At the bus stop, in the library, in Tesco. It can be a simply ‘Enjoying your day?’ or ‘Good Morning’. How much you say can change from being friendly and making a lonely old woman smile or making a friend at a party. This may seem pointless but mixed with another point can at least give you some interaction with the rest of the world.

(2)Take the 10 O’clock train to anywhere

Early train for time, post 9a.m. to save money on off-peak hours. Just get on the first train, the cheapest train to wherever it is going, get off and spend your day there. Make it somewhere new however far or close from home, just somewhere different. The day doesn’t have to magnificent nor grand, do it alone or with friends. Just get on a train, discover a new city, maybe you’ll find a second-hand store like no other, maybe you’ll find a new hobby. Get on, get off, walk and see what happens.

(3)Quit a bad habit

You can at least try. Be it smoking, or nail-biting or procrastinating. Change it for something more valuable. Every time you want a cigarette do a few push ups, every time you allow yourself an hour before you do something, then invent some sort of punishment (not allowing yourself alcohol or chocolate that night) that will stop you the next time from procrastinating, give yourself rewards (cheesecake or a pair of shoes that you really wanted…).

(4)Have sex in 7 different places

Be imaginative. Be stupid, risky, daring. Do it where you might get caught, or where you just shouldn’t. Do it in different positions, different hours, different cities; in the open, in closed areas, in public (but not too public) and private. But remember: be safe.

(5) Create something.

This has no ground rules; it can be simply writing a screenplay or story. It can be fixing an old car or the garden or building a shed. You can make dresses if you can sew, or just through an elaborate party that will take a long time to plan and mix drinks during the night to create a new drink.

(6)Cycle to Paris…

or, anywhere that’s quite far or just new. A new root you never took because of familiar ways or get the bus or train to the countryside and cycle there, enjoy the picturesque scenery and beautiful weather. If you’re fit and cycling is nothing new then make it a sponsored cycle for charity, that way you’ll do something good and need to train, giving your summer structure and purpose. If you’re not fit then it’s a great way to get fit and travel in a different way; and if you can’t cycle, then run or walk (and read point 8).

(7)Read a book

This of course fluctuates; if you don’t like reading and only read books because of school than reading one book is enough, if however you read a books frequently then give yourself a target. Change the topic, find new authors; explore, experiment, challenge yourself. ‘“The habit of reading is the only enjoyment in which there is no alloy; it lasts when all other pleasures fade.”

(8)Learn Something New

Learn to cycle, or knit. To draw, or a new language or an instrument, learn to cook, to swim or to drive. You can even learn about a subject, a country, culture or religion. It’ll occupy any free hours of the day and it can be done in so many different ways that it won’t get boring and long (if you’re creative enough).

(9)Watch a Local band

Go to a local club or pub on a weekday and listen to local band, however small or obscure, maybe in a few years they’ll be the new Backstreet Boys (what? I’m a 90’s kid) or maybe you’ll just spend a night in a quaint pub with a few friends listening to someone amazing or…well, crap. You’ll find something new, maybe meet new people, maybe find out about other gigs or events that you’ll enjoy more. This can be adapted to watching a small, local play or going to poetry reading. It’ll either open a whole new adventure or be a cheap night out that can be repeated and enjoyed.

(10)Do not fall in love!

Do not do it. Stay in bed all summer but don’t fall in love. It may make the summer days sweet and the nights fun but think long term, think of coming back to Hull in September and leaving them behind. It’ll mean facing early morning seminars, long lectures, workshops, group work or essays while pinning for someone far. It’ll distract you, ruin your nights out and mean spending all your money travelling back and forth just to see them for a few hours. Don’t be a romantic, be a realist. This is of course, unless you live close to Hull then fall madly and head-over-heels in love…if you can.

Share on Facebook

And it is for this reason that we need to celebrate St George’s Day, to reject the racism attributed to St Georges day flag, laugh in the face of the violent minorities who have desecrated our national pride with their fascism and to bring together all the people who live on this green and pleasant land under one unified patron saint. This is why I will campaign for a national St George’s Day, hold my stiff upper lip to those misguided fools who call my flag derogatory and on April 23rd I will go to my local, purchase a pint of real ale from my historic publican and toast my queen and country. Who is with me? For Harry, England and St George!

Ed I. Tordun

Share on Facebook

1. Roses are red and violets are blue, you can write a Mum’s Day poem too.  Let your mum know she is missed; send her a poem by text or email. This doesn’t cost much and your eloquence will mean a great deal, or failing that, make her laugh and brighten her day.  If you are feeling adventurous, take up pen and paper and write her a letter; she will treasure it for life.
2. Make a card. Shop bought cards can be expensive, not to mention corny, but a home-made card is guaranteed to bring a smile to your mum’s face. Buy some card, glue, tissue paper and/or glitter and get creative. Better still, invite your friends round, crack open some wine (Liddell do some good value for money deals) and have a laugh making them together.
3. Make some crispy cakes and send them to your chosen mother. Get some cornflakes and mix them with melted chocolate. Spoon the mixture into cup cake cases and leave to chill. If you can avoid eating them all (make a few extra for yourself), send them home.
4. Write your mother a special I.O.U. Offer to massage, manicure or cook (and wash-up) for her on your next visit. Put this promise in writing so she can redeem it when you come home.

Let’s face it, mothers do a lot for us, and though it pays to show our gratitude, it doesn’t have to be expensive.

Miranda K. Lloyd

Share on Facebook

Spring is abloom, Easter holiday is in tow and the quest to find four leaved clovers is in full session. Every year on the 17th of March, many gather to celebrate the great Irish St. Patrick’s day. It appears that what was intended as a holy celebration of life by the Roman Catholic Church has become an avenue for drunken misdemeanours. The question however isn’t what arises out of this celebration but why it is celebrated in the first place.

History provides us with an account of St. Patrick as a Christian hero who drove the snakes out of Ireland. Following his death, the memory of his life has been generally celebrated on the 17th of March since the early 17th century. It is true that the lives of many Saints are celebrated and I have no problem with that however, unlike St. George who is indeed the patron of England, St. Patrick’s popularity and creditability are exclusively Irish. (This is not to be construed as an attempt to discourage the global recognition of foreign holidays). It is however alarming that the English are happy to ignore the works of the English patron Saint but are very happy to devote time, energy and money on the Patron Saint of another country. It is further alarming that whilst St. Patrick is awarded with parades and four clover leaf decorations, the life of St. George is merely recognised not celebrated.

For many who attempt to celebrate the occasion, it is purely an opportunity to engage in drunken unintended philanthropy as none too many (apart from the Irish) are actually aware of the origin or reason behind its celebration. In retrospect, retail giants such as Guinness, Murphy’s and Carlings feed on this ignorance whilst increasing their share capital and profit margins. For a society that has been bitten by the bug called economisation, it is interesting that we still fall victim to the claws of profit maximising corporations that are happy to invest in our ignorance and need to get drunk.

Like most holidays celebrated in the United Kingdom, St. Patrick’s day has fallen victim to the mass commercialism that surrounds our society. It would seem that for many the 17th of March is not a celebration of life well spent but merely an opportunity for retail monsters to tempt the unsuspecting public with green niceties which are irrelevant to our daily activities. In a period of economic crisis such as the one we find ourselves in at the moment, it is questionable whether such celebrations are necessary at all. Many may argue that temptation does not constitute imposition and as such is not truly mass commercialism. This is a valid argument but for the fact that it is a false argument. Many feel compelled to participate in a festival that they neither believe in nor necessarily understand in order to conform.

It would be ridiculous to suggest a ban on St. Paddy as this is very unlikely. It is however important that priorities are sorted out. If regard is to be given to the lives of Saints then perhaps we should start from home. For indeed it is acclaimed that charity begins at home not in the home of our neighbour.

Chinelo Awa

Share on Facebook

RAG has a long history within the union, it has been established for over 50 years, it was one of the unions first sub-committee’s and to this day is the only fund-raising group in the union. RAG is a group that most unions across the country have. Hull RAG has won several awards including most productive standing committee in 2006, and best small RAG two years running. Although there is only one RAG week every year the RAG team fundraise all year round. Past events have included, a musicals night at Asylum, RAG in drag, an old school sports day and a twelve-hour car touch.

The fact that RAG is the only fund-raising group in the union at first seems somewhat surprising but given that the union is ridiculously under-funded it somehow makes sense that there aren’t more fund-raising groups. Most societies and groups in the union struggle to stay afloat, finding it hard to fund themselves, never mind finding the money to give to charity. Even so, it appears odd that the union doesn’t give more backing to its only charitable group. Kate Halstead, this years RAG chair has an office in the union, but unless you knew where it was it would be hard to find as its tucked away in the back of the volunteering hub. Admittedly RAG has been not hugely successful in the past few years and I think the problem may lie in the lack of awareness and self-promotion. RAG is something that you know is happening but are not sure of when and where, it also seems like something you wouldn’t necessarily get involved in unless you were introduced to it by a friend. This is not to say that RAG is an exclusive club, anyone and everyone is invited, the more the merrier as they say. I believe that RAG would benefit hugely from more advertising, there’s no point in standing under the big screen in town for hours on end shaking a bucket if no one knows you will be there.

With the financial state of the whole country in tatters, the recession is hitting everyone, making it particularly hard for charities to obtain the funding they so desperately need. This could spur some people to give more to charity, but with everyone feeling the pinch unfortunately it’s the charities that suffer the most. It’s the hard fact of life that it is those who are poorest are affected the worst, so its more important than ever that RAG strive to do all they can to help those they can. However it’s no secret that us students are renowned for being poor. Most students live in their overdraft so how can we be expected to give away money that is not essentially ours? Some would argue that no matter how severe our lack of money is there are a great deal more people who are far worse off than us poor students, who would probably spend the money on beer anyway.

RAG don’t only what your money though, what the need is volunteers to help them raise the money. Volunteering is something that stands out on a CV, with so many people gaining degrees these days sometimes it is simply not enough to get you that dream job, prospective employers are looking for more than qualifications and volunteering appears to tick the box. RAG are always looking for new people to help out and you can be as committed as you want to be, whether you put in two hours a week or twelve, it makes all the difference. Spending an hour a week organising an event or shaking a bucket is probably something we could all do, considering the amount of hours that are spent on facebook when a deadline is approaching. Similarly if you take a trip to the volunteering hub in the union you can sign up to be part of the V-Awards which is a scheme where you write down all the volunteering hours you do over the period of a year and at the end you get a certificate which is a official recognition of however many hours you have volunteered, which is something that employers formally identify with. So not only are you helping others but yourself at the same time.

Hull RAG have many things planned for this year in order to raise money for their selected charities which this year are; Action for Children which is a last whish charity for terminally ill children, RNLI and a wildlife charity that has yet to be named. They will also be raising money for red nose day. As always they will be the RAG parade down Newland Ave, other things they have in store are a midnight treasure hunt, games in the union and at the lawns, there will also be a pub crawl towards the end of the year. RAG’s main event this year is Jail Break, this is where people get sponsored to get as far away from hull as possible without spending any money, people can sponsor by the mile or a fixed amount. This is certainly an interesting fundraiser as I have no doubt that someone will end up in the middle of Europe after managing to blag their way onto a ferry. Anyone willing to go on this crazy adventure, all in the aid of a good cause should visit the volunteering hub in the union.

Hull RAG works hard to raise money for charity and although it hasn’t been overly successful in the past few years they remain hopeful to raise a lot of money despite the recession. If RAG can get the word out about who they are and what they do then hopefully more people will start donating their time and money to a good cause.

Share on Facebook

There are some simple things you can do to improve your quality of writing and your understanding of the craft.

If you don’t already, you should start a blog (WordPress is a good place to start), and get yourself on twitter, a micro-blogging service that allows you to converse with peers and keep in touch with friends. Find a niche, and write posts with a consistent high level of quality, and you’ll get attention. The combination of a blog with good examples of your work and a twitter account to promote it to the right people can be more valuable than a well targeted CV.

Like students in other fields, you’ll at some point encounter the Catch 22 problem of not being able to get any experience because you don’t have any experience. The solution is to volunteer. Get yourself published for free, with the aim of using this experience to get yourself published for money. A good place to start would be to join the University’s Hullfire or Jam Radio publications.

Find a publication that you love and respect, and set yourself the goal of writing an article for them. It’s not as hard as you think. It’s simply a case of writing an article on a subject which has a fresh angle or perspective, and which said publication would find relevant. Then all you need is the right commissioning editor’s email address and some persistence. Sell your article, and if they don’t like it, pitch another idea. Rinse, repeat.

Event coverage is a great way to hone your skills of reporting, and gives you an automatic audience. Go to local events and write them up on your blog, or integrate a story into your next holiday (say, a big European conference). Find out which journalists are going, and see if you can meet them briefly at the event.

Joanna Geary is a recent graduate (English Lit. and History University of Birmingham, 2003) who used the opportunities offered by the internet to help her first employer (The Birmingham Post) stand out online, which helped her get a job at The Times.

Read her blog at: http://www.joannageary.com/

Joanna on why she became a journalist: I don’t remember ever wanting to be anything else. It was my childhood dream.

Joanna on why her blog is so important: It allows me to connect with people in a way I wasn’t doing previously in my day-to-day job. Through it I am able to get story tip-offs, vox pops, ideas and very honest feedback on how we can make our service better for our readers.

Three tips for aspiring journalists from Joanna: 1) Get fired up by the fact that the industry is changing faster than it has at any point in its history because of digital. You have a real opportunity to shape it so make sure you have good multimedia skills and an understanding of how to participate in online communities.

2) Fill your RSS reader with useful blogs related to your interests – particularly Paul Bradshaw’s Online Journalism Blog (http://onlinejournalismblog.com) and get reading!

3) Start your own blog (http://www.wordpress.com) and use it as a place to experiment with using different online applications that could be used to tell stories.

Dave Lee graduated from the University of Lincoln with a First in Journalism in 2008, and now works as the co-editor of the BBC’s Internet blog, and a published freelancer on technology topics for publications like The Guardian, Sky News and the Press Gazette.

Read his blog at: http://daveleejblog.com/

Dave on his inspiration: I’ve always seemed to be writing and telling stories, but it wasn’t until university that I took the idea of being a professional journalist seriously. I was in an ICT lesson in sixth form when I had a massive strop and decided I wanted to use whatever computing skills I had for something that was actually useful.

Dave on the importance of his blog: Without it, I think I’d lose my biggest asset. When I was studying, it was a way of putting myself on a level playing field with anyone in the media. The great thing about blogging is that it allows me to engage with people who I’d otherwise not ever be able to meet. Imagine if, as a student, I strolled into the Guardian and demanded a debate with Roy Greenslade? It wouldn’t happen. But with a blog, it can.

Three tips for aspiring journalists from Dave: 1) Identify a discipline you’re least comfortable with, and work out how you’re going to improve. All of us have weaker areas in our craft. My personal one is broadcast — I don’t have a great voice for radio, and I’ve never wanted to be an ‘on-screen’ journalist. But now I realise I have to be good at everything if I’m to make a sucess of my career. So, that’s why I’m producing podcasts for my students in New Zealand — rather than written guides — and I’m about to start my training at the BBC to become a video journalist.

2) Use Twitter to make contacts, but don’t force it! Get signed up, get following, and get chatting with people who could kick-off your career. But just don’t expect it to happen straight away.

3) Choose a publication you want to write for, and then do it. It amazes me how so many students think the national press is unattainable. The very fact that you’re a student, with student opinions, makes you pretty unique in an editor’s eyes. Join Journobiz.com and ask for advice about how to get your work out there. The pay’s good too, by the way.

Conrad Harper

Share on Facebook

Here’s a scenario to consider, you’re in a club and someone you don’t know hands you a drink. Do you drink it? The answer should have been no. Drink spiking has beenin the news recently after a guest DJ had his drink spiked in Sugar Mill on Monday 29th September with GHB. Drink spiking occurs when drugs or alcohol are added to your drink without your knowledge. Most drugs involved in drink spiking take 5 to 20 minutes after the drink has been spiked to take effect. Symptoms include; dizziness, disorientation, difficulty speaking, visual problems and amnesia. Although these sound like the results of a particularly brutal night out, when applied to ‘spike’ victims, the consequences can be dire. Victims often suffer mental distress for long periods of time, sometimes even to the extent whereby they cannot remember what happened until days after. Rohypnol, known as the ‘date rape’ drug takes 48 hours to leave the systems and GHB only 12 hours, so if you believe your drink has been spiked then tell someone you trust and the staff and manager of the club and have them take you to A&E. If it is entirely necessary, CPR can be performed, but only if the person is qualified. GHB, the drug used on this particular occasion, is also known as ‘fantasy’, and is used for medicinal purposes as well as a means to do harm. Drinks spiked with GHB can have a noticeable salty flavour, but it is difficult to trace in urine samples, making it, regrettably, an ideal date-rape drug. Reasons for drink spiking include amusement, sexual assault, rape or theft and while the majority of drink spiking cases occur with women, men make up 11% of reported cases. Shockingly, 68% of victims know their rapist as a partner or friend. Drink spiking doesn’t only occur in clubs, 10% of reported cases last year occurred on a university campus. Some ways of avoiding having your drink spiked include keeping your drink with you at all times and cover the top of the glass or bottle with your hand. You should be as wary of your friends’ drinks as your own. Never accept a drink from someone you don’t know or drink left over drinks. Finally,
whenever possible, drink from a bottle rather than a glass as bottles are easier to cover. Most clubs now give out bottle stoppers that allow enough space for only a straw to enter. If one isn’t provided with the drink ask at the bar as most places including Asylum, Sanctuary and Sugar Mill give them out for free. Drink spiking is extremely serious and should be understood by everyone who walks into a club. There have been instances where victims cannot trust their own friends or partners for a long time afterwards, and are frightened to talk about it, mainly because it is impossible to recall exactly what happened to them following the spiking. For more information on drink spiking including a comprehensive list of symptoms and ways to protect yourself visit www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk.

Tom Lewis

Share on Facebook

Students are no longer the only people accessing social accounts; they are being accessed by professionals and authority figures from both inside and outside universities. Our University students became victims of this cyber-policing towards the end of last semester when an event called the “Lawns Mashup” was created, whereby residents at the Lawns were invited, via Facebook, to a large party and football match on the fields surrounding the halls. Within a short while of this event being created a notice went up in each block from the head warden indicating the severe penalties that would result from any student attending the event, as laid down by both the police and the University.

Students at the Lawns were left wondering as to how the Wardens had found out about this planned party. When asked, the head warden confirmed that the Lawns Mashup was indeed discovered on Facebook but that he was also “made aware of a text message being sent to students as well”by the organisers themselves. Apparently there had been a decision taken due to earlier unauthorised parties in the year to ban all parties which were not in the Lawns Centre itself.

However, did the wardens have the right to ban the Lawns Mashup and other parties when students were paying to live there? Would the party, if it had gone ahead and not been cancelled by the head warden, have classed as a breach of our contracts?

It does state in the Lawns Residence’s conditions that residents must “refrain from doing anything which would damage or litter the grounds, gardens and pathways around the Residence” and “refrain from any behaviour which may be perceived as riotous or disorderly”. Therefore the wardens were fully within their rights to stop the event taking place.

Despite this, it was the fact that the University found out about the event via Facebook which, to some, indicated the use of cyber-policing by the University. There has, naturally, been a backlash in response both online and through word of mouth as students resent having what they see as harmless fun put to a stop.

The issue at the heart of the matter seems to be not about the cancellation of the Lawns Mashup or the penalties put in place for attending; it is the issue of privacy. The University were correct to stop the event but was it right that our communications were screened to find out about it? The Lawns Mashup is not the only instance of the University stepping in in response to events on Facebook and it will probably not be the last. They are in their rights to prevent these events but ultimately, are the ends justified by the means?

Jennie Harrison

Share on Facebook