Welcome back to uni! I know it feels like 2 seconds ago when you were coming here in September, but already we're nearly half way through the year and there is some incredibly exciting things going on that you should know about.
Firstly, you've probably heard that the libraries are going to 24/7 term time as of the 14th February (romantic, I know). This is the result of a lot of hard work on the side of both the university and the Students' Union, so hopefully this will improve your student experience exponentially.
Secondly, this semester we have the Leadership Race. You'll hopefully be hearing a lot about this over the next couple of months. If you think you can do my job, put your name forward! If you're mid way through your studies, you can take a year out to do this job full time (and paid) and then go back to university afterwards. If you're a final year, you can do it as of July 1st this year (that's when term starts). This is how I did it, but I can see huge benefits in taking a year out of your studies. Have a think, or if you'd like to let someone else know that you think they'd do a good job, you can nominate a mate on our website and tell them why they'd be good - anonymously.
We also have Varsity! This is an annual competition that we hold against local universities. Stafford vs Wolves and Stoke vs Keele. This year, the latter is slightly different as instead of it being on one day, it's now spread over 4. This is for no reason other than we couldn't fit it on one day with Keele and our own timetables (easter etc). The university have agreed that if you are in a team, you do not need to attend your lecture at the time of your match.
Finally, we've launched our new NUS funded initiative, GreenPad. It's down by Squeeze Box so pop in whenever you like! Basically, it's all about finding top quality student accommodation that is enviromentally sustainable. Check it out on the website at http://www.staffsunion.com/greenpad/
There's lots more going on. So please keep your eye on this website to see what you can get involved in.
Love,
Mel x