the voice issue 5
DESCRIPTION
The Voice is a publication written for students by students and funded by Kingston University Students' Union.TRANSCRIPT
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...................................................................................................................thevoice
...................................................................................................................KINGSTON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ UNION ISSUE No.5 FEBRUARY 2013
YOUR LITTLE VOTECAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE
ELECTION COVERAGE PAGE 3
clubs & campaigns...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................Ain’t no mountain high enough for KU students
Kingston University’s Mountaineering Club (KUMC) climbed 11,220 metres in less than seven hours during a challenging Everest-themed fundraiser to keep ambulance helicopters in the air. On 13 February, KUMC collectively climbed a ten-metre wall 1122 times, exceeding the height of the world’s tallest mountain.Club member, Lauren McCormack, who was climbing with her team on the day said: “The climbing itself was quite tough on our hands, and because we were climbing continuously for a long time, we were advised to do press-ups in between to counter the effect this had on our arm muscles.
KUMC initially aimed to climb the height of Everest (8,848 metres) and raise £500 for the Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) Air Ambulance but championed their goal, climbing an extra 2,372 metres and raising over £600 for the charity!
“In the grand scheme of things, this is a small contribution,” said Rob. “However, any contribution is a good one and some members of the club do other fundraising activities for this charity, so it all helps.”Rob, a games technology student, started climbing three years ago when he joined KUMC. Although he is looking forward to the climbathon, he is not planning to scale the real Everest.“It’s an expensive expedition and has little rock climbing in its traditional sense,” he said. “It’s more an endurance test, and there are plenty of other places in the world I need to climb up.”
“The aim was to do an average of 50 climbs each to reach the summit of Everest. A few people achieved that quite early in the day so there was added competition to see how many climbs we could do. Everyone played their part and motivated each other to keep going.”
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By Zia WeiseThe KSS Air Ambulance, which provides emergency support to sick and injured people, operates two emergency helicopters.“As climbers we are often in inaccessible locations and if anything was to happen it’s good to know that there are organisations other than the emergency services that can come to help,” said KUMC president Rob Dupré. The charity’s press officer, Jamie Chesire, stated that the annual cost of £5m is covered largely by public donations and fundraising events.“It costs about five million a year to keep both helicopters flying, but this will rise to six million with the launch of a 24-hour service later this year,” said Mr Cheshire. “We currently fly during daylight hours only.”
Thinking about joining a sports club? Visit your Students’ Union website at:
www.kusu.co.uk/sport
Campaign Update: Your Campus Your Say!Thank you to everyone who filled in the online survey or attended a focus group on the Campus Development Plan– we received just over 1000 responses which is amazing!
WHAT’S NEXT?All the feedback you gave was written up and submitted in a report to the Property Assurance Group (PAG) Committee of the University (they deal with the University Estate) in February. This feedback will be considered in the future campus development decisions including the potential new Town House building. KUSU attended a meeting to give feedback for the business case of the Town House building, where we also presented your feedback.
Your KUSU Full Time Officers regularly attend the University meetings where the Campus Development Plan is discussed. We will continue to make sure all developments are in the best interests of students; specifically referring back to the feedback from the Your Campus Your Say campaign.
The next phase of this campaign will be launched in the coming weeks. Words don’t often mean a lot when it comes to deciding what sort of space you should have. For example, what does ‘social space‘ or ‘flexible use space’ actually mean to students? What do you want it to look like?
KUSU want you to take pictures of the types of space you like and send them to us on [email protected] letting us know what it is you like about it. This will be used to create a picture board of photo feedback to give to the University to make sure the space and facilities suit students.
Lauren McCormackYour Vice President Activities
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VOTE
FOR
YOUR
OFFICERS.
THINK.
WHO
DO
YOU
WANT
REPRESENTING
YOU?
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UNIVERSITY BOARD OF GOVERNORSSitting on the University’s highest decision making body, the Students’ Union President has the highest and most pressing responsibility to carry the voice of all students at KU.
VOICEBE YOUR
AT THE
The four full-time officers are trustees of the Students’ Union in addition to three elected student trustees. This means they have ultimate responsibility for directing the affairs of KUSU. Last year’s officers helped create three new staff posts to help run the Students’ Union.
£2.BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A
MILLION5BUDGET?
WHY SHOULD I
VOTE?As we start another round of voting, a new wave of faces
emerge as potential student leaders.
But we can hear you ask ‘Why Vote?’ After all aren’t
Students’ Union elections just another empty popularity
contest, and what difference does the result make to you?
So to make sure you can see why voting matters, here is a
quick guide to what the winners will do on your behalf.
WHO WOULD YOU TRUST TO:
“We wanted to represent students’ views when it came to investing in new facilities and building developments. Your feedback will now be considered in the future campus development decisions.(Lauren McCormack, Vice President Activities, 2012-13)
ON NEW FACILITIES?£80MILLION
HAVE ASAY
IN SPEN
DIN
G
”
UNION ACTIVITIES
“Part of my legacy is leaving students with Global Festival, a week-long event that encourages students to engage with their Students’ Union through an expression of culture, diversity and internationalisation. (Lauren McCormack, Vice President Activities, 2012-13)
000STUDENTS ENGAGE IN
3
HEL
P
”
“I’m currently planning a campaign to keep Syrian students here, and very recently I helped social work students from dropping out of their course due to higher fees than had been advertised. We saved 15 students £7,000 per year, keeping them on their course. (Rita Serghis, Vice President Learning and Teaching, 2012-13)
DAILY LIFE?
MAKE DECISIONS THAT CHANGE
YOUR
”
BE THE VOICE OF “Demo 2012 is a priority campaign I have been leading at KU on behalf of our students, as well as students nationally. I felt it was important for us to take part in the march in November, and support students standing up for their future. (Sean Kelly, President, 2012-13)
STUDENTS?24000
”
VOTING WEEK: 11th-15th March
Vote online via www.kusu.co.uk/elections
entertainment...................................................................................................................
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LISTINGS - FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013MON
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SUNSATFRI TUES WED THURS
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
7654321
COUGAR CALM QUIZ NIGHTSpace bar - 8pm
KUSU ELECTION NOMINATIONS CLOSE - 5PM
LIVE SIX NATIONS RUGBYHannafords BarItaly v Wales 2:30pmEngland v France 5pm
LIVE FOOTBALLHannafords BarMan City v Chelsea 1:30pmBradford v Swansea 4pm
ELECTION CANDIDATES BRIEFING Room 103, Town House4-6pm
KUSU ELECTIONS BOOT CAMP (MAXIMISE YOUR ENERGY LEVELS)Room 102, Town House 4-6pm
KUSU ELECTIONS BOOT CAMP (MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MANIFESTO)Room 103, Town House 4-6pm
KUSU ELECTIONS BOOT CAMP (ONLINE CAMPAIGNING) Room 103, Town House GOOGLE PROOF QUIZ Space Bar 8pm
LIVE COMEDYSpace bar7pm
COUGAR CHAOS - BEACH PARTYSpace bar8pm
LIVE FOOTBALLHannafords BarTottenham v Arsenal 4pm
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DISCLAIMER: THE OPINIONS, BELIEFS AND VIEWPOINTS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF THE STUDENTS’ UNION. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Did you know you can hire any of our 3 KUSU bars for free?For more details, contact:Space Bar & Hannafords Bar: [email protected] Park Bar: [email protected]