A very warm welcome to the end of year edition of the Teesside University Students' Union (TUSU) newsletter. We will be getting in touch every month this academic year unless you ask to stop by unsubscribing.
We hope that we find everyone well in what we know is another challenging time. The SU Building is now closed until Monday, 4th January and we will also not be able to offer online support or events. We will keep you updated about our plans for Semester 2 across our social media over the break and if you feel you need urgent help remember that Teesside University is still providing selected services and external agencies like Mind and The Samaritans can also be contacted.
In this edition we are looking back on our first-ever virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) and ahead to our Student Officer and National Union of Students (NUS) National Conference Rep Elections 2021. We also hope you will keep in touch with our School Reps and check out all their great work making sure your voice is heard.
Have the best break possible whether you celebrate Christmas or not, and if you are heading home for the festive season before we next get in touch, we wish you and your families a happy time. Please be responsible and stay safe however you are spending it.
Alan, George and Elisha – Student Officers 2020/21
Our thanks to everyone who joined us for a special online version of our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tue, 17th November. The meeting remained vibrant and engaging despite the new arrangements with students getting the opportunity to approve our end of year accounts, the way we plan to run our elections in 2021 and the organisations we affiliate with. They also heard from the Student Officers and put their questions to them. Visit tees-su.org.uk/agm to read minutes from the meeting.
Teesside University Students' Union (TUSU) is led by students for students, and from the end of January 2021, two incredible opportunities come around again!
Any current student at Teesside University* can run in our elections to find the next three people who get paid over £23,000 per year to lead TUSU and speak up for all students as President Education, President Activities and President Welfare.
In a separate election, you could also run for one of the five positions available representing Teesside University at the single biggest, annual gathering of students and students' union. You would get most of your expenses paid by TUSU to attend the NUS National Conference 2021 and make sure all of your fellow students’ voices are heard on the big stage.
Just running as a candidate is an amazing experience and a great way to boost your skills and widen your experience while making sure we have properly contested elections with as high a voter turnout as possible! And if you are interested, there's no need to wait until the New Year! Drop elections@tees-su.org.uk a line with questions about running in the elections and to speak to current Student Officers/ key support staff.
*There are various factors which may prevent you being eligible to be a Trustee of Teesside University Students' Union and thus running in the Student Officer elections. Click here to find out more or contact us using the elections e-mail address for a confidential chat about your situation.
Societies are always a great way to meet new people and pursue a current interest or develop a new one. It's possible that in the current period you have a little more time on your hands and becoming a virtual member of one or more of our groups could be just the answer! Many societies are continuing to run weekly online events and socials during the lockdown and the period immediately after and they would welcome new members. You can find out more about the various groups available and how to join through activities@tees-su.org.uk.
Even though you will not be on campus as much this semester, your Course and School Representatives will still be working tirelessly to ensure that you have a positive academic experience at Teesside. It may not be possible to meet your reps as much face-to-face at the moment; however, there are still plenty of ways that you can contact your reps if you are experiencing an issue with your course or you have some feedback about your studies, good or bad! You can also keep updated with what has been happening in your school and what your reps have been doing via our social media channels.
If you would like to contact your reps, you can do so via email, on Facebook or Instagram. All details can be found on our website tees-su.org.uk/schoolreps.
The TOTUM card and app are the modern equivalents of the National Union of Students (NUS) or NUS Extra card. It is still the only OFFICIAL student discount card and the only one that your SU endorses and benefits from. You can bag yourself incredible savings, discounts and special cardholder only offers on food, drink, cinema, music, fashion, travel, technology and more from just £14.99 for 12 months from the date you buy it. And you can do your bit for your SU as we get a cut of every card sale and payments based on how often you use the TOTUM app.
Click here to find out more, download the app and order yours.
Your SU works closely with the University and a range of external agencies such as Cleveland Police, Cleveland Fire and the NHS to try to keep all students safe and well. This is a particularly important time for taking sensible precautions and minimising risk to both yourself and other students.
Check out our tips for staying over the festive period below:
Coronavirus
General Tips
