Please use and copy if you want but please let me know – i could potentially offer support too

end of year collections

The next part of the motion looks at a grading system, the grading system will comprise of different levels including   Bronze,  Silver and Gold. Each level having its own criteria set out and costings of which are considered and taking into play. For example looking at a bronze level, landlords would be expected to  enact  minor changes this can be actions such as applying hippos to toilets, replace any old lightbulbs with energy-saving ones et al. A possible criteria for silver will contain  criteria including grade C or above appliances and heating pipe installation. One main aspect of this is to avoid the usage of plugging in heaters, which many students today use on a day-to-day basis, and of course uses the vast amounts of electricity and due cost to the student. Gold will be the highest level that landlords can achieve, the level will include criteria  such as central heating for those homes that do not already have it, all wall insulation/attic insulation/cladding.

Many may ask about the pricing and cost which may be placed on landlords, or be afraid to ask the landlords, they needn’t be as there is many funding  pots out there that are accessible to both students and landlord. For students, and the general public, there is a new scheme called the Green Deal, what this entails is a loan which stays with the house not a person, it allows changes to the house which will enable a more efficient household to both seats and energy usage with no extra cost to the individual. The reason why there is no extra cost to the individual, is due to the fact what ever is saved through the usage of the changes, is sent to pay off the loan. So in regards to student households, as many of you already know students leave their houses in June,  they needn’t worry that the loan will follow them, as said it would stay with the house not the individual. Landlords can not refuse a request to  enact change according to the Energy Bill 2010, unless the house is already scheduled to have changes done to it according to Green Deal.

Landlords may receive funding from various locations, more in particular for Attic insulation/wall insulation/cladding on houses and this can be found from various sources. There will be a guidebook created which will reference reference relevant information for landlords in Swansea, thus landlords will be able to find out where they may receive such funding and hopefully enact change for the benefit of students within the city. The process may take a while as you probably imagine we are not considering an overnight change, however Rob Abrams and myself are committed to provide the stepping stones for this new exciting opportunity that we have now been given.

Ms Rathbone mentioned the importance that Wales saw at least 30% of its representatives being female, this allows for women to be effective in the politics discussed and policy areas to be decided upon. Under 30% women lack popper representation, and where the men are able to dominate the political agenda just like that seen in London.  The fact that women are able to speak up for minority groups, furthers the need for female representation to meet at least the said percentage.

It can be very hard to engage women within the political process, but with confirming and confidence building to many, can provide for more females to step up as candidates and hopefully representatives. There is a believed effect that where there is a female candidate , women are more likely to vote for them rather than a male candidate.

The next and final Assembly Member to speak was Edwina Hart, Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science. Mrs Hart has been an Assembly Member since the Assembly’s creation, She has also held a number of portfolios within the Welsh Government including Finance and Local Government and then Health and Social Justice.  Mrs Hart had ran within the Welsh Labour leadership campaign, to which she came second to the current leader and First Leader Carwyn Jones.

Mrs Hart noted the fact that “women need to cause trouble” in order to get somewhere,  and mentioned her trade union experience where she had ran and failed first time round in an attempt to win a place on the TUCs executive. This was later rectified, but the trade unions is still a very male dominated place.   There is many times where Mrs Hart had stated she felt annoyed but on a positive outlook seeing that it would be “better tomorrow we’ll give them hell”.

Mrs Hart’s current portfolio is normally considered to be a macho one, and shared experiences where she has been to various business functions, with her role as a minister and come across “tokenistic women” in some businesses attempts to “please “ her. Mrs Hart added it is the talents of women that are needed within the political sphere, women defiantly bring a different feeling and workings to the way politics is practised within Wales.

The issue of positive discrimination within the Labour Party was rightly mentioned and where Mrs Hart argued that twinning was a start but not good enough. All Women Shortlists (AWS) is a better system but like much can stop being practised, as sometimes members within the party can become complacent and not see through internal policies long term. Women are starting to achieve and win various positions of authority worldwide yet Europe still has a lot to do in order to catch up with the rest of the world.

“Women are obviously interested in issues affecting equality “ being in reference to the pension strikes that were due to take place shortly. Women will be worse off with the proposed changes to pensions, thus it is important to continue the fight and raise awareness of the fact that women are worst off. The proposed cuts on benefits will also mainly affect women, and Mrs Hart added that the public hates unfairness and tend to campaign to try and improve their situation.

Women also have a better scope to deal with issues arising that affect minority groups, Mrs Hart uses Gypsies and travellers and has taken a keen interest and has always aimed to improve their way of life. She further noted that she had acted within her various ministerial roles, in health for example, looked at improving general health as well as access to health facilitates where and when needed.  The massive problem that tends to show it’s head is where the gypsies or travellers tend to stay or reside on a short or long term basis.

Have to say , overall the event was a success and had raised awareness of many important issues facing women in the political world. There is clearly a long way to go, but this blog does forget the hard work already put in and seeing many successes- Wales being one such example.

Well done Sarah Woodvine a fantastic event and congratulations on it’s success

My main experience of sexism in our bars and clubs like JC’s or Divas, especially on a student night out like Tooters, occurred on a daily basis. It is shocking to see the amount of men that act in an unacceptable way to fellow female students. Our union employed bar staff have had to also put up with similarly disgusting behaviour. From physical assaults to sexist language, have no illusion, it was endemic in our Students Union, especially in my first year (2009-2010), and, to some degree, still is.

One major impact on me as a person that this sexism had was that I almost never liked the nights out as I would always be disgusted with the behaviour I was presented with. Thus some who knew me probably thought I was some sort of recluse or swat. I remember one student event, in particular, that featured having your photo taken with a female dressed only in her underwear whilst on a bed in the middle of this nightclub. All the ‘lads’ in my area on the Student Village flocked to this and were desperately trying to outdo each over in terms of how outrageous they could pose with the model. I asked one neighbour if he had enquired with the female he was posing with if she was ok with it, to which he replied (and I will always remember this);

 “She was f*****g fine, the main rule was you couldn’t touch her, so it was quite boring really.”

I saw the photos from the event that were filling my news feed on my Facebook page and although the model didn’t appear to be all that bothered with all these young lads clambering around her, I did feel anger that this whole situation was allowed to happen in this day and age. I think it was from that point on that I actively identified myself as a feminist. I wanted to change society so that these very occasions would become socially unacceptable and eventually outlawed.

Events like this are offensive and unacceptable

However, we can see that society is changing today towards implementing a more gender neutral reality, albeit in baby steps rather than in the leaps and bounds so many of us would prefer. The fantastic zero tolerance to sexism legislation passed within our students union is an example of a small part of society making such change happen. The passing of a zero tolerance policy to sexual assault in our Student Union now enhances to protections for female students using our Union venues and makes any breach punishable with harsher deterrents. This policy is having a real impact in preventing the disgusting behaviour that plagued my first year so badly. We also passed policy banning ‘lads mags’, of which horrifically objectify women, from our Union shops. Therefore, feminism is working for our union in making sure an ethical message is sent to our student community and ensuring that equality features at the centre of everything we do as an institution.

Outside our relatively small student community and in the villages, towns and cities I want to see a greater move towards recognising feminism as a positive force. I want its political manifestations to feature prominently in our devolved institutions as well as Parliament itself to ensure that equality of gender, as well as wealth, race and sexuality is an objective that is taken seriously. That’s why I’m proud to be a member of the Labour Party and to be involved in the British political process. It is a process that has historically sought to proliferate a chauvinist and misogynistic agenda, but something that is now changing thanks to the modern Labour Party and the ever increasing levels of involvement of ordinary women from across the United Kingdom.

In terms of policy initiatives, I support ideas like the move for shareholders to have more say in the remuneration committees of chief executives of big business. However, for it to have any real impact, this must also include a wide range of individuals who hold a stake in how the business performs. To have low paid, front line staff, deciding how much the top boss is paid is a fantastic way to make pay decisions fair. This ensures pay and bonuses are fairly awarded when credit is due, but also make worker-owner relations much more positive as the way earnings are calculated wouldn’t be seen as a one way processes anymore. Moreover, with the gender pay gap widening, it is crucial that female workers are included in such committees so that discussions on pay are gender balanced and therefore any decisions are made with the involvement of a truly representative and progressive section  instead of the white, middle aged, yes men that currently dominate our executive boards.

Whilst the progress we have made is a fantastic achievement for us all, we are still hitting bumps along the way. At university, there are various regressive factions in our union that want to take us back decades. Active individuals within our student democracy want to remove the institution of Women’s Officer, repeal the zero tolerance legislation and embark upon a plan that would make us the laughing stock of NUS. In the face of such destructive ideas I can promise one thing. I will not only fight tooth and nail to keep us where we are today, but also move our union and our small community forward down the road of gender equality and political progressivism.

Recent successes, most notably the removal of the disgusting Uni Lad website, show that feminist progressivism is still a strong force within Britain, but we must remain eternally vigilant and carry the fight on for the generations that come after we have long left. However, my contribution pales into insignificance when compared with the work of other notable feminists on campus (some of which I am delighted to call my friends) and those in wider society. But I am proud of what I have done, what I have become and what I will do with my relationship with feminism in the future; I just hope others come to embrace it as much as I have.

The Waterfront

We, the students, pay for this paper to be printed, yet we also have no say in how it is run. This means we have no say when vendettas break out between the news and features staff, when its output seems overtly political and when there seems to be more advertising than actual content. This is bad news for us all and the Waterfront, as it currently stands, needs to be changed.

I think a better way to save money, but also provide Swansea’s students with good news and features, is to move towards an entirely online method of delivery. It works for the Siren, so why not the Waterfront? We shouldn’t be wasting our time and money on a printed version that mostly no one reads. Perhaps a weekly newsletter sent via email would be appropriate, or a free WordPress account would even do.

With the AU merging with the Students Union out of financial difficulty it makes no sense for the Waterfront to be left unnoticed. Let’s be clear, the paper is not value for money. The Waterfront should also be transparent with its expenditure. How much do the advertisers pay us? How much is the Students Union subsidy paid to them come to? What wages are the editors paid? All these questions need to be answered for there to be adequate transparency in the paper.

We can further see failures in the paper when its news team, who just happen to be mostly Tory party supporters, print vile and disgusting remarks without any check or balance. It is poor writing, to which I have seen English students rip it apart with a red pen, but it also makes many suspect that those who write for it are injecting a political influence that no student paper should have. I want impartial news that applies suitable checks and balances to the issues it reports, not an ideological machine that prints more corporate adverts than anything remotely informative.

The falling of standard in the Waterfront also highlights the poor leadership of our Student President, who has failed to get to grips with the issue. Our president should be at the helm on a path to reforming and maintaining all parts of our SU, but curiously he appears markedly absent. In a rather clichéd manner, my thoughts of the SU President’s term of office resemble that of what Tony Blair once described of John Major’s  leadership as  ‘weak, weak, weak’.

So this Christmas, the writing is on the wall. The Waterfront should go through a significant overhaul and the President should up his game. This Union should not have to continue with a weak student newspaper and its members should not have to put up with poor standards, whilst having to continue footing the bill. I believe the SU should be doing more to strengthen the Waterfront as an institution instead of writing a blank check and seeing the money squandered by card carrying politicos and subpar editing staff.

“Women On The Front Bench” was an Event hosted by the Labour Students society at Swansea University. The aim of the night was to listen to women from both Students’ Union/ NUS Wales/ UK alongside 3 Assembly Members.

The full list of speakers included

Rosemary Butler – Presiding Officer at the National Assembly for Wales and AM for Newport West

Edwina Hart – Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science , AM for Gower

Jenny Rathbone – AM for Cardiff Central

Rhiannon Hedge – Swansea Students’ Union Education officer

Eleri Jones – Swansea Students’ Union Womens’ Officer

Stephanie Lloyd- NUS Wales Womens’ Officer

Estelle Hart – NUS UK’s Womens’ Officer

The first Speaker Rosemary Butler praised the fact that Wales has had a consistency of having at least double the amount of women representatives in comparison to the House of Commons in London. The Welsh Assembly as an institution can pride itself on being the first legislature in the world to have equal men to women ratio of representatives (2003- 2007). This sadly is not the case today, Rwanda is the current highest with 53.6% of representatives being female.

Mrs Butler strongly noted the importance of women as representatives, allowing for a different perspective in terms of policy.

“Women are not better than males, just different “

Women are supposedly more focused on children’s and community issues, while men are arguably more likely to focus on trade unions and matters on energy. This she further noted was not the case, women representatives do focus on many other issues and allow different lines of thought to be added to the everyday work of the Assembly’s business.  The fact that Mrs Butler had entered politics due to wanting a bench in a local park in Newport, had ran for council and went from there to where she is now is amazing, more so due to obstacles trying to change attitudes of “men in grey suits”. The National Assembly has to report to UK government of its duties to ensure equality on an annual basis and this allows for better representation or implementation of policy.

Women according to Mrs Butler can scrutinise legislation in a different way compared to their male counterparts. They are also play a vital role in government, where 50% is comprised of women and who have made hard decisions just as males would have had to do.

“Don’t worry about the glass ceiling its the sticky floor you should be worried about”

Mrs Bulter  also stated of schemes in place to encourage more women to become involved in politics, one way of such being a shadowing scheme whereby women can shadow female assembly members to gain experience.

Swansea’s People and Planet in conjunction with Rob Abrams (Environment and Ethics Officer) are launching “The Big Green Makeover”. The People and Planet website describes the scheme as being “a home energy saving project, which aims to help students and staff to make their homes warmer, more cosy and cheaper to live in”. The project laid its foundation stones through its first meeting (5th Oct) where the main emphasis was to recruit volunteers who could assist fellow students lower their domestic energy consumption.

Mr Abrams highlighted the fact that over £900 million worth of energy is wasted in the UK by leaving appliances on standby. Most students coming through the higher education system in the UK are young people moving out and living on their own for the first time in their lives. It is at this point, that they learn skills and pick up habits that stick with them for the rest of their lives. Bad habits can cost their own streched funds, as well as the planet. Simply leaving appliances on standby wastes over £900 million worth of energy every year The Big Green Makeover has been brought to Swansea University to help create these changes.

Students who volunteer will be given the training and support needed to run energy advice clinics for other students, as well as members of staff. The programme will also involve visiting the homes of participating students and staff to carry out assessments and give practical advice on improvements. It is hoped, that as we carry out this initiative, changes in behaviour will be supported, monitored, and continues to grow well in to the coming year.

For more information Please contact Environment@swansea-union.co.uk

The study was done on houses in Camarthenshire, comparing the physical and mental wellbeing of tenants living in run down housing compared to fully improved properties.

Jonathan Willis, the council’s home improvement manager, said: “There is substantial evidence to show that living in poor housing conditions is detrimental to people’s physical and mental wellbeing.”

This study just makes me even more determined that we as students shouldn’t have to put up with substandard housing! Not only is it not very nice to live in, it’s now been linked to getting ill, stressed and depressed!

As tenants it is our responsibility to get proactive and demand what we have a right to be provided.

So how can you make sure you’re not letting your landlord get away with murder?

Check your house is HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) registered. If you live in Brynmill or Uplands and your house is three or more storeys high and has three or more occupants (5 or more occupants elsewhere in Swansea) then your house IS a HMO and therefore it should be registered.

Landlords are obligated to have a special HMO license. This makes sure that rules meant for houses that have more than 3 unrelated people living within the house are carried out. The most important of these are about fire safety. If your landlord isn’t complying to these rules it could be pretty dangerous.  There are also rules about providing locks on all room doors, and providing enough cookers and fridge freezers etc for the number of residents.

You  can check that your HMO is licensed HERE:

http://www.swansea.gov.uk/media/pdf/n/5/HMO_Public_Registry.pdf

If it isn’t please either get in touch with your Welfare Officer, Lance at welfareofficer@swansea-union.co.uk or our excellent Advice Centre by emailing advice@swansea-union.co.uk, who would both be happy to help you.

Also, you need to make sure that your landlord is managing your property properly. The manager  (usually the landlord or someone who’s specific job it is to manage the property):

 •    provides his or her contact details to the occupiers
•    keeps means of escape from fire free from obstruction and in repair and maintains fire fighting equipment and alarms
•    takes reasonable measures to ensure that the occupiers of the HMO are not injured on account of its design and structural condition
•    ensures there is adequate drainage from the HMO and an adequate water supply and such supply is not unreasonably interrupted
•    supplies annual gas safety certificates (if gas is supplied) to the council when requested, carries out safety checks on electrical installations every five years and ensures the supply of gas (if any) and electricity is not unreasonably interrupted
•    keeps in repair (including decorative repair) and good order the common parts (including any fixtures and fittings within it)
•    maintains any shared garden and keeps in repair any structures belonging to the HMO
•    keeps in repair the occupiers’ living accommodation within the HMO, including fixtures and fittings; and
•    provides suitable facilities for the disposal of rubbish.

 There are also a few things we as occupiers have to do:

•    do nothing to hinder or prevent the manager from carrying out his or her duties under the regulations
•    take reasonable care not to damage anything for which the manager has a duty to repair, maintain, keep in good order or supply under the regulations
•    dispose of rubbish in accordance with the arrangements made by the manager; and
•    comply with all reasonable instructions from the manager relating to fire safety.

If you’re not sure your house is being managed properly, or you’re having any problems with your house or your landlord please get in with Lance, the Advice Centre or myself! My email is community@swansea-union.co.uk.

Also a reminder that the Student General Meeting is tomorrow, 6pm in Faraday A. We’re discussing the possible AU/SU merger, the National Demonstration against cuts and deciding on the Nestle ban! So come along

***Charlotte Britton – Community and Housing Officer***

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/letters-to-the-editor/western-mail-letters/2010/09/08/wednesday-8-september-2010-91466-27222868/

 
There are lots of ways to get involved with recycling this year. If you’ve just moved here and aren’t sure how Swansea’s recycling system works, either visit the green part of the SU website or alternatively have a look at the council’s website. I’ll be on the SU stall at Fresher’s Fayre giving out recycling bags and information too!
 
If you’d like to get involved I’m doing a few campaigns after Fresher’s Fortnight. I need volunteers for some clean-ups of Brynmill and Uplands, it won’t be for long and will have a really positive impact on the local community. In addition to this we’re also going door-knocking to explain the recycling system to new students in private accommodation. You’ll be given full training by the council and if you do help out you could have the chance to have a range of training free from the council that could look amazing on your CV! I’m sure I can have a chat with some people and work out some incentives too
 
If you do want to volunteer or would like further information (why wouldn’t you!), drop me an email at charlottebritton89@gmail.com or message me on Facebook.

*Charlotte Britton – Community & Housing Officer