1st December 2009

Since I last blogged (of which I apologise for being a while ago), SO much stuff has happened that I’m rapidly trying to remember everything! So…

Last week I went to Eastern Connecticut State University to the Association of College Unions International Region 1 Conference with an International delegation which included our General Manager as well as many other Sabbatical Officers and staff from across the UK and Ireland. ACUI Region 1 is built up of Students’ Unions from across New England in the United States, the UK, Ireland and France, and the sole aim of my being there, was to publicize and ‘sell’ the forthcoming AMSU National Conference which is taking place at Royal Holloway next June 2010. AMSU stands for the Association for Managers of Students’ Unions, and is considered the UK’s sister organization to ACUI. My job was to encourage an American delegation to attend next year’s conference in the same way that we attended there’s: thus this was termed ‘A Cultural Exchange’, and we had a huge amount of interest and enthusiasm. As part of the international package next year, delegates will get to visit Bath University, Bath Spa University, Oxford Brookes University, University of Oxford, and of course, Royal Holloway, as well as spend free time in London and Bath before attending the four-day conference. It is an amazing opportunity to exhibit exactly how Students’ Unions operate in the UK as well as the cultural context in which we find ourselves, and the opportunity was greeted with much eagerness.

However, publicizing the AMSU Conference was not the only part of the trip, as we also visited Boston University, Curry College, Southern Connecticut State University, drove through Yale University and stayed at the University of Connecticut. All visits involved tours around their respective ‘Student Centers’, and there was a huge amount of sharing of best practice. The differences are naturally huge: many of their organizations aren’t student-led, most Student Centers house all College dining and retail facilities under one roof, the focus on sporting opportunities is enormous, and many Centers don’t focus on educational or welfare support at all. However, I came away with some fantastic ideas which can be very quickly implemented into our own Students’ Union here, so watch this space…!Are we The Age of Stupid? saw the Windsor Building transformed into an abundant colour of green, as the Students’ Union hosted the launch of one of our main campaigns for the year: our involvement in the national initiative known as 10:10. Thousands of individuals, organizations, businesses and educational bodies are joining together behind one simple idea: a 10% cut in carbon emissions in 2010, and just under 400 students, College staff and local community residents joined together on the evening of Tuesday 24^{th November 2009 to see just what it’s all about. The hugely successful launch was focused around a screening of ‘The Age of Stupid’ directed by 10:10 founder, Fanny Armstrong, and starring Pete Posthelthwaite living alone in the devastated world of 2055, asking ‘Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?’. This powerful drama-documentary was followed by speeches from Susan Nash, Vice President (Society and Citizenship) of NUS and Andy Hix from the Student Switch Off who informed all in attendance that this is not an unachievable aim, and offered information on ways in which everyone can contribute to the target. As everyone progressed into the Windsor Building Foyer, information stands from Greenpeace, Student Switch Off, People and Planet, Amnesty International, Stop Climate Chaos Coalition and RHUL’s Centre for Research Into Sustainability were displayed, as attendees enjoyed a drinks reception. This was a fantastic event and a real highlight of the year so far for the Students’ Union – thank you to all who supported and/or contributed to this achievement in any way.}

A review of Regulation F: Disciplinary Regulations was passed at the last General Meeting, which means that a totally new Regulation F is now being implemented. This focuses on less Sabbatical involvement in minor disciplinary cases, and also clarifies points surrounding initiations, disciplinary administration, the Appeals procedure, typical disciplinary procedure timescales and disciplinary decisions made in absentia. The Regulation is now succinct and concise, and is in-keeping with the demands of the institution’s ever-changing student population and a constantly varying culture and society. If anyone whishes to see the new Regulation then please do e-mail me – it will be uploaded onto the website soon.

The University Challenge 2010 Royal Holloway trials took place on Monday 16th November 2010, and congratulations to the following students who will be representing RHUL!: Robin Harris (Team Captain) (English, Year 3), James Beaumont Furniss (English and Classical Studies, Year 2), Huw Simmons (English, Year 2), Oliver Kerr (Ecology and Environment, Year 3) and Anthony Cutler (Reserve) (French and Italian, Year 4). Congratulations to the team and thank you to all who took part!

As well as all of those major projects taking place, here’s a few of the other things that I’ve been doing:

That’s it folks – I promise to blog again before Christmas!