Supres

With campaign week in full swing i managed to fit in a couple of meetings with the University early on the Monday. Then at 12:00 we held our “Grill a Candidate” event in JC’s, where all the candidates attended to give a short speech but its open to anyone and everyone to ask all those questions, queries and thoughts. It was a really good event where all the candidates really gave it there all in a situation that isn’t too easy.

In the evening i went along to the Erasmus social which once again was a spot on event made even more colourful when the sea of campaign t-shirts hit wind street!
On Tuesday i met with a number of local residents to discuss thoughts for our upcoming community champion awards. Pencilled in for June (ish) i hope that it will be a great opportunity for us to prove that there are a great many things that students and local residents are doing in within our community.

Wednesday morning brought with it a Med school open day in the morning and then of course Village Election Day. In the afternoon Leoni and i made our way up to Woody’s to spend the afternoon on the ballot box.

Thursday was of course the BIG DAY and whilst i wasn’t campaigning i really didn’t stop. In between helping on the ballot box, taking photos of the day and chasing candidates i got caught left, right and centre by students and staff – some students even had me fill in their psychological profile for their dissertation!

Despite the weather the day was fantastic and really proved the importance of good promotion. From our huge “Vote here “ banner to my rather popular “think while you stink” toilet posters we really got the message out there. By the end of the day we were just shy of 2000 voters but then came the count!!!!

By half past one in the morning it was all over and the following fantastic students were elected ;

Education Officer; Ross Gilman
International and Overseas Officer; Andy Patton
President; Luke Young
Societies and Services Officer; Raechel Mattey
Welfare Officer; Lance Horsey
Womens Officer; Raegan Healy

It had been an excellent week and whilst it felt a bit weird knowing your successor but still having 3 months to achieve your goals, it was a good feeling roll on July 2009!

With campaign week looming it was hard to stay focused on the day to day, but the work didn’t stop!

On Monday I attended the Universities Council Away Day (surprisingly held in the Abbey?). The day was comprised of a series of presentations from the Senior Management Team – the Vice Chancellor, the Pro- Vice Chancellors and the Director of Finance. The team quite simply layed out their plans for the year ahead and the further long term for the University, from departmental changes to potential campus development. The day was extremely well layed out with a great opportunity to be a part of an excellent future not just for Swansea University but South Wales as a whole.

On Tuesday following our previous few months research we held our first (and notably last) lunchtime Student General Meeting. Whilst the turnout was at an all time low it was a positive opportunity for the students in attendance to assist us in ensuring that the meetings are better attended. From discussing the time of meetings to how we could make them more informative and appealing to the student body, it was extremely helpful.

On Wednesday i had a number of meetings with student services, before heading down in my rather fetching “Jim’ll Fix – It” Attire to Swansea Bay. This was for the annual Medsoc Polar Bear Run, where students in a variety of crazy outfits run down to the tide before attempting to swim (paddle/ squeal) through the water and back again.

The infamous fundraiser raises thousands of pounds every year for a fantastic group of charities including the RNLI Mumbles Lifeboat station and the Swansea Gambia link. This was my second year doing the event and it certainly didn’t disappoint – even if i looked rather cold in our Learning and Teaching Committee that afternoon!

For the rest of the afternoon i relocated to the Waterfront offices and in between writing stories and giving quotes managed to get some more fun election work out the way!!

Thursday was my last opportunity to catch up on my backlog of paperwork before the frenzy began! In the evening following the official opening of campaigning i went along to People and Planets “Funky Fashion Show” in DV8. This was a fashion show for the society members to show off what was made in the workshops where people had altered, customised and funked up their old clothes!

On Friday Leoni, Estelle and I headed to Llandrindod for NUS Wales Conference. Over the two days that we were there motions were proposed, Lleu Williams was elected as Deputy President and Katie Dalton as President. A variety of motions ranged from gender balanced delegations to trustee training for Welsh sabbaticals and executives from NUS Wales.

I am extremely proud to say that i was elected to the office of Welsh National Executive Committee – Higher Education Rep alongside Tom Hecht from Bangor Students Union.

On the final day of the conference Wes Streeting (NUS National President), Aaron Porter (NUS VP Higher Education), Beth Walker (NUS VP Further Education) and Ben Whittaker (NUS NEC) all gave a variety of speeches regarding the future of NUS. It was an enjoyable and informative time – bring on Annual!!!

On Monday i met with Rhys Dart (Regional Development and Training Officer -NUS Wales) and Scott Farmer (Interim Director - Nus Wales). It was a really positive meeting and a great chance to work with Scott during his interim term helping move NUS Wales forward.

In the afternoon Simon Darvill and myself attended the University and local residents forum. We were extremely pleased with our highly positive report and plan for community procedures - even if the acronym is not the best Community Residents Action Plan !
We also made progress alongside the University on a planned "tenants poster" showing both rights and responsibilites for all students living in private sector accommodation.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I attended a mental health first aid course along with a variety of staff members from throughout the University. Mental Health First Aid is an ambitious new project, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, designed to train trainers to teach Mental Health First Aid throughout Wales.
The course does not train you to be a therapist, counsellor or mental health professional, but rather;

* give initial help to someone experiencing a mental health problem
* deal with a crisis situation or the first signs of someone developing mental ill health
* guide people towards appropriate help

The course was absolutely brilliant, a really productive opportunity to understand a variety of issues relating to Mental Health. Much like a regular first aid course it is aimed at preserving life and promote recovery. If you are interested in finding out more visit;

http://www.mhfa-wales.org.uk/

This week was Isoc's (Swansea University's Islamic Society) Islamic Awareness Week , and an excellent one at that. With Mosque and Executive Officer VRSA Mahaboob Basha heading up a number of meet and greets, i was lucky enough to have a number of fantastic opportunities to understand more about Islamic Culture and Swansea Universities Muslim Community.
On Friday i was invited to speak following the regular prayer session to the Swansea Muslim Community. It was a great opportunity to meet a variety of students and i really had my eyes opened. What i started to realise was that virtually every Islamic student, regardless of their home country (Libya, Saudi Arabia, India etc) had come to study, and more importantly felt at home in Swansea due to the fantastic Muslim community already here. Our primary aim as a Students Union is to ensure that students are supported and cared for throughout their time at Swansea. Through a variety of Welfare campaigns, services and procedures we attempt to further this aim. Thankfully we don’t do this alone whether its Student Support Services or a Personal Tutor there are a huge variety of ways that students are supported. What is fantastic is that the Mosque is a massive support network alongside these others, supporting a variety of different students from so many different backgrounds.

On Friday night i attended the Malasian Societies Night in the Taliesin with General Secretary Luke Young. The night was designed to help people understand the diverse history and culture within Malasia. It was a great night, even if both Luke and I shamed ourselves with some “Interesting” Bollywood dancing on stage! – many thanks Akash!!!!!
On Saturday we began the elections graft as i managed, alongside Deputy X-treme Station Manager Ben Shaw, to get 2/3rds of the sabbatical candidates in to the radio studios to record their manifestos, reasons for voting and of course their campaign songs – oh if only the elections were won on songs rather than slogans!!!!