Welcome Week!!!

Hi guys, this has undoubtedly been the busiest and most exhausting week of my life. Just for a change, i thought of instead of writing an essay, i'd present it to you in numbers!

5,000

the approximate number of Freshers that have arrived this week!

20,000

the approximate number of membership handbooks distributed to students so far. For an online version just click here!

400

the approximate number of RAs, Mentors, Freshers Fest Crew, Hall Ambassadors and Officers involved in helping Moving-In weekend run smoothly.

11,000

the approximate number of people that came through the Guild doors on the first day of Welcome Week.

160

the approximate number of student groups, societies and projects that showcased themselves at this year's society fairs, spearheaded by Emma Packham.

500

the approximate number of people who visited the brand new 'Wellbeing Zone' spearheaded on Tuesday by Katie Ford and Johnny Davis.

31

the number of pints of blood donated by students and staff on Friday with Johnny Davis' fulfilled promise to bring the National Blood Service back on campus.

3,200

the approximate number of students that i personally have spoken to over the last 10 days through training, course induction talks and freshers fest welcome talks.

8,000

the approximate number (exact number soon to be confirmed) of students that your officer team have spoken to over the last 10 days (including those i spoke to).

200

the approximate number of parents that Fabian Neuner spoke to this week in special talks.

4,000

the approximate number of students who have bought Freshers Fest packages (if you didn't manage to get one, fear not you can still get in to most nights on the door, just ask your RA).

2,200

the approximate number of NUS cards sold this year. Cards are available all year round for anyone who wants them.

23

the number of pennies from every pound you spend at the Guild that goes directly back in to services that support you!

1

the number of cars we found mysteriously flipped over after a heavy night out at the Guild.

95

the number of hours i worked last week, visiting halls of residence, working in the Guild and helping out in the nighttimes with Freshers Fest!

1,000,000

the approximate number of hugs that 'Chilly the Chill Out Polar Bear' has received this week.

xEd/.

Freshers...Have Your Say!!!

Just about to start your first year here at University? We want to make your freshers experience as fantastic as possible, so tell us what you'd like to see from your Guild of Students!

You could win an iPod!

Click here to get started...

Not on the Vale? Not a problem!

Over the last few weeks i have been inundated with calls, emails and personal visits from students and parents worried sick about what their university experience is going to be like because they failed to get their first choice accomodation on the Vale Village.

As an ex-Vale student, i love the Vale as much as anybody else, but does it really deserve to be held up higher than any other hall village? Is a lakeside view really that important?

I have had the extremely rare fortune of being a Hall President to two very different halls, and as such i like to think that i've learnt some valuable lessons about the range of accomodation we offer here at Birmingham.

Hall 1:

In my first year i lived in Tennis Courts, and was elected RA President in December 2006. Tennis Courts is a very large hall situated on the Vale. Comprised mainly of Freshers, Tennis Courts houses 700 residents.

I LOVED my time in Tennis Courts. The community atmosphere was fantastic, the socials were amazing and the memories are some which i will treasure forever. When asked, i reckon by far the majority of TCers would say that they lived in the best hall of residence at University.

Hall 2:

In my second year i was asked to take over as Emergency RA President for Queen's Hospital Close (QHC). QHC is a smallish sized hall which is privately owned and situated in the City Centre (well away from campus). The term before i took over, the University had intended not to use QHC as an official hall for the following year. However because of horrific overbookings, the University was forced to buy back bedspaces from QHC, with Freshers being allocated a place in a hall that they didn't even know existed. As such, i had to lead an RA team that had been set up at 2 weeks notice.

I accepted the post with a fairly large degree of cynicism. I wanted to make sure that QHC residents were still able to have a Freshers Week despite all the cock-ups, but i never imagined that QHC would be anywhere near as good as Tennis Courts. Having led a 700 strong TC army for the last year, i refused to believe that anywhere could even come close to being as brilliant.

How wrong i was! Despite the difficulties QHC residents stepped up in a manner i would not believe possible. During Freshers Week they charged out to the clubs and shouted down halls twice their size chanting 'QHC!' as loud as they possibly could. They attended sports trials, pub quizzes, tours of the city and many other events. Best of all, when it came to electing their own RA committee to replace my emergency team, they did so with a voter turnout that beat every single other hall across the University. In short, 300 students, none of whom had put QHC down as ANY choice, let alone their first, came together to create an incredible hall community that far outclassed some of the more established halls on the Vale. Why? Because they were given the chance to get involved and they took it.

I guess the point of this blog is to reassure those who did not get their first choice accomodation that no matter where you end up, you will have the chance to enjoy an incredible Freshers experience. Living in a hall is like joining a private community, and it instills a sense of patriotism in you. One of the most important parts of my job, (through leading the Hall Committees, lobbying the University, organising Welcome Week etc) is to try and make it so that you come away at the end of the year genuinely believing that you wouldn't have wanted to live anywhere else.

So if you've got a place on the Vale, congratulations! And if you have got a place somewhere else, congratulations! You're a student at the University of Birmingham, and you're going to have an incredible year!

As ever if you do have any concerns of queries just get in touch, that's what i'm here for! e.sparkes@guild.bham.ac.uk

If you have any comments about this blog (whether you are a new fresher or an older student) then feel free to have your say!

Re-Use Volunteering!

Thanks to the Sabbs, RAs and random people who got involved in helping at Jarratt Hall for the annual Re-Use scheme!

Re-Use is a fantastic project whereby students moving out of halls can leave stuff they don't want behind for students moving in to halls to use if they so wish.

Not only is this environmentally friendly, but it also brilliant for international students who obviously can't pack too much on a plane.

I don't think any of us have EVER seen so many coat hangers, saucepans, drying racks or (scarily) meat cleavers in one place!

Weekly Report: Week 6

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

I'm conscious that much of what i have to report this week is rather dull. This is partly because a lot of my work this week was preparation for things happening next week, but it's also because a lot of what i did this week was in fact rather dull. That said, i now feel more ready than ever for Welcome Week and all the shenanigans that that will bring.

This week i:

- Conducted a series of interviews for candidates applying to be Freshers Fest Crew. I'm happy to say that we have successfully recruited a cracking team of people. In essense, Freshers Crew are responsible for the smooth running of the Freshers Fest programme, so good luck with that guys! ;)

- Finalised preparations for bringing QHC back online as an official hall of residence. Most of the old RA committee are back in post, we have a plan to put student mentors in, we've got money in the budget and we've successfully included QHC in Freshers Fest plans. Well done to all involved! For the full story on the situation with QHC click here

- Attended the Hopstility and Accommodation Services (HAS) OSCARS ceremony. HAS is responsible for a huge range of the services the University offers, not least of which being the halls of residence. The OSCARS is HAS' way of celebrating the achievements of its staff, and it was very useful to meet everybody and talk to them about where they fit in to the organisation. For more info on the OSCARS click here

- Sat on the first Remuneration and Human Resources Committee of the academic year, of which myself and Johnny are members. This is essentially as interesting as it sounds, but vitally important to the running of the Guild.

- Worked alonside the other sabbatical officers on the University Open Day this Saturday. It's crucial that the Guild has a visible presence at Open Days, as the Students' Union is an integral part of the 'University Experience'. In the past we haven't been so hot on this as an organisation, but it was great to be out meeting applicants on the Open Day and talking to them about all we have to offer. This was especially exciting as we were able to show applicants the brand new retail area of the Guild, which has just been refurbished.

- Continued to respond to emails, phone calls and even personal visits from worried freshers and their parents who have still not finalised their accommodation plans. With all halls of residence now almost completely full, many students are having to make their own plans for accommodation. This can be incredibly scary and daunting and i see it as a crucial part of my job to offer advice and support wherever i can to those people.

- Chaired the first ResExec of the academic year. ResExec is the forum through which all RA committee members meet to discuss plans and exchange ideas. Thanks to everyone who came along so early in September and here's to a great Welcome Week!

That's all for now, more exciting stuff next week i promise!

Volunteers Needed!

Are you around in Birmingham?

Fancy helping out in a really worthwhile scheme that will help both the environment and your fellow students?

The University is extending its successful Re-Use scheme this year and is looking for volunteers over the next week to help it meet a very tight deadline.

Re-Use is basically where students leaving halls can leave stuff behind (pots, pans, lights, books etc etc) for next year's students to use for free!

It's a brilliant scheme because not only does it help the environment by reducing needless waste, but it's also a great way to kit out students who perhaps cannot afford some of the items, or as international students have no way of packing them on the plane.

SO if you fancy volunteering a few hours of your time this coming week (days or evenings, one shift or many, it's up to you) then just email Andrea at a.west@bham.ac.uk. She'll be thrilled to hear from you!

P.S. I'm forcing the Guild officers to put in some time as well!

xEd/.

NEWS JUST IN - QHC TO RE-OPEN!!!

Last year the University decided not to continue using Queen's Hospital Close (QHC) as an official University Hall of Residence. However, following on from the A-level results, and because of the Fresher's Guarantee Scheme, the Uni's bedspaces became vastly oversubscribed, forcing the University to buy back QHC bedspaces at the very last minute in order to make sure students had a place to stay... This caused a great deal of stress to both University and Guild as we struggled to get things ready to restart QHC. This included bringing in an Emergency RA (with me as President), introducing Student Mentors, allocating Freshers Fest tickets and dealing with a huge array of complaints and queries from worried students who didn't have a clue what QHC was.

Well....it's happened again!

Luckily, everybody was half expecting it this time, and we are better prepared for a last minute addition to the Uni portfolio. As it stands, QHC is getting 150 extra bedspaces (on top of the 50 or so bedspaces that had already been bought by students privately). This figure could well rise.

SO, if you have been allocated a space in QHC, do not worry at all! I can personally testify that QHC is a fantastic hall with an incredible community spirit and professional management. You will have a great year i promise. For now though, make sure you join the Official QHC facebook group and read carefully through your iterature to prepare yourself.

If you have ANY questions at all (however petty) just get in touch that's what i'm here for.

x

Weekly Report: Week 5

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.

I've been told that my weekly blogs are a bit drawn out, so by way of injecting some excitement, i'll use my weekly blogs to talk about more routine stuff, and anything i especially want you to notice will get its own blog post. If you want to be linked to my blog at all (perhaps you write a relevant blog of your own) then just get in touch!

This Week i:

- Went to Rome for the bank holiday weekened. Hot and Historical, just how i like it.

.

- Answered LOADS of queries from Freshers and their parents about their new halls of residence. Many felt very angry about where they were allocated, or were very worried about certain aspects of university life. Thank you to everyone who has gotten in touch, it's been really rewarding talking to you and in some cases getting drunken texts from you at 3 am, or compliments on how sexy my voice sounds down the phone (you know who you are!).

- Continued planning for Welcome Week. This included shortlisting for Hall Ambassador recruitment (you'll hear over the next few days if your application was successful), writing training for all student staff involved in running Welcome Week, writing a welcome email to every new student coming to Birmingham, discussing what happens if Swine Flu strikes us all down and finally, working out whether introducing Fabian to the masses on the first night by way of a Zip-Wire entrance is actually feasible (no decision made).

- Went on a detailed tour of Pritchatts Park and Jarratt Hall with hall management. This was extremely useful for an ex-Tennis Courter like me, as it showed me that there is life byond the Vale, and in fact the Vale could learn a thing or two from the other villages. Certainly as a Guild there is a lot more we need to do to engage non-Vale residents, and i've come away with some new ideas for how to make that happen. For those of you looking to move in to Pritchatt's Park or Jarratt Hall i'm happy to report that all refurbishment and cleaning is currently on schedule, and for those in Pritchatts you are about to get a brand new laundry room (that takes any change not just pound coins), new vending machines and a cash machine (though it's a charging one unfortunately).

- Attended numerous meetings and negotiations (which will continue all next week) about the RA SLA (Residents' Association Service Level Agreement). Essentially this is the deal between the Guild and the University that, in return for receiving a portion of money from every student's hall fees, the Guild will run the RA programme. In essence, the SLA is the RA's very reason for existence, and as such it's vital that we are able to renew the agreement to ensure that RAs continue to represent students in halls and build a strong community atmosphere. Agreement renewal may not be sexy, but it's VERY important.

.

- Had detailed meetings with key Guild staff about campaigns i want to run this year. This involved discussions on our approach to halls fees, community wardens and dealing with angry locals!

That's all for now folks, as ever any questions just get in touch!