Jan2019
#6
WSU
Brought to you by Harrison Jarrett and Worcester Students’ Union
WORC HARD WORC HARD PLAY HARD HARD PLAY
From our most successful elections to raising over £17000 for charity to holding our first ever Colour Run and Course Rep Conference,
What are Worcester students looking forward to in 2019? Find out on pages 4-5
Hi, I’m Harrison Jarrett, your Vice President Student Activities. I am delighted to present the sixth issue of your Worc Hard Play Hard magazine. One of my key manifesto aims was to make sure the profiles of both sports clubs and societies are raised and that achievements are celebrated and shared throughout the University during my time in office and beyond. Producing a mostly student-led magazine showcasing sports, societies, volunteering, RAG, Reps and much more, will hopefully help support us in achieving this. Going into 2019, we have the largest number of clubs and societies on offer to students than ever before. So why not make it your New Year’s resolution to give one a go and try something brand new? It’s a fantastic opportunity to really enhance your university experience and create lifelong friendships. Or, if you’re struggling to find something that’s right for you, then why not (with my help and support) start your own club or society? Never hesitate to drop by my office and have a chat! I also really urge all clubs to engage with Sport and Mental Health Week during Refreshers Week. You can find out more at www.worcsu.com/ents Promotion and engagement with the Students’ Union from clubs and societies is vastly improving. I’m so impressed and I would like to take this opportunity to give a special thank you to every individual who has contributed towards this edition of Worc Hard Play Hard. I really enjoy hearing about all the great achievements from our students. Please keep writing to us about all your successes and achievements throughout the year. Showcase them and be proud! I can assure you, we definitely are. Remember, you will have the opportunity to feature and contribute your achievements during your time spent at the University of Worcester in future editions of the magazine or online! www.worcsu.com/whatson/worchardplayhard 2
CONTENTS
AUTUMN REVIEW 7-12 07 08 09 08
Meet your Part Time Officers Top 3 Moments of RAG Week Getting Festive with Guide Dogs “We’re NOT just the snowflake generation” A recap of the People’s Vote March 09 Grab your boobs, check your pecs! Uniboob raise awareness of breast cancer across campus.
CLUB & SOCIETY NEWS 15-23 16 17 19 20 20 21 21 22 23 23
Loco Show Co. Showcasing societies at Worcester A day in the life of a hockey player Ultimate Frisbee Worcester Handball Fencing Swimming RAG Fundraisers - Saints RAG Top Fundraisers RAG Fundraisers - Netball
MISC.
04-05 What are you most looking forward to in 2019? 24 My time at Summer Camp 25 Speaking on BBC Radio 26-27 A day in the life of your VPE
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st o m u o y e r a t a h W d r a w r o l king f in 2019? What a re you forward most looking to in 20 19?
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What is the SU looking forward to? To say semester two is a busy one would be an understatement! Although Christmas has come and gone, any January blues are soon washed away with the madness of Refreshers Week, and there are so many good events being held at The Hangar to get excited about. So, see you there? In early February we’ll hold our first ever Change Week, a week-long event to gather student ideas and opinions about student life here at Worcester. Soon after that we’ve got our elections, in which you decide who’ll be leading the SU in the next academic year. Before we know it we’ll be in the midst of Varsity, our annual competition with the University of Gloucestershire. #RatherBeASauce Come May, all of this (and more) will culminate into one big celebration at the Union Awards and Colours Ball. We really hope this semester doesn’t go in the blink of an eye, as I’m sure lots of you do too. Remember, you can find out more information about all our events over at www.worcsu.com/whatson. 5
So much happened last semester. The new Part Time Officers were elected, you raised nearly ÂŁ2000 during RAG Week and a coach load of you attended the largest national demonstration since the Iraq War. Read more about our amazing Autumn semester over the next couple of pages. #TeamWorc
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MEET YOUR PART TIME OFFICERS
Part-Time Officers work with the Students' Union to empower students and deliver change across the University. They ensure that all student groups are represented and supported here at Worcester. Meet James, Shannon and Hannah, just a few of your new Part Time Officers for the 2018-19 academic year.
James Gould LGBT+ Officer
Hi, I'm James, I am a second year Ecology and Environmental Science student and I am also the chair of the LGBTQ+ society. When I'm not in a meeting or trying to do my assignments in Peirson, you can usually catch me at karaoke on a Friday night. As the LGBT+ Officer, one of my main focuses is creating a safe and inclusive community for all students regardless of their identity.
Sha on Bol n Sustainabil Officer
Hi, I’m Shannon and I’m a final year Animal Biology student. As the elected Sustainability Officer one of the main things I want to achieve is significantly reducing the amount of single use plastic within the University. Through ‘The Last Straw’ campaign I aim to replace plastic with more sustainable alternatives. Let’s continue to bring visability to sustainability.
Ha ah Barne BAME Officer
Hiya, my name is Hannah and I am your BAME officer. I am a returning first year student to the university and I am studying Counselling Psychology. My aim is to raise awareness about BAME issues and offer a platform for BAME students to be listened to and heard on. In doing this I hope that BAME students within the university can feel more comfortable whilst studying at the University of Worcester! #HanWithAPlan
To find out more about ALL of your Part Time Officers, and how you can get in touch with them, visit www.worcsu.com/yourvoice 7
RAG WEEK’s TOP 3 MOMENTS £1855 raised during RAG W k!
RAG Week is the SU’s annual week of dedicated fundraising. All the efforts of the RAG committee, as well as many students here at the University of Worcester, go into raising as much money for our focused charity of the year, which this year is the West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC). Thank you to everyone who joined in with the fun, donated some money and helped us raise awareness for some worthy causes. Keep reading for our top 3 moments of RAG Week 2018…
ar Quiz 3. Taking over e Hang With some fine hosting from your very own VPSA.
2. Dance’s ‘ pa on’ at n Birmingham Ne w Str t S o
The girls raised over £900 for Children In Need.
1. Where’s Way Take over
At number 1 is the # Wo r c e s t e r We d n e s d a y Where’s Wally special at Tramps. Did you manage to find Harrison and Euan and grab a quick selfie?
To find out how you can get involved with RAG, visit www.worcsu.com/ volunteer/rag 8
Ge ing FestiveGS DO WITH THE GUIDE
Tea Dance
This year we introduced our first ever Festive Fortnight. With the aim of getting Worcester students in the Christmas spirit, as well as enthusiastic about volunteering, Festive Fortnight provided the perfect mixture of fun and enlightenment when it comes to volunteering through the SU or with the local community. We micro-volunteered by making Christmas cards for the Children’s Ward, had volunteers wrap Christmas presents at Worcester Foodbank, fussed a lot of cute guide dogs in training and held our inaugural tea dance with members of the local community, helped very kindly by over 30 student volunteers.
If you want to find out more about the volunteering opportunities available to you, visit www.worcsu.com/volunteer
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st u j T O N e r “ We’
e k a fl w o n s e
” n o a r e n e g
Students, and general, tend to cal world, we uninterested or cratic process.
fton By Jemma Bu indeed young people in be overlooked in the politiare often seen as being unimportant to the demo
However, it is clear to see that students are becoming more and more politically engaged, particularly in the wake of Brexit. The decisions made in Parliament affect us all, and it is the younger generations who will live with the consequences of such decisions for the longest. The People’s vote campaign is a great example of young people getting involved in politics and coming together to campaign for the right to a people’s vote on the final Brexit deal. Here at the University of Worcester, we were lucky enough to join thousands of other students across the country, to lead the Peoples Vote March in London. Coachloads of people from all walks of life flooded the streets to demand that their voices be heard, it was a breath-taking display of humanity, unity and tolerance. Critics have described the march as undemocratic and portrayed it as the ‘snowflake’ generation throwing their ‘toys out of the pram.’ However, the sheer numbers, and wide range of ages of those who attended have proved that this is not the case. Democracy at its simplest form allows people to advocate for change and express their opinions, especially, and most importantly in cases where the facts have lacked the necessary transparency required to make an informed vote.
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People’s V e By Euan Mor rison
On Thursday 27 September, Student Council approved a motion for the SU to support the campaign for a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal, and called on our students to unite with the rest of the student movement, led by the National Union of Students (NUS) and For Our Futures Sake on Saturday 20 October in London for the People's Vote March. On the day of the march, the SU sent a bus load of students down to London to join over 700,000 others in calling for a People’s Vote. It was a fantastic event to be a part of and students who attended enjoyed the opportunity to have their voices heard on how the Brexit process has gone. The work however didn’t stop there. Following this the big focus for us at the SU was to encourage as many students as possible to write to their MP’s expressing their support for a People’s Vote. Throughout November
we were out and about on campus telling them more about the campaign, showing students how they could write to their MP’s as well as inviting them to take part in our Brexitometer. Well over a hundred letters were written to MP’s in the region by our students as a result of these. We have also been involved in some of the national campaign work alongside For Our Futures Sake and the official People’s Vote Campaign. This work has included Worcester Students’ Union hosting the official People’s Vote Campaign Instagram account for a takeover and myself attending a photoshoot at Rankin Studios in London with some of the other young campaigners. At the time of writing, we’re not sure what the future holds for Brexit, but we’re confident that student campaigning over the last few months has had a significant impact on the People’s Vote campaign.
Head over to our YouTube channel to watch Euan’s Officer Vlog from the People’s Vote march. 11
Grab your b bs, Check your pecs! By Freya Hamer
The Worcester Uni Boob Team spread the boob love across the University of Worcester for #BreastCancerAwareness Month. The Uni Boob Team represents CoppaFeel!, a national breast cancer awareness charity that aims to educate and promote the importance of checking your boobs regularly amongst young people . The team has been hijacking the university by dropping in on training sessions and society meetings. Sports and society members swapped their usual kit for pink t-shirts and a giant boob costume in the spirit of raising awareness for early breast cancer detection. The Uni Boob Teams chairperson Freya Hamer said, "This month has been super successful in targeting a large amount of guys, gals, and
non-binary pals to promote checking your breasts and pecs in order to get to know what is normal for you”. Uni Boob volunteers visited over 20 of the University’s clubs and societies. Our team also hit a milestone by becoming third across the UK for their fundraising effects. The team also encouraged students to sign up to CoppaFeel!, a free text service which sends monthly reminders to check your boobs and pecs. Other fundraising events throughout October have seen the team partnering with local businesses for an online raffle which raised £215 and a bonus boob round in The Hangar quiz night.
Text UBTWORC 70500
for fr mon ly reminders check your chesticles.
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Stay Connected
Follow @the_hangar_ on Instagram 13
REFRESHERS events 21 s t - 25 t h jan
mon 21
st
mon 21
st
tues 22
nd
tues 22
nd
housing fair the hangar 10am - 3pm
karaoke the hangar 8PM - 12.30AM
refreshers fair the hangar 11AM - 3PM
quiz night the hangar 9PM - 12AM
B worcestersu A WorcesterSU
www.worcsu.com
wed 23
rd
worcester wednesday smurfs fancy dress the hangar/tramps 6PM - Late
thurs
vintage clothes fair
24 th
the hangar 10am - 4pm
thurs
Live Music
24 th
the hangar 7pm - 12AM
fri
peaky blinders pie & pint night
25 th
the hangar 8pm - 3am
The next few pages are dedicated to recognising the hard work and achievements of societies here at Worcester. From charity fundraising to community work to putting on pantomimes, it has certainly been a busy second semester for these students.
#TeamWorc
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Loco Show Co. Society News
By Meg Trinder
In our very first meeting, the Loco committee decided to set some objectives that we would aim to meet over the next academic year. At the top of that list was to be more charitable. As a society we voted for a ‘charity of the semester’, who we would fundraise for as often as we could, and the winner was Starlight Children’s Foundation. Starlight is an organisation that provides wishes and entertainment to terminally ill children in hospitals and hospices across the UK, and we couldn’t wait to start raising money! Our Chairperson, Meg, came up with the idea to spread some Christmas cheer in the local community by Christmas carolling at the Worcester Victorian Fayre and Christmas Markets. Our ever enthusiastic members jumped at the opportunity to get involved!
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After a busy day of weekend rehearsals we headed down to Cathedral Square for our 19:15 performance slot on the main stage. Kitted out in our finest Christmas jumpers, festive head bands and covered in glitter, we sang our hearts out to some seasonal classics. These ranged from classic carols to everyone’s favourite contemporary numbers. There was a great audience turn out who clapped, sang along to our set and emptied their pockets into our collection buckets. We are thrilled to have made over £100 from this event which will be added to our previous fundraising total.
Showcasing socie es
at Worcester
Society News
Last semester, your VP Student Activities held the SU’s first ever ‘Societies Week’. The aim was to shine a light on the huge variety of societies on offer here at the University of Worcester, and just what it means to their members to be part of one. We attended 15 society sessions over the week and spoke to many more. Here’s what they had to say…
What does your society mean you? “I commute so it’s quite nice for me to have a social aspect that doesn’t just involve going to university lectures. I like being able to talk to people with the same interests as me, but who are also from very different backgrounds” – Izzy, History Society
“It’s community and it’s friends. It’s a bunch of people who you have something in common with, whether it’s coming out to your parents or feeling slightly excluded. It’s those people who can really connect with you” – James, LGBTQ+ Society “We think it’s important as a society to get to know the different year groups. We’re third years now and haven’t been able to get to know the other year groups, so by doing the study days and the socials, we get to all come together and share our experiences and just have some fun as well” – Cai, Midwifery Society
How has being part of a society enhanced your Univers experience? “I think it’s enhanced my university experience by learning some key parts of being a Chair of the society and I think it’s great to put on your CV.”
“It’s just being able to go into a welcoming environment and find people who like the same things as you”
“Without getting too deep, I don’t think I’d be at University if it wasn’t for Loco. It gave me something else to focus on instead of stressing that I’ve got 700 assignments. It’s like OK, I can do them but also I’ve got something positive to focus on, I’ve got a show to do.”
If you want to find out more about all of societies here at the Students’ Union, visit www.worcsu.com/sports_activities 17
We all know how much sport is a part of student life here at the University of Worcester, and these next few pages demonstrate just that. From the success of our BUCS teams to attending the Commonwealth Games in Australia, these are just a few examples of the ‘Worc Hard, Play Hard’ attitude here at Worcester Students’ Union
#TeamWorc
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A force be reckoned w h…
A day in e life of a hockey player
At 6am on a Monday morning, as many students are sleeping off their heavy weekends, the University of Worcester Women’s Hockey Team are snoozing their alarms, dragging themselves out of bed and finding their running shoes. Grabbing their Nutella toast on their way out, they make their way to the pitch, to be greeted by an overly cheery coach and some scary looking fitness drills. If not still half asleep, they power through an hour of heavy fitness, usually containing a combination of agility, sprints and endurance, occasionally ending in the reappearance of the Nutella toast. As a reward for their hard work, they head to the canteen for a healthy, nutritious breakfast, containing all the important food groups: hash browns, bacon and beans. Now prepared and ready for the day ahead, the team make their way to various work commitments and lectures… or crawl back to bed for an all-day nap and Netflix.
By Ellie Summers
Club News
It’s at this time of the day that the ladies single-handedly take over massage clinic and even Anush, the sports therapist, sets up his own ‘fix the hockey team’ project at the back of the room. This is a crucial hour for the heavily injured team, although for many it’s a great procrastination technique and cheaper than a spa day. At 6:45pm, the ladies are back. Raring to go and joined by their formidable 2nd team, they warm up and prepare to take on the men, while the Seconds work on climbing even further up the league table. This weekly battle of the sexes keeps the men on their toes and is another hefty workout for the women. Afterwards, the team work on their own game play, skills and tactics until 9:30pm. It’s a long and tiring day for the club, but every hour they put in, they get out on the pitch. It’s this team work, drive and determination that make the University of Worcester Hockey Club a force to be reckoned with.
19 19
Ul mate Frisb
Club News
amWorc! Compe on su e for #Te By Peter Evans
The Men's outdoor BUCS team is also going from strength to strength. Starting the season with the biggest win streak in our history with 8 wins and 0 losses, with those wins coming against formidable opponents like Warwick and Loughborough. This places us top of the league going into Christmas and in the semi-final of the Midlands Cup where we will welcome the University of East Anglia in February.
This season was expected to be a transition year for Ultimate Frisbee, with only five returning members from 2016/17. However, our participation is soaring and our teams are flourishing on the competitive scene! The team have travelled out to Walsall and Swansea to compete in tournaments against 20+ other university teams. Frisbee newcomers Bethan Young and Owen Thomas took home MVP for Mixed Indoor Regionals and Men's Indoor Regionals respectively, with excellent energy and vital points scored for Worcester. The team also managed to receive 2nd place in Men's and 4th place in Mixed Regionals for 'Spirit'. This is a system used in Ultimate Frisbee where your team is scored on fair-mindedness, a positive attitude, and integrity during the game. This shows how well Worcester represented the University and received the respect of other teams.
We hope to end the academic year strong by empowering all our members to have fun and learn new skills in training. Moreover, we have been planning charity events and hope to collaborate with other societies to raise money come 2019. F University of Worcester If you'd like to join us during Ultimate Frisbee Club the second semester, follow @uowultimate our social media and drop us a message.
Handba
L @UltimateWorc
By Saraella Kekkonen & Olivia Dowell
On 24th and 25th of November, both Worcester Handball’s Men’s and Women’s teams travelled to Birmingham for the first qualification round (Midlands) of the University Championships. The newly built Men’s team, with a mixture of experienced players and newcomers, showed great strength over the weekend as they won games against Warwick 2’s (18-13) and Birmingham 3’s (18-3). The team did, however, face close losses on Saturday against Birmingham 1’s (13-16) and on Sunday in a thrilling game against Loughborough 2’s (9-11). Altogether for the men’s team, the weekend was a good start to the season. A massive congratulations to all the men and especially to the new players who played in their first ever handball tournament. The women’s team headed to Birmingham with a fairly experienced team and took their first win of the day against Birmingham 2’s (29-1). They continued with outstanding results, winning
against Loughborough 2’s (14-5) and Nottingham 1’s (18-6). Their last game of the weekend against Warwick 1’s was fast-paced and intense, unfortunately ending in Worcester women losing with one goal (11-12). Despite the close loss, to quote our former Chairperson, “The women showed that they are a force to be reckoned with�, bringing home 10 points and currently being second in their group. Next stop in the University Championships is the second qualification round on 16th and 17th of February, where both teams wish to continue their successes and secure a place in University Championship finals. Our teams are always looking for more players. Our club is open to everyone, whether you are experienced or new to the sport!
F Worcester Handball @worcunihandball
L @worchandball 20
Fencing
Club News
Golden Girl
By Maarja Konrad
Our fencing club scholarship athlete Alexandra Davis was chosen to represent Team England at the Commonwealth Games in Australia. She fenced great in the poules getting 3 victories and 2 losses ranking 13th after the poules. Her first match in the top 32 was against a Northern Ireland fencer and Alexandra won the match with a score 15:13, which guaranteed her the place in top 16. A later tough match against another England fencer unfortunately ended her way towards the top 8 and she had to accept the loss 15:12, still finishing her competition in an admirable 13th place. On the 25th November Alexandra took part in a team competition. Team England, being ranked 1st, had a bye for the first match. In the semi-final they faced Australia, and after a tough fight they made the final hit and secured a place in the final two, ending the match with the score 45:44. The Gold medal match against Scotland was won by Team England with a score 45:29. Well done Alex!
Swimming
By Ellena Andrews A tradition we picked back up this year was the water polo training and friendly matches with the Gloucester team – they have a full Water Polo team competing at BUCS so who better to teach us the game! Meeting them for training is a brilliant way to get to know their team and gives us some variation from training for the whole team. Who knew that treading water and being tackled underwater could be so tiring?!
The Swim Team has had a very busy first Semester back at University, and we’re diving back into all the activities coming up this year. Our year started with the excitement of new members and getting to know everybody in and out of the pool. We now have one of the biggest teams the Swim Team has ever had. For the competitive aspect of the team, we had four members competing at Short Course BUCS at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge Pool over a weekend in November with great successes. Kayleigh Venables, Hannah Stewart, Jack O’Connell and Jessica Banks competed in a variety of events, with Kayleigh gaining personal bests in all of her races and joining the sub-30 club for her 50m freestyle. We’re looking forward to the Long Course BUCS coming up in 2019.
F Worcester Uni Swim Team 2018-19 @uniworcswim
L @WorcSwim
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RAG Fundraisers Saints Dance Society By Abbie Simms On Sunday 18th November, 17 Saints tap dancers took to the main concourse of Birmingham New Street Station for the 2018 Tapathon to raise money for Children in Need. For this event, around 7,500 dancers across the nation put on their tap shoes and learnt the same dance, which was performed at the same time. The dance was taught, learnt and polished in just 6 weeks, alongside the massive amounts of organisation that went into making this event possible. We even managed to get some media coverage of the event! We took a trip to BBC Hereford and Worcester Radio where we promoted the Tapathon on the breakfast show and our event also featured in two local newspapers. We really went the extra mile to raise as much money as we could for charity, as we found out that we were the only dancers in the country who tapped outside of the dance studio.
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When we began the organisation of this event, we set a target of raising ÂŁ500. However, one week after the event and our fundraising total stands at an amazing ÂŁ950 for Children in Need! Thanks to the amazing dedication and hard work that the Saints tappers showed - we did it! On behalf of the Saints, I would like to say a huge thank you to Sophie Merrill (Vice-Chair and Tap Captain) for organising this fantastic event. Another thank you must go to the Students' Union who have supported us throughout the organisation, and came along to support on the day. Finally, to everyone who has donated to this amazing cause, this money will change the lives of so many children.
Top fundraisers is year: Men’s Hockey for No Shave November – raised £400 for the Movember Charity Women’s Hockey Worcester 10K – raised £600 for Ronald McDonald Charities Climbing and Mountaineering ‘Everest in a day’ challenge – raised £353.86 for Malvern Special Families and West Mercia Search & Rescue
Tabletop Worcester ‘Tales of the Twelfth Hour’ – raised £1806.75 for Cancer Research UK
Men’s Rugby and Men’s Cricket joint Movember attempt – raised £1420.67 for Movember charity
Residential Life Team Cake Sale – raised £139 for Children In Need
There has been so much brilliant fundraising over the last semester – too much to fit all on this page! Well done to every single club, society or individual who has fundraised this year. You’re all amazing! See a full breakdown here: www.worcsu.com/volunteer/ rag/fundraisingtotal/ Or make sure you like RAG on Facebook to keep up to date with all your amazing fundraising
Sam Muirhead charity boxing event – raised £350 for Cancer Research
Education Enhancement at their ‘Adverse Life Experiences Conference’ – raised £600 for Acorns Children’s Hospice, Papyrus, Rainbows Children’s Hospice and Longlands Care Farm
Geography Society Toilet Twinning – raised £80 for Toilet Twinning Midwifery Infant Loss Study Day – raised £164.36 for the Bereavement Suite
RAG Fundraisers
Netba
On November 20th 2018, UWNetball took over quiz night, over 50 students came together to raise money for the Student Unions RAG chosen charity of the year, the West Mercia Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre, through a Bingo night. The Whole committee got the behind the event with the support of local businesses who donated generously towards prizes.
The event saw an array of societies and sports clubs come together to help raise funds for such a worthy cause. It was incredible to see the effort of those who had attended the event to make it such a successful turnout, we’re looking to run the event annually as it was such a success! A total of £194.00 was raised for the charity. We would like to take the opportunity to thank all of those who took part on the night, donated and helped organise the event.
By Leah Jackson 23
My me at By Ben Walsh
Summer Camp
Last summer I had an amazing experience working at a children’s summer camp in America. My role was as a “general counsellor”, which means that I taught different activities and was also responsible for my cabin, which usually consisted of about 10 children. It was an absolutely incredible experience and one that I will never forget.
there overnight for a number of weeks without returning home. This made me responsible for my cabin 24/7 which was, at times, extremely tiring but also a highly rewarding experience. It’s surprising how attached you get to the kids as they all look up to you as a respectable and authoritative figure.
I began work there in late June. The first week was a staff orientation week in which all of the staff got to know each other, whilst also being trained and qualified to teach the different activities that we were hired for.
It wasn't a mandatory part of the programme, but two months down the line, when my contract had finished at camp, I went on an unforgettable trip across America. Using my wages saved up from camp I travelled to New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco and met some incredible people along the way!
I was responsible for teaching/supervising the following activities: tennis, climbing, high ropes courses, boating, quad biking and just about every kind of field sport. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it was particularly rewarding to see the children progress from the start of their camp experience to the end and their skills significantly improve during that period. The camp I worked at was a sleep-away camp, which meant that the children stayed
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I strongly advise students in my position to consider working for a summer camp just like I did. You meet so many amazing people, not to mention it looks fantastic on a C.V (particularly for those that are hoping for a career working with children). If you are interested in having an incredible summer, now is the time to apply!
Speaking on By Kaya Tveito-Duncan
BBC Radio...
On Thursday 29th November I was invited to the BBC studios in Worcester. There I met with a panel of two other students from different universities and at different stages within their studies. One was in the middle of completing a Masters, whilst another person was in the last year of their undergraduate degree. What connected all three of us was that we all have some type of disability. The three of us were all asked the same questions and we had to say what our experience was like at university for a student with a disability. The area which we all agreed on was by far the most negative was everyone’s experience with the DSA (Disabled Students’ Allowance). This
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included students’ equipment not arriving on time and delays in support from note takers. These problems caused a lot of stress for all of us as it made our lectures and daily life a lot more difficult. At the end of the day, the producer asked me if I would like to go on the radio again as he was really impressed with how I came across. I was a little bit nervous at the beginning. However, once I had settled and we all started to speak to each other, I started to feel a lot more at ease. It was great to be able to share my ideas and discuss them with other individuals on a platform such as the BBC, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
Upcoming Elec ons
ur VPE A day in e life of Euan, yo
A day in the life of a Vice President Education? Well, first things first, I don’t think there is necessarily an average day when it comes to this role! I genuinely think I will be hard pressed to ever find myself in a job with such a variety of responsibilities. The VPE job probably isn’t for everyone. It’s not the most glamorous and because of the nature of the role, a lot of the work goes unnoticed. It is, however, the most interesting thing I have done to date. The easiest explanation of what I do is that I am the lead representative for students on academic matters at the University. In a nutshell when I go to meetings, have discussions with staff and send emails, I am
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there to provide what the student opinion would be on that topic. This means I get to be at the heart of discussions as to how students are taught, their experience and what rules they follow. For these reasons it’s really important that I have an active and effective group of School and Course Reps and I regularly look to engage them in these discussions and seek their feedback with the positives and negatives of their experience. Many of these then require me to go back and ask questions, find out more information and even negotiate a resolution with the University.
On top of this, two of the other big responsibilities I have is as a Trustee of the Students Union and as a Governor of the University. This means that I have a seat at the top meeting in each of the two organisations. I have the opportunity to provide the student voice on any of the major plans that the University has at the Board of Governors. I also play a part in ensuring that as a charity, the SU is running effectively and responsibly for you guys. I have really enjoyed this aspect of the role as it puts me at the heart of the decision making process and over the last two years I have seen a lot happen. All of these parts of the role combine with the other stuff, like standing in a toga costume outside Tramps in 3°C temperatures, whilst raising money for RAG, attending national conferences with NUS or helping with the planning of Welcome Week. Every day is different and I love that! I am, of course, now battling the clock in terms of how long I can stay in the job for. Unfortunately I cannot run for office a third time and will have to leave the SU come June this year. It’s a role I have thoroughly enjoyed and one I would highly recommend as a fantastic career move straight out of Uni. Perhaps you are already interested or want to know a bit more? With my role up for grabs in the upcoming March elections, be sure to look out for more information or visit the website here: www.worcsu.com/elections
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Worcester Students’ Union Henwick Grove St John’s Worcester, WR2 6AJ www.worcsu.com