In the week after Welcome Week i was always bound to be tired, and sure enough i have found myself sleepwalking through the last seven days. However there were some incredibly useful developments this week, some of which i will save till next week to blog about when i will be able to have the whole story!
This Week i:
- Approved the allocation of this year's RA (Residents Association) grants. Grants are allocated to us by the University, and in the interests of transparency, here they are. If you have any questions, comments or complaints then get in touch that's what i'm here for!
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- Attended my very first 'Fitness to Practice' hearing. Sabbatical officers are required to represent students facing appeals or fitness to practice cases, acting as their friend and guidance during what can be a very stressful time. If you ever need sabbatical representation, just get in touch with the ARC by popping in during the week or by emailing thearc@guild.bham.ac.uk
- Began detailed discussions with the community wardens, the university, relevant Guild societies and local forums about the possibility of establishing some sort of IT class for elderly local residents, using student skills to help others in the local community. Hopefully i will be able to blog good news on this next week!
- Sat on the first MLAS Steering Group of this academic year. MLAS stands for Midland Landlord Accreditation Scheme, and is our approved scheme for celebrating the good landlords whilst avoiding the bad. MLAS is going from strength to strength since being established 3 years ago, and it was great to begin planning the ceremony we will hold very shortly to celebrate the 1000th landlord signing on. All houses let through the SHAC will be MLAS accredited, so wherever you look, watch out for the tick logo!- Held my regular catch-up session with Lesley Stewart (Head of Student Accommodation). There have been some interesting developments over the past couple of weeks. One particular issue that may well grow bigger is the fate of the students living in Chelwood Hall of Residence. Chelwood is a tiny hall located on the Vale next to Aitken Wing, traditionally kept empty and used this year as a temporary overspill. It seems that the current residents of Chelwood (who have been closely involved with Aitken's Freshers activities) have grown to love where they live and many are extremely worried about their future (they were promised accommodation in Chelwood for one term only). The University is committed to ensuring that these residents find a place in their preferred hall of residence, but if you do live in Chelwood and you feel the need to speak out please do get in touch either with me or with the Aitken RA President Mark Harrop (mxh888@bham.ac.uk). This is something i will continue to monitor closely.
2 comments:
A very interesting and informative article. The last couple of weeks seem to have kept you and the team immensely busy but by all means very successful (save perhaps for an unfortunate car owner). Well done!
Just a quick q,
Why have the additional residents of Chelwood, which have been' closely involved' with Aitken Wing not been included in the additional grant for term one either with Aitken Wing or a separate fund.
Will they be able to take advantage of the work any residents' association or is this a superficial push off?
Yours,
Thanks for the compliment!
Aitken Wing RA were tasked with looking after Chelwood Residents, making sure they were given a Welcome Week, had support etc.
In a way the Aitken RA did too good a job, instilling such a community spirit within Chelwood residents that now we face an unexpected problem.
In terms of money, no the Chelwood residents haven't contributed to Aitken's budget. They haven't cost Aitken anything yet either, but you raise a good point and it's one i'll bring up. Aitken's budget is already the smallest so even though there are only a tiny number of Chelwood residents, they will eventually have a disproportionate impact.
Thanks for your input!
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