SHAG week is not for shagging, but for safe shagging!

I am very excited right now! Last week I met with Body Positive, an organisation which looks into the ways we can feel good in the bodies we have, about the Sexual Health Clinic.

As you may know the Sexual Health Clinic in Talbot House has lost it's funding due to an overspend of the PCT (Primary Care Trust) and is due to reside all services and close at the end of 2009.

Body Positive are interested in working with SUBU to set up another clinic. I have just gotten off the phone with the Practice Manager of Talbot Medical Centre and she is also excited about this prospect and is eager to keep the clinic open.

I am also meeting with Counsellor Chris Wakefield tomorrow regarding ways in which we can keep the clinic open. It's all looking up for the clinic, but I won't speak too soon.

I will keep everyone up-to-date after all my meetings are done and something starts to materialise!

SHAG Week is coming up! Thursday 26th-Wednesday 2nd December brings Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance Week. There will be many things going on to promote sexual health and make students aware of the facts and importance of looking after yourself in that respect.

The line up so far -

30th November & 2nd December

- 10:30 - 2:30 - F-risky will be in the Atrium giving out free chlamydia self-testing kits and you will receive freebies when the test is completed!

1st December -

8pm - Dylan's Quiz SHAG special

1st December is also World Aids Day

There is to be a talk from the police on women's (and men's) safety...details yet to be confirmed.

Facts will be put around campus about sexual health for students to pick up, hopefully with some kind of freebie attached!

I did an interview with Youthnet in October and they have put together a video regarding opinions from students on alcohol and sexual health...

Here are some sexual health facts from F-risky to finish off...

As many as 1 in 10 young people in the UK have Chlamydia.

As many as 70% of women and 50% of men who have an STI, don't show any symptoms.

There are an estimated 20,000 HIV positive people in the UK who don't know they've got HIV.

In the last 10 years, the number of people infected with chlamydia has increased by 206%

Stay Classy Bournemouth, but most importantly, stay safe!

Hannah x

Row row row your boat...

The Students' Union Boat Club are well on their way for the 100,000,000 metre row challenge to raise money for Children in Need. They started at 2pm today (Wed 18th) and they will be rowing for 3 days and 3 nights.

They have 2 rowing machines for use in the challenge to allow them to change location and ensure there is at least one person rowing at all times.

Tomorrow they are moving into Dylan's around 11am. They will some point also be around Asda and Lansdowne and then they will take the final leg in The Old Fire Station on Friday night.

The whole club will be involved from freshers to coaches.

The Boat Club is one of the oldest clubs in the Students' Union, setting up in 1993 and still going strong, being one of the most successful sports at BU. They have had great successes over the year and are also well known for their naked calendar!

There's also big news for James Lee. He has asked to act as Team Manager for Great Britain at the World University Rowing Championships in Szeged, Hungary on 13-15th August and in Amsterdam from 19-22nd August 2010, following his involvement with the Boat Club and his work placement at British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) last year.

Hannah Bananna in Pyjamas

My sister used to call me Hannah Bananna Pojama (yes, Bananna spelt with an extra n so it makes it ryhme with Hannah).

...and now, I'm going to be in pyjamas at work for the day!

No, It's not just because I'm lazy, I will be showering etc as well. It's actually for Children in Need. Staff in SUBU are coming into work on Friday 20th November in their pyjamas to raise money for Children In Need! You can join in too! Just donate some money to CIN in SUBU and stroll out of bed in your pj's!

I just want to point out to everyone that my friend in London has the best pj's ever. They are the same pj's that the boy in 'The Snowman' wears and also the same as this kid in the Colgate advert! He actually looks like the kid as well! I do hope he doesn't mind me using him as an example of great pyjamas! He even wore them last year on Christmas Eve whilst we watched The Snowman!

As for me...I'm going to have to buy some pj's...I don't want to be arrested for indecent exposure. If you are planning on coming in in your pyjamas, please make sure you actually have some!

Also for Children in Need the juggle Soc are doing a 24 hour juggle. Starting at 6pm on Thursday 19th and finishing on Friday 20th December in the Student Centre, Talbot Campus. They will be warming up with a fire show at 6:30 outside of Talbot House on Thursday!

The Boat Club are doing a million metre row...yep, ONE MILLION METRES! Starting off in Poole House Atrium, they will have 2 rowing machines meaning a rower will be in use by a member of the team at all times throughout 3 days and 3 nights! It will also enable them to move location of their rowing to finish off in The Old Fire Station at midnight on Friday night. Come and show your support for the start in Poole House at midday on Wednesday 18th!

Good luck to anyone raising money for Children in Need, it will be a fun and eventful week!

Hannah x

I want to ride my bicycle...

...I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like...

No this isn't a blog about Queen...

A Community Police Officer for Dorset Police came to see me the other day...no I haven't been naughty!

He came to inform me that 13 bikes have been stolen off both the BU and AUCB campuses over the last month and a half.

They are doing all they can to catch the guy that is doing this. In the meantime they are coming into University on 24th November to carry out bike tagging. If you want your bike tagged come to the compound behind Kimmeridge House on Talbot Campus on Tuesday 24th, between 14:00 and 15:30.

There will also be compound cards available to buy. In fact you don't buy them, it's a £5 deposit, which you get back once you return the card and it allows you access to the compound to keep your bike safe and also access to the showers!

The Shop in Poole House sells good sturdy bike locks at a subsidised price, so they will also be there on Tuesday with these for sale.

I have learnt from personal experience to always keep your belongings locked up and safe. My bike was down the alley at my back door and someone stole it from there. It was vintage! Well, not quite, but it was over 15 years old, handed down from my sister. Had very big personal value :( Bad times.

Anyway, it doesn't only go for bikes. Look after your posessions. Student houses are the most likely targets for burglars. Make sure your windows as well as doors are locked and make sure laptops, TV's and other expensive equipment is out of the view of windows. It wasn't that long ago that 5 laptops and TVs were taken from a student house in Winton. Unfortunately in this sad sad world it does happen!

E-petitions - have your say!

Oh no, where to start!? I haven't blogged in two weeks...so much has been happening! I will chop it into bitesize chunks and write a new blog for each topic.

Firstly the 'A' bus situation has been 'resolved'. Mr President negotiated with the Estates Manager, Stuart Laird, for a cost effective alternative, as motioned in the BIG Student Meeting in October. 7-day travel pass for £6 can now be bought from bus drivers for use on the M1, M2, U1, U2 and U3 buses.

This could work out cheaper than the 'A' bus as it can be used an unlimited amount of times a day.

Students still aren't happy with this resolution though as it still means some students have to take 2 buses into University and for one unlucky lady it has taken her nearly an hour and a half to travel into University. Joanna Szulc has submitted an e-petition to get students to sign to agree that something more needs to be done. It reads:

"Although we understand the financial difficulty in maintaining full bus services on less popular routes, there is a considerable number of students who have been cut off from essential travel links to the University. Several areas of town, including Alum Chine, Westbourne and the centre of Bournemouth are left without the University bus service. Many students rented their accommodation along the bus route, only to find out at the start of the academic year that the A-bus service had ceased to exist. Although the recent University offer to help with the transport costs by way of weekly tickets is appreciated (as without it the cost of daily travel comes up to £6 per day!), this does not solve the fundamental problem for all affected students. Travel from Alum Chine, for example, requires 20 minutes walk to the nearest designated bus service (M1 or M2) in Westbourne, a 1/2 hour bus journey to Landsdowne, catching the University bus from there and another 1/2 hour's travel, which totals 1,5 hour's journey time each way. This means 3 hours a day in travel time! The A-route buses were always full in the mornings and early evenings and we strongly feel that at least for these times of the day the service should be reinstated."

If you agree please go online and sign the petition...even if you signed the first one for the 'A' bus, this one is new and different: http://subudemocracy.bournemouth.ac.uk

Also on the e-petition front Natalie Sparks sumitted an e-petition yesterday regarding a "review of academic delivery across the institution." In full description it says:

"- Assignments hand in dates are being put too close together - Not enough contact time - MyBU has been a major issue, especially in the way that ConSci students are having problems receiving e-mails - Changes in schools are not being properly communicated to students I propose that the Students' Union pushes for a review of the way that all academic delivery and dealings with students are approached so that the institution has the best interests of the students as central in all of their thoughts and dealings."]

Again if you agree with this and want something done about it please visit SUBU's e-democracy site: http://subudemocracy.bournemouth.ac.uk