Ben Haines: The elections and “The Fear”

Hiya.

Apologies to all of you who over the last week were pestered, harassed, shouted at, flyered, postered, written on and so on and so forth.  Anyone who doesn’t know why this was needs to have a word with themselves.  The RUSU elections 2011/12 took place last week and were a serious success.  The funny thing is, though I just apologised… I’m really not sorry.  Not a sausage. I’m sorry that I’m not sorry.  The elections are magic. 

How did we do?

Here we go jargon and serious face time: Within one week more students take part in a democratic process than any other time during the year.  Nearly 3000 handsome and well-groomed Reading students got online and voted for who they want to lead their student union next year.  More, ladies and gents, than ever before.  If you were part of this, cheers.

Like Kelly Rowland, usually I’m down for whatever  - but in particular I’m down for democracy.  It’s a nice feeling knowing that though on the outside people tend to seem apathetic and a bit sluggish to get involved, they do care about this stuff!  Even the nice young lady who came and sat down and said to me “You do realise I’m only doing this because I want free pizza.” The fact she then sat down and took the time to look at the candidates and work out who she wanted to vote for is a success.

So, who have you got coming in to replace me next year? I know what you’re all thinking…how do you replace the irreplaceable? STOP IT you flirts! Ceri jones, Nick Cook, Cara Swift, James Fletcher and Sophie Davies all did really good campaigning, and off the back of this they are going to be your Student Officer team for next year.  And what a pleasant and amusing bunch of cats they are.  I for one will be happy to hand over my office to Ceri , your new VP for Democracy and Campaigns, secure in the knowledge it’s in safe hands. She’s nice and that.

The Fear

One other thing I wanted to talk about is “The Fear”.  I remember this time last year, when The Fear hit me.  It comes to a point in the year when everyone panics about work, and people become irrational.  The remote gets lost for the TV and there’s a Cluedo-style witch hunt for whose fault it was.  Someone doesn’t do the washing up and they’re now “just the worst guy”. 

Listen Colonel Mustard/ Miss Scarlett! Put the lead piping down and take a little breather.  This time of year is stressful. You need the people around you, like your friends and housemates, to be the ones helping you to calm down.  Make sure you give people some slack, because come exam time you’ll be relying on them to keep you sane.  In the meantime, don’t peak too soon.  Get in some time for R & R, make time to go out with your mates and enjoy the weekends. You’ll feel much better about work when you know you’ve got something to look forward to!

I love feedback.  So… even if you want to just come and have a nag at me about last week, my office is in the RUSU hub.  I’ll provide biscuits and a cup of tea for anyone who does, like the good host I am. 

Finally, I can be followed on twitter! For all things democracy and campaigns follow @rusu_vpdc or for the more exciting stuff without the watershed follow @benjhaines.

I’ll write again before Easter about some really exciting stuff we’ve got coming up in the summer.  In the mean time, I’ve missed you guys.

*flame rekindled, walks away slowly, looks back over shoulder and smiles*

See you all soon

Ben

P.S Campus Central now sells hot-dogs. Quality right?! Another huge win for students, get in there and give them a try, they’re DE-lish.

Ben's guide for students

Morning all,

Skipping all the pleasantries because I’m sure you are all beautifully bronzed after holidays in sunny places, relaxed after too many mornings spent lying in bed with an episode or two of Homes Under The Hammer and all excited to get back to being students.

Image by meophammanilow via FlickrRound about this sort of times, things just keep appearing everywhere saying things like “Remember this” or “oh, fill in this form.” Lots of this stuff is directed at freshers’ in particular. The most common of this literature being a 'Things to bring' list that first years would receive stretching perhaps 3-4 A4 sides going from the most blissfully dull such as “Bring pens to write with” to the slightly more practical “Bring a TV aerial if you’re planning on catching up with Jeremy Kyle on the days where getting out of bed seems like an awful lot of effort.”

However hopefully I’m going to provide a slightly fresh bit of advice that is more relevant to you all. Firstly by offering a few hi-coos, what-nots and pointers for 2nd and 3rd years (as well as freshers), and secondly by suggesting things that others may overlook!


First Years

Image via Wikipedia

If you are anything like I was, you’ll arrive with enough bags for a family of six, full of things you may never us. Quite why your mum thought you would need 200 dividers for your first term, or why she’s decided you will definitely need 30 pencils when you’re studying an English course or perhaps that its absolutely fundamental you take a few hundred spare staples just in case you need to staple A LOT, is beyond you!

Here are a few tips for getting by in your first year…

• Technically, I can't tell you to keep your door open (fire hazards and that), but make the effort to get out there, meet people and interact! People won't make the effort if you sit behind a closed door.
• Alcohol can lead to an array of amusing incidents however not only is it best to enjoy it responsibly, but also avoid drinking too much on your first night evenings. People just in general love to remind you of that time “You woz hammered.” Perhaps it’s a good idea to make sure it wasn’t on your first night that you woke up outside shirtless, with one shoe, covered in permanent marker…
• If you have a place in halls have a wander around and introduce yourself to people - knock on doors and have a chat. Don’t be embarrassed, everyone is in the same boat as you.

Second Years

• Make sure you enjoy yourself. Don’t take this to mean “yeah don’t do any studying or anything” Obviously make time for study and that, it’s important you get good grades, and aren’t completely lost in June when you’re sitting at a desk in sports park writing an exam answer you have completely made up.
• Get involved with plenty of things that will be good for your CV! Employers take very little interest in that time you beat your housemate at Fifa, or the time you watched Gilmore girls for 5 hours straight. Sit on committees and join societies. Employers want sociable people who will represent a company well and be a good team member.
• Finally on a very similar note, spread your wings a little bit, go out of your comfort zone and try things you haven’t yet tried. Once you move into a house with all your best pals from first year it can become increasingly easy to get isolated, go out and try new things like sports, societies or media!

Third Years

                          via Wikipedia
• Right you lot have got to take things more serious than you ‘ave done, you’re all getting on a bit and starting to settle down. If you need to let your hair down get it out of the way early. Have some fun at the beginning of the term then knuckle down, I bloomin’ love Christmas and would have been gutted to miss out on any clowning around that takes place in December because you haven’t been up to speed on your dissertation etc.
• Surround yourself with people who are pro-active, fun but also hard-working. These sorta’ people are the key to being motivated.
• Choose your nights that will be your chilled out/going out evenings. DON’T CHOOSE a night out where you’ve got a horribly early start to the next day where you’ll be getting up for a lecture in your finest baggy hoody, Ugg boots and those comfy old school Nike grey tracksuit bottoms that you’ve had since you were 15.

Your time at uni goes ever so quickly so make the most of it, a lot of this stuff seems basic but it can genuinely make a difference if you try it.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon, campus is all kinds of quiet at the mo.


Attempted Urban cool guy handshake

Ben

Hello from our VP Democracy & Campaigns - Ben Haines

Alright pals,

Hope everyone is hunky dory and having all sorts of tomfoolery and fun on their summer break! This is my first attempt at a blog post and unfortunately for anyone reading it I have a habit of writing a lot like the way in which I talk - which most of the time involves a mixture of eloquent speech and fractured abuse of the English language.

Firstly all you lovely A'level lot who have got into UoR…

*just going to take a brief pause here to say usually I ain't got an awful lot of time for abbreviations and synonyms they make things ever so confusing but in this case I reckon it’ll save a bit of time (UoR meaning University of Reading)*

… like I was saying all you A'level bunch who got into UoR congratulations! This University is not only world-renowned, forward-thinking, home to some of the best academics in the world, easy on the eyes and steeped in history but also a really friendly and fun place to be. Apologies for the slightly cheesy digression but anyway I shall look forward to meeting lots of you soon!

The rest of you good looking Reading bunch who are coming back to Reading in a few weeks time after the summer break, get yourselves all rested up and that ready for Freshers' Fortnight followed by many late nights working hard perhaps indulging in an occasional trip down to the Students' Union on a Wednesday or Saturday evening!

What I've been up to so far

Just thought I’d get you up to speed on what I’ve been doing with my time since having been made Vice President of this swanky student union. After having been wooed like a wide eyed child with the idea of having my own office with a white board, I’ve managed to get settled down and have been spending a lot of time scratching my head and working out the best way for students to give their officer team (myself, Steph, Alex, Jack and Karl) feedback. We’ve come up with something called ‘Student Officer Scrutiny’ which we hope will be a little event for any student to come and find out what their team has been doing to represent and support them! Think of it as like a spiced up version of Mastermind, but with you lot asking the questions instead of a silver fox like John Humphreys.

Secondly, I’ve had myself a little look at my manifesto that I got elected on. The first thing I'll be tackling is a big old vote on whether Reading University Students' Union wants to remain affiliated with the National Union of Students. Right, I realise all these long words and the idea of voting looks all confusing and is enough to make you all awash and agog due to information overload…HOWEVER…in theory this is all very simple. You the students will have a straight forward yes or no choice. The National Union of Students brings a lot of Students' Unions around the country together, they provide training, resources and really good deals for us students…but…we do have to pay to be affiliated to them. What you lot have to decide is whether you believe the money which we pay is worth the benefits we get back. Don’t be fooled by my long winded explanation kids this is genuinely exciting stuff you’ll be hearing lots more about this soon.

Get in contact!

Very aware I’ve been yammering on for quite a concerted period of time now, and am probably at risk of boring people which would just be a bloomin' disaster so I shall leave you to carry on just living out your lives.

See you all soon! Oh yeah give me a little follow on Twitter @RUSU_VPDC or find me on Facebook or alternatively send me a little email or summat. Will be more than happy to answer any questions!

Much Love

*informal handshake combined with reassuring smile*

Ben.