Here are some highlights from the month of September:

Big welsh one:
I delivered a session at the big welsh one, which is a two day event for officers in Wales about what NUS Wales have planned for the year, on engaging students and generating involvement. The event was excellently thought out and there’s some good strong campaigns coming out of Wales this year with the right mixture of engagement and action. I never really understood different issues that came out of Wales until I had been there and listened to the officers and I really think, with the team this year, Wales will be a fighting force after a troubled few years

Mental health day:
I once again attended mental health awareness day run by the disabled students campaign and the welfare campaign . The day highlights issues that many of us take for granted, things we don’t necessarily see in others, and things that affect at least one in four students. To hear people talk about their experiences, and what unions can do really drives home the fact that we have to continue working on an issue that affects students’ lives and can be developed during time at university.

TUC Conference:
As the NEC member with responsibility for the ‘organising agenda’ I attended TUC conference as an observer. The conference is vastly different to that of NUS’ with very little disagreement and a lot of posturing from different unions wanting to explain why they also support an issue, but there were some lively debates, on the EU Constitution, and childcare. The main point of my attendance, however, was to meet various unions and trade unionists who can assist with issues such as students at work and activists academy. I was able to meet the TUC director of organising, and the director of the organising academy as well as those from ATL and UCU . It was also nice to be able to discuss issues facing students with people in an informal environment, and it is defiantly true to say that the best deals are done at these things at three in the morning. A major success of my attendance was the commitment to get individuals who have been through the activist academy accredited for their time and attendance.

Freshers’ fairs:
UCE , Leeds , Kings , Chichester , Southampton Solent , Brighton , Bristol and Loughborough . These were all the places I managed to get to in a day and back to run the NUS stall at freshers’ fairs or just generally assist on the students’ union’s stall and promote what it is doing and how students can get involved. I, for one, really value the chance to be at freshers’ fairs and on union campuses because you get to talk to people and inform them as to what role they can play within the union. You know the saying – get them early! It was disappointing for me that for the second year in a row it seemed that I was taking on far more of these events than other members of the Block of 12 who chose to push their other issues or may have not been at any at all. When you are paid by the organisation and there is a busy period, then you step up and do the work, especially when some unions had to be informed there was no one attending because there weren’t any available people. Still, I enjoy them, and I think unions benefit as do students from having people telling them what NUS is, what it does and how they can make a change.

Also during September,
I attended another NEC meeting, was present at campaigns convention promoting the mature students campaign and activists academy, as well as assisting in the students in the community. and ‘Organising your freshers’ sessions. I attended a ‘tackling anti-semitism on campus’ day after some disgusting material had been faxed to some students’ unions and stewarded for NUS on the Day for Darfur demo as well as planning the activist academy agendas.

And also I managed to complete the Great North Run on behalf of Scope, getting the place through the NUS disabled students campaign, and raising a considerable amount of money.

Any questions then drop me a line 07740 334184 or email me at bubble@nus.org.uk

Cheers,

Richard ‘Bubble’ Budden

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