We’ve had a lovely week (with beautiful sunshine!) in which RUSU, Community Reps and staff at the University have been walking the streets of Reading, collecting your bags of second hand bits to go to the Charity Shop for the British Heart Foundation. They’ve already collected about 60 BIG bags of clothes, CDs, books – whatever people wanted to get rid of and they’ll still be collecting today. So a massive thank you to all the volunteers who helped collect them and all those students who gave away some of their belongings!

Are you around next year? Want to get involved in Freshers’ Week? Megan is still recruiting Freshers’ Angels who will volunteer throughout Freshers’ Week making sure that Freshers aren’t too confused – it’s a great opportunity to meet new people so give Megan an email on vp.welfareandrepresentation@rusu.co.uk for an information pack!

As it’s Week 10, you’ve probably already realised that this is the last blog of the term, which means it’s our last blog EVER. We’ve had a fantastic year as a team, working hard to ensure that RUSU is the best Students’ Union it can be – we hope that whichever way you’ve been involved in RUSU this year, a society, sports club, campaigning, part of the liberation or representation groups or even that you just enjoy the odd Wednesday night at 3sixty – that you’ve loved it as much as we have!

Next year’s team will be starting next year, and they’re going to be excellent!  Should you need to contact them the email addresses are changing slightly, so you can get hold of them on:

vp.studentactivities@rusu.co.uk

vp.academicaffairs@rusu.co.uk

president@rusu.co.uk

vp.democracyandcampaigns@rusu.co.uk

vp.welfareandrepresentation@rusu.co.uk

Want to more about who will be in the Student Officer team next year? You can find out more about them here on the website  

Right that’s all from us! Hope you all have a lovely summer and to those who graduate this year, all the best!

Sinead, Tommy, Anna, Megan and Emily x x x

It has been an amazing year so I would like to say                             

                                    THANK YOU

It is the students that make the Students’ Union the amazing place it is to work, play, volunteer, drink and belong to!

So with our year drawing to an end that also means that your time in your current house will be too…please make sure you leave it nice a tidy.

We will be collecting the British Heart Foundation Charity bags that were dropped off a couple of weeks ago this next week so check the table below to see when we will be visiting your road. For those who did not have a bag delivered there are lots of local shops on Wokingham road and in town so there is no excuse to throw out anything that could be reused!

What did you think of the Summer Ball? I hope you enjoyed it but do you think we could make it even better next year…if so come along to a meeting next Wednesday 11-12 where we will be discussing next year’s plans for all our services including Mojos, Mondial and 3sixty.

Last week we had Student Voice where we have 5 exciting policies proposed, you have been voting in your hundreds…yes hundreds and the results are as followed…

No Platform motion… became policy!
Gender Equality Motion… became policy!
NUS Delegate Election Motion… became policy!
RUSU Media motion…became policy!
and, finally,
Build an army worthy of Mordor Motion………fell and is not policy. 

TO find out more about these policies and what they mean for your Students Union check out this link which has links to videos of all the policy proposals and lots more information.

http://www.rusu.co.uk/home/Campaigns/SpeakUp/StudentVoiceSpeak.aspx

So thank you again for an amazing year, I hope you all enjoy your summers..and I leave you in the mosre than capable hands of next years team!!

Love Anna, Emily, Sinead, Tommy and Megan xx

I can’t believe it’s summer ball TONIGHT!! I am soo very excited especially for the bumper cars.

Anyhow now onto more official updating business. Over the last week Emily, Megan, Anna and some keen student volunteers have been knocking on your door and presenting you with little ‘moving out’ packages to assist you with cleaning up when you leave for the summer. If you haven’t heard us knock why not run to your door and see if theres a package with your letters….. for more information about these packs email Emily (e.bell@reading.ac.uk)

Also this week we held our final Student Voice with some very interesting motions put forward – check them out on the RU:ON website as it was all filmed and then make your vote count by following the link below:

 http://www.rusu.co.uk/home/Campaigns/SpeakUp/StudentVoiceSpeak.aspx

Coming up -

Thursday next week come along to Greenfields Festival around the back of Mojo’s for music, bouncy castle, ice-cream, henna and more from 1pm 

Wednesday of Week 10 is going to be our last Services and Entertainments Forum with some very new ideas coming to pass we need your imput on what student’s want from RUSU’s comercial outlets.

Sorry this is only a short blog entry but i’m needing to go into town and get some bits and bobs for the ball – whoooooop!!

‘She’s so lovely, she’s so lovely… la la la la’

Over and Out,

Megan, Anna, Emily, Sinead and Tommy xx

Now that exams are over, I hope that you’re all feeling less stressed out and that you’re not worried about the results! Remember that we do have the amazing advice service  here in the hub of RUSU, so if you have concerns about your grades and how that will affect next year, financial worries or concerns about your visa please make sure that you pop in and use this free service especially for our students!

There’s loads of stuff still going on within the Union and the University; this week alone has seen the Hockey 6’s and Footy 5’s proving as popular as ever. Still to come though are two new summer socials, a Mixed Netball tournament this Sunday, Tennis tournament next Wednesday and Cricket on Thursday so make sure you get a team together and get involved and contact John at j.obrien@reading.ac.uk!

This week Megan organised a Summer Discussion evening with Reading Council for Racial Equality based on much more than just racial issues, it covered (amongst other things) the new Government’s plans for independent schools and the impact these could have leading us to then discuss faith schools. It was a really thought provoking evening, and if you weren’t able to attend and would like to find out more have a look at their website or maybe attend their AGM which is coming on Wednesday 28^th July at 6.30pm at Reading Civic Centre.

Are you able to help with the big SSHH clean up of the community before students move out of their houses? NEXT WEEK you would be delivering moving out essentials to targeted streets that have the most students living on them and in week 10 we will be collecting bags and giving the unwanted items a new home! As a thank you, you will be rewarded with a certificate for your efforts which will look great with your CV! If you’d like to spend some quality time with the Student Officers who will also be walking the street s in the name of improving the community, give Emily an email on e.bell@reading.ac.uk to find out when and where you might like to come along!

Next week we have our final Student Voice, OUR LAST ONE. We’ll be going through what we have achieved over the past year and answering your questions. We’ll also be voting on motions to be passed; motions that RUSU currently have are the ban against nestle products and the no platform policy. So if you want to have an impact on the way that RUSU is run make sure that you come along! Free Pizza too!

Once you’ve got over the excitement of Student Voice, it’s the SUMMER BALL this Friday! I’m so excited! So get your dresses and tuxes at the ready, and come and spend a night at the Union with Scouting for Girls, Scratch Perverts and my personal favourite – Wheatus…. With the World Cup football on the next day in Mojos, you could potentially spend the majority of a 24hr period in RUSU.

Keen? See you there!

Love Sinead, Tommy, Emily, Megan and Anna x x x x x

This week we had the Student Community Awards for those students who have put huge amounts of time and effort into projects which really made a difference to our local community and our Chancellor presented these amazing volunteers with their prestigious awards. We’d like to say a massive thank you to all those nominated.

At RUSU we’ve still got loads of things to get involved in if you find you’re twiddling your thumbs and here’s just a little taster…

Reading Council for Racial Equality Summer Discussion

Exams finished? Need a night off? Need to focus on a different topic?  Well why not come along to our summer discussion evening. Tuesday 1^st June at 7pm there will be a summer evening discussion in the RUSU Boardroom lead by Reading Council for Racial Equality Director Rajinder Sophal.

Possible topics:  ‘Freedom of Expression – when is it right to ban or not to ban an organisation’ or ‘The creeping growth of hate’

Freshers’ Angels

We’re nearing to the end of term now (well a while off yet actually!) But if you’ve had a fantastic year and want to make sure that the new Fresher’s arriving in October feel the same why not become a Freshers’ Angel next year? A Fresher’s Angel is someone who acts as a visual signpost and helper during freshers’ fortnight – “great experience, great friends and just generally a lot of fun” – past freshers’ Angel Oct 09. Please contact m.pennyfather@reading.ac.uk to get involved.

Silent Students Happy Homes – community volunteers needed!

Are you able to help with the big SSHH clean up of the community before students move out of their houses? In week 8 you would be delivering moving out essentials to targeted streets that have the most students living on them and in week 10 we will be collecting bags and giving the unwanted items a new home! As a thank you, you will be rewarded with a certificate for your efforts which will look great with your CV!
If you think you could spare a couple of afternoons to keep our community a clean and happy place to live then come along to the planning meeting on Tuesday 1st June (next Tues) at 1pm in RUSU Boardroom or email e.bell@reading.ac.uk to highlight your interest.

Need to find a housemate/s?

No need to panic, there are still loads of houses on the market and make sure you get along to Megan’s Find a Housemate session at 1pm in the RUSU Boardroom (above the Hub) next Thursday if you are still looking for housemates – she has a really good success record of pairing households up!!

Website focus groups

If you want to have a say in the brand new website RUSU is getting this summer then come along to one of our focus groups – book onto one here: to www.rusu.co.uk/ruready  

Not only will you be able to input into how our new website looks and works for you but you’ll also bag yourself a free lunch!

Volunteer week

Next week is National Volunteer week! So Anna thought she would take this opportunity to tell you about just some of the exciting volunteer opportunities we organise at RUSU.

If you fancy volunteering close to home we have lots of opportunities here on campus including:

RUSU’s Community Reps are student volunteers interested in making their local communiy a better place to live. RUSU Community Reps attend local community meetings, get involved in campaigns and initiatives in the community and work with local groups and residents. Training and ongoing support is provided.

http://www.rusu.co.uk/home/Get_Involved/CommunityReps.aspx

Why not volunteer with one of our Student Medias, whether it is writing in Spark*, running a radio show in Junction11 or helping with filming, producing or acting for RUON, the new TV station.

Is sport more your thing? Well we are setting up a Coaching in the Community next year giving you the opporuntity to run sports session at local primary schools and possibly gain coaching qualification. Interested? Contact John on j.obrien@reading.ac.uk

RUSU also coordinate volunteers to help with local organisations too including:

Nacro – A national charity with a very local base need willing volunteers of all ages to get involved in a variety of activities in the area. These cover working with children with disabilities, working with young offenders or those at risk of offending through sports and activities, mentoring college students to lead activity groups and leading the activity groups yourself. These are not all sports based, some can be guided walks and simple group sessions that promote well being.

Prospect Park Psychiatric hospital are recruiting volunteers, if you are interested they arecoming to campus 9th June 2-4pm so come along and chat to them.

A new and exciting opportunity is withthe Berkshire Healthcare trust who are also recruiting if people have an interest in Mental Health issues and would like to help organise/run events. Forms downstairs (you gave me these )

Another new opportunity is with the organisation called Spark SPARK Educare Learning Centre is a Community Interest Company (C.I.C) based on the Oxford Road, West Reading. The Learning Centre provides one-to-one teaching during term time (9 am to 3 pm) tosupport pupils who are struggling with mainstream education – particularly focusing on excluded pupils.

Their focus is on enabling young people to reach their full potential, to gain core qualifications and expand their employment and further education opportunities. We support 5-19 year olds in all CORE curriculum subjects from Key stage 1 to A/Level, as well as engaging with them to promote and improve their social and emotional wellbeing, confidence and educational attainment and ‘fun’ activities including art, dance, canoeing, and cooking.

So if any of these have taken your fancy get in contact with Adam Bailey on adam.bailey@reading.ac.uk

Hope that exams aren’t stressing you out too much and that those of you who have finished are enjoying your partying! No one is a machine though, so please make sure to take time out in this stressful period to relax with RUSU says Relax, make sure you make the most of what’s on offer!

We’ve been lucky enough to be visiting the halls again this week, talking to students about living in the private rented sector and how to manage their finances. If you haven’t found a housemate yet, or you’ve decided to stay in reading for another year there are still LOADS of houses available. Have a look on the University Accommodation  website to find a house and come along to the final ‘Find a housemate session’ – On Wednesday 26^th May – at 2pm in the LOUNGE meeting room 1! (f you are unsure where to go then go to the Hub reception.)

RUSU WEBSITE! You love it. I love it. Who doesn’t love the RUSU website? Well, if that’s you why not come along to the Website focus groups and feed into what will be our brand new shining website next year? Whether you have experience in computing, design, or just want to make sure that you can get to the events page in one click – please either fill in the surveyor sign up to a focus group  and feed in your thoughts!

Loads of you have come forward to be an Ed Rep, which is brilliant news! Want to know who to vote for? Well loads of facebook groups have already gone up, but to have a look at the candidates keep an eye on the Ed Reps page on the Website .

We’re nearing to the end of term now (well a while off yet actually!) But if you’ve had a fantastic year and want to make sure that the new Fresher’s arriving in October feel the same why not become a Freshers’ Angel next year? A Fresher’s Angel is someone who acts as a visual signpost and helper during freshers’ fortnight – “great experience, great friends and just generally a lot of fun” – past freshers’ angel Oct 09.  Please contact m.pennyfather@reading.ac.uk  to get involved!

Chiddy Bang is on this Monday 24th too! Chiddy Bang is ‘of the brightest hip hop groups around. They combine a unique mix of electronica, rap, and hip for one of the greatest sounds out today.’ Make sure you get your ticket from the box office and fine out more about the act here.

Also if you’ve finished your exams this week, then we may well see you at the Union on Saturday. 3sixty is back to opening to full capacity, so get there and make the most of it! Especially you finalists, only 10 main Union nights left to go this term – IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN dodododo…

Right that’s all from me!

Lots of RUSU love,

Sinead, Tommy, Anna, Megan and Emily x

You may have seen the cute kids posters going up around the place. Emily worked with Year 3 pupils at Redlands Primary to create some posters to gently remind all students that local residence and especially those with young children have a slightly different idea as to when bedtime is!

Emily has also been working with Megan to organise Housing Talks with the help of our wonderful Advice team and we have been going into halls each night to pass on the words of wisdom to first years who soon will be moving out into the big scary word of private housing. The sessions have been well attended and really good fun to run, not only because there was biscuit tasting.

 If you live in halls and haven’t had your talk yet no worries, we are continuing the talks throughout next week so click on the link to find out when your hall will be hosting a talk. http://www.rusu.co.uk/home/Student_Advice/MoneyDoctors/LivinginaStudentHouseWorkshops.aspx

 Back in week 2 you guys voted in your hundreds () for us to campaign for a 24 hour library! This week we had our first meeting to decide the aims of the campaign and start planning how we will win this for you, if you would like to get involved just get in touch with e.bell@reading.ac.uk or check our the link for more info, http://www.rusu.co.uk/home/Campaigns/SpeakUp/CampaignProposals.aspx

 If you are starting to think about next year and fancy getting more involved, well why not become a StAR or Ed rep. Both are superb roles giving you the chance to feed into the Univeristy feedind back on your course. For more information and an explanation of how you can apply check out this link! http://www.rusu.co.uk/home/Campaigns/Education/Ed_reps.aspx

 With the end of the year coming around quickly and that dreaded moving in/out day where all roads come to a standstill as people fill up their cars just around the corner we have started making plans to help you to get ready!

In week 8 RUSU will be providing Black bags (general waste), white bags (general recycling) and British Heart Foundation bags (things that are in good condition and can be used again or sold to make money for a good cause), as well as a moving out guide. These will be delivered to targeted streets that have the most students living on them.

In week 10 we will be collecting the British Heart Foundation bags and giving your unwanted items a new home!

If you think you could lend a hand it would be immensely appreciated by local residents and also a lot of fun! As a thank you, you will be rewarded with a certificate for your efforts which will look great with your CV!

 Dates of Activities.

Week 8 – giving out the bags

Week 10 – Collecting the British Heart Foundation bags

This will include some door-knocking, collecting and a bit of your time!

You can volunteer for any, or only one day within these weeks, timetable of collection will be confirmed shortly. If you would like to volunteer or find out more information drop an email to campaigns@reading.ac.uk

And last but by no means least the WEBSITE…RUSU is getting a whole new website but we want your input. If you have 2 minutes fill in this survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GFYYDQ7) or if you fancy getting involved in some in depth discussions join in one of our focus groups, all details can be found by looking at http://www.rusu.co.uk/home/News/EverybodysTalkin!/Focus_Group.aspx.

Much love,

Your Student Officers

What an eventful week last week – don’t know about anybody else but I’m constantly reading the headlines at the moment wondering about how our country will be governed. Big shout out to all JCR’s who rallied the troops to the nearing polling station last Thursday – I joined a few and loved the walking and debating busses. Love how many comments there were about the shock of student numbers too. Also the atmosphere in Mondial was great – felt slightly like a pantomime/football game with cheering, laughter and the occasional “Booooo”.

Anyway back to University life and how are you all? How are the assignments and exams going? Have you managed to find space to work which suits your learning needs – chatting or silence? Well why not check out posters around the Union that give you a comprehensive list of extra study spaces. RUSU have been working alongside the University to ensure that you have plenty of options check out http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/student/academic-support/stdserv-study-spaces.aspx

Or if you’re feeling you need a break and want to run away from the academic world for an hour or two, why not check out the chill-out room in the Lounge – keep an eye on http://www.rusu.co.uk/home/Campaigns/Education/RUSUSaysRelax.aspx  to find out more about how you can relax in this somewhat stressful time of the year.

For those of you in Halls we’re going to be doing some talks to help you know everything there is about moving into the community and rented accommodation. Make sure you come along and you’ll get info and freebies! J click on the link to find out when we’ll be in your halls! http://www.rusu.co.uk/home/Student_Advice/MoneyDoctors/LivinginaStudentHouseWorkshops.aspx

Finally, there is just under a week left for you to let us know about any good landlords you may have had over the duration of your study in Reading – email m.pennyfather@reading.ac.uk and receive a small form to fill out so we can award the landlords who really do go that extra mile for their tenants. If however you have not had a good experience please email Megan to let her know short stories – include pictures if possible.

And if you are feeling really keen why not fill out the survey on housing to help us work with the council to make sure that accredited landlords really are as good as they sound. http://www.nshs.co.uk/survey/

 Well whatever you do enjoy your week as best as possible and pop into the hub and find us if you have any problems or you fancy 5 mins of procrastination!

Lots of RUSU love,

Megan, Emily, Anna, Sinead and Tommy xxx

Hello students! I hope that revision is going well, that you’re finding lots of time to procrastinate productively, and you’re all enjoying this lovely bank holiday weather we’ve been having – glorious sunshine or what. I’m enjoying being able to take advantage of what is clearly the only summer we’ll have this year, although maybe I shouldn’t rub that in if you’ve all got noses to the proverbial grindstone.

Last Monday saw the successful launch of our new DemFest – an amalgamation of Student Voice and Student Feedback Forum to give you direct access to your student officers and empowering you to hold us to account much more effectively. It was a great evening; your five elected officers got some much needed critique and the event was co-chaired by Emily and Chris. Incorporated into the first half of the night was the drive to have the student-chosen campaign elected… there were so many different and absorbing campaigns to vote for this time round that I’m genuinely excited to find out the results once the online ballot closes. Watch this space! Immediately afterwards, in this marathon democratic evening, RUSU held a hustings event for all the local candidates standing to be MP for Reading East; five of the six turned up but with one noticeable exception. Students threw question after question at the candidates who answered very well and, for the most part, very knowledgeably on a variety of issues - the question about the future of a constitutional monarchy in 21st-century Britain once Queen Liz pops her clogs was my favourite

I dursn’t mention them again but I feel I must. With exam season now in full swing, RUSU is once again pushing the Silent Student Happy Homes (SSHH) campaign until the end of quiet period; the Union will be closing at 1pm on our club nights for the foreseeable future to be considerate to students on and off campus who are revising at home and we’re encouraging all of you to think about the local community when making your way home. If you haven’t seen them yet, there are some pretty amazing posters drawn by local kids telling you big kids to keep the noise down

Ed Rep elections have well and truly started for the next academic year – to have your chance to represent your Faculty and to work towards defending and extending the rights and opportunities of the student membership, simply visit the RUSU website or check out the Facebook event for more information.

Finally – and most importantly – vote and vote well on Thursday. It doesn’t matter who you vote for (well, excluding the BNP… we don’t want you voting for them!) as long as you vote; remember, you can’t complain if you don’t vote. I’ll leave you with these words of wisdom – “bad officials are elected by good citizens who stay at home on polling day”.

Good luck with your exams!

Tommy, Sinead, Megan, Emily, Anna x

Hope that you’re all ok? Loads to update you on from this week, so without further ado…

Summer Ball Tickets

So just under 1, 000 of these were sold last week – BUT DON’T WORRY – we still have about another 3, 000 left which will be available next term. There have been a number of rumours about who will be headlining, but as yet no one is confirmed… so just keep guessing! Any questions about the ticket buying procedure then give the events team an email at i.j.macdonald@reading.ac.uk or pop by the RUSU building and see us!

Voting

Don’t forget to have your say in the General Election – if you’re a home, EU, or Commonwealth student then you’re entitled to vote and must make sure you are registered before mid-April. Just register at www.voteforstudents.co.uk and you’ll get all the information you need to make an informed vote including your nearest polling station and how candidates in your constituency will be voting on matters relating to Higher Education. It’s a great scheme, so sign up and get informed!

Bus Passes

At the first Student Voice of Spring Term you voted for Student Bus Passes to be the student-chosen campaign this term. We collected lots of evidence from students about what would be the best service from Reading buses and met with them to talk through options and improve the service they offer us.

We have been really successful as there will now be a termly student pass coming in from Freshers’ 2010! Prices and exact terms will follow when Reading Buses have confirmed these. Other things you suggested such as a change to bus times on the 19 from Bulmershe to Whiteknights and giving all new students a free Busabout will also be coming into play! Other things we can take advantage of:

Group Saver – travelling as a group of four save lots of money with 4 Busabouts for £6.50!

Under 19 years? – get a READI-id and get child prices on your tickets!

Easysaver 10 – buy 10 journeys from RU being Served and get them at only £1.20 each!

Be aware of any changes to services by following them on twitter @reading_buses

Thank you so much for giving us your opinion on Reading Buses and what could be improved. We will be in contact in the next few weeks when the details are confirmed but thank you for helping us to put the pressure on Reading Buses and achieving this campaign win for students across Reading!

University Cuts

The reason why the blog is going up late today is because I’ve just got back from the University Council meeting in which the University Restructuring Proposal was being discussed. This is the subject matter of the ‘University Cuts’ Emergency meetings which we held over this term. I’m going to write up the outcomes from the meeting today, and how these changes might impact students in specific areas of the University. So if you want to be included on the mailing list for updates about this, then please email me at sinead.brennan@reading.ac.uk  for more information.

Fit students!

This Sunday some of our students (including some of the Student Officers) will be running the Reading Half Marathon! Information about the course and timings can be found here so make sure you come along and support your students who are running for a very good cause! If you can’t make it, you can still show your support by sponsoring them here . The money is going to a really good cause and so please give generously to these students who will be working hard come Sunday morning!

Not quite in the same league as running a marathon, but this week your Student Officer Team, members of RUSU staff, Ultimate Frisbee, Reading Rockets Basketball Team and RUBC (The President dressed in the Reggie the Rabbit outfit) ran a mile for Sports Relief. It was good fun (well… ish) and we were even on the radio! Have a listen to our interview here 

Last but not least, today is the last day of term! (It’s FLOWN by!) So hope that you all have a safe journey back home, that you’re not too stressed about the revision ahead and that you have a lovely Easter, filled with as much Chocolate you can eat!

Lots of love, Sinead, Tommy, Anna, Emily and Megan xxx