Monkeying around in the Community

Emma Kinsley is the newly appointed Community Officer for SUBU Exec. She has lived in Bournemouth since she was 2 and is already doing extensive work with the council.

Local communities throughout the country have negative perceptions of students and studentification is a national problem.

Last year SUBU launched the I Heart BH campaign to better the relationship between students and the community, which resulted in activities including last year sabbatical officers being wheeled around in bins giving out information, muffin giveaways & listening service in Winton, student recycling projects, lecture talks and awareness days.

So what are we doing now?
I attended a meeting last week with other members of SUBU, the Winton Community Forum, Dorset Police, Bournemouth & Poole Council and Richard Search; the head of BU accommodation. We discussed the current situation and how we can work together to better our relationship. We have had 36 student complaints in Winton during Sept/Oct and 90 in total last year (nothing as bad as Loughborough's 436! They might be high up in the league tables, but they sure are noisy).

Scott is doing a presentation with Charles Elder, the PR manager for BU, at the Winton Community Forum meeting this Wednesday 28th to make residents aware what SUBU and BU are doing to help better the relationship between students and the community.


We need to remember that students aren't always the problem. Students do a lot of great stuff for the community and bring millions to the local economy (£88.9million in 2007 to be precise!)

Just look at the MAD Days we run. This is only a very select few...

Arts and Crafts with Autistic Young Adults

RAG Sleepout overnight to raise money for Salvation Army to help the homeless

Students pledging what they will do!
Painting a School Playground

Some even travelled all the way to Nigeria to teach underpriviledged children IT and paint their centre!

It's the very few students that give all a bad name, so we need to work together to promote the good students do!

I have sent examples of all the good things students did last year and the projects that were run in the community to the NUS as a case study to use in case the Government does decide to introduce legislation as to where students can and cannot live.

Getting back to Emma Kinsley; she used her election budget to adopt a monkey for SUBU! Bixa the chimp, or more precisely the Pan Troglodytes is homed in Windsor Safari Park. She was born in 1977 in Port Lympne Zoo and transferred to the park in 1993. She has no control in the left side of her face, possibly due to a stroke. I'd like to thank Emma for her support of Bixa and her generosity.

Tonight Emma has a meeting with the Council to ask questions on how they are intending on working with students and rid the negative perception of students so we can promote the positive. I wonder what they'll say...?

Well I say...Stay Classy Bournemouth

Hannah x
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