This Friday, SUSUtv hosted the National Student Television Association (NaSTA) People’s Choice Awards!

The broadcast, involving over a dozen SUSUtv crew members and presenters from the NaSTA exec, was streamed online with people watching from across the country to support their student television stations. Big congratulations go to the volunteers from SUSUtv who set up these awards, particularly Joanna Sheldon – the director of the live show, and Alastair ‘Moggy’ Mogford, the executive producer who designed the beautiful website for the awards.

SUSUtv were also shortlisted in 4 out of the 6 categories with people around the world voting for who should be the winners… here’s how they did:

Content Innovation – SUSUtv Entry: Elfrida…. WINNERS

Watch this video on YouTube.

Technical Innovation – SUSUtv Entry: Live subtitling for deaf and hard of hearing audiences… WINNERS

You can see the information for this fantastic achievement in student television here.

Best Live – SUSUtv Entry: SUSU Elections Results Night 2013 (Highlights)… WINNERS

Watch this video on YouTube.

… SUSUtv didn’t make the shortlist for the Open Category, which was a mock MTV cribs video with James Dennis… and they couldn’t enter the Best New Station Category.

People’s Station – SUSUtv Entry… umm… SUSUtv… WINNERS

Watch this video on YouTube.

So proud of the team and the passion they constantly put into student television!

David Gilani

VP Communications

Earlier this year, we launched Vent About Your Rent, a new annual survey asking students of the University of Southampton all sorts of questions about your experiences of halls and private rented housing. And boy, did you vent! We’ve spent the last few months pulling together this research to form a report, which means that we can now dish all the dirt on average rent prices, landlord satisfaction, admin costs and of course: who you guys rated the worst letting agency in Southampton.

Our snazzy report has been printed and published and you can grab yourself a copy from The Advice Centre or SUSU reception. Numbers are limited, so if you want a paper copy, hurry up! Alternatively, check out the pdf version online here. Spread this information far and wide to ensure you guys get yourself a sweet deal (and as I’ve said a few times before: DON’T SETTLE!)

“Oh really? Interesting…”

And while we’re on the subject of letting agencies, I have some exciting news…

This year, myself and SUSU staff have been working towards finally getting SUSU’s very own letting agency off the ground. We’ve visited other students’ union’s agencies to do a ton of market research and we wrote a business case to present at the Trustee Board. After their approval and a lot of subsequent work with the budgets, I can proudly (and finally) say that SUSU will have its very own letting agency in the next academic year. My successor, Beckie, will be taking this forward as the VP Welfare and you’ll be hearing a lot more about it in the following months.

It’s worth remembering that letting agencies start very small, with possibly just a few houses and a few landlords. It takes a couple of years for them to grow and become attractive to potential new landlords, so be patient with us! Our long-term aim is to get a small share of the private rented housing market under our books so that we can challenge poor practise and raise the standards of accommodation in the city for students. I hope you’ll agree that this will be a long process, but one which is so necessary and exciting.

Welfare love x

SOOOO… we’re doing another photo session at the end of this week! From sports teams to staff… media to medics… Union Councillors to Christian Unioners… Performing Arts to Academic Presidents… anyone is welcome to come together and celebrate the fact that we have a great time together here in Southampton.

The important details: Redbrick – Friday 14th June – 4pm. 

If you’d like a specific photo for your area of activity, then comment on this blog or the Facebook Event, so we can schedule them in.

David Gilani

Our student television station, SUSUtv, are going to be the hosts of the first ever People’s Choice Awards for the National Student Television Association (NaSTA).

The guys and gals from SUSUtv are not only hosting the show this Friday at 7pm in the Cube (and online at SUSU.tv), but have also been short-listed for 4 out of the 6 award categories.

The winners for all the awards are decided by popular vote – which you can cast RIGHT NOW! Do it here.

Here’s what NaSTA Chair, Lawrence Bolton had to say on the Awards:

“We are incredibly pleased that so many stations have engaged with the NaSTA People’s Choice Awards. This is the first year we’re launching them as a standalone set of awards and we could not be more pleased with the turn out.”

Watch this video on YouTube.

Come along to University Road from 7.30pm when we will have a BBQ and we will be showing iron man three at around 8.30pm (sundown depending).

Check out the facebook event here.

What is the future of the Union club night?

Before the Christmas break this year, almost 700 students filled in a survey about their Nightlife preferences and what they look for from a club night. In April, almost 200 students said that they would like to discuss the idea of having more student leadership in running the Union club night. So from this we have organised an event.

10am Friday 7th June on Bar 2 of SUSU (Building 42)

We will be not only looking to answer the main question about the future of the Union club night, we will also be looking to find students who want to be involved in making this experience possible.

If you’re interested, come along. We’ll even be putting on some lunch for all those who give up their Friday morning to attend.

Sam Ling & David Gilani

It has come to our attention that the EDL (English Defence League) is planning a protest in Southampton, this Saturday (tomorrow), in the city centre. The EDL have called upon supporters to rally and march in many cities across the UK in response to the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby last week.

The EDL are attempting to capitalise on the appalling murder of the British soldier by using it as justification for their intolerant views on the Islamic community. The EDL believe that the murder of the soldier is representative of the Muslim faith as a whole, rather than being the actions of fanatical individuals. Many Islamic organisations have publicly condemned the actions of the murderers and have reassured the public that they do not reflect truly Muslim views or values. It is a great shame that citizens of this country have to remind others of this so frequently, but with a huge surge in support for fascist organisations like the EDL, this has been a positive response which has reaffirmed the UK as a country which can and should work in unity and community.

Since the Woolwich incident occurred, there has been a bout of shocking attacks on individual Muslim citizens, mosques and other community organisations by fascist EDL supporters. The ensuing terrorisation of an entire people is an abhorrent disregard for cohesion, peace and humanity. You can read more about this here. Violence must never be condoned, but violence which is so misdirected and so fuelled by ignorant bigotry is absolutely disgusting.

The EDL will be congregating in Southampton tomorrow in the hope of inciting hatred and racism towards members of our diverse community. A counter-protest has been organised by anti-fascist groups and we believe that it would send a strong message to the EDL if students attended in order to show solidarity with our student community, and the wider community of Southampton. Racism, xenophobia, discrimination and bigotry have no place in a civilised, multi-cultural society and we must unite together to stamp this out.

SUSU is committed to creating a safe, inclusive and tolerant campus where our students are free from discrimination and inequality. You can read our Valuing Diversity policy here.

This blog has been written by myself, Chloe Green Vice President Welfare and Communities, Sam Ling SUSU President, and Tom Gleeson Equality and Diversity Officer 2013/14.

The new results for this year’s students are in, and there are reasons to be proud to call yourself a student at Southampton. The survey is based on the responses from 1,444 international students (36% Post Graduate Taught, 35% Undergraduate,  29% Post Graduate Research).

Southampton Welcome

A joint project between SUSU and the University to bring together our welcoming activity, which is continuing this year and beyond.

• Satisfaction for ‘Welcome’ is now 8.9% above the Russell Group average (we’re now 2nd). 
• Southampton Arrival satisfaction has moved up to 88%.
• There is still room for improvement with satisfaction around engaging in ‘host culture’ and making ‘host friends’ (i.e. making friends with UK students) – which are at 80% and 70% respectively.

Muslim Prayer Space

This has been a project that Sam Ling has worked on with the University over the last two years.

• Satisfaction for Chaplaincy / Muslim Prayer Space provision – 97.9%. Of the 193 institutions from around the world that use this survey, Southampton has the highest rating in this category.

SUSU Activities

Whilst this survey doesn’t go into too much depth of International Students’ opinions on SUSU, it does have some key headings that it asks them about.

• Overall satisfaction with SUSU – 96.8%! Stayed constant from the last survey after reaching this new high. 
• Satisfaction with clubs and societies – 96.1% (increased from 93.6% in the last survey).
• The number of students who said that they use their Students’ Union is 10% higher in Southampton than the Russell Group average.

Thank you very much for reading

David Gilani – VP Communications

Student cyclists and those who frequent Lover’s Walk: we want to hear from YOU.

We want to hear from anyone who has walked or cycled down Lover’s Walk before. Lover’s Walk is the path thick with trees and shrubs from the bottom of Glen Eyre Road, that joins Highfield campus to Avenue campus and then runs parallel to the length of the Avenue.

Southampton City Council are currently carrying out consultation on what to do with this area, in regards to cycle safety and accessibility. This is great to see and they’re very keen to hear what students have to say, since this is a  cycle and walking route which affects many of you.

Essentially,  Lover’s Walk is routinely used as a cycle lane, despite the fact that it’s not of adequate width to accommodate both pedestrians and cyclists. If you’ve ever walked along it and ended up being nudged off the concrete and into the undergrowth due to cyclists ringing their bells at you, you’ll know what I’m talking about! The Council want to give the users of this route, particularly students, the safest and clearest solution to the current concerns, so it’s really important that our students speak up to ensure our views are heard. All the information on the proposals from the council is here

spooky…

As a keen cyclist myself (and an ex-Avenue student), I used to hate cycling through this area, namely because of the issue above. It was ridiculous cycling at snail’s pace behind rows of walkers, but it was equally cringe-worthy ringing the bell to get people out of the way. This itself is a massive concern which could do with fixing, but my interest in this consultation isn’t just about the cycle experience.

As a pedestrian walking along Lover’s Walk, I must say that it was quite an eerie experience. As of around 3pm in the winter months all natural light is gone from the path, especially the part which links Avenue and Highfield, which makes walking down it alone rather frightening and uncomfortable. In my second year, a friend of mine was sexually harassed on her way to lectures during her walk down this route; the thick trees and shrubs make the path very dark and threatening, which isn’t ideal when so many students use this route so frequently.

When I filled out the consultation form, I took the experience of both cyclist and pedestrian into account. That’s why I opted for Option 1 for both the North and South Sections. These options favour widening the existing paths, so that both cyclists and pedestrians can use the path simultaneously. These options also favour cutting some of the foliage back ever so slightly, to aid in widening the path, which would open the path out to more natural light. If these options were taken, then cyclists would be encouraged to use the path more regularly, which means that the path would be more heavily populated throughout the day. More people = more safe.

If we push the cyclists to use an alternative route as seen in Options 2 and 3 (which is less direct and may involve cycling on the very busy Avenue itself), then the path will become severely less populated and will remain narrow and dark. This would not be a victory for student safety. 

We want to make getting your feedback on the area as easy for you as possible, plus we’d love to know your thoughts. If you’re able to give your feedback via the Council’s website, then please do!

However, if you agree that Lover’s Walk should be more safe for pedestrians and simultaneously more accessible for cyclists, please complete our survey monkey poll here, which we will be sending to the Council on your behalf. This is a quick way to share your support for what I believe to be the best option for students: a safer, more usable, more accessible Lover’s Walk for cyclists and pedestrians. It’s worth noting that this consultation is designed specifically for the needs of cyclists; the safety of pedestrians however, is of the utmost significance to SUSU, hence why we want to consider both.

If you want to get your friends involved in this consultation, our survey can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LoversWalk We’ll be closing the survey on June 7th, so get going!

Welfare love x

Although everyone will breathe a huge sigh of relief when exams are finally over, we’ll also be preparing to say goodbye to another year of graduates completing their time at the University of Southampton and Graduation Ball is the perfect place to celebrate all of your hard work.

There are now just 2 weeks to go, and we’ve been working hard to make sure that the biggest night of the year will be your ultimate send off.

This year’s acts include big names like Example, Pendulum, DJ Fresh, Amelia Lily, Scott Mills and many more, plus we’ll also see the return of the amazing funfair and outside attractions as well as formal photography and a 4am Survivors’ Photo at the end of the night.

If you haven’t got your tickets yet, there is still time – simply visit www.susu.org/boxoffice or head to The Box Office at Reception in Building 42. Tickets are on sale to all University of Southampton students, and you can buy up to four tickets so that you can bring guests along to celebrate with you.

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of you who are graduating the very best for the future, and really look forward to seeing you at Graduation Ball!