25 July 2011

Re-O Day 2011

Ahoy there, sailors!

Wo/Man the battlements and prepare for another wave of O-Week, with Re-O Day 2011. This Wednesday sail down Eastern Avenue between 10am and 4pm to have a blast and see what student life at Sydney has to offer - all in nautical theme. Re-O Day is the chance for you to wind back time and join up to all those clubs and societies you regret not signing up to earlier in your degree. It's conveniently located right here on campus and takes place during your uni day.

Clubs & Societies

With over 100 stalls along the sides of Eastern Ave, you'll find a club that suits you. Membership is cheap and links you to similar people on campus. Types of clubs include:

  • Faculty Clubs
  • Religious Clubs
  • Ethnic Clubs
  • Sports Clubs
  • Humanitarian Clubs
  • Political/Philosophical Clubs
  • Cultural Clubs
  • Hobby Clubs


Check out this map for a larger view.

Silent Disco

Your 2011 Campus Culture Directors, Ashleigh Morse and Milla McPhee, have been busy working with the crazy people at Red Bull to bring you Silent Disco from 12pm-1pm and 2pm-3pm. Shake off those sea legs and put on your dancing shoes to form a flash mob of ragers dancing to the same tune with complimentary Red Bull headphones and DJ.

International Food Fair

Doesn't matter which of the seven seas you hail from, the University of Sydney Union wants to welcome you. That's why we've integrated a delicious array of international cuisine into Re-O Day. We hope you'll find a little taste of home and encourage you to contact our International Student Interns Yun Liu and Adnan Talib (internationalintern@usu.usyd.edu.au) for more support on issues facing international students.

Re-O Day is a huge event organised by an army of USU staff - for you! Massive thanks go out to those that have organised the event in Student Programs, Facilities and Marketing including Louise Anthony, Angela Vogiatsoglou, Mona Jindi and a multitude of others devoted to enhancing student life.

So! Share the facebook event with your friends and get amongst it!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168365149891535

Mina Nada
Board Director

18 July 2011

C&S Conference, Award Nominations

Aloha!

Ladies and Gents of the Clubs and Societies fraternity, I’m excited. I’ve dusted off my coconut bra and re-weaved my grass skirt. Why you ask?

This week is the C&S Conference.

A conference? In the holidays?

Don’t shudder execs, this is a really good opportunity to ensure your clubs and societies thrive into perpetuity. Angela Vogiatsoglou and her crackin’ C&S team have organised this two day event for C&S execs on Monday and Thursday (18, 21 July). On the agenda is a run-through of the Orion system that was put in place in 2007 to streamline the entire C&S programme. In short, Orion works two ways. It is the one-stop-interwebs-shop for all forms, contacts, regs and details any fledgling exec could ever want. Want to throw a party? Get the form off Orion. Room-hire? Orion. Access funding? Orion. Email C&S? Yep…Orion.

Honorary Secretary Jacqui Munro presents the Presidents Training Session.

Conversely, the programme enables the C&S office to contact you, see how active your club has been, record correspondence (the whole ‘Soz C&S staff, I didn’t get that email’ just ain’t gonna cut it anymore) and so on. For execs, Orion is the ultimate administrative go-to device and for Angela’s C&S squad it’s the latest in club management technology. Orion is one of the gems that the C&S conference will focus on. It is also a brilliant opportunity to gain some pearls of wisdom from other club execs. Learn the secret to hosting the best, or most lucrative event. What you learn may lead to your club picking up a gong at this year’s C&S Awards night!

Hui Xiang, President of Unimates, reads the C&S Handbook 2011.

Fiona Adams, C&S Auditor, presents the Treasurers Training Session.

So why all Hawaiian? On Thursday the 13th of October, we’re throwing a LUAU party for the Annual C&S Awards! Tiki men, hula-hooping Hawaiian dancers, sunburnt tourists, surfer-dudes, a volcano or two and maybe even a tribal sacrifice. Or not. Either way the freaky-tiki C&S Awards night will be off the chain, with a host of awards and prizes on offer. Nominations for the big kahunas close September 16th. By kahuna I mean:

Best Club with more than 100 Members
Best Club with 100 Members or fewer
Best Executive
Best Faculty or Affiliated Site Society
Best New Club
Best Marketing
 Communications
 T-Shirt
 Publication
• Website
 Poster
Best Involvement in a USU Event
Best Major Event
Best Non-Major Event
Best Joint Major Event
Best Joint Non-Major Event


If zeal for club bragging rights isn’t stirring inside you yet, these prizes are incentivised with cold hard cash too. Larry Emder will also be the Master of Ceremonies* so come on, don a lei, grab a pina colada and… go to the C&S conference. Then get your noms in and join us in October for the C&S Awards night!**

See you there!

Zachary Thompson
Board Director

*Larry Emder will not be the MC.
**Likelihood of James Flynn in speedos: 72.4%.

11 July 2011

Board Induction

It all begins!

Amongst tweaking our timetables, re-watching our favourite television series and anticipating the final instalment of Harry Potter your Board has been officially inducted! Like the eager first years that we are we were shipped across the Great Lake for our full introduction to the ins and outs of the USU. Sadly there was no Sorting Hat – of course we would all be Gryffindor anyway – there was instead a meeting of minds and discussion of ideas as your Board Directors and Staff Directors came together to reflect and plan for the upcoming year.


Our very own groundskeeper Hagrid (Les Wark, Director of Facilities) took us through the extent of our student spaces. Whether you’re an International Student’s Lounge regular, Mayor of the Courtyard Cafe or simply enjoy a quiet read of Bull Magazine on the carpeted bit in Third Level Manning, these are the spaces that allow students to really feel at home while studying at Sydney Uni. Madame Rosmerta (Peter Underwood, Director of Operations) filled us in on how the steady flow of Butterbeer is delivered (quick fact: did you know the highest selling item at our USU outlets is a regular coffee – and you can tell when exams are on because the number increases!) while Professor McGonagall (Sandra Hardy, Director of Human Resources) ran through the employment policies of the Union (which hires at least 15% students – ensuring that our Union truly is student-run). Professor Trelawney (Rosemary Marin, Director of Marketing) reported back on the latest trends in Facebook, Twitter and tea leaf predictions starting what will be a really great year for communication between the organisation and its members at the USU. With all newly elected Directors running on campaign policies of more open communication and greater online presence the work and research of the Marketing department is now more important than ever - think more frequent blogs, twitter and enchanted coins.


Finally, the ever ‘charming’ Professor Flitwick (Al Cowie, Director of Student Programs) ran a workshop on forthcoming policy and student programs possibilities. With more students than ever voting in this year’s election a clear mandate has been set for the Directors to remember the policies that students responded to, and attempt to integrate this into our Union. As the new Board came together to consider strategy and projects for the year it was these policies that drove discussion. Of course the conversation doesn’t stop once the votes are in – there will be plenty of opportunities to speak with us  have input on new ideas and keep up to speed on the latest happenings. There's a comment box below!

Travelling back from Induction I flicked into my Facebook only to find an invitation from our very own Fred and George Weasley (Tom Walker and Harriet Gillies, Verge Festival Directors) who are planning to place 10 Shipping Containers on Eastern Avenue for the Festival, offering artists a unique opportunity to show their creativity on campus! This of course is after our first week back Welcome Feast (Re-O Day) on Wednesday 27 July (om nom nom)!

Some could say its magic.... I reckon it’s just your Union! Enjoy the rest of your holidays and I look forward to seeing you all soon!

Brigid Dixon (Hermione Granger, yeah I went there... it’s my blog post!)
Board Director

04 July 2011

Greetings From The New Executive

Last Thursday marked the end of an executive team and the start of a new one. President David Mann moves into the position of Immediate Past President while Melissa Brooks and Giorgia Rossi complete their terms on board as Vice President and Honorary Treasurer respectively.

In their place, the board has elected Sibella Matthews as President, Alistair Stephenson as Vice President, Benjamin Tang as Honorary Treasurer and Jacqui Munro as Honorary Secretary.


We are all honoured to have been entrusted with the responsibility of leading Australia’s number 1 student experience through the next year. The USU has overcome great hurdles in its long and proud history; even through VSU, we have stayed strong to deliver one of the country’s most robust student experiences.

We are excited to start work with the newly-elected board directors. Over the next few days, they will commence their induction as we prepare for the new term.

We’re going to work harder than ever to keep our members updated with all of our progress. For now though, we hope you all enjoy your semester break!

Love from your 2011-2012 Executive
UA-5126621-7