You have the right to know that we're actually representing you in the way you expected us to when you voted us in, so I congratulate Ads and Bryony for getting this blog thing off the ground.
I know that for my part, I made big promises when I ran for Exec, and you voted me in hoping that I'd deliver on the following issues;
- Raising the awareness of who SUBU are and what they do, and increase student involvement across all our campuses.
- Lobbying the people with the power to help improve the facilities you use, and to save energy by switching off lights and computers that are left on all night.
- Increasing international student involvement, and awareness of global opportunities.
- Representing your voice through improvement of the Rep system.
At this point I have to congratulate the sabbatical officers, Fred, Adelaide and Scott for having done so much of what I set out to do before I even set a foot through the door. Over the Summer, when they stepped into office, the three of them brought dozens of fresh ideas to the table, and as a result, tackled a lot of the big issues.
Scott championed a massively improved Student Rep system long before I returned from my summer holiday, and during Freshers' Fortnight SUBU launched the Front Door, the Week and the Word, massively increasing student awareness and involvement. Those of us elected in March spent as much time as we could spare over those two weeks helping students get settled in, and making sure that they knew where we could be found if they had any issues to raise, or wanted to get involved.
Now, for the first time in at least a couple of years, we have a full Exec committee, dedicated to making change for the better.
At the same time, the University has been preparing for the official launch of the Centre for Global Perspectives, and playing with a number of exciting initiatives to help increase international involvement.
It feels a bit like somebody has been trying to put me out of work!
So what have I been doing?
Well, at about the time when the bi-elections closed, I was presented with the opportunity to get stuck in on the one area nobody else seemed to be focussing on - the Environment. We don't have one "Environmental Officer," but a team of us is currently working on a new Environmental Awareness campaign that we plan to launch at the start of next term, and making sure we tick all the right boxes for the Bronze Sound* Environmental Impact Award.
Over the last fortnight, I've been designing some of the graphics for the campaign, created a traffic-light system to help us identify and tackle our negative environmental impacts, and put together the first draft of the new SUBU Environmental Policy. By the end of term, we'll have turned all of our red and amber lights green, and applied for the Bronze SEI Award.
We've been co-operating in the preparations for the upcoming "Fairtrade Fortnight" and raised your concerns regarding Fairtrade in the SUBU shop, and we're continuing to lobby the institution on energy efficiency, and are working closely with the University's Energy and Environment Officers to encourage them to minimise the huge overnight power wastage in the Library, Weymouth House and Poole House.
All in all, I've been a pretty busy little bee, but I guess that's all for now.
I'll keep you posted on any progress!
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