering confidential listening, support and information every night of term from 6pm to 8am. You can talk to us about anything - big or small - in complete confidence. We won’t judge you or tell you how to run your life: we’ll simply listen to whatever is on your mind. Call, Skype, chat online or email - just visit our site: www.nightline.org.uk
THT have a static clinic on Saturdays, 12-3pm at 12-22, Kilburn High Road, London NW6 5UH. It’s a drop in clinic for young people, aged 15-24. It is free and confidential, offering a comprehensive sexual health service including STI testing, contraception, emergency contraception, pregnancy tests, free condoms and advice and counselling. In addition, there are a number of pop-up clinics throughout the month. For more information, contact 020 7812 1726; email info@tht.org.uk
Sexual Health Maintaining good sexual health is incredibly important for protecting you and your partner(s). A range of services are available to help support you manage your sexual wellbeing - from free condoms, to testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs0, and emergency contraception. For STI and HIV testing, contraceptive advice, free condoms, femidoms, dental dams and other support, there are a few sexual health clinics within walking distance of SOAS, including: Mortimer Market Centre, Brook Advisory Centre, Terrence Higgins Trust, Margaret Pyke Centre and 56 Dean Street, all of which offer emergency contraception - the ‘morning-after pill.
General Health All students should register with a doctor if you don’t have one in London. It’s more stressful to find one and register if you wait until you’re ill or need medical advice. You can register and then not use the doctor. The services are there just incase you need a consultation or home visit. For information on doctors near SOAS: www. soas.ac.uk/studentservices/students/health
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Accommodation SOASians choose to live in a wide variety of accommodation types, from halls and the family home to boats, yurts and squats. Finding acommodation in London can be a rollercoaster ride, but there are a few things you can do to make it easier for yourself. Housing help can be found on the Students’ Union website at http://soasunion.org/housing/ 1. Choose the area you would like to live in and work out roughly how much you can pay per month – living in zones 2-3 costs roughly £450-600 per month, although it is possible to pay less if you share a room (with a partner or friend) or share a house with a large number of people. See the ULHS website for an interactive map of average prices. Most SOASians choose to live along the Picadilly Line, with Manor House, Finsbury Park, Caledonian Road and Turnpike Lane being popular places to live. 2. Consider your route to SOAS when looking for houses – use the TFL website to work out how long it will take you to get to SOAS, and roughly how much it will cost you. It is normal to do a 20-40 minutes commute to SOAS, and many living with family or relatives live further out. 3. Houses come on the rental market between 6-8 weeks before they are available for moving in. Spending a few weeks over the summer break looking can be really helpful – looking in September and October can prove difficult. 4. Look at a lot of properties, and dedicate at least a week to looking for housing. The quality, size and location of houses vary greatly, so don’t jump into anything without looking first. 5. In the week when you look, get up early and ring around estate agents in the area, look on sites such as Zoopla and Gumtree and make at least one appointment for that day. Once estate agents have your details and where you are looking/what you want to pay, they will also contact you as properties become available. 6. Check the University of London Housing Services Website for available properties. ULHS also provide a contract checking service so you can get someone to look through it with you before you sign. If you have any other issues with your landlord/lady during your stay, they also offer legal advice. 7. Join SOAS Accommodation 2013-14 Facebook page to find other people who are looking, available rooms and sometimes whole houses are also advertised on there. Check out the ‘files’ section for some useful resources. 8. Consider alternative options or short term accommodation if you’re struggling to find a place you like. Spareroom.co.uk is a network of people offering rooms in their homes, often because a current housemate is leaving. Guardian Schemes are also popular with some students, which place tenants in unoccupied buildings for a fairly low rent, however they can ask you to leave with only two weeks’ notice. You can also stay with a family as a lodger, Host International is one organisation that offer this, but you can also find families on Spare Room. 9. Beware of letting agent’s fees. Ask about how much you are expected to pay in letting agents fees – there is no fixed amount that they can change but it shouldn’t be more than £100 per person. Also be sure to ask if there is a check out fee, and make sure your deposit is put in a deposit protection scheme as soon as you pay it. 10. A final tip – monthly rent = weekly rent x 4.3
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Transport in London Public Transport London has a huge network of travel links operating via buses, trains, underground (tube) and overground. All of this is coordinated by Transport for London (TFL) enabling you to accurately plan your journey through their website www.tfl. gov.uk. Although the tube does not run after midnight there are a number of night buses which run regularly throughout the capital. For travel on routes across the London transport network, an Oyster card is essential. Get one from your nearest station for a £5 refundable deposit to access the cheapest fares. London buses no longer accept cash, so you will have to use an Oyster Card with a travelcard/bus pass on or credit; or you can use a contactless card if you have one.
Student Oyster As a student you are also eligible for a Student Oystercard, which gives you 30% off season tickets on London buses and tubes. Apply on the TFL website; they cost £10.
16-25 Railcard All students who study full time, including mature students, are eligible for a 16-25 railcard, entitling you to a third off all off peak rail journeys across the UK. These cost £30 for one year or £70 for three years. Apply online www.16-25railcard.co.uk or visit your nearest station. Additionally, you can link your railcard to your Oyster card to receive a 30% discount on off peak underground fares – ask in your nearest tube station for more information.
Cycling SOAS students love to cycle, because it is free! TFL cycle can provide a route which avoids main or busy roads, following the cycle lanes in the city. A few hints and tips: • It is illegal to cycle on pavements or to travel without a front and rear light at night time, you can be given a £30 fine on the spot. • Always lock your wheels and frame to a bike post, using two different locks if possible. • Take extra care around large vehicles – cyclists are often in their blindspot. If in doubt, maintain your distance from them. • Wear light coloured clothing and / or a high vis jacket. We sell SOAS Branded High Vis in the shop.
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If you or someone you know has experienced assualt, help is available. See ‘contacts’, pages 110 - 112
Taxis and minicabs There are two types of taxi in London – minicabs and black cabs. Only black cabs can legally pick up customers on the street.
Cabwise
text ‘cab’ to 60835 Store it now!
Minicabs look like regular cars, but must be pre-booked. If they 35p+standard text rate are not prebooked, they are operating illegally and are dangerous. Text Cabwise to find the numbers of licenced taxis in your area when you are out - you will get a text back giving the numbers of firms local to where you are at the time. If you have a smartphone there are app likes Uber which you can use to book a cab, at a much cheaper price than hailing a black back off the street.
Never get into an unbooked minicab, not even if... X You’re approached by a driver on the street X It’s offered to you by someone with a high vis jacket and clipboard X The minicabs are lined up outside a pub or a club as they are still breaking the law if they accept your fare directly without a booking (i.e. by phone) being made legally through a licensed minicab operator X You’ve flagged it down X The driver says his booked passenger hasn’t turned up X You get in with a group of friends
Keeping you (and your things) safe. Living in a big city like London can be daunting. Keep money, keys, oystercard on your person rather than in a bag. Avoid using a mobile phone outside, and consider inconspicuous headphones for your ipod! If you find you’re in a threatening situation, get to the nearest public place and call a friend or the police. If travelling alone, let someone you see regularly know where you’re going (e.g. a flat mate). Report incidents to the police, halls, S.U or security. Travel safely - NEVER use an illegal minicab, and plan ahead how you will get home. See
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advice on travel under the travel section (above). You will find useful contacts, including emergency numbers, on pages 110-112. Sometimes it is easier to forget to pay attention to your belongings when you are in a group than if you are on your own. Opportunists will look their chance to slip a bag from under a chair, or a phone off a table when you don’t notice. There are also complaints every year of stolen laptops, e.g left in the library while looking for a book. ALWAYS back up your work and dont assume that being somewhere familiar like college means you won’t have things stolen. Unfortunately it does happen.
Student Advice and Wellbeing Integrated student support, found on the 3rd floor CONTACTS / APPOINTMENTS of Vernon Square. The Email: studentadviceandwellbeing@soas.ac.uk professional and specialist Phone: 020 7074 5015 staff offering advice, Website: www.soas.ac.uk/studentadviceandwellbeing information and counselling Visit: V302 are there for you if you need advice or someone to talk to if you feel low. Student Counselling Service We also send a weekly email with Alison Barty, Shima Bhunjun, Neil Farrelly, updates and relevant information. and Sheila Root. Do take time to read it! www.soas.ac.uk/counselling
Mental Health and Well Being Advice Sachiko Kishi We all need to look after our mental health! Any student who has concerns about their emotional wellbeing, or wants assistance in supporting someone else, for instance another student or a family member can access confidential support here at SOAS. For an appointment (Mon/Tues/Weds) contact the Student Advice and Wellbeing Administrator. Workshops and group meetings will be available. Some students will be eligible to apply for mentoring support. If you are interested in mental health awareness in the SOAS community you can get involved in some of the events that we will be coordinating - do get in touch!
National Student Counselling resources: www.student.counselling.co.uk The counsellors at SOAS provide an easily accessible, confidential service to any student experiencing distress, anxiety or confusion, or who needs to speak to someone who’s trained to listen. The service aims to assist students in managing their studies when this process is interrupted or affected by emotional, personal or psychological pressures. Common concerns include anxiety about progress on the course, loneliness, low self-confidence, relationships, adjusting to a new environment. The nature of the counselling offered is flexible and sensitive to the diversity of SOAS students. How does it work? Counselling may focus on making changes to your life. Other times when it doesn’t seem immediately practical or possible to make changes, the focus may be on finding ways to deal with a situation that’s less costly to your physical or mental well-being. International students, in particular, may be exposed to a different academic, social and cultural environment that can be both challenging and daunting. It’s not unusual for students to feel unsettled and isolated early on. A number of key staff assist and advise on concerns or difficulties inherent in this process.
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These include your supervisor(s) on academic/ academic-related matters; the Student Advice Service on practical matters like finance, immigration or housing; as well as the Counselling Service. For initial contact we have daily drop in sessions at 1-1.30pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday and 2-2.30pm Tuesday, and 2.30-3pm on Thursday as well appointments for follow up discussions. During the year the Counselling Service will offer groups on relevant topics. These will be publicised in the weekly all student email. We can provide information on other counselling or psychotherapy options outside SOAS, which can provide longer term or specialised counselling. Details of reduced cost complementary treatments are available from Student Advice and Wellbeing reception. These have included acupuncture, Ayurvedic consultations and Tuina massage, but this may vary.
Disability and Dyslexia Advice Student Disability Advisors: Zoe Davis & Angela Axon Learning Advisors: Carol John and Carol Rifkin Disability Administrator: Caroline Miller www.soas.ac.uk/disability “Disability” is a broad term. It can include: problems with mobility, seeing or hearing; specific learning differences (e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia); mental illness or mental health difficulties; severe disfigurements; cancer, HIV/Aids, epilepsy, diabetes; progressive conditions (even at an early stage), conditions characterised by a number of cumulative effects (e.g. pain, fatigue), and a past history of disability. If you experience difficulties but aren’t sure if you’re
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covered, contact us for advice. We advise on the facilities available for disabled students, and help you ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make SOAS more accessible. These can include: exam arrangements; library services and assistive technology; advice on disability-related funding (DSA); specialist support (learning support, mentoring, note taking, accommodation); recommendations to academic / teaching staff; emergency evacuation plans and campus accessibility. We use student feedback on what works and what doesn’t to inform the strategic parts of our role, (like creating policy and working with other staff to increase access). At SOAS there are two rooms with specialist software for students who are visually impaired or have specific learning differences; loan equipment for disabled students who haven’t been able to get the equipment they need through the DSA; mind mapping and screen reading software on all SOAS computers, one-to-one specialist screening and learning support for students with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and other learning differences; a mental health and wellbeing advisor; and staff who are aware of access issues and provision of accessible information. We hope students with disabilities enjoy the rich, varied experience SOAS offers. See us early on so that we can let you know what’s available and ensure reasonable adjustments are made. We’d like students not to be disabled by the environment or curriculum, but find a welcoming climate, friendly and open so you’d feel able to disclose any disability you may have. SOAS has got a good start, but there’s work to do. We love to hear what students think. We see students 10-4, Mon - Fri. For an appointment call or email the administrator. Term-time drop-in sessions are Tuesday & Fridays 1.30 – 2.30pm.
Student Advisors John Hitchman (Immigration and Finance) and Leah Edwards (Housing) The Advisors offer information and advice on practical problems or issues that might be affecting or disturbing your studies. These may include financial matters, immigration, housing issues, childcare and welfare benefits. The information and advice is provided impartially and confidentially in a private quiet room. You can meet the Advisors by appointment or at a drop-in sessionThere are leaflets, application forms and general information in Student Advice and Wellbeing waiting area, V308. Typical areas the Advisors cover: Finance: Advice on sources of funding,
entitlement to student support for fees and living costs, hardship funds andon budgeting. as well as Go to www.soas.ac.uk/ studentadviceandwellbeing/students/money/ hardship-funds/for information on hardship funds and application forms Immigration: The Advisor is the only person at SOAS authorised to give immigration advice. If you are extending your stay in the UK for further studies at SOAS, the Advisor can check your application before you send it or attend an appointment at the Home Office. Housing: The Housing Advisor can help you to work out your best options for private rented housing, student halls or other managed housing.
How does the S.U work with Student Advice & WellBeing? Here is a quick referral guide for reps, or for friends, to give you some ideas on what to do: Problem 1: “I haven’t written an academic essay for years, where do I start?” Contact the Academic Development Directorate in RG01, use their website www.soas.ac.uk/add/ studyskills/ or go to the Skills for Success Moodle site If you have a specific learning difference eg dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD or ADHDask StudentAdvice and Wellbeing Learning Advisors (Carol John and Carol Rifkin) about their 1-1 advice and essay workshops. They can help get your study skills to the right level if you are out of practice. They can also give useful help with time management. Problem 2: “My student loan hasn’t come through yet!” Book an appointment with John Hitchman, Student Advisor (Immigration and Finance)via Student Advice and Wellbeing, 3rd floor Vernon Square. Problem 3: “I’m feeling very lonely and considering dropping out” Come and chat to us in the union office (G8) Sometimes things can get you down. You can also talk to the Counselling Service, or Sachiko Kishi - see page 56. If there is a problem for several students, Student Reps might find it good to talk to reps in the older years to know what their experience was - some courses are tougher at the start but things settle down. Problem 4: “ I’m studying law but secretly I’ve always wanted to study Swahili literature!” Talk to your Faculty Office about what options you can take. You may be able to change course, or find a floater that fulfills your dreams. Ask early on, as it is harder to change if you leave it.
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SOAS Careers service Here at the SOAS Careers Service we are passionate about building connections between our students and their potential employers and in helping students enter rewarding and fulfilling careers. As such we provide a range of support including one to one appointments, events and online resources. You can come and see us Monday to Thursday for one to one support and careers advice on the application process, including CVs and covering letters, as well as help with how to decide on a career path. We also offer Practice Interviews and information on assessment centres to help you to prepare for the recruitment process. Each year we also host a wide and varied range of employer led events, skills sessions, careers fairs and careers themed weeks. In the academic year 2014 – 2015 our themed weeks included Languages Week, International Development Week and Business, Finance and Management Week, a huge number of employers and students attended these events. Based on your feedback we now host a range of alumni led events. Our ‘What I Wish I’d Know While a Student at SOAS’ sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays give a small group of students the opportunity to meet alumni from specific industries and find out more about their career
path gaining hints and tips on how to best progress in this career area. In addition to this we’re also proud to now be running alumni led Mock Interview Workshops. These small group sessions give students the chance to experience all aspects of an interview, by being interviewed and by taking the role of interviewer on the interview panel.
For more information about or events and to see what we’ve done in the past why not check out our careers events webpage: https://www. soas.ac.uk/careers/events/ We’ve also got a cracking team who look after our online resources and our Careers Information library. The team can help you with navigating our virtual careers information resources such as Careers Tagged and the Moodle and can also provide information resources, including books, on further study, internships, jobs and volunteering. For more information, visit us in Room 101 or online at www.soas.ac.uk/careers Remember to follow us on social media too! www.facebook.com/SOASCareersService www.twitter.com/soascareers
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S.U. Equality and Diversity Statement To access all Union policies, visit: soasunion.org/policies-and-documents The following statement sets out the Union’s committment to equality and diversity. 1.1 As a forward looking organisation, the Union recognises the positive benefits of the implementation of an Equal Opportunities policy. The Union strives to create a culture in which diversity and equality of opportunity are promoted actively and in which unlawful discrimination is not tolerated. 1.2 The Union is committed to the elimination of all forms of discrimination and harassment within its organisation, both in relation to its members and guests and in the provision of its service. The Union will strive to achieve the following: • equality of opportunity for all in terms of its members and guests and advancement within the Union regardless of race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, mental or physical health and/or ability, HIV status, class or religious and political beliefs and affiliation. • that individuals are treated in a fair, equitable and consistent manner and are given the opportunity to fulfil their potential. • everyone has the right to their distinctive and diverse identities • understanding in how valuing diversity can improve our ability to achieve a community of equality within the Union as a whole. This policy applies to all membership and their guests, visitors and other persons in contact with the Union, together with those employed to work at or for the Union. Courtesy of Green & Black Cross; cut-out-and-keep Bust Card
BUST CARD!!! LEGAL ADVICE – ARREST Say “No comment” to all questions from police, even during interviews and ‘casual chats’. Police often need more evidence and may try to deceive and pressure you into incriminating yourself. You have the right to free legal advice at the police station. Duty solicitors often give bad advice to protestors, we recommend:
Irvine Thanvi Natas: 020 8522 7707 Hodge Jones Allen: 07659 111 192 Bindmans: 020 7833 4433 You have the right to have someone informed of your arrest and an interpreter if English is not you first language. If you appear under 18 an appropriate adult will be called. If you witness an arrest or want support contact the
GBC legal hotline: 07946 541 511
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Lockers around SOAS
Mobile Phones
There are a wide range of deals and phones About 1,000 student lockers sit at Russell Sq. available, though if you already have a phone About the size of a sports bag, they’re not good a SIM only offer is probably your best bet. The for valuables, but are handy for books. Students’ Union have teamed up with GiffGaff To get one: - the Which 2015 award winner for pay as you 1. Email pb14@soas.ac.uk your name, SOAS go - to provide free SIM cards which have a £5 ID and the date your course ends so the bonus on your first top up. We will be giving locker will be assigned until then. (Subject these out during Freshers, or just come to the SU line: “Locker”). to get one.
2. Wait for an e-mail allocating you a locker number. 3. Put your lock on it FAST.
If you skip this and just take a locker you may find an note of warning, followed within days by the lock being broken and the locker emptied! Email any problems (e.g. lockersquatters!); and if you give up your locker, so it can be re-assigned.
Why is the DLT (also known as G2) really called the Lucas Lecture Theatre (LLT)? In June 2009 SOAS cleaners were called to an ‘emergency meeting’ in this room where they were faced with UK Border Agency officers. Eight cleaners were deported, one of whom, Luzia, was six months pregnant at the time. Lucas is the name of her baby. It is Students’ Union policy (voted on at our Union General Meetings) that this room be called the Lucas Lecture Theatre. In solidarity with our SOAS cleaners, past, present and future, you are invited to refer to this room as the Lucas Lecture Theatre (LLT).
BUST CARD!!! LEGAL ADVICE – STOP & SEARCH Before a search you must be told the name and station of the searching officer, the reason you are being searched, and what power you are being searched under. You do not have to give your name and address or answer questions under any stop and search power. You are entitled to a receipt of the search. GBC / LDMG Legal Observers are independent volunteers who gather evidence on behalf of anyone arrested and act to counter police intimidation and misbehaviour. www.ldmg.org.uk / www.greenandblackcross.org / @GBCLegal
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gbclegal@riseup.net
Have an idea? We can help you crowdfund for it! SOAS is one the first universities to have its own crowdfunding platform SOAS Impact – that helps you find the funding you need to explore your interests and enhances the SOAS community through creative and innovative projects. We support projects that have a positive impact on the lives of your fellow students, the School, the wider community and others around the world.
SOAS Impact allows you to showcase your projects to a large audience and gives alumni and friends of the School an easy way to support the great causes and smart ideas you put forward. You will be empowered with the skills to promote and fundraise for your projects and we will help you promote your project to the SOAS community. Receive training, tips and advice and gain skills in social enterprise, fundraising and marketing.
To find out more, visit: https://soas.hubbub.net/ Or email: soasimpact@soas.ac.uk
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58
September
14 Monday
15 Tuesday
16 Wednesday
17 Thursday
18 Friday
#KeepTheGrants Demo
19 Saturday
20 Sunday
Dinwiddy Move-In Day 4D Welcome to SOAS Party
59
September
21 Monday
First Day of Term (non-teaching week)
22 Tuesday
Eid Al-Adha
23 Wednesday
An Evening of Comedy: Identity and Diaspora (JCR) 7.30-10pm
24 Thursday
25 Friday
Activism Day
26 Saturday
60 Freshers Fayre, Russell Sq site 12-5pm
27 Sunday
October
28 Monday
First Term (teaching starts; lost? Try www.soas.ac.uk/timetable) Union Elections: nominations Open SOAS shutdown - the official freshers party
29 Tuesday
Preventing Prevent
30 Wednesday
Black History Month
1 Thursday
A night of Poetry & Spoken Word (JCR) 7-9.30pm
2 Friday
Open the Gate Festival
3 Saturday
4 Sunday
61
October
5 Monday
Shemini Atzeret
6 Tuesday
Simchat Torah
Black History Month
7 Wednesday
SOAS Bazaar
8 Thursday
UGM 5pm in the JCR Union Elections: nominations CLOSE
9 Friday
Live SU Night: Black Friday Part Time Work and Volunteering Fair 1-4 Brunei Gallery Rep Elections: Voting Opens
10 Saturday
World Mental Health Day
62
11 Sunday
October
12 Monday
Union Elections: day one of voting 10am - 5pm
13 Tuesday
Business, Management and Finance Fair 1-4 Brunei Gallery
Black History Month
14 Wednesday
Student Rep elections: Voting Closes
15 Thursday
Muharram/Islamic New Year
16 Friday
World Food Day
17 Saturday
18 Sunday
63
October
19 Monday
20 Tuesday
Birth of the Guru Granth
Black History Month
21 Wednesday
22 Thursday
Law and Justice Fair 1-4 Brunei Gallery
23 Friday
Ashura - 10th Muharram
24 Saturday
25 Sunday
clocks go back 1-hour
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November
26 Monday
27 Tuesday
Public Sector Fair 1-4 Brunei Gallery
28 Wednesday
SOAS Bazaar
29 Thursday
30 Friday
4D Halloween Party
31 Saturday
Halloween
1 Sunday
November
2 Monday
3 Tuesday
READING WEEK
4 Wednesday
Free Education & Living Grants for All!
No Barriers, No Borders, No Business! Demonstration
5 Thursday
Guy Fawkes Day
6 Friday
7 Saturday
8 Sunday
November
9 Monday
10 Tuesday
UGM - 5pm in the JCR
11 Wednesday
12 Thursday
13 Friday
Live SU Night: Black Friday
14 Saturday
15 Sunday
November
16 Monday
17 Tuesday
International Students’ Day
18 Wednesday
19 Thursday
20 Friday
Trans Day of Remembrance
21 Saturday
22 Sunday
November
23 Monday
24 Tuesday
25 Wednesday
16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence
26 Thursday
Grime as Resistance
27 Friday
28 Saturday
Black Students’ Campaign Winter Conference
29 Sunday
International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People
December
30 Monday
Asalha Puja St Andrew’s Day
1 Tuesday
World Aids Day
2 Wednesday
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery SOAS Bazaar - Christmas Double Edition
3 Thursday
4 Friday
5 Saturday
6 Sunday
December
7 Monday
Hannukah Begins
8 Tuesday
9 Wednesday
SOAS Bazaar - Christmas Double Edition NUS UK Trans Conference
10 Thursday
International Human Rights Day
11 Friday
End of Term!
12 Saturday
13 Sunday
December
14 Monday
Hannukah Ends
16 Wednesday
Kwanzaa
17 Thursday
18 Friday
International Migrants’ Day
19 Saturday
holidays
15 Tuesday
20 Sunday
December
21 Monday
Winter Equinox
23 Wednesday
24 Thursday
Prophet’s Birthday Christmas Eve
25 Friday
Christmas Day
26 Saturday
Boxing Day
holidays
22 Tuesday
27 Sunday
January
28 Monday
30 Wednesday
31 Thursday
New Year’s Eve
1 Friday
New Year’s Day End of Kwanzaa
2 Saturday
holidays
29 Tuesday
3 Sunday
January
4 Monday
5 Tuesday
6 Wednesday
7 Thursday
Ethiopian Christmas Day
8 Friday
9 Saturday
10 Sunday
January
11 Monday
UGM 5pm in the JCR
12 Tuesday
13 Wednesday
14 Thursday
Maghi
15 Friday
16 Saturday
Ponjal
17 Sunday
January
18 Monday
19 Tuesday
International Development Fair
20 Wednesday
21 Thursday
22 Friday
23 Saturday
24 Sunday
January
25 Monday
26 Tuesday
27 Wednesday
Holocaust Remembrance Day SOAS Bazaar
28 Thursday
29 Friday
30 Saturday
31 Sunday
February February LGBTIA History Month
1 Monday
Union Elections: Nominations OPEN Internships Fair 1-4 Brunei Gallery
2 Tuesday
3 Wednesday
4 Thursday
5 Friday
Live SU Night: Black Friday
6 Saturday
7 Sunday
9 Tuesday
11 Thursday
12 Friday
13 Saturday
14 Sunday
Valentine’s Day
LGBTIA History Month
10 Wednesday
February
Chinese New Year - Year of the Monkey
Reading week
8 Monday
February
15 Monday
16 Tuesday
LGBTIA History Month
UGM, 5pm, JCR
17 Wednesday
SOAS Bazaar
18 Thursday
Union Elections: Nominations CLOSE
19 Friday
20 Saturday
21 Sunday
Anniversary of Malcom X’s Death
February
22 Monday
23 Tuesday
LGBTIA History Month
24 Wednesday
25 Thursday
26 Friday
Union Elections: Voting OPENS 4pm
27 Saturday
28 Sunday
March
29 Monday
1 Tuesday
St David’s Day Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month
2 Wednesday
3 Thursday
Universities Mental Health and Wellbeing Day Union Elections: Voting CLOSES 5pm Counting of ballots & Results
4 Friday
5 Saturday
St Piran’s Day
6 Sunday
March
7 Monday
8 Tuesday
Mahashivaratri International Women’s Day
Women’s History Month
9 Wednesday
SOAS Bazaar
10 Thursday
UGM 5pm in the JCR
11 Friday
12 Saturday
13 Sunday
March
14 Monday
15 Tuesday
Women’s History Month
16 Wednesday
17 Thursday
St Patrick’s Day
18 Friday
Last Day of Term
19 Saturday
20 Sunday
March Equinox
March
21 Monday
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination World Down Syndrome Day
Holi
24 Thursday
Holi
25 Friday
Good Friday
26 Saturday
27 Sunday
clocks go forward 1-hour
Easter Sunday
Women’s History Month
23 Wednesday
holidays
22 Tuesday
April
28 Monday
30 Wednesday
31 Thursday
1 Friday
April Fool’s Day
2 Saturday
World Autism Awareness Day
holidays
Easter Monday
29 Tuesday
3 Sunday
April
4 Monday
6 Wednesday
7 Thursday
World Health Day
8 Friday
9 Saturday
holidays
5 Tuesday
10 Sunday
April
11 Monday
13 Wednesday
14 Thursday
Tamil New Year
15 Friday
16 Saturday
holidays
12 Tuesday
17 Sunday
April
18 Monday
19 Tuesday
20 Wednesday
21 Thursday
National Conference 2016 (Brighton)
22 Friday
23 Saturday
Shakespeare Day First Day of Passover
24 Sunday
May
25 Monday
UGM 5pm in the JCR
26 Tuesday
27 Wednesday
SOAS Bazaar
28 Thursday
29 Friday
30 Saturday
1 Sunday
May Day International Workers’ Day
May
2 Monday
Early May Bank Holiday
3 Tuesday
4 Wednesday
5 Thursday
6 Friday
7 Saturday
8 Sunday
May
9 Monday
10 Tuesday
11 Wednesday
12 Thursday
13 Friday
14 Saturday
15 Sunday
May
16 Monday
17 Tuesday
18 Wednesday
19 Thursday
20 Friday
21 Saturday
22 Sunday
May
23 Monday
24 Tuesday
25 Wednesday
26 Thursday
27 Friday
28 Saturday
29 Sunday
June
30 Monday
May Bank Holiday
31 Tuesday
1 Wednesday
2 Thursday
Jobs Bazaar 1-4 Brunei Gallery
3 Friday
4 Saturday
5 Sunday
World Environment Day
June
6 Monday
Start of Ramadan
7 Tuesday
8 Wednesday
9 Thursday
10 Friday
11 Saturday
12 Sunday
June
13 Monday
14 Tuesday
15 Wednesday
16 Thursday
Martyrdom of Guru Arjan
17 Friday
18 Saturday
19 Sunday
June
20 Monday
June Solstice World Refugee Day
21 Tuesday
22 Wednesday
23 Thursday
24 Friday
25 Saturday
26 Sunday
July
27 Monday
28 Tuesday
29 Wednesday
30 Thursday
1 Friday
2 Saturday
3 Sunday
July
4 Monday
5 Tuesday
6 Wednesday
7 Thursday
8 Friday
9 Saturday
10 Sunday
July
11 Monday
12 Tuesday
13 Wednesday
14 Thursday
15 Friday
16 Saturday
17 Sunday
July
18 Monday
19 Tuesday
20 Wednesday
21 Thursday
22 Friday
23 Saturday
24 Sunday
July
25 Monday
26 Tuesday
27 Wednesday
28 Thursday
29 Friday
30 Saturday
31 Sunday
Notes:
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Trustees & Charity Status SOAS Students’ Union is a registered charity in the UK, whose charity number is 1150717. What does this mean? It means that the Students’ Union is an independent organisation to SOAS which must conform to UK Charity Law in its operations, and is answerable to the Charity Commission. There are a number of rules which come with charitable status: we must prepare and publish our annual accounts and an annual report, we have rules about what we can spend our money on and all of our work must be to further our charitable aims. Our charitable aims are all about YOU, our members, and come from our Constitution - the Union’s official governing document. 1. The aims and objectives of the Union shall be within charitable purposes to: (a) act as an official organisation promoting the interests of its members, and in particular to (i) develop, foster and promote the cultural, intellectual, social and athletic recreation of its members; (ii) develop, foster and promote the education, welfare and general interests of its members; (iii) act as a channel of communication between, and represent the interests of, its members to the School and to any other bodies which may affect its members; (b) endeavour to provide such non-commercial services as may from time to time be required by its members; (c) develop and foster among its members the formation of clubs and societies of the Union fulfilling the aims and objectives described above. Everything we do is for you our members. This is paid for in two main ways. SOAS is our principal funder and we also make a small operational surplus from our commercial services. The Union is in a healthy financial state and has had a recent governance audit and a Bronze in the national scheme the Students’ Union Evaluation Initiative. The Union, as a charity, is run by a board of Trustees, who are the Students’ Union Elected Officers. The role of charitable trustee is a responsible one to oversee that the day to day management of the Union (as done by the General Manager, permanent staff and the sabbaticals). They set the operational plan for the year, check the management accounts and are responsible for the overall strategic direction of the Union. However the Union General Meeting (UGM) is seen as the main source of policy for the Union, if something is passed by a UGM and the Trustees do not do it, they have to report back to the student body why. As a charity the Union is here for our students, and to make the education at SOAS better. Therefore anything you do to help the Union, societies, as a student rep, running an event, is actually volunteering for a charity! Who knew it could be such fun.
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SOAS’ Hidden Treasures 1. Tiru Valluvar is an ancient Tamil poet, who sits outside SOAS, presiding over the campus – he sees everything that goes on! He provides inspiration and wisdom and he knows all of SOAS’ secrets. He’s also a great listener, so if you need someone to talk to, just take a seat in his welcoming arms. He’s even on Facebook, if you’re lucky he might let you be his friend! 2. Ah the Japanese Roof Garden, that illusive treasure of SOAS that you’ll probably never find. Many a student has tried and failed, and some have never returned. It’s a place of peaceful contemplation, creativity, inspiration, and occasional nudity. The clue to finding it is in SOAS Treasure number 5…
3. SOAS Radio is a gem which has been critically acclaimed as one of the best radio stations in the world. It’s an online station which shares SOAS’ knowledge with the rest of the world, and enables us at SOAS to better engage with the global community. 4. SOAS Library Archives and Special Collections are the ultimate treasure trove for any scholar. Have a look on the Library website and join one of the organised tours to uncover all sorts of incredible documents, some of which have never been analysed before. You could write some pretty ground breaking essays with this stuff! 5. Exhibitions at the Brunei Gallery offer free and fascinating displays about topics and issues relating to SOAS’ areas of speciality. You can find out about exhibitions past, present and future on the SOAS website! SOAS’ London: this is a special SOAS Guide to London, written by SOASians for fellow SOASians. Check it out on the Students’ Union website!
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Surviving 1st Term, mastering London, and discovering Exciting Things to do at the same time ... Claim your travel discounts: A Student Oystercard gets you 30% off season tickets on London transport - weekly or longer. But, for those who only use the tube occasionally a season ticket won’t be worth it. A Young Persons Railcard can get you 34% off off-peak day travelcards and pay-as-you-go off peak tubes, trams and buses. The Railcard gives discounts on national train journeys, and local transport. Ask to link it your Oyster PAYG -‘pay as you go’. It’s not well advertised but it works. Using an Oystercard makes trips on the riverboat cheaper, not just the tubes, buses, and overground. Within SOAS there is also ISH (International Students House), located at 229 Great Portland Street (near Regents Park). ISH facilitate students of different cultures getting together and having fun. They have late cheap bars, a cafe, free internet, karaoke, fitness club, more societies, free movie nights, cultural evenings, live music, and short term accommodation. Visit them at: www.ish.org.uk. You can find people with similar interests easily; there are many events like evening lectures, film showings, talks, music events at SOAS and the neighbouring universities.
We’re excited to introduce Unitu, a new online platform that ensures your voice is heard and acted upon with the ultimate aim of helping you and your classmates get the most out of your degree. Built around the SOAS student rep system, Unitu enables you, your peers, staff and course reps to collectively make suggestions to improve your course and see action being taken upon it. You do not need to wait until the end of term to provide your feedback or raise issues that concern you. Provide it when it matters the most using Untiu. Only available to selected departments We’re trialling Unitu at SOAS in a selection of programmes this academic year, these are: Languages & Cultures History UG Development Studies UG If your programme is selected for the trial, you will be able to gain access to Unitu in the 2nd week of first term. Keep a close eye on your emails as your account details will be sent you. If you have any questions feel free to ask either Antonia Bright (ab93@soas.ac.uk) or Anish Bagga (anish@unitu.co.uk).
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Contacts Democracy & Education 0207 898 +4995 Activites & Events +4994 Welfare & Campiagns +4997 General Manager +4996 Representation Assistant +4998 SOAS Radio +4984 Commercial Services Manager +4990 Bar +4930 Russell Sq Shop +4999 Vernon Sq Shop (0207 074) +5156 Fax 0207 074 5164 General Email su@soas.ac.uk
STUDENTS’ UNION / www.soasunion.org Affiliated Organisations: NUS (www.nus.org.uk); BUCS (www.bucs.org.uk); Nightline (www.nightline.org.uk); Stop The War (www.stopwar.org.uk); London Citizens (www.citizensuk.org); Coalition of Resistance (www. coalitionofresistance.org.uk); Juba University; Birziet University (www.birzeit.edu); Native Spirit Foundation (www. nativespiritfoundation.org)
THE SCHOOL / www.soas.ac.uk Main switchboard 020 7637 2388 Registry 020 7074 5105 Library 020 7898 +4163 (enquiries) +4790 (hours) +4197 (renewals) Senate House library 020 7862 8500 www.senatehouselibrary.ac.uk
Student Advice & Wellbeing Reception Welfare: Counselling: Disabilities: Textphone:
020 7074 +5015 (main) +5014 +5016 +5018 +5049
Emergencies at SOAS: call 555 from any internal SOAS phone Education / Jobs / Money
UCAS (www.ucas.ac.uk) Minicom: Student Loan Company (www.slc.co.uk) TUC -Trades Union Congress (www.tuc.org.uk) Educational Grants Advisory Service The Careers Group (University of London)
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01242 222 444 0845 604 4434 0845 300 5090 020 7636 4030 020 7249 6636 020 7554 4500
Housing ULHS: University of London Housing Service (housing.lon.ac.uk/cms) Office is on the 4th floor of ULU (Malet Street) 020 7862 8880 Sanctuary Housing (www.smsstudent.co.uk) 020 7841 0480 Shelterline (24hr freephone) 0808 800 4444
INTERNATIONAL Students UKCISA -UK Council for International Student Affairs (www.ukcisa.org.uk) 020 7107 9922 JCWI -Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (www.jcwi.org.uk) 020 7251 8708 International Student House (www.ish.org.uk) 020 7346 6700 British Council (www.britishcouncil.org) 0161 957 7755 HOST (www.hostuk.org) info@hostuk.org Refugee Council (www.refugeecouncil.org.uk) General enquiries: 020 7346 6700
HEALTH NHS Direct (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) 0845 46 47 Health Centre (www.gowerstreetpractice.org.uk) 020 7636 7628 MIND -mental health charity (www.mind.org.uk) 0845 766 0163 Meningitis Helpline -for app to recognise symptoms iphone: www.meningitis-trust.org -free 24hr helplines: 0800 028 18 28 & 080 88 00 33 44 Sexual Health Line -free and confidential 0800 567 123 The Naz Project - sexuality and sexual health support and advice, for South Asian, Middle Eastern, African and Turkish communities www.naz.org.uk 020 8741 1879 Mortimer Market Centre -Male & female clinic off Tottenham Court Road; HIV / STD tests; general sexual health www.mortimermarket.com 020 7530 5050 Brook -free, confidential sexual health advice, for under 25’s www.brook.org.uk 0808 802 1234
0800 & 0808 numbers are FREE from BT landlines
HELPLINES / SUPPORT - WOMEN Women in London -directory of groups & activities www.womeninlondon.org.uk British Pregnancy Advisory Service www.bpas.org 08457 30 40 30 Muslim Women’s helpline muslimcommunityhelpline.org.uk Abortion Rights www.abortionrights.org.uk choice@abortionrights.org.uk FORWARD -Women’s Health Research www.forwarduk.org.uk 020 8960 4000
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For EMERGENCIES call 999 (fire brigade, ambulance or police). For non-emergencies call 101 (police).
HELPLINES / SUPPORT - general British Dyslexia Association; national helpline
0845 251 9002
Disability Alliance (www.disabilityalliance.org)
020 7247 8776
Skill -for students with disabilities (www.skill.org.uk)
0800 328 5050
Equal Opportunities Commission
www.equalityhumanrights.com
Citizens Advice Bureau
www.citizensadvice.org.uk
London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard (www.llgs.org.uk) 0300 330 0630 Free, confidential support & info to lesbian, gay, bi & transgender communities GALOP -victims/witnesses of hate crime (www.galop.org.uk)
020 7704 2040
Victim Support
0845 3030 900
(www.victimsupport.org)
The Roofie Foundation -drug rape/sexual abuse roofie.com)
Rape Crisis helpline -national free helpline (www.rapecrisis.org.uk) Nightline
(www. 0808 802 99 99
(24hr) 0207 631 0101
Drinkline RELEASE -legal advise on drugs issues (www.release.org.uk)
0800 917 8282 helpline 0845 4500 215
Bindmans -independent legal advice (www.bindmans.com)
(24hr) 020 7833 4433
Hodge Jones & Allen - independent legal advice
07659 111 192
Travel / other Transport for London
www.tfl.gov.uk
(lost property) 0845 330 9882
National Rail Enquiries (Times, tickets, railcards)
www.nationalrail.co.uk
Cabwise, to be sent the numbers of two minicabs and a taxi firm local to wherever you are, text ‘CAB’ to 60835 Kings Cross Radio Cars (taxis)
020 7713 6030
Star Cars East (near the Halls)
020 7837 1111
St Christophers Inns (hostels across Europe)
www.st-christophers.co.uk
YHA (Youth Hostel Association)
www.yha.org.uk
STA (student travel )
0333 321 0099
www.statravel.co.uk
Yellow Pages (directory)
www.yell.com
Loot (classified adverts online)
www.loot.com
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Want to find some hidden London gems? Looking for a cheap pub, a secluded outdoor space or a secret café? Explore SOAS’ London! An online network created by SOAS students for SOAS students. soasunion.org/london has all you need to know about London life as a SOASian! You can submit your own suggestions or just have a browse. You won’t be stuck for something to do ever again!
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Cover Photography: Andala Leena Jabbar. Cover Images Location: Konya, Turkey Designer/Editor: Amy Dawson Contributors: Tom King | Zain Dada | Hannah Slydel | Peter Baran | Antonia Bright | Susanna Momtazuddin | Seb Cirillo | Khaled Ziada | the S.U Executive | SOAS Clubs & Societies | SOAS Careers | Student Advice and Wellbeing.
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