Weekly Report: Week 4

In my weekly blogs i try to keep you updated on all that i have done (both big and small) over the last seven days.

This week has been fairly frustrating in that it's been filled up with all sorts of little bits and pieces (often having nothing to do with Housing or Community issues) that meant i could never really sit down and focus on something properly. However it's also been an incredibly useful week, with Welcome Week just around the corner there are a million different things we have to get sorted before the students land.

This week i:

- Introduced the brand new SHAC manager (Jessica) to the Guild, the University and of course, Selly Oak! The SHAC (our brand new Guild based lettings agent) is designed to offer students decent quality houses without all the extra fees, exploitation and panic that is so common at the moment. I'm really keen to make sure that buying a house is an enjoyable experience that students don't regret after they've signed on the dotted line. The SHAC is one way to achieve this. I'm also keen to start giving talks in halls of residence around selling season telling them quite simply not to panic. It's incredible how artificially high rent rates are around November/December, especially given that Selly Oak never runs out of houses!

- Became a model! Those of you that know me won't find this at all suprising (what with my rugged good looks), but i have to say it came as quite a shock when i was (alongside other Guild staff) asked to model the UoB clothing range for the new Guild clothing store... Zest!

Opening in September, Zest is going to have an urban feel, selling clothing and gifts (including University branded items) to students on campus. I'm especially proud of it, as Katie and I were lucky enough to win the bidding competition that resulted in the name Zest! Think sharp, suave and edgy!

- Began the process of job evaluation in the Guild. Without boring you too much, the Guild employs 60 core staff and over 300 student staff. The appraisal and evaluation structure is outdated and in urgent need of reviewing. It's going to be a long drawn out process, but should hopefully make things simpler in the future.

- Have started the drive to recruit volunteers for the Birmingham Half Marathon! Fancy being a race marshall on an internationally covered event? Fancy a free Adidas tracksuit? Fancy the experience? Check out www.birminghamhalfmarathon.com/volunteers!

- Continued extensive Welcome Week preparations. This included planning and writing Freshers Crew training and working out arrangements for moving in to halls. It also involved a ridiculous amount of time trying to research a polar bear costume...

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- Met with Lesley Stewart (head of Accomodation at the University) to discuss issues that may arise during this term. Items on the agenda included halls fees, moving in weekend and how best to make use of student enthusiasm to help those less fortunate in the surrounding area. Edgbaston in particular, for all its reputation as an affluent area has many social problems that we as students can help to address.

- Held an important meeting with FOCSOC (Freshers Off Campus Society) to discuss their plans for the coming year. FOCSOC is technically an RA, but its remit is much wider, serving anybody studying at Birmingham but not living in Uni accomodation in their first year (ie living either at home or in private houses). As such it's hugely important that FOCSOC hits the ground running during Welcome Week, scooping up as many home students as possible so as to make sure that nobody misses out on the 'university experience' just because they don't live in halls. Look out for their stall during Welcome Week, and if you are a home student just email me and i'll send you a sign up form. Don't miss out!

Until next week...

xEd/.

It's late, It's Sunday, Why not?

P.S. Brigid's halo is very much designed to be ironic!

A-Levels and a National Tragedy...

CONGRATULATIONS to those of you coming to Birmingham this year and well done on your A-Level grades. Welcome packs will be dropping through your letterbox in the next couple of weeks but if you have any questions in the meantime don't hesitate to ask!

I find it pretty upsetting however to find out just how many applicants this year will miss out not because of their own actions, but because of a disastrous national situation. There are currently 142,000 people eligible for clearing, but only 19,000 places left. We have a Government committed to getting 50% of school leavers into higher education, yet Universities (whose budgets have already been cut) face hefty fines for admitting more than their quota of students.

Birmingham was only able to offer 50 spaces for clearing this year, all in obscure subjects. All those places have now gone. Across the country you'll find a similar story. (See Article) It's fair to say that many of us currently at uni wouldn't be here if we had left school this year.

The recession will end one day, but who knows how many lives will have been permanently scarred by its effects.

Weekly Report: Week 3

In my weekly blogs i try to keep you updated with all that i have done (both big and small) over the last seven days.

I've really enjoyed this week. Training in Leeds was excellent and i feel empowered to run campaigns on behalf os students here knowing that the issues we face are also faced nationally. I'm also getting genuinely excited about Welcome Week, some of the plans are absolutely brilliant.

This week i:

Became a champion! This year the Guild has put itself up for the Students' Union Evaluation Initiative (SUEI). This means that by the end of this term we will end up with a rating (bronze, silver, gold etc). If any of you have been to Leeds you will know how annoying it is to see their Union putting posters all over the place claiming how they are the only Gold rated-union in the country. Tom Guise and i put ourselves forward to become 'SUEI champions'to lead the charge to get Birmingham accredited!

Had my official photo taken. Here it is. *Sigh*
. Went to Leeds for a three day training course led by Unipol, a key voice in the student housing sector. This was a fantastic course that taught me an incredible amount about national trends, contract law, community forums and much more besides. It was also interesting to meet other community officers from across the country. Currently there are not that many at all (less than ten sabbatical officers), but many unions are planning to incorporate one now that community issues are rising up the political and social agenda.

Visited the Muirhead Tower. It still may not look pretty from the outside but it is incredible on the inside. Check out this photo. Starbucks baby!
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Began what is certain to be a tough but extremely worthwhile process of evaluating the democratic structures of the Guild. We aim to represent students on a huge number of levels here (RAs, Guild Council, Student Reps, Liberation Associations, the Officer Team etc) but i think everyone will admit that they currently fail to work as well as they could do. Keep your eyes peeled over the next few months we will be involving as many of you as possible and listening to your views of how we could change our democratic structures for the better!

Sat on various meetings of the Welcome Week Coordination Group (of which i am the lead VP) to work out all aspects of how to make this year's Welcome Week the best yet! I've seen drafts of the Welcome Booklet, discussed moving in days and made detailed plans of how to make sure that every student is aware of their sabbatical officers and they role they play in helping students to settle in. Some plans include welcome talks, drop in sessions, stalls in halls and playing a role in induction lectures.

Weekly Report: Week 2

In my weekly blogs i try to keep you updated with all that i have done (both big and small) over the last seven days.

It's been a strange few days, my first full week in the office. I feel settled now and keen to get going, but with the building so eerily deserted during August, we have to find all sorts of ways to keep ourselves energised. With Fabian, Tom and Brigid away on NUS training this week, office pranking was definitely on the agenda. That's all i can say for now but look out for pictures on Monday!

This week i...

Attended about a million meetings relating to RAs (Residents Associations - Hall Committees) and how they are financed next term. At the end of the week i'm relieved to report that we now have a concrete plan in place to make sure RAs will be able to access the funds they need to ensure that everybody moving in to halls settles in happily and safely (well done everybody who sat through that meeting!). I'm also paying close attention to new plans for RAs to sell tickets for their events on a new Guild of Students ticket-selling website, which is an exciting idea but one that must be carefully calibrated to make sure RAs still have that all important face to face contact with their residents.

Incidentally we're looking for a new name for the fortnightly meeting currently known as the RA Development Working Party, where we make decisions on matters arising from RAs.

I'm looking for a name with a funny acronym. Any suggestions welcome. Current front runner is Committee for Residents Association Procedures. ;)

Began planning for a big community day on Selly Park on October 11th to tie in with the Birmingham Half Marathon (which this year is also the World Half-Marathon with elite runners from across the globe!). This year the race goes right through Selly Oak (Bournbrook & Raddlebarn Roads) and we really want to make a big thing of it so that we can a) Give students a great day out, b) Improve relations with the local community and c) Get on TV! Any ideas/plans are more than welcome.

Also, if you want to volunteer to marshal the race or get involved in a huge number of organisational roles, just email either myself or the lovely Katie Ford (your VP Sport - k.ford@guild.bham.ac.uk) for more info!

Wrote a detailed campaign plan for my crusade against extortionate halls of residence fees. It may seem a little premature but preparation is everything. Without giving too much away, the plan calls for three things; evidence gathering, lobbying and (if necessary) a visible campaign involving direct action. I'll be showing this plan to key players in the Guild so that we can all make sure that this is a viable campaign, one that students want, and one that can genuinely change the student experience for the better.

Met with the Vale Village management to discuss our plans for the coming year. I've known Alison Mear (Vale Manager) and Debbie Grant (Hub Manager) from my own days as an RA and it was really good to catch up with them. For those of you who don't know, there are significant refurbishment works on the Vale at the moment encompassing Aitken Wing (new kitchens/bathrooms) and Tennis Courts (refurbishment of blocks 18 and 19 and new swipe card access to Centre Court).

Other items on the agenda include recycling, crime and welcome week.There was also a chat about RA office space (no luck there guys i'm afraid - i'll keep trying!).

To finish... here is a picture of Tom Guise (your Vice-President Democracy & Resources) looking quite stupid.
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As ever, email me whenever you like!
xEd/.

Weekly Report: Week 1

In my weekly blogs i try to keep you up to date with all that i have done (both big and small) over the last seven days.

This week i...

Moved into my office!

- Received training on how to represent students facing serious plagiarism hearings. If students wish, they can take a sabbatical officer into hearings with them for support and guidance. For more information on this simply pop into the ARC (Advice and Representation Centre) in the Guild or email thearc@guild.bham.ac.uk

- Wrote the Guild's response to the Governments Housing Consultation. In a nutshell, the Government is looking at ways to tackle the issue of 'studentification' whereby students are accused of tearing the heart out of local communities like Selly Oak and turning them into 'student ghettos'. One option on the table is to change the law so that the local council would have much more power to refuse permission for landlords to convert their properties into Houses of Multiple Occupanccy (HMOs). Essentially, those that support the scheme hope that these changes will prevent students being able to form more than 20% of the local population in an area.

Whilst we understand the concern of local residents, we don't believe that changing the law is the right way to go about it. Only 0.8% of wards across the country are in this sort of situation so making a nationwide law could turn out to be very dangerous, discriminating against other users of HMOs such as migrant workers. Besides, we believe students can be a force for good in the local community and can make it a better place to live, not a worse one.

So to that end i wrote a report for the local Government describing our position and pointing out all the incredible things students at Birmingham do to make a difference in the surrounding areas.

I'll be happy to email you a copy of the report feel free to ask!

- Consulted with staff at the Guild, University and City Council about how best to implement a property based accreditation scheme in Selly Oak. At the moment, we have plans for a bronze/silver/gold type scheme, with houses receiving different ratings according to how secure, safe and insulated they are. This would provide an incredibly useful and easily accessible way for students to quickly see which landlords and properties are best and which ones they should avoid at all costs. This forms a key part of the campaign to improve housing in Selly Oak so as to cut down on crime and the exploitation of students.

- Attended NUS Action Through Advocacy Training. This is a 4 day training course designed for Welfare and Education officers to prepare them for the year ahead. I had a great time meeting officers from all over the country and sharing ideas with them. My head is full of ideas now for ways in which to really improve the lives of students here in Birmingham. These include ways to tackle rising hall fees, prevent students from being the victims of crime and planning how to take a highly visible stand against lifting the cap on top-up fees on December 3rd for the NUS Town-takeover day. Watch this space...

On your marks, get set, GO!

Tennis Courts World Record Breaking Custard Pie Fight!

Today is my last day of freedom before i take office. I had a nice long lie in and i'm confident i am now as ready as i will ever be!

I'll use this blog to keep you updated on all that i'm up to over the year, but i want to use this chance now to say a couple of insightful things...

Firstly... if you want to see what i'm planning on doing this year then check out my VOTE SPARKES website for a list of my manifesto pledges.

Secondly... we have many official values at the Guild (eleven at the last count!), but for me this year will be all about the one value that should encompass them all... FUN!

We're only at Uni for a few short years, and the Guild is all about making the most of them! If you're having fun, you should be shouting it from the rooftops, sharing it with everyone. And if you're not, then someone at the Guild should be there to take up the fight for you.

FUN is everything!


Finally... if for any reason you feel a bit down about life for whatever reason, check out this video.... probably the most inspiring thing ever made!