Thanks for the comment on the last blog pointing out how it wasn't very insightful. Unfortunately I'm not sure I have anything particularly insightful to offer this week either.
I'm looking forward to Christmas. Usually I'm not in the Christmas mood till a lot later but decorations are soon going to be up round the Union and details will be released of some of the exciting things that are happening here to help you celebrate Christmas. It will include the traditional twelve days of Christmas and there should hopefully be a Christmas market organised by CSC on the concourse.
It's going to be great.
Pete
Opportunity Cost
My big realisation of the moment is that there's a cost in a foregone opportunity for every action you take or don't take.
To put it another way, resources (whether money, time, energy or whatever) are always limited and therefore you have to decide how you prioritise things. You may have a hundred good ideas but if you only have the resources to implement ten of them then ninety good ideas are going to have to fall by the wayside. This clearly is not a startling discovery, but in some ways it is hard to put into practice because you need to see the big picture and the opportunity costs before you can.
In this organisation we have a diverse membership with a variety of different perspectives and priorities which is a large part of what gives the Union its vibrancy and relevancy. These cannot, however, all be incorporated into the priorities the Union takes on and the role of student leaders is partly in taking decisions on what gets prioritised.
It is therefore important to have people in position to do this, which is why I'm glad that we have by-election nominations to cover all the vacant positions on Students' Union Council. The student officers and students' union councillors are the people that take the decisions in the Union and if you don't like what's happening then come and speak to one of the officers or let your councillor know. Nevertheless, part of the art of this job is learning to say no.
To put it another way, resources (whether money, time, energy or whatever) are always limited and therefore you have to decide how you prioritise things. You may have a hundred good ideas but if you only have the resources to implement ten of them then ninety good ideas are going to have to fall by the wayside. This clearly is not a startling discovery, but in some ways it is hard to put into practice because you need to see the big picture and the opportunity costs before you can.
In this organisation we have a diverse membership with a variety of different perspectives and priorities which is a large part of what gives the Union its vibrancy and relevancy. These cannot, however, all be incorporated into the priorities the Union takes on and the role of student leaders is partly in taking decisions on what gets prioritised.
It is therefore important to have people in position to do this, which is why I'm glad that we have by-election nominations to cover all the vacant positions on Students' Union Council. The student officers and students' union councillors are the people that take the decisions in the Union and if you don't like what's happening then come and speak to one of the officers or let your councillor know. Nevertheless, part of the art of this job is learning to say no.
Standing
Evening,
Another week flown by. We're now through week 7 of term. It's getting to the time as an officer when objectives for the year really have to start being delivered as we're over a third of the way through our tenure as leaders of the organisation.
Once we get to the other side of Christmas the talk will be of who our successors are going to be. If anyone is thinking of standing for an officer position I would thoroughly encourage them to do so. It's a enjoyable job where you can make a lot of difference on a huge range of issues.
Congratulations to Matthew Wilson who correctly identified the song in ther previous post as 'undivided love' by Louise. The lollipop's still on offer if you get back in touch.
Another week flown by. We're now through week 7 of term. It's getting to the time as an officer when objectives for the year really have to start being delivered as we're over a third of the way through our tenure as leaders of the organisation.
Once we get to the other side of Christmas the talk will be of who our successors are going to be. If anyone is thinking of standing for an officer position I would thoroughly encourage them to do so. It's a enjoyable job where you can make a lot of difference on a huge range of issues.
Congratulations to Matthew Wilson who correctly identified the song in ther previous post as 'undivided love' by Louise. The lollipop's still on offer if you get back in touch.
Inner workings
As a nineties pop song says: 'you don't know what you've got until it's gone/it's easy to forget the beauty in someone'. This can be true of machines as well as people. Our reliance on technology is fairly hefty as was evidenced to me when power went out at the Union last night. I'm currently in the IC as the fire alarms haven't been sorted out yet in the Union building.
However, technology isn't the only thing we sometimes take for granted. For example, when I put paper in the recycling bin in the sabb offices it's easy not to think about the person who has to come and take away what I've discarded.
I spent a morning with the Union porters yesterday and part of the job was collecting things left in recycle bins and then sorting it ready for pick up. I met the two yard assistants that the Union employs to go through all the bottles collected in the bottle banks in Bar One and take out all the plastic they find so the glass will be ready for collection by the recycling company.
The porters showed me a lot of other stuff too, but I'm just highlighting the recycling aspect as it is easy to have all the will towards better recycling facilities without having to consider the logistics of sorting it out. Not that I'm discouraging people having a will towards recycling, I'm just encouraging people to realise there's a lot going on behind the scenes to make it possible.
Till next week, when I'll hopefully be writing this from the office,
Pete
By the way, if anyone knows the artist and title of the song quoted at the beginning then I'll give you a lollipop.
However, technology isn't the only thing we sometimes take for granted. For example, when I put paper in the recycling bin in the sabb offices it's easy not to think about the person who has to come and take away what I've discarded.
I spent a morning with the Union porters yesterday and part of the job was collecting things left in recycle bins and then sorting it ready for pick up. I met the two yard assistants that the Union employs to go through all the bottles collected in the bottle banks in Bar One and take out all the plastic they find so the glass will be ready for collection by the recycling company.
The porters showed me a lot of other stuff too, but I'm just highlighting the recycling aspect as it is easy to have all the will towards better recycling facilities without having to consider the logistics of sorting it out. Not that I'm discouraging people having a will towards recycling, I'm just encouraging people to realise there's a lot going on behind the scenes to make it possible.
Till next week, when I'll hopefully be writing this from the office,
Pete
By the way, if anyone knows the artist and title of the song quoted at the beginning then I'll give you a lollipop.
Fees and students' unions
I just noticed that my first post has now got 14 comments. On closer inspection most of them seem to be adverts for stuff, which is a shame as I was hoping people were just enjoying my blog! Oh well. If you were reading this in the hope that I'd give some advice on cheap places to buy viagra then your luck is in(!) - just hit a link from a comment on my first entry.
On the subject of buying stuff it can't have escaped any student's notice that education now comes with a direct price tag for students. It was on the subject of student fees that I heard David Willets, the shadow Secretary of State for innovation, Universities and skills, speak at this University last night. He stated ‘I’m not calling for the cap to be lifted and I’m not calling for it to be lowered’, but he did say he thought the review into the impact of fees should start now even if a decision on future funding for higher education won't be taken for a couple of years.
As a Union we are gearing up to ensure the views of students get heard in the debate on fees and the potential marketisation of higher education. Contributing to this debate is part of our team objective on higher education funding. We clearly think we've got an important part to play and so, apparently, does David Willets who said that the hub of many universities is the students' union and that continued independence for students' unions is crucial. That's a point on which myself and Mr Willets are very much in agreement.
If you want to know more about what we're doing regarding higher education funding or have any questions regarding the Union then feel free to drop me a line at any point. The email's pete.johnston@shef.ac.uk, the phone line is 0114 222 8606 or drop into the office above Coffee Revolution.
Cheers,
Pete
On the subject of buying stuff it can't have escaped any student's notice that education now comes with a direct price tag for students. It was on the subject of student fees that I heard David Willets, the shadow Secretary of State for innovation, Universities and skills, speak at this University last night. He stated ‘I’m not calling for the cap to be lifted and I’m not calling for it to be lowered’, but he did say he thought the review into the impact of fees should start now even if a decision on future funding for higher education won't be taken for a couple of years.
As a Union we are gearing up to ensure the views of students get heard in the debate on fees and the potential marketisation of higher education. Contributing to this debate is part of our team objective on higher education funding. We clearly think we've got an important part to play and so, apparently, does David Willets who said that the hub of many universities is the students' union and that continued independence for students' unions is crucial. That's a point on which myself and Mr Willets are very much in agreement.
If you want to know more about what we're doing regarding higher education funding or have any questions regarding the Union then feel free to drop me a line at any point. The email's pete.johnston@shef.ac.uk, the phone line is 0114 222 8606 or drop into the office above Coffee Revolution.
Cheers,
Pete
Henry Kissinger
Well we now have a Students' Union Council.
Thanks to everyone who stood and everyone who voted. We're pleased with how it all went but know there is room for improvement next year. However, now's the exciting bit where we get to start having debates on the issues and making decisions.
One thing I've been working on recently is getting more big name politicians and people engaged in current affairs to come and address students here. We do have some brilliant events organised by societies but I'm aware from being on the debating committee that it's hard work trying to get people in. Getting the Union working on it provides more resources and hopefully there will be the opportunity to collaborate with the University on the idea. I've been meeting with the politics society and the debating committee who are both enthusiastic about how we can work together.
We've thrown a few ideas of who we could get in. Henry Kissinger is slightly out of our price bracket given that he apparently charges £50k per speech(!) but David Blunkett's already agreed to come. If you have any other ideas for who you'd like to see addressing an audience and potentially taking a few quesions then please let me know.
Hopefully we'll have an exciting programme of engaging speeches/lectures coming together very soon.
Any ideas let me know.
Cheers,
Pete
Thanks to everyone who stood and everyone who voted. We're pleased with how it all went but know there is room for improvement next year. However, now's the exciting bit where we get to start having debates on the issues and making decisions.
One thing I've been working on recently is getting more big name politicians and people engaged in current affairs to come and address students here. We do have some brilliant events organised by societies but I'm aware from being on the debating committee that it's hard work trying to get people in. Getting the Union working on it provides more resources and hopefully there will be the opportunity to collaborate with the University on the idea. I've been meeting with the politics society and the debating committee who are both enthusiastic about how we can work together.
We've thrown a few ideas of who we could get in. Henry Kissinger is slightly out of our price bracket given that he apparently charges £50k per speech(!) but David Blunkett's already agreed to come. If you have any other ideas for who you'd like to see addressing an audience and potentially taking a few quesions then please let me know.
Hopefully we'll have an exciting programme of engaging speeches/lectures coming together very soon.
Any ideas let me know.
Cheers,
Pete
Student Media
When you log into this thing it advertises a lot of other blogs that people are doing. Many people clearly like writing their thoughts on the web. Reminds me of an NUS document I read a while ago that suggested engagement with student politics could be increased by officers writing a column in student media entitled 'my two pence' where we went off on one with our opinions about the big issues of the day. I guess this blog would count as my 'my two pence' article but it is worthy of note that the relations between student media and officers are, on the whole, very good, even whilst a healthy journalistic distance and scepticism is maintained. We're now having fortnightly media briefings whereby members of student media and any members of the Union can come and here about the big things going on with the officers and ask questions.
The next media briefing is on Tuesday the 30th from 5 until 5.30 in the media hub on level 4 of the Union building.
Our desire is to be open with students as to what's going on. If you can't make the briefings but have questions then feel free to drop any of the officers an email. We're here to represent students, which is easier to do if students let us know what's on their minds!
If media is your thing make sure you come to the student media day tomorrow. I realise this is late notice but hopefully you'll have seen advertising elsewhere. It coincides with the official opening of our media hub which was built over the summer by virtue of Union funds and as well as significant support from the alumni fund, convocation and other generous donors. The hub seeks to bring together the creativity of students working on various print, radio, internet, tv and other projects and make our media even stronger.
If you want to get involved in student media but can't make tomorrow (or have read this after the event) then pop into the hub and speak to our member of staff Rob Ellerington who works to empower students to bring their ideas into being.
Till next week,
Pete
The next media briefing is on Tuesday the 30th from 5 until 5.30 in the media hub on level 4 of the Union building.
Our desire is to be open with students as to what's going on. If you can't make the briefings but have questions then feel free to drop any of the officers an email. We're here to represent students, which is easier to do if students let us know what's on their minds!
If media is your thing make sure you come to the student media day tomorrow. I realise this is late notice but hopefully you'll have seen advertising elsewhere. It coincides with the official opening of our media hub which was built over the summer by virtue of Union funds and as well as significant support from the alumni fund, convocation and other generous donors. The hub seeks to bring together the creativity of students working on various print, radio, internet, tv and other projects and make our media even stronger.
If you want to get involved in student media but can't make tomorrow (or have read this after the event) then pop into the hub and speak to our member of staff Rob Ellerington who works to empower students to bring their ideas into being.
Till next week,
Pete
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