How to get free food and other tips from our O-Week Director Robby Magyar

Undoubtedly, the highlight of every new year is our beloved O-Week festival. Always a heady mix of making new friends, catching up with old friends, joining a whole bunch of clubs and societies, getting a taste of the best comedy and musical entertainment Sydney has to offer, more freebies than you can handle, and some epic parties. 

But how do you navigate this 3 day extravaganza? For new students the experience can be overwhelming in every sense; for returning students the challenge comes from finding a way to somehow eat your way around the festival without spending a cent.

So with the big O just around the corner, O-Week Director Robby Magyar has hit us up with the inside scoop on O-Week 2013. 

Tell us about this year's theme and the sort of vibe you'll be creating on campus during O-Week?

This year’s theme is an Alice in Wonderland inspired extravaganza. We wanted to find a way to excite first years, and reinvigorate the enthusiasm surrounding O-Week and university for second and third year students. We want to see a vibe that encourages people to get involved and inspires people to fall in love with the great things the University of Sydney Union has to offer.

What are the must-sees during O-Week?


My faves are:

·         The Final Act in Manning Bar on Friday 1 March – so keen to see Ball Park Music!

·     Peeping Through the Wineglass in Hermann’s on Thursday 28 February – a scandalous burlesque sketchingnight with tea pot cocktails hosted by Fine Arts Society

·       Pack of Jokers in MacLaurin Hall on Thursday 28 February - always a fantastic night that sells out FAST!

·       A Mad Tea Party in the Quad on Thursday 28 February – free cupcakes for the first 400 visitors with tea and treats from Tea Society and Darcy Soc, with performances from Costume Society and SUDS

·       Wonderland Costume Party in Manning Bar on Wednesday 27 March – dancing, Cheshire cat onesies, and a silent disco hosted by inthemix!

·     O-Week Band Competition on the Main Stage on Wednesday and Thursday from 1pm – 3pm, Finale in Hermann’s on the Friday from 2pm – 5pm – The bands in the competition are freakin’ awesome, like, really awesome! I cannot even… SO KEEN!

Do you have any tips to make the most of the free food, free drinks and other freebies floating around at O-Week?

There is free food everywhere – if you see a corporate on the list that is related to food or drink (like Coca Cola or V) then they are most likely giving out free samples. This year we are giving out free bacon and egg rolls in Manning for breakfast. There is also a bonus juice and piece of fruit and free fairy floss, AWESOME! We also have free Sumo Suit wrestling, tarot readings and awesome rides, like teacups…TEACUPS! Clubs and Societies often have awesome freebies too, but you’ll have to join their club to take advantage of these.

Sounds amazing! So what will you personally be doing during O-Week? Running after rabbits in trench coats and eating/drinking food that says eat me/drink me respectively! Well, I’ll actually be ensuring  all events go to plan and that nobody is bored, liaising with staff and students, coordinating events, making sure everyone is doing exactly what needs to be done and when it should be done, and having fun, sometimes!

Hannah Morris

USU Board Director

Welcome to 2013!

Welcome to the Board Blog for 2013. Here, we regularly update you on the happenings of the Board. As we approach the start of another year, the USU is gearing up for next week’s O-Week festivities ( but more on that next week).

In lieu of those celebrations, our monthly board meeting will be held this Friday. All ACCESS members are welcome to attend Board Meetings, where your elected Board Directors discuss and decide on USU matters.

Where: MacCallum Cullen Room, Holme Building
When: 1pm, Friday 22 February

In this month’s meeting, we’ll be discussing the NTEU’s proposed staff strike action, Board Directors' progress in Working Parties, the plan for Kick Start in 2013, an update on our parties schedule, as well as a report-back by our CEO, Andrew Woodword, on his trip to Colleges in the USA. 

Member Forums

One of the most important discussions will surround the formation of Member Forums: a new form of Board-USU member interaction. With members at the core of our Union, the agenda for these meetings will be set around the issues you prioritise.

These forums will be casual and held in the lively Manning Bar to ensure as many people as possible can attend.

We hope to see you this Friday!

USU Board Directors

Final AA Recommendations

At the November meeting of the USU Board of the Directors, the amended Affirmative Action Review 2012 will be presented to the Board and the full list of recommendations within will be voted on by the Board. These recommendations have been formulated out of the internal research conducted as part of the Review, student submissions and the Affirmative Action Consultation Forum held at the end of Semester 2. The full list of recommendations to be voted on are as follows:

Recommendation (1): That this amended version of the Affirmative Action Review 2012 be accepted by the Board.
       
Recommendation (2): That the Board recognises the continued need for the Affirmative Action policy outlined in Section 10.2c of the USU Constitution and will uphold and endorse this policy as part of the USU’s commitment to ensuring women are actively participating as leaders within the USU.   

Recommendation (3): The Board recommends that another review of the Affirmative Action policies for Board directors be undertaken in 2016, ten years after the policy’s initial implementation.        
       
Recommendation (4): That the USU maintains the Affirmative Action provisions that already exist within the recruitment process for student leadership positions.
               
Recommendation (5): That the USU investigates strategies to increase female participation across the organisation, including (but not limited to) the introduction of further Affirmative Action provisions across student leadership positions that do not already have such provisions.
               
Recommendation (6): That the positions of Queer Coordinator, Charity Officer and Humanitarian Week Director be closely monitored during the next Affirmative Action Review.

Recommendation (7): That the USU strives to collect data surrounding female participation within the Clubs & Societies program, and the amounts of females who apply for and are appointed to Student Leadership Positions.
               
Recommendation (8): That the USU focuses upon forming a strategy of recruitment to attract more female applicants for the position of Women’s Coordinator and C&S Committee Members
               
Recommendation (9): That the USU develops processes for dealing with an inability to apply Affirmative Action.
               
Recommendation (10): That the USU develops procedure for implementation of Affirmative Action in student recruitment discussions.
               
Recommendation (11): That the USU develops a plan aimed at celebrating women’s participation in the USU community.
               
Recommendation (12): That the USU develops a plan for structurally encouraging women’s involvement throughout the students programs.
               
Recommendation (13): That the Electoral Committee, Programs Department and Marketing Department take this Communications Review into consideration when marketing and promoting the 2013 Union Board Elections.
               
Recommendation (14): That the Communications Working Party and Women's Portfolio develop a Comprehensive Communication Strategy around women's leadership and our Affirmative Action practices to utilize USU communication channels to be implemented in marketing. This will be done in conjunction with the Women’s Officers of the SRC and other relevant and interested parties.
               
Recommendation (15): That the USU endeavours to provide regular opportunities for women to network with and receive mentoring from female leaders within the USU community.  These regular networking and mentoring events would be organised by the Women’s Event Co-ordinator in conjunction with the Women’s Portfolio Holder.
               
Recommendation (16): That female representatives from the USU, together with the SRC, SUSF, Colleges, the University and other interested parties engage in regular dialogue about issues facing women on campus and collectively formulate ways to address these issues.
               
Recommendations (17): That the USU recommends affirmative action provisions be included in the C&S Model Constitution on an opt-out basis, where Clubs or Societies choosing not to adopt this Model Constitution must otherwise demonstrate their commitment to equity for women and women’s representation in other ways. The Clubs and Societies Committee would be responsible for formulating and implementing this recommendation.
               

The President of the USU and the Women's Portfolio Holder will be holding an informal open-door discussion this Thursday (29/11/2012) at 10-11 am in The Board Office, Level 5 Holme Building, for members to discuss any aspect of these recommendations with us before the Board meeting on Friday. Members can also feel free to email the Women's Portfolio Holder Hannah Morris a th.morris@usu.usyd.edu.au with any further questions or concerns.

Yours sincerely,

Board of Directors
University of Sydney Union