Week 0

Hello again!!

The other Guild Officers and I arrived back at SB this week so we could get ready for Welcome Week and participate in the tradition that is Week 0 madness.

Long, long ago, on a campus far away (University Park), a group of people decided that the term “Freshers Week” had too many negative connotations, and that the general public had begun to think that this meant excessive drinking, dangerous behaviour, and associated this with the student body across the country for the rest of the year. So, these magical beings decided that they would re-brand the first week of term, as “Week 1” (hence, the week before when all the prep happens, is termed Week 0). This, again, turned sour, as people associated this with the old stereotype of students. So, after more furious re-branding, its now known as Welcome Week, but the mythical time, Week 0, persists…

It is about 11pm on Thursday of Week 0, and I am the last one in the Guild Space (although people have been filtering out slowly since about 7pm). We’ve been busy bees running around campus putting together flat bags, welcome packs, arranging different spaces around campus, making signs, putting up miles of bunting, and having a great time while doing it all.

When you consider that all of the officers didn’t really know each other well at all before this week, we’ve gelled incredibly quickly (I’ll admit that seeing them from 10am until 6pm every day might have had something to do with this, but they’re a great bunch even in small doses!) and that shows in how much we’ve managed to do whilst laughing and enjoying ourselves. We’ve been filming little bits and bobs for a Week 0 and Week 1 video, partly to promote the Guild and help with our elections, but also because we’re all keen to remember this time.

@SB_Guild busy at work. Start of term must be just around the corner! pic.twitter.com/lJVsuTf8gf

— Gemma Foxall (@GemmaFoxall) September 22, 2016

I’ve learned a lot since Monday. I know that our Junior Ents Officer Sam has one of the funniest voices when inhaling helium. I know that our Sports and Activities Officer Emily can wield a mallet half her height, and with frightening efficiency! I know that our Campaigns Officer Danni is incredibly passionate and hard working, and that she is like our Treasurer Saniya in that they can both be sassy when they want to be! Alex, our Senior Ents Officer, is just as soppy as me and is excited to remember everything we can by videoing anything and everything. Our Vice Guild Chair Bobbi is a dab hand with a paint brush. James, another of our Junior Ents Officers and Ollie our Publicity Officer, can dance with almost anything and could both have successful careers as Miley Cyrus’ backing dancers.

Our fabulous @SB_Guild : almost ready for welcoming @UoNBiosciences freshers #meanttobe pic.twitter.com/bGF0o7ADOr

— UoNBioscienceCareers (@UoNBioscicareer) September 22, 2016

I’m a cheesy person, as many will know, but being able to work with these fantastic people this week has been an absolute pleasure. I won’t lie to you, I’m quite nervous about next week – there is a lot riding on us engaging our students as soon as possible, not only to make sure that they have a great time here, but to continue to build our campus spirit. But I’m also buzzing with excitement – I’ve been chatting to good friends who have been Guild Officers in previous years, and I know that it will be hard work but also fantastically rewarding to see the new students enjoying themselves.

For now, I’ll sign off and go to bed. With only tomorrow to go before the official intake weekend starts, its going to be the busiest day yet! (That and the lights in the Guild Space are on timers and sensors, and one end of the room has gotten scarily dark, so I’m going to go before the Shadow Committee appears…) Wish us luck!!

(featured tweets – from SB staff who walked past our antics today and had to put our efforts on the internet! Not featured – the awkward videos the university managed to persuade me to do and are now on YouTube…)

Hello there!

It’s almost time to start another year at SB, and with the new year comes a new Guild Chair. So, hello there! I’m Jemma, a third year animal science student, SB keeno and the SB Guild Chair for 2016-17.

The other Guild Officers and I have been working hard all summer getting ready for Welcome Week, planning events, working out budgets, gathering information for the SB survival guide and generally making sure the week is as fantastic as possible. And what a week it is shaping out to be!! Barbecues, free pizza, open mic nights, bar nights, pub quizzes… There is something for everyone this coming Welcome Week, and I’m so excited to see everyone enjoy themselves at the events.

We’ve also been working hard on campaigns this summer (yep, we got straight into it this year!) with the new David Ross Sports Village pushing up the prices of gym memberships across campuses, and the cancellation of the SB to Kegworth bus because of work on Station Road. Danni (our Campaigns Officer) and I have been sending countless emails, researching gyms and bus companies, and putting together surveys and reports to try to make a difference for our students. As you can imagine, going up against your own university is quite difficult, especially when you’re representing a (comparatively) small number of people. But, we’re still going, and however the campaigns go, we will make sure SB gets a fairer deal.

What am I looking forward to next year? Everything! I can’t wait to meet all of the new students coming to SB, see old friends, make new ones, and generally have another fantastic year. (I have to say, I’m really looking forward to all of the bar parties and to SB Fest 2017, but more on that later this year…)

Am I worried about anything? Third year is a busy year for any student with finals and a dissertation to get done, but having lots to do with the Guild, hobbies and volunteering, there is going to be quite a lot! Having said that, I enjoy being busy and I know I can make the most of my final year (*sob*) by doing lots. Fingers crossed!

Any advice for first year students? Plenty. (I could tell you unfortunate stories from friends that would make you laugh so hard you cried.) But, for me, the most important thing is to get involved with as much as you possibly can and enjoy yourself – you don’t get much time at university, and it passes much faster than you’d imagine. Of course, work hard and do your best and all of that academic stuff. But at the end of the day, if you come out of university with a first class degree but no friends, you’ve probably had a bit of a rubbish time.

For now, I’ll sign off and get back to work with planning, campaigning, packing up my room and preparing for this year! Week 0 is going to be lots of fun!

SB Guild Chair Persons from 2013 to 2017 – Alistair Wright, Jake Richards, James Wilson and Jemma Franklin (and Seris the cow)

Some of the new and old Guild Officers at St Paddy’s Dining In 2016

Carlos’ SB

My name is Carlos Balmaceda, I’m currently doing a MSc in Crop Biotechnology and Entrepreneurship at the School of Bioscience. I’m an international student from Peru living in Sutton Bonington campus, and I would like to share some of my thoughts about life in SB.

SB may be a small community within The University of Nottingham, but it’s definitely a unique experience and it’s worth getting to know it. As an international student, I must say it was hard to understand at first, SB has its own culture and ways of doing things, it takes some time getting used to it but now it feels like home. The Guild, an association affiliated to the Student’s Union, played an important role in this acclimation process, with well organized activities, and their constant interaction with the students. It definitely helps students access all the necessary information to integrate into SB. Just as if you were in a small town, people in SB are nice and always willing to help and have a good time. It’s not hard to come across a familiar face while walking around campus on your way to class or just trying to catch the hopper bus into the city.

“Even though many of the activities are aimed for undergraduate students, there is nothing that stops us postgraduates to join in and have a good time (I know I have!)”

It’s true, Nottingham is 30 minutes away but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun at SB. Not everything is study in our community, going for a game of pool at The Barn (the campus amenities building), or having a pint at the village nearby are some of the things we enjoy form time to time, without compromising our studies. The occasional party or dining in organized by the Guild are also good opportunities to get to know this amazing group of students that live at SB or the towns close by. Even though many of the activities are aimed for undergraduate students, there is nothing that stops us postgraduates to join in and have a good time (I know I have!).

Another way of interacting within SB is getting involved with societies, it’s a great way to integrate to this community and get to know people. For example, making pork pies, sausages, and going to the dairy farm with the Agrics are just a few of the things I’ve enjoyed doing in my time at SB. The Farmer’s Market, at the beginning of each month, is another entertaining way to interact with local and international students at SB, and you get to buy a burger or some honey cake in the process.

Finally, one of the things we get the most at SB are open spaces and fresh air, this is something I personally value, it helps me clear my head specially around coursework submission dates or during revisions before the exams. I still have a few more months in the UK left, but once I finish my program and go back to Peru, SB and its culture along with the friends I’ve made during my stay are the things I’ll miss the most.

Carlos Balmaceda

MSc in Crop Biotechnology and Entrepreneurship

SB Christian Union: #Relevant?

Every year on SB the Christian Union put on a week of free and exciting events open to everyone. This is a chance for you to ask your questions and grill your Christian friends for their answers. I guess I just wanted to take some time out to share with you all some of the highlights of the week and say thank you to everyone who came along and joined in.

This year our theme was ‘#Relevant?’ and as a launch we held our infamous cake giveaway! Ranging from victoria sponge to triple chocolate muffins to lemon drizzle we had it all! Somehow SB, you managed to consume 700 pieces of cake in just a lunchtime, now that is impressive!

We then kicked off the weeks events with SB’s very first Text-A-Toastie. Many of you text in your questions about God and Christianity – some of my favourite being “What is God’s favourite animal?” and “Why did the Wise Men go to the barn?”

‘Is Choice #Relevant?’ was our next event where we watched The Matrix. Tom Cox challenged our way of thinking and what we consider to be right and wrong choices, and I don’t just mean “Should I wear a gilet today or is that too SB?” or “What shall we decorate three fibreglass cows with?”

Over the next couple of days we held a Grill-A-Christian evening (don’t worry, no actual flames were involved) and a walk to a local pub with fantastic weather. This gave those who came along a chance to get to know us and understand the thinking behind the seemingly religious façade and – as some would call it – the bible bashing.

Our final event of the week was an acoustic evening featuring performances from SB’s very own Ben Horner and Dog Days. One thing SB does incredibly well is music! We also heard Elizabeth and Rob (Guests from University Park CU) speak and challenge us on whether we think God is relevant in our lives. It was a great way to round off the week and thank you to John Powell for taking some amazing photos of the evening.

This week was about so much more than the events for me! It was fabulous to get to know some of you a lot better and meet some of you for the first time – I know that is almost unheard of on this campus! Keep your eyes pealed for our next lot of events and whether you have burning questions or just want some free cake, I hope to see you all there!

Rebekah Mondon

 President of Sutton Bonington Christian Union

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You must have heard of #SaferStationRd but if not…

The Station Road Campaign is known throughout the University of Nottingham as an amazing example of students working together and with the local community to achieve change. So, what was it and how did it become so successful?

For many years, Station Road (the three quarters of a mile stretch between the SB and the nearby village of Kegworth) has been known for being extremely dangerous. Many of us live in Kegworth and either cycle drive or walk in; hence it’s been a huge concern. With a large blind bend, poor road markings, a 60mph speed limit and limited visibility, there were accidents waiting to happen on a daily basis.

Two years ago, led by Adeel Khan, our Campaigns and Equal Opportunities Officer at that time, the Guild started the #SaferStationRd campaign. Starting by conducting a survey of students, an overwhelming majority of 92% said they travelled along Station Road in the dark, with 58% saying they felt either unsafe or very unsafe. Individual accounts told us that students felt vulnerable, especially with cars travelling at high speed. Action had to be taken!

The Guild came up with four main asks for the campaign:

1. Installation of street lights along the road
2. Re-painting of the road markings
3. Introduction of a cycle path
4. Reduction of the speed limit

After the unanimous feeling that street lights would be the most beneficial initial ask, we concentrated on this as the main area of campaigning.

Students, staff and members of the local community then signed a petition asking for Nottinghamshire County Council to install street lighting along the road, giving 1560 signatures in total. After meetings with local primary schools and the local scout group, the Guild realised that it was not just members of the students and staff that felt unsafe. We handed the petition over to Cllr Andrew Brown, our local councillor for Soar Valley, at an event attended by 150 students, staff and members of the local community.

A great turnout showed how everyone locally would benefit from the council’s investment in this project.

A quote was given of £100,000 for street lights to be installed. After the University of Nottingham’s generous bid to fund half of this, the work was given the go ahead in April 2014.

After initial set-backs, the work began on 21^st February 2015. Despite some short term interruptions in hopper bus service and lack of access to this stretch of road, Station Road reopened with its brand new street lights on 20^th March 2015. The new lights are LEDs, which reduce light pollution as well as being more sustainable.

This was an amazing example of how staff and students’ of Sutton Bonington pulled together and turned out in large numbers to fight for a project we all care about. We did this not only for us but for the local community. We hope many will benefit from this campaign in the years to come.

We are all looking forward to the Local and General elections on 7^th May. In Sutton Bonington, we have seen first-hand what support from local councillors can do. Students will be turning out again in large numbers on that day to ensure we get backing for many successful future campaigns. This campaign is also a great example of the Notts Student Manifesto – two points raised here were in regards to safety and transport, which we are already being delivered here in Sutton Bonington.

On behalf of the Guild and everyone at SB, I would like to thank everyone for their help in making this so successful!

Jess Warren

Guild Campaigns Officer 

What even is SB?

So what is SB? Many people have heard of it but it’s only the very privileged few that understand it. The best way to find out what it is is to come down and spend a fortnight here in the Nottinghamshire countryside but we appreciate that’s not an overly practical solution so we’ll do our best with this blog.

SB stands for Sutton Bonington; a village that lends it’s name to Sutton Bonington Campus (part of the University of Nottingham). Here the two academic schools make up the student and staff population. The first being the reason why we’re all here – the School of Biosciences, formerly the Faculty of Agriculture (and also several other names; it’s been here a while). The second, and newest, being the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science. In total there’re about 2000 students from all over the world, who are all studying subjects that link to the food chain.

There are of course staff here too: some of whom have been here since the campus opened 100 years ago (I joke). The majority of people live either on campus or in the village of Kegworth. Living in such close proximity I’d suggest is partly the reason why SB is so unique and a true community – So much so that most students (and staff) consider themselves to be ‘of SB’ the same amount, if not more, as they consider themselves to be ‘of the University of Nottingham’.

Yes we’re about 30 minutes  away from University Park (on a good day) and yes it can seem like a bit of a culture shock if you’re from a town, but for our size we have a huge amount of clout. Where else would you find 2000 students able to run 40+ societies? And where else would you find 2000 students that can lobby the University and council to provide £100,000 for street lighting? Answer: Nowhere.

Something else that we are well catered for is a Union presence. We have the voice of one of the largest Students’ Unions in the country while being well equipped with our own SU association – the Guild. Led by a group of 13 elected Officers, the whole student experience on campus is well looked after. Keeping the campaigns for a better campus moving, the societies active and students at the heart of all the decisions made on campus.

But, how could I forget the person that keeps student activity moving? Una! The SU community co-ordinator on SB. Keeping all the cogs inline and making everyone’s University experience the best it can be.

It truly is an amazing place where you get the best of all worlds. It is the people, the events, the community and the clout that we have as a campus that makes me very proud to say that yes, I am ‘of the University of Nottingham’ but, without a doubt I am very much so ‘of SB’.

Jake Richards

Chair of the Sutton Bonington SU Guild

P.s

The aim of this blog is to keep a record of all thats happening on campus. Whether that be reports from Societies and Guild Officers or even some of the events that occur on campus and in the two schools.

If you’d like to write a post then please do be in contact susbgc@nottingham.ac.uk it could be anything (as long as it’s about SB)