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Fairtrade Fortnight 2009
All Fortnight: 10% OFF all Fairtarde products in DSU Shop (Epona hoodies, snacks, groceries, wine) and Riverside Cafe (hot drinks, snacks, tea, hot choc)!
All Fortnight: Free Fairtrade biscuit with every ‘Wicked’ hot drink purchased at Queen’s Waterside and Café Aroma!
Mon 23rd Feb: Tasting at the DSU shop, all day, free
Thurs 26th Feb: Film " BLACK GOLD” (U, 74 mins) 7.15pm start with refreshments and guest speaker, Clayport library, Lending Section, Durham
[Hosted by the Durham City Fairtrade Partnership and Clayport Film Club]
Fri 27th Feb: Big Fair Trade tea break. Stop working and support Fairtrade 10.30am, Wherever You Are.
Fri 27th Feb: bar crawl with fairtrade cakes [Hosted by People and Planet]
Sat 28th: Coffee Morning and launch of Stocton Borough Fairtrade Directory Stockton Parish Church [Hosted by Stockton Council]
Sat 28th: Revolver stall with fairtrade goodies [Hosted by People and Planet]
Mon 2nd: 7.30pm in ER157: 'Is the Zapatista indigenous movement in Mexico a model for democracy?'-a film, presentation and open discussion led by Mike Reilly-a representative of the Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group
[Hosted by People and Planet]
Tues 3rd March: FREE CHOCOLATE & WINE-TASTING , WITH COCOA FARMERS FROM KUAPA KOKOO CO-OPERATIVE, GHANA, 7.15pm -9pm, Clayport Library, Lending Section, Durham
[Hosted by Durham City Fairtrade Partnership]
Thurs 5th March: Film "China Blue" 7.15pm at ER142
[Hosted by People and Planet and the Ethnographic and Foreign Film Society]
Fri 6th March: ‘Go Bananas for Fairtrade’ stall
12:30-2.30pm, SciSite and DSU
1-3pm, Durham Market Square
All Day, Stockton High Street (includes world record attempt 12noon)
Fri 6th March: Planet of sound stall with Fairtrade goodies
[Hosted by People and Planet]
All details subject to change - keep on checking back for the latest information
For more information please contact:
people.planet@durham.ac.uk
dsu.environment@durham.ac.
s.b.morris@durham.ac.uk
Disability Awareness Week January 26th - February 1st
Education Funding Campaign: 2008/ 09
Durham Students say NO! to the marketisation of Higher Education
DSU is campaigning against variable fees and calling on the Government to find a better, fairer solution to funding higher education. The current model of funding for higher education is up for review next year and the Government is coming under pressure to REMOVE the cap on fees, which would mean that Universities could charge undergraduates 8, 10, 15 thousand pounds a year, or even more.
In 2004 "Top Up Fees" were introduced and fees were capped at £3000, so universities could not charge above this amount per year, but if the cap goes then there will be a different in price at different institutions: some offering premium rate degrees at premium prices and others at the opposite end of the scale offering budget degrees with economy price tags.
If we don't stop the government doing this, not only will student debt go through the roof but this new "EDUCATION SUPERMARKET" will mean many students will start to choose course on the grounds of AFFORDABILITY rather than ABILITY and consider how much debt they can afford instead of which degree is best for them.
Education Supermarket : come into DSU this week and visit our education supermarket, which we've set up to show the dangers of variable fees. Is choosing a degree going to be like shopping for baked beans? The choice of cheapo economy, heinz premium or bogstandard normal awaits you. There's also a FREE can of baked beans for everyone.
What can I do?
- Write to your MP: collect a letter from DSU (or download it here ) sign it and add your address at the top. Send it back to DSU (in the internal mail, leave it at reception or give it to your senior rep) and we'll put it in the post to your MP and pay the postage. The more pressure put on MPs to take this issue seriously the better!
- Durham Debt: tell us how much debt you are in - fill in a postcard, which you can collect from DSU or your Senior Rep. We are going to calculate the total Durham debt to illustrate how serious this problem already is. The postcards will be sent to local MPs later this term.
- Education Supermarket : come into DSU this week and visit our education supermarket, which we've set up to show the dangers of variable fees. Is choosing a degree going to be like shopping for baked beans? Collect your can of free baked beans.
Find out more:
Open letter from NUS President elect Wes Streeting: http://www.nusonline.co.uk/news/275380.aspx
Briefing from NUS
Read the DSU President's thoughts here: http://www.palatinate.org.uk/?p=199
LGBTa Awareness Week
LGBT people in the UK have won many rights over the past few years, and our lives have changed dramatically as a result. We have a legal system that supports our right to be who we are, and express our love. But around the world, many LGBT do not share our rights. Instead, they are criminalised, persecuted, imprisoned and even murdered by their own governments, just because of who they are, and who they love. Their governments not only ignore their human right to protection from attacks, but actively sponsor them. This years Q-week aims to raise awareness of their situation.
See the LGBTa website for details of the week http://lgbta.dsu.org.uk/camp_aw8.php
Disability Awareness Week
The term Disability does not just refer to a person with mobility difficulties. It is defined in the Disability Discrimination Act as “a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.” This means that dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, ME, and even mental health conditions are all counted as a disability. There are 1100 people registered with DUSSD (the Durham University Service for Students with Disabilities) and for these people disabilities are a very real issue. There are 100s more who study without any help whatsoever, and these students deserve to be helped. Disabilities are undoubtedly an exceedingly important issue and something which has an impact on many students’ lives and in order to highlight this issue DSU is running a campaign week starting on the 28th January promoting Disability Awareness
A large variety of events will be happing as part of the week. A sign language workshop will be running at both the Durham and Queens Campuses, allowing students to gain an appreciation of signing, and even learn some basic vocabulary! Each college bar will be running a loose your senses night; in which people will be able to discover how hard it is to enjoy a drink blindfolded, or order and carry a drink back from the bar with only one arm. The aim will be to make students appreciate how lucky they are when they go on a night out. Films which tackle the issue of disabilities in an interesting way; such as Of Mice and Men, will also be showing in colleges. A three legged bar crawl is planned in Stockton with money being raised to go towards SCA projects with children with special needs.
The Students with Disabilities Officer for the Union will be spending all day on Monday at the Queens Campus to discuss with students there the issues surrounding disabilities, and answering any queries which students may have. A drop in session will also be held in Durham later on in the week.
DSU is committed to furthering the rights of students with disabilities and encouraging all students to think about the place which disabilities have in the wider world. At times Durham can be seen as such an insular place, but when we leave the cocooned bubble we will all be faced with issues of diversity, and an awareness about the many unseen disabilities is an integral part of this.
For further information on the Durham University Service for Students with Disabilities please visit http://www.dur.ac.uk/dussd/ or email disabilities.service@durham.ac.uk or get in touch with Natalie Crisp, the DSU Students with Disabilities Officer for support and advice by email at disability.awareness@dsu.org.uk
STOP THE TRAFFIK : 5th - 9th November
People trafficking is the fastest growing form of international crime. Men, women and children are trafficked across borders at a rate of 1 every minute and the industry invloves 2.4 million people world wide. If you'd like to sign the petition calling for the UN to campaign seriously about People Traffiking, go to
http://www.stopthetraffik.org/help/declaration.aspx
Also look out for traffik free products in the DSU shop!
If you'd like to find out more about campaign go to http://www.stopthetraffik.org.uk
Boobs and Balls!
The boobs and balls campaign is raising awareness of breast and testicular cancer. If you'd like a boobs and balls door hanger, just ask your Welfare Officer in College or come and collect one from DSU. If you have any concerns about your personal health make sure you book an appointment with your GP.
- Click here for larger image -
Keep the Cap!!
Durham Students say NO!! to the marketisation of Higher Education!
The government is making moves to remove the £3000 cap on fees to create a genuine free market in higher education. Universities will be able to charge undergraduates 10, 15, 20 thousand pounds a year, or even more. If we don't stop the government doing this, not only will student debt go through the roof but this new 'education market' will mean many students will have to choose a course on the grounds of AFFORDABILITY rather than ABILITY.
We invite you to step forward, demand your say, exercise your democratic right and tell Gordon what you think. Please sign this petition to Keep The Cap on Top Up Fees and oppose the marketisation of higher education http://petitions.pm.gov.uk
You can find a sample letter to send to your MP at www.keepthecap.com Check out the site in the coming weeks for updates on the campaign, or join the facebook group at http://dur.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2214832161
My Friend Oli
Our Chancellor, Bill Bryson, is on a mission to encourage students to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register.
I have a young friend named Oli who never goes anywhere without a mobile phone that is always on but never used. If all goes well, the phone will only be used once: to receive a call from the transplant unit telling him that they have found a suitable heart and lungs for him. Oli is twenty-two years old and has cystic fibrosis. Without a transplant he faces a life of increasing breathlessness and a very early death. When the call comes, he will have three hours to say goodbye to loved ones, get to the hospital, and be wheeled into an operating theatre. But the call may never come. Oli is one of some 8,000 people in the UK waiting for an organ transplant. His chances of getting a call in time are about 50-50, he has been told.
For somebody somewhere, it may be the most important minute you ever take.
Surveys show that people overwhelmingly support the concept of organ donations and that more than 90 per cent of us would be glad to know that our organs were being used to help others after our own deaths. But only about twenty per cent of us sign on to the NHS Organ Donor Register. In tragic consequence nearly 500 people die unnecessarily each year because suitable transplant organs cannot be found for them in time.
For that reason, I'm launching a campaign to get as many people as possible to sign on to the national register. My hope is that by this time next year we'll be able to say that Durham has the most signed up university students, staff and alumni in the United Kingdom.
It only takes a minute or so to register online at http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/default.jsp or you can ring 0845 60 60 400.
- Bill Bryson
Surveys show that people overwhelmingly support the concept of organ donation and that more than 90% of us would be glad to know that our organs were being used to help others after our own deaths. But only about 20% of us sign on to the NHS Organ Donor Register. In tragic consequence nearly 500 people die unnecessarily each year because suitable transplant organs cannot be found for them in time.
During Epiphany term last year students burst into lectures wiht Bill, interrupted tutorials, and stormed libraries, labs and dining halls to announce the MFO campaign, distribute leaflets and push Bill as the founder. They even canvassed on the street and in the college bars. The response was huge!
Bill will be visiting Durham again in October to talk to students and staff about the campaign.If you would like to get involved in this campaign please e-mail Pops Barham at h.s.barham@durham.ac.uk
