gair rhydd Monday February 06 2011 | freeword – Est. 1972 | Issue 968
Refreshing start to term Henry McMorrow News Editor
Above: Students abseil down the side of the union.
The Students’ Union has been running its annual Refreshers event this last week. The week has proved popular with students engaging in a number of activities with varying degrees of success. The event aims to re-engage students, whilst showcasing the services available at the Students’ Union. As we go to print, the week is still ongoing, but it appears that there have been vast improvements on previous years. Each day of the week there have been a number of events around the Union building. Monday looked to the future, with careers advice from Santander and Ernst & Young as well as creative thinking and networking workshops. Mock interviews were also available for students to prepare for their introduction to the careers market. Tuesday provided an opportunity for students to have health check ups, with an omelette challenge in The Kitchen in the morning and massages and therapeutic sessions in the afternoon. Of particular note and proving hugely successful, although perhaps in contradiction to the day’s theme, was an all day ultimate Call of Duty session in The Taf. Wednesday proved less popular with few attending the Litter Pick around Cathays. The Students’ Union Showcase was virtually defunct as few students visited the limited range of stalls available. It was a small crowd that Jason Dunlop, Chief Executive of the Union and Marcus Coates-Walker, President of the Union, made their addresses to, of which lengthy lists of statistics,
illustrative of the Union’s success within the community were included. 150 guests from around the community had been invited and many had pledged their attendance but few made it to the Great Hall. Thursday’s objective, was to encourage students to voice their opinions with the launch of The Student Satisfaction Survey and Student Council in the evening. Student participation was impressive and the Council once again proved a successful forum, allowing students, sabbatical officers and other representatives to deliberate and discuss University related topics. Aside from these events, The Kitchen also housed a temporary ‘X Factor Booth’ where students were invited to voice their thoughts and concerns. Friday looks set to be a crowd pleaser with dance and martial arts workshops and the opportunity to abseil down the Union, as well as trips to Barry island and Playzone. Chris Davies, Welfare and Communications officer said of the week, “Refreshers Week has been a fantastic event! We’re so pleased with the outcome of the week. We hope this, now annual, event will continue long into the future.” Sarah Halpin, Healthcare Officer stated: “Refreshers was an awesome event for the whole union. It’s a chance for all of our members to have some fun after exams and assessments. We engaged with hundreds of students over the course of the week in everything from ideas, and cafes, to dodge ball, to Dragon’s Den, to omelette challenges or to litter picks! We had a lot of fun and hope the students did too.”
Turn to page six for News’ top Refresher events.