The Bucks Student: Edition 90

“I am taking part in Movember to raise awareness of Men’s health, whether that be physical health or mental.”

Barns Courtney interview!

WHY WE MO Movember 2020 - Edition 90

2 The Bucks Student

In this edition: Sabb update . . . . . . . . . . 3 The sabbs club together to bring a joint Movember update

MOVEMBER . . . . . . . . . . 4 In the spirit of the month, we have pulled together some special Movember content

Break the Stigma. . . . 12 Tash reflects on this year’s revamped campaign

Barns Courtney. . . . . . 14 A rocking photoset

Events calendar . . . . . 16 Rusty recommends. . 18 Brighton beach clean. 19 Feast with us. . . . . . . . . 20 RAG society . . . . . . . . . . 22 Mental health help . . 23 MyBucksCareer . . . . . 24 Wellbeing month . . . . 25 Race equality at Bucks.26

Page 9 - Get moving for Movember!

Well we’ve already remember remembered the 5th of November this year, and are well on our way to the highly anticipated ‘Flag Day’ on November 30... but there is still more November to come!

And of course, our favourite part of November, is the similarly named Movember. It’s not quite the same not seeing as many excellent moustaches around campus due to lockdown, but we hope you are all getting into the spirit of it from home via our Movember ambassadors.

HOW TO MOVE IN MOVEMBER

The newspaper has never been easier to contribute to. With a faster release schedule, you can pick and choose which editions you contribute to. So if you have any content, articles, images, interviews or achievements you’re proud of, drop an email to editor@thebucksstudent.com to get started with contributing to the newspaper! It can be a great thing to add to your CV, as well as great experience if you are in any of the creative or marketing industries.

For all advertising and media enquiries please contact the Students’ Union Communications and Marketing department.

Simon McDowell simon.mcdowell@bucks.ac.uk

Leadership Academy. 27

Oli Gunson oli.gunson@bucks.ac.uk

Psychology society. . . 28

Nellie Hughes nellie.hughes@bucks.ac.uk

BNU Pole . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Volleyball. . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Bucks FC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Page 16 Barns Courtney interview

Articles in this newspaper do not necessarily represent the views of Bucks Students’ Union but are that of the specific author. View this edition online at bucksstudentsunion.org/media/ newspaperarchive. © 2020 Bucks Students’ Union

By Tamsin Grainger, Tom Featherstone, Tash Neal

We are fast approaching December already,

Tamsin Grainger - President

and what a month November has been since we last caught you guys up. We know that times for students are extremely hard right now with a second lockdown and lots of things changing, but hopefully this little update can bring a smile to your face, and show you some of the amazing things we still have planned.

As some of you may know, unfortunately we have had to stop doing our in-person events in our Venue. However don’t worry, you can still go and get food and alcohol from the bar as a takeaway!

Even better, is that our Events team are working hard to get all events offerings online so you can all still socialise and have fun just from the safety of your own home… which in this cold weather may be a good thing!

Tom Featherstone – VPSI

Tash Neal – VPEW

We are reaching the end of our Movember campaign and we are proud of our very own VPSI Tom for taking on the challenge and growing out a very stylish tash… alongside this he has also been working closely with our Movember Ambassadors Josh and Honor as well as our Volunteering Coordinator Jade Collis to help other students take part and raise as much money for men’s mental health as possible. You can read more about what is happening during November to support fundraising for Movember on the Ambassadors Instagram. @bucks_movember2020

Following on from this, Tash has been running her Break the Stigma campaign, which has highlighted the stigmas surrounding different mental health disorders and brought them to the forefront of our attention. We have been absolutely ecstatic with the engagement in our campaigns and we can’t thank you enough for taking part. Don’t worry if you didn’t manage to take part yet, you can still join in by taking part in our student facing activity with Mind the Mental Health Charity – funded by all of your involvements with Break the Stigma and the Wellbeing Month.

More information on this to follow so keep an eye on our socials!

Behind the scenes, all the Sabb’s have been working on projects in conjunction with the Uni, things like the Race Equality Charter, digital poverty, curriculum change to be more inclusive of the BAME community and so much more.

Our President Tamsin has been working closely with the Vice Chancellor of the Uni, Nick Braisby, to set up regular student open houses to make sure your voices are heard and taken directly to the person who can make the changes.

If you would like to take part please visit our What’s On page or have a look on our social media.

We know that there is a lot going on for students at this time and we want to remind you that we are here if you ever have any questions, worries, want to get involved or just need a chat - please don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of us on any of our social media.

3 Movember edition 90

Sabb update

By Honor Fletcher, Joshua Fake

Happy lockdown Bucks! Things have changed rather dramatically of late haven’t they… but no fear, your Movember ambassador is here!

This a quick update to give you an idea of what we have planned for the upcoming mighty, moustache growing month of Movember!

Firstly though, why even bother with growing a Mo? As my dear nan put it the other day on facetime ‘why have you drawn a permanent maker line on your face Josh, it really doesn’t suit you!’ Well, it’s simple, mental health needs normalizing. No matter what background you’re from, no matter who you are or what you look like, people are always battling against mental health issues; and we are here to tell you that, that’s okay!

Mental health, especially in men, has always been a taboo subject, the idea being that if I suppress how I’m feeling then their will be no questions asked and life can continue as normal. However, it doesn’t work like that. We are all human after all, we need to talk to other people to feel happy, to lean and to live.

I’d like to tell you how I coped with the first lockdown, not for pity but to help you guys get through the next 4 weeks. Much like you all, I was stuck at home, getting very bored at losing to my brother on Fifa 20. It got to the stage where I locked myself in my room for hours sometimes whole days without talking to anyone and I got inside my own head and things got very bad indeed. However, after searching the entire internet for “things to help during lockdown” I decided to make three changes to help me cope: • Go for a walk! It doesn’t need to be a long walk, just long enough to get yourself out of the four walled room you call home whilst at university. After all, fresh air never did anyone any harm.

• Learn something new!

I decided to take up poetry believe it or not. Yes, I’m no William Shakespeare or Oscar Wilde but honestly it did really help! Although I am still stuck on the last paragraph, anyone got anything that rhymes with orange…

• Read a book! This doesn’t need to be a new book nor be something you have to force yourself to read. Any book takes you away from your conscious self and into a world that isn’t your own, an escape from reality if you will.

EVENTS So, what have we got coming up for Movember?

Thursday 12 – Inspirational Men’s Chain: send into us a male figure in your life that has help you at some point with a small sentence or two saying how they have helped you.

Send it to Bucks_Movember2020 on Instagram, tag your friends to do the same and we will create a chain of all your famous people and spread the word!

Wednesday 18 – Movember Take-over: Tune in Wednesday 18th for some Movember fun and shenanigans with help from the resident DJ and others!

Thursday 19 – Men’s Day: A special guest will be coming in to talk about mental health and how you guys can stay mentally strong through this challenging time.

Well that’s all Bucks! Please get involved as much as you can over the coming weeks to help us raise some money for those growing a Mo! So, take care, stay safe and get growing!

5 Movember edition 90

Movember events

HOW TO GROW IN MOVEMBER

MEN ARE FACING A HEALTH CRISIS THAT ISN’T BEING TALKED ABOUT. THEY’RE DYING TOO YOUNG. MUCH BEFORE THEIR TIME. A problem this size calls for big minds, and big solutions. But there’s a smaller, hairier solution to the men’s health crisis. A solution you can Grow yourself. A solution that’s sitting right under your nose.

Grow a Mo this Movember to raise funds and awareness for men’s health. Stop men dying too young.

HERE’S HOW: 01 SIGN UP AT MOVEMBER.COM Choose to Grow this Movember.

02 START GROWING Start clean-shaven, then let your Mo take the spotlight and start conversations.

03 MAKE IT COUNT Ask friends and family to back your Mo by donating. Together, we can stop men dying too young.

TIPS TO HELP YOU GROW 01 BE PREPARED Choose the moustache that will grace your face. Trucker, regent, connoisseur or wisp? Check out the options at movember.com.

02 BE BRAVE The first few days, even weeks, can be uncomfortable as your Mo takes shape. Ride it out to encourage donations.

03 IGNORE THE ITCHING Remind yourself that men have endured worse in the past.

You can stand a little face tickle.

04 SHAPE YOUR MOUSTACHE Get across all the proper grooming techniques. A great Mo comes down to great grooming.

05 NURTURE IT AND KEEP IT CLEAN Look after your Mo, and your Mo will look after you.

By Tom Featherstone

MO STYLE GUIDE THE WISP

THE BUSINESS MAN

THE R O C K S TA R

THE B OX C A R

THE CONNOISSEUR

THE REGENT

THE A B R A K A DA B R A

T H E U N D E R C OV E R BROTHER

7 Movember edition 90

How to grow in Movember

HOW TO MOVE IN MOVEMBER

GOGO THE THE DISTANCE DISTANCE AND STOP MEN AND STOP MEN DYING DYING TOO TOO YOUNG YOUNG

Globally, one man takes his own life every minute, of every day.

This Movember, we’re asking you to make your Move – for them.

Commit to walking or running 60 kms over the month. That’s 60 kms for the 60 men we lose each hour, every hour – the men who should still be here today.

MY MOVE TRACKER You don’t have to be an ultra-athlete, or own the latest kicks. Move is simpler than that.

Globally, Globally, one man one man takestakes his own his own life every life every minute, minute, of every of every day. day.

TRACK THE MOVES YOU MAKE AND TICK OFF YOUR PROGRESS This This Movember, Movember, we’re we’re asking asking youMOVEMBER. you Put one foot in DROP front of other, THROUGHOUT EVERY STEP AND OFthe SWEAT COUNTS. to make youryour MoveMove – for –them. to make for them. and you’ve already made a start.

Commit to walking or running 60 kms Commit to walking or running 60 kms over over the month. the month.

That’s That’s 60 kms 60 for kmsthe for the 60 men we lose hour,hour, everyevery hour hour – 60 men we each lose each – the men the men who should whoON should still be still here be here today. today.

YOUR

MARKS,

HERE’S HOW:

01

8 KM 4 KM 12 KM You don’t have have to GET beto anSET ultra-athlete, You don’t be an , ultra-athlete, or own kicks.

MoveMove is simpler or the ownlatest the latest kicks. is simpler MO SIGN UP AT MOVEMBER.COM Post a mid-Move selfie Chip away, than than that. that. on social media to show your way.

And choose to Move for you’re serious. The more Put one front of theofother, Putfoot one in foot in front the other, people see, the more men’s health. likely they’ll be to donate. and you’ve already mademade a start. and you’ve already a start.

HERE’S HERE’S HOW: HOW: 32 KM

30 KM HALFWAY MARK

01 01

Send an email out to SIGNSIGN UP AT UPMOVEMBER.COM AT MOVEMBER.COM show you’ve made it And choose And choose to Move to Move for for this far. Don’t forget to include your Mo Space. men’smen’s health. health.

02 02

36 KM

CHIPCHIP AWAY AWAY YOUR YOUR WAYWAY Hit itHit fast. it Take fast. Take it slow. it slow.

Run solo.

Run solo.

Join aJoin team. a team.

Go outside.

Go outside.

Or jump Or jump on the ontreadmill. the treadmill.

03 03 MAKE MAKE IT COUNT IT COUNT Call on Call friends on friends and family and family to back to back you with you awith donation, a donation, and change and change the face the of face men’s of men’s health health Nailed it. You clocked

60 km for men’s health.

16 KM Do it for the 60 men we lose to suicide every hour.

02 CHIP AWAY 28 KMYOUR WAY 24 KM Hit it fast. Take it slow. Run solo.

Join aThis team.

Go outside. Or jump is for the of your on thehealth treadmill.

03

brothers, fathers, sons and friends.

MAKE IT COUNT Call on friends and family to back 40 KM 44 KM 48 KM you with a donation, and change the face of men’s health That’s some epic progress.

56 KM You’ve come so far.

It’s time to show it off.

Let the world know with a call-out for donations.

It’s all downhill from here.

52 KM HOME STRETCH Why so serious? Use the Movember app to add some fun to another Mid-Move selfie, and then share away.

20 KM

9 Movember edition 90

GO THE DISTANCE Move in Movember AND STOP MEN DYING TOO YOUNG

WE DIDN’T PUT ANYTHING ON THIS PAGE. SO WHY NOT TAKE A MINUTE TO CHECK ON A MATE WITH THE TIME YOU’VE SAVED?

GO BIG. GO BOLD. GO ALL THE WAY FOR MEN’S HEALTH. Mo Your Own Way is a choose-yourown-adventure challenge epic in scope and scale. Ride the distance from London to Leeds. Tackle an epic workout challenge with mates.

Slog out a rowing machine marathon.

The donations you inspire will help fund groundbreaking projects across men’s mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

A GUIDE TO MO YOUR OWN WAY 01 RAISE SOME BROWS The best challenges tend to prompt the response “you’re doing what?!”

Get creative and push your limits.

02 WHENEVER, WHEREVER Indoors, outdoors, in a single day, over several weeks or across the year. This is your challenge.

You make the rules.

03 MAKE IT EPIC

Cycling Challenge Put a team or yourself to the test.

Whether it’s cycling to work every day, or riding an epic relay, set an ambitious physical and fundraising target.

Workout Challenge Got your own unique workout idea?

Anything goes. Try 500 press-ups a week or smash out a wild number of burpees. Use every drop of sweat to dial up the donations.

Epic Challenge Think big, then go bigger. Like Mo Bro Fergus Crawley taking on a world first vertical marathon – ascending 42,200m on foot. Now there’s a way to set donations soaring.

04 HAVE FUN DOIN’ GOOD Whatever you do, however much you raise, if you’re having a good time, you’re nailing it.

GET STARTED 01 Sign up at movember.com.

02 Set your own epic challenge.

03 If it’s a gruelling test of physical endurance, connect your fitness app to your Mo Space.

04 Let everyone know what you’re doing and why. Give them a heartfelt reason to donate.

Whatever it is, whenever it is, your challenge will help change the face of men’s health. If you need any help getting started or want to bounce some boundary-pushing ideas, please get in touch at info.uk@movember.com.

11 Movember edition 90

You can Mo your own waaay!

12

Break the Stigma reflections

The Bucks Student

By Tash Neal

Reflections Content Warning: This article talks openly about the reality of Mental Health conditions and may contain triggering content with regards to specific disorders with particular reference to Dissociative Identity Disorder. Please do not carry on reading if anything mentioned above may distress or upset you, as we as a Student’s Union think it is important to have these difficult conversations to help Break the Stigma of mental health conditions.

Here we go another lockdown!

When I started in June amid the first lockdown it was a daunting experience and I knew that an important focus for this year more than ever would be to see how we can support student’s mental health during these extraordinary times. Now with the second lockdown in full swing it feels like I am waking up again in June, new to the job with big plans for this year. I am absolutely thrilled that we have signed up to be a part of the Student Minds Student Union’s Mental Health Framework.

This opportunity allows for us to build on what we are currently doing as a Student Union to support both staff and students mental health as well as making actionable plans for this year and many years to come to make sure that we are supporting mental health as best as we can.

If you have any suggestions as to what we could do to support students mental health better or would like to be a part of this process please email natasha. neal@bucks.ac.uk. This will be a monthly topic at our virtual Union Council meetings where you will have the opportunity to make

sure we are held accountable for the actions we make from this framework.

I am so proud to see 122 of you getting involved with the Break the Stigma Quiz as it is so important that we start to break down the barriers that are put in place when it comes to mental health. In total we raised £61 from the quiz alone to provide a student facing activity with Bucks Mind. I will make sure to keep you all updated with when this session will be running and how you can get involved!

The most common misconception that we found within our quiz was about Dissociative Identity Disorder where 29% of participants went for the correct definition ‘’This is associated with overwhelming experiences, traumatic events and/ or abuse that occurred in childhood – symptoms include the existence of two or more distinct identities’’ where-as 71% agreed with the stigmatised definition ‘’This is a disorder marked by periods of feeling disconnected or detached from the body and thoughts. This disorder is sometimes described as feeling like you are observing yourself from outside your body or like being in a dream.’’

After seeing the posts surrounding Dissociative Identity Disorder one our members reached out to say “So so pleased to see DID on there, such a misunderstood illness and one that’s important to me both personally and professionally.’’

As part of our campaigning around Break the Stigma we have released ten different stories across our social media and our website where you can learn about stigmatised myths and learn some facts surrounding: Depression, Anxiety, Eating Disorders, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Schizophrenia, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If you missed out on this information, please follow the link here to view our posts on our website.

I have heard time and time again of people referring to somebody who has a mental health condition as ‘having’ mental health. When in fact we all have mental health. The ways in which we cope in our day to day lives however is on a continuous scale which can interchange on a daily basis. As well as this, looking after your wellbeing varies from individual to individual. On a personal level, I like to make sure that I keep to my skin care routine as well as setting aside time on a Sunday to prepare myself for the week so that I can start each new week with a fresh mind. I find that this helps me feel relaxed for the week ahead and makes it so much easier not to get overwhelmed when I am busy at work. For others it may mean exercising every day or making sure that they clean their teeth twice a day or making sure to brush their hair. We all take care of ourselves in different ways and it is important to remember that your physical wellbeing is also just as important as your mental wellbeing which I think is easy to forget.

I have also found it really useful to reflect positively every day throughout the past six weeks which has helped me to become more reflective of how I view

different elements in my day to day life. You may have seen that we have also posted 30 Daily Affirmations created by Toluwa Oyeleye who did a fantastic wellbeing coaching session as part of the Wellbeing Month Activities.

Although these ended on the 13th of November, the Psychology Society have created their own positive posts which they are posting throughout the whole of the second lockdown to keep the positive vibes and support going.

Their socials details are Facebook: Bucks Psychology Society and Instagram: BucksPsychology.

Make sure to give them a follow to keep up to date with daily positive inspirations.

Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many clubs and societies getting involved with the Positivity Project initiative, where we posted a blank positivity pot for you all to post pictures of Gifs that make you feel positive. You all had really different suggestions of what is positive to you which demonstrates how we all stay positive in different ways!

I hope in this article, throughout the Break the Stigma campaign and Wellbeing Month that it has given everyone an opportunity to reflect on how we all look after our wellbeing and our mental health and the different ways in which you can ask for help.

We know times can be challenging and there is no shame in asking for help. Please follow this link to see a list of internal and external support resources on our newly developed Mental Health Support Page.

13 Movember edition 90

Break the Stigma reflections

14

Barns Courtney interview

The Bucks Student

By Zuzanna Majewska

Home is where your heart is dancing to rock & roll Zuzanna: You just shared your new song ‘99’; which is completely different than ‘Glitter and Gold’, ‘Hands’, and ‘Kicks’ so how did the idea for this song come?

Barns: “I have been struggling for three years and I was really depressed because I had no success and you know my whole life at that point... I had kind of like been nothing but the band since I was 14 and than I signed my first actual record. And now you know, I live this wonderful life and I get to travel around with my best friends, I am making music like every day and I am happy and I guess the songs reflect that.”

Zuzanna: So, Do you have something that you miss the most from the 90’s?

Barns: “Oh, what do I miss the most.... I think I just miss, like, as we get older we formalise fun for no apparent reason. You know, people are not hanging out. If you ride, go ride a bike for an instant.

Nobody just rides around the neighbourhood, there is nobody.

So I just miss that sense of freedom and openness but I guess that is why I make music and travel around with band because it is the closest thing you can get to really just being free and exploring.”

Zuzanna: What is your favourite place to relax after the tour?

Just to turn off yourself?

Barns: “You know I have been pretty solid on the road for last three years. I don’t even rent a place anymore because I am so busy all the time. Yeah so I don’t know.. I find a hotel room quite relaxing right now.”

Zuzanna: You recently worked with The Prodigy - legendary music group - how was that? You made the ‘Give me a signal’ record with them. So how was it, to work with them?

Barns: “It was so unreal, I couldn’t believe that I ended up on the record. When I went to the record shop , I looked at my name on the actual thing... it is bizarre. They are such a massive, influential, legendary band...”

You can read the full interview on teaindie.com

15 Movember edition 90

Barns Courtney interview

16

Events calendar | 2 Nov – 8 Nov

The Bucks Student

The Venue and The Lounge at Bucks Students’ Union are open seven nights a week.

If you don’t see an event listed below, check online nearer the time; bucksstudentsunion.org/whatson

Monday 16

Tuesday 17

Wednesday 18

Thursday 19

Friday 20

Saturday 21

Sunday 22

Have an idea for an event, want to arrange a takeover, or feedback for our events team?

You can get in contact with the team by dropping an email to; events@buck.ac.uk

Monday 23

Wednesday 25

Saturday 28

Tuesday 24

t h g i n y comed

Friday 27

Sunday 29

Thursday 26

17 Movember edition 90

Events calendar | 9 Nov – 15 Nov

18

Rusty recommends

The Bucks Student

Rusty recommends Rusty returns!

There may be a national lockdown in place but Rusty is still here giving you all the recommendations of events that you need to be getting involved in.

Resident DJ, DJ OneF brought you entertainment whilst seated in The Venue and now he’s coming straight to your laptop screens!

Social Bubble House Wednesday 18th November – Don’t miss out on what virtual fun DJ OneF has planned EVERY WEEK! We couldn’t go into a lockdown and not put on our quizzes Kahoot Quiz: Movember Sunday 22 November – our weekly quizzes are still running and can be done straight from your phone. This week we’re quizzing everything Movember from male celebrities to fun facts you didn’t know – raising awareness on men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men’s suicide. There’s a £10 Amazon voucher to the winner so make sure you take part.

Keep any eye out for all things Musicals we’re recommending on the website! Via YouTube, you can watch your all-time favourite such as Tangled, Shrek and Hairspray all for FREE!

recommending) every Monday you can join in our Netflix Party we’ll be showing something different every week that you can watch along with us, let us know what you want to watch!

Thursday 26 November our famous Comedy Night returns with our first virtual night. Experience comedy right from the comfort of your sofa without spending a penny – more exciting details to come!

The social media world is a little but crazy right now but we’d love to know what you’d like to see, If there is anything we may have missed or something you want to see us doing drop an email too suevents@bucks.ac.uk

Want something a bit more chilled out and less effort? Every Saturday we’re recommending playing Skribbl.io with your friends and families! Highly recommended

by Bucks Students Union Staff themselves this is a Pictionary like game that can be played anywhere and anytime – tag us on socials of how your game goes. (We’d LOVE to see!)

Not only can you do all of the above AND MORE (check out our website for all that we’re

On Saturday 17 October we travelled down to Brighton beach to do our annual beach clean.

As I am sure you can guess this year was run a little bit differently than normal however, with COVID guidelines in place we still managed to take 32 students down to Brighton.

When we reached Brighton, we headed straight to the beach and down to the old pier where we separated into groups of 4 all armed with litter pickers, rubbish bags and safety gloves. As we walked along the beach, we noticed a large amount of glass and bottle caps which is obviously quite disturbing to think an animal or child could be playing on the beach and tread on them. Along with this a large amount of plastic and wrappers flying about, some weirder things we found were sets of keys which we handed into the pier reception.

“I loved taking part in the beach clean, It’s a great feeling to give back to the planet and community!

We need to set a good example for our peers and the next generation” - Olein Flemming, student.

It has never been so important to keep our Earth healthy and safe, with 71% of the Earth being oceans, we need to make sure that these stay as unpolluted as possible to protect the marine life and lower the environmental damage. At this current time only 2-5.7% of these oceans are globally protected however with the UN setting the goal to make that 10% by the end of 2020, Bucks is doing all we can to contribute to keeping our oceans safe and becoming more environmentally friendly.

Your Green Ambassador, Sydney Owen, has lead the Student’s Union in taking part in Unblocktober this month to raise awareness and educate people on how to be more environmentally aware of what they are flushing down the loo and the damage that can do to our rivers, seas, and oceans. Hopefully raising awareness will help to change habits and have a lasting impact on how we dispose of things. We only have one Earth so let’s do all we can to keep it safe and healthy.

“Annually our Beach Clean events are always a huge success with the students. It is great to see students so passionate about protecting our oceans and the animals that live there. There are a few more beach cleans in the pipeline for the rest of the academic year so keep a look out on the what’s on page if you would like to get involved.” - Jade Collis, Activities Coordinator (Volunteering and Charity Fundraising)

We are so proud of our students who are taking part to do their bit to save the planet. If you missed the Brighton beach clean don’t worry, we have lots more planned for the academic year that you can get involved in including another beach clean. Keep an eye out on our ‘What’s on’ page and our social media accounts to see what’s going on and sign up.

19 Movember edition 90

Brighton beach clean

20 The Bucks Student

Feast with us

By Lucy Webb

Feast with us Last month, our Volunteering and Fundraising Coordinator, Jade Collis, organised a fantastic volunteering opportunity that myself and two fellow students, Ellie and Isabel, were able to get involved in.

The four of us went to cook in the soup kitchen of JW3, an outstanding Jewish Community Centre, that is a “vibrant, crosscommunal hub for Jewish arts, culture, family programming, social action, learning and much more, where everyone is welcome”. They have partnered with the amazing food poverty charity, FEAST With Us, which uses surplus food to provide healthy and nutritious meals for people and communities who need it most. FEAST With Us and JW3 volunteers cook together every week in the JW3 soup kitchen, and we were honoured to join them and help out.

When we arrived in the soup kitchen, a key volunteer, Alyson, was there to greet us and introduce us to what we would be doing.

We were tasked with producing a week’s worth of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for a family of four in need, and we got to choose what we were going to cook; it was like being on Masterchef!

There was a huge range of fruits and vegetables for us to choose from

and use, donated from supermarkets and local businesses, that would have been thrown away otherwise. We each put on an apron, hair net, and gloves, quickly came up with a tasty menu and began prepping the food.

We spent the afternoon chopping, cooking, and chatting, knowing that while we were having fun making these meals, they were going to greatly help this local family in need.

We produced a week’s worth of fresh fruit salads for breakfasts, delicious vegetable pasta portions for lunches, and mild sweet potato curry portions for dinners. We even got to have what was leftover for our lunch, and I can confirm the food was yum! Not only was this opportunity a chance to get involved with two amazing and important causes, but it was also a brilliantly fun and unique experience we’ll all remember. It reminded us all how enjoyable and important it is to cook from scratch and be creative.

To anyone reading this, I highly recommend you look out for this volunteering opportunity to come around again in the future and get involved! Community volunteering is so important for helping those in need, and they’re amazing experiences. Whatever volunteering you can get involved with, I guarantee you’ll enjoy it, so give it a go!

You can keep up to date on all volunteering opportunities through the What’s On page on the Students’ Union website, and by following @JadeBucks on various social media platforms.

Download the FREE app Discounts Legal ID Campus Life

Join today

TOTUM.COM @WEARETOTUM

22

RAG society

The Bucks Student

By Elysia Hix, Megan Bullock, Katie Jedrek, Becky Pearson

RAG society or require help with your mental health. Whatever you may need, our friendly committee are always available to have a chat anytime!

Below are some of the things we have already taken part in and upcoming events:

Hi, we are Bucks RAG Society.

We are a new society set up this year to help raise money for RAG (Raise and Give) through different fundraisers, including quizzes, a sweet stall, raffles and more.

Starting out as a new society is quite difficult, especially gaining members, but with the help of our chair, and current RAG Ambassador, Elysia Hix, it has been smooth sailing and luckily we have had many new members join already which is incredibly helpful when it comes to thinking of new ideas and getting people more involved with RAG and university life!

We want our society to be a fun, safe space for students so we are trying to start socials to give our members a chance to meet each other, play some games, and throw out any ideas they may have to raise money in the future. We also have our welfare liaison, Becky Pearson who is on hand to answer any concerns students may have or just to have a general chat to. Back along we even released a welfare video from Becky on World Mental Health day which can be seen on our social medias, where she talks about where you can go if you ever feel alone

Throughout the October school half-term, our committee and members volunteered to give school students free hot meals, providing them with hot food, music, and food parcels to take home! It was such a humbling feeling being able to help children and families in need who may not necessarily be able to afford to feed their children through this half term.

On Tuesday 3 November we launched our ‘Buck Shop’. This was set up in the SU foyer where we sold sweet bags made by our committee members for a minimum donation of £1 a bag.

We were so fortunate to raise over £40 throughout the day thanks to our customers, with some even donating more than £1 a bag. Thank you to everyone who got involved!

At the moment we are now adapting to moving our society online for a little while. We have developed a few fun plans and on Wednesday 11 November, RAG Ambassador, Elysia Hix, will be hosting an online Kahoot quiz with an entry price of £1 where you have the opportunity to win prizes.

This can be paid through the Bucks Students’ Union event page where you will then receive the login details for the quiz.

Finally, we are so happy to announce that we have been awarded Society of the Month! We cannot thank everyone enough for all of the help they have provided to the society. This means so much to a little, new society like ourselves and we will keep trying our hardest to get this again.

We have so much planned for the upcoming year with some ideas even moving online through the current Covid-19 climate so keep an eye out for these. If you are interested in taking part within the society or just need some more information, you can always contact us on our social media pages: Facebook: Bucks RAG Society Instagram: @bucksragsociety Stay safe during this lockdown everyone, and we look forward to seeing you all again very soon!

Bucks Students’ Union

Advice Centre Got a problem?

Tell MONEY

us what it is

We help you find a solution!

Please call to

ADVICE CENT

Mental Health conditions are more common than we realise, with a reported 78% of students experiencing Mental Health issues and less than half seeking support. The suicide rate for under 25s has increased by 93.8% since 2012, to its highest level in 2019. The rate of 16.9atdeaths percampus 100,000 is thea face-to-face, telep makemale an suicide appointment either for highest it has been since 2000.

This year, we are facing a particularly difficult situation, High Wycombe Campus:

Uxbrid

many people isolated from others and uncertain Monday to Thursday with 9am-5pm, Friday 9am-4.30pm Monday to Thursday 9 of what lies ahead. It is important, more so now than If LEGAL you ISSUES have problemsLocated: in any Room N0.03, ground floor, North Block Located: Ro ever, that we know how to support those who are Phone: 01494 603 016 Phone: of these areas we can help: struggling. This session aims to give you the skills and confidence to spot the signs of Mental Health issues,

Evening appointments areoffer available standard opening hours first aid outside and guideofsomeone towards getting the at High Wycomb help they need. We won’t teach you to become aat a time to suit yo contact us to arrange an how appointment COURSE ISSUES MONEY YOUR PERSONAL LIFE

one or Skype appointment. ment.

ge Campus:

m-5pm, Friday 9am-4.30pm 30pm LEGAL ISSUES m 1.03, first floor INTERNATIONAL 1494 605 180 STUDENT ISSUES

Mon-Thurs: 5pm to 7pm. Please m. Please .

RE

23 Movember edition 90

RE

Mental health help

COURSE ISSUES ACCOMMODATION

MONEY YOUR PERSONAL LIFE

ADVICE ADVICE CENT

therapist, but we will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis – and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.

Please an appointment This article isn’tcall hereto to make scare anyone or make peopleat either campus f suadvice@bucks.ac.uk bucksstudentsunion.or

treatan each other differently. just here to makefor surea face-to-face, tele Please call to make appointment atIt’s either campus

you and the people around you are OK. ItCampus: takes 30 High Wycombe seconds to give a mate a call and ask how they are MondayCampus: to Thursday 9am-5pm, Friday 9am-4.30pm Uxbr High Wycombe doing. Especially in times where we are being asked LEGAL ISSUES Room N0.03, ground North Block Monday to Thursdayto9am-5pm, 9am-4.30pm Monday to Thursday stayLocated: at homeFriday and ‘shut ourselves off’ it is floor, more than INTERNATIONAL Phone: 01494 603in016 Located: Room N0.03, ground to floor, North Blockhealth Located: R ever necessary keep your mental check as STUDENT ISSUES much as your physical health.

Phone: 01494 603 016 Phone

Evening appointments are available of standard opening The Advice centre is still running, and yououtside can contact us hours to arrange an Wycom appoint Evening appointments are available outside of standardcontact opening at High them on suadvice@bucks.ac.uk contact us to arrange an appointment at a time to suit y Or go on the Together All website on togetherall.com.

COURSE ISSUES ACCOMMODATION YOUR PERSONAL LIFE

advice one or Skype appointment.

ge Campus:

m-5pm, Friday 9am-4.30pm INTERNATIONAL m 1.03, first floor STUDENT ISSUES 1494 605 180bucksstudentsunion.org/advice

suadvice@bucks.ac.uk

Mon-Thurs: 5pm to 7pm. Please .

ACCOMMODATION

This is free and safe support.

You’ll find a helpful reminder of a mental health suadvice@bucks.ac.uk buck resource in each edition of the newspaper from suadvice@bucks.ac.uk bucksstudentsunion.o now on. We hope that you don’t have to use it, but if you do just need that little bit of help, we hope we can be there for you and find you the help that you may need.

24

MyBucksCareer

The Bucks Student

By Sarah Jackson

MyBucksCareer The hiring process is changing.

Employers are increasingly using video interviews as part of their recruitment process. But whether you’re going for an interview online or in person, you need to practise.

Interview360 includes a large and comprehensive library of the most commonly asked interview questions along with key points to help you answer every one of them.

The interview process is broken down into 3 stages for you, to give advice and simple steps to take on each stage from the preparation, to after the interview has finished.

If you want to give yourself the best possible chance of success, don’t leave your interview prep to the last minute.

Before: Make sure you know the basics of yourself and the employer and do some practise.

Scan the QR code to get started with your interview simulator!

During: be punctual, polite and calm. Be aware of your body language and convey your skills and strengths in words and actions.

Thank the interviewer and ask about next steps.

Afterwards send a thank you note or ask to connect on LinkedIn, but don’t harass them.

Through My Bucks Career you can also access a range of mock interviews you can take to really test your ability to come up with strong, confident, well-thoughtthrough answers under time pressure. You’ll get instant feedback and advice, and every question you answer will make you a stronger candidate.

Through this section, you can also access example interview questions, with advice on how to answer them so you are able to have some pre-prepared answers to common questions and can concentrate more on selling yourself during the interview.

My Bucks Career can also offer tips in everything from communicating effectively in an interview to optimising your video quality for an online interview! As competition for jobs is only likely to increase, these tips will give you every available opportunity to impress in your job interviews.

They also have videos from big employers across the UK, including the Crown Prosecution Service, Deloitte and Red Bull giving tips on how to successfully present yourself during an interview.

So whether you have an interview lined up, or have just started applying for jobs, make sure you have a look at the interview simulator section of My Bucks Career, to give you the best chance of being successful in your next interview!

We have now come to the end of our first ever Wellbeing Month, hosted in partnership with the Clare Foundation, and thank you to every one of you who participated in any way. Most importantly, we hope that you found the workshops, events, the Break the Stigma campaign or even just the wellbeing box useful in supporting your positive wellbeing!

Over the course of the month we held several events for you to get involved in.

We held training workshops in motivation for home study, resilience and wellbeing and mental health awareness just to name a few of them. The feedback from the trainers was that all students who took part seemed to really engage with the workshops and you were great groups to work with. We hope that these helped you as well.

Tash’s Break the Stigma campaign was a great success and over 120 of you participated in the quiz before the launch of the awareness campaign. Initial feedback included: ‘’I’m so proud to be a Bucks student at the moment, with this, the free hot school meals and everything else that you’re providing to support us through the pandemic.’’

The wellbeing boxes were FREE to all students and have nearly all gone! The idea of these boxes and their content was to promote self-care and we hope you enjoyed them!

Our amazing Executive Officers also hosted the first of what we hope will be more regular honest hours, allowing students from our liberation groups to speak in a safe and open space about your experiences at Bucks and any suggestions you had for improving life at Bucks New University.

Although we couldn’t run everything we had hoped to given the current situation, we still feel that this month was a great success and we are incredibly grateful to The Clare Foundation for helping us to make this happen.

The Clare Foundation aims to make Buckinghamshire the happiest county in Britain.

They are a charity that brings together key stakeholders, partners, businesses and charitable organisations to facilitate and create positive change across society in Buckinghamshire. Their mission is to bring the forces together to tackle the root causes of unhappiness.

They facilitate multi-stakeholder projects and programmes bringing together charities, businesses and key infrastructure organisations such as Buckinghamshire Council. They offer free advice and support to charities and not-for-profit organisations in order to help them become more effective and efficient both informally and through formal programmes such as their Charity and Middle le Leader Forums, Charity Excellence Programme and the Bid Writing Support Programme.

As always we would really like to hear from you! If you have any feedback on the month, whether that’s how we can improve Wellbeing Month for next time, or something that you really appreciated from it please do get in touch by emailing sutraining@bucks.ac.uk.

25 Movember edition 90

Wellbeing month wrap-up

26 The Bucks Student

Race equality at Bucks

By Tom Featherstone

How do you feel about diversity within the University? Have you ever witnessed racial discrimination?

Does your course include discussions of ethnicity and race?

These are all questions you can have your say on in your University’s Race Equality at Bucks: Have your say survey, which is live until Friday 30 November.

This important survey will take no longer than 10-15 minutes to complete and the survey results will help us to identify key priorities for improvement, as well as highlighting areas of good practice at the University.

The survey is completely confidential.

The University will donate £150 to be split between the RAG charities The Julius Little Foundation and Florence Nightingale Hospice if 1,000 students complete the survey. As of Wednesday 11 November, 89 students have responded.

Change your University’s future Thank you to the 89 students who have responded so far – your views will make a difference to the future of your University and how we approach racial equality issues. We’re only halfway through November, so there’s still plenty of time for everyone else to have your say and to secure the £150 for the RAG charities.

You can complete the survey at bucks.ac.uk/ recsurveystudent or scan the QR code below. You will also have received emails with this information. If accessing the survey by smartphone and you have not logged in to Microsoft Office (e.g. Outlook) on your phone before, you will need to enter your Bucks email address, which is StudentID@ Bucks.ac.uk, followed by your password.

The survey is part of a wider piece of work to help us raise awareness of and understand more about our University’s culture and advance race equality.

The results of this survey – and a similar one staff are doing – will be included in our Race Equality Charter application. If successful, the application will be published on our website.

If you would like to be involved in any of the University’s race equality work, please Anna Winsley on anna.winsley@bucks.ac.uk.

By Emily West

Leadership Academy

• applications from students in every school of the university and from 30 different courses • almost 25% of applications were from international students • applications from students across all levels of study including foundation and first years • almost half from students over the age of 22 We have now started arranging initial appointments with all our members of Leadership Academy 2020/2021 where we will begin discussing career aspirations, any gaps in training needs and how we can fill these, providing bespoke e-learning depending on the requirements of the student, sourcing mentors and start searching for relevant networking events.

The programme will then consist of:

Time to meet the future leaders...

We are excited to announce that we have now recruited our 2020/2021 cohort to the Leadership Academy!

It was an incredibly tough decision this year, with a limited number of spaces available and some really strong applicants. A massive thank you to everyone that took the time to complete their application and to the staff members that sponsored you.

It was great to see applications from all our student groups this year including:

• One to one sessions to agree a leadership development route and monitor progress. Regular contact through email, face to face meetings and telephone calls will enable us to support students in achieving their goals.

• Workshops focusing on leadership styles and selfawareness – providing workplace critical skills on how to demonstrate values, manage conflict, manage change, understand the difference between management and leadership, identify and encourage high performance and adopt a coaching style.

• Accredited training courses specific to your chosen route - we can provide licensing

qualifications and legislation compliant certificates for those in the hospitality industry; safeguarding or coaching qualifications for those in the sports industry.

• Employability sessions focussing on CV’s, interviews, applications and assessment centres - Group sessions in all of the above will be scheduled regularly alongside the University’s Careers and Employability Service. One to one sessions are also available with both the Students’ Union and the University.

• Access to networking opportunities through conferences, staff days and external events - students will be invited to be involved with Students’ Union meetings and development days and consulted with when we have new initiatives or policy to implement.

If you have missed the programme this year don’t worry! We would love to receive your application for our next cohort for 2021/2022 from early summer next year.

Please also remember that we are here to support ALL students. If you would like any support or advice we do offer Bucks Award sessions, where we can help you understand how to use the experience gained through your activities with the SU within applications and interviews.

Or if there is something else that we can support you with, please just let us know! Our email is sutraining@bucks.ac.uk so get in touch to arrange an appointment with us or just drop us a question!

27 Movember edition 90

Leadership Academy

28 The Bucks Student

Psychology society

By Lucy Webb

Psychology society

Welcome back to the Psychology Society, here’s our November update to let you know what we’ve been up to!

At the start of October, we had our first session, virtually of course, to introduce ourselves as a committee and for students to introduce themselves to each other. It was pretty successful with a decent turn out, and everyone got the chance to get to know each other a bit better. It was really great to see that everyone was so open to engaging in the conversations, and for students from varying courses to meet one another!

We’ve also been able to get involved in some fantastic community volunteering opportunities. At the start of the month, a few of us went to cook in a soup kitchen at JW3, an outstanding Jewish Community Centre, in London. JW3 have

partnered with the amazing food poverty charity FEAST With Us, and volunteers come together every week to cook meals for families in need, using surplus and donated food. It so much fun going to help cook the meals and a really unique experience! We also got involved in the Brighton Beach Clean, during Give It A Go Week, and were really lucky with lovely weather! We had a brilliant day litter picking on the beach, exploring the town of Brighton, and meeting other students from different sports and societies.

Lastly, everyday on social media we have been posting a ‘Daily Dose of Positivity’ for each day of Lockdown 2, to keep everyone’s spirits up during this difficult time, and to support Bucks Wellbeing Month. We’ve been posting a mix of philosophical quotes, wellbeing tips, and even uplifting song lyrics.

The response from people has

been great and we’re really pleased to have brought a little joy to students each day!

Thank you for everyone’s support!

We’ve got another session coming up soon, so keep an eye out on social media for information! If you aren’t part of the Psychology Society and would like to join, please sign-up on the SU page and follow our social media:

Facebook: Bucks Psychology Society Fb Group: Bucks Psychology 20/21 Instagram: @buckspsychology

By Michelle Charles

BNU Pole We’d like to start by saying thank you to all our new and returning members!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the ‘Wear It Pink’ campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer last month!

Our members have been so eager to attend we have full classes every week with 10+ on the waitlist! Although we’ve only had a few sessions we can see most of you getting more confident and enjoying each class! Many of you have contacted us about having your friends join our society so thank you for spreading the word. We are still accepting new members! We can have 8 students in each pole class and 10 students in each strength and flexibility class. Our chair has created a guide book on Instagram called “The Bnu Pole Bible” please read this carefully before you message us about starting!

As you may know, our first fundraiser will be on the 22nd November at 7pm.

It will be a Lockdown themed quiz night/scavenger hunt over Zoom and details will be released once we have received your donations. This fundraiser is open to everyone not just the pole society! Please remember these donations will help to run our sessions next term! Without extra help we won’t be able to have as many classes with Mikey! Message us if you are interested on Instagram, Facebook or even an email!

Strength and flexibility classes will still be running every other Sunday online, so make sure to sign up so the classes don’t get cancelled! If you have any requests for future class ideas please contact us at bnupole@gmail.com.

This can be anything including- A gentle stretch class, upper body strengthening, splits or even a themed pole class once we start back next year!

We look forward to starting our sessions in person again soon and hope to see loads of you in the fundraising event! The prize for this will be announced on Instagram so please keep your eyes peeled!

29 Movember edition 90

BNU Pole

30 The Bucks Student

Volleyball

By Joe Tagica

Volleyball players needed!

We are currently short on volleyball players for both the men’s and women’s teams and are looking for individuals who are willing to try out a training session with us and potentially become a part of the team. It’s not an issue if you have little or no experience, just come down to the events hall on Mondays from 5pm – 7:30pm. Our sessions are always enjoyable and are pitched to cater for every level of ability. The current members of the volleyball club are friendly and are always welcoming to new participants. If you are interested, then please get in contact with any member of the committee and you can find us on facebook under BNU volleyball 2020/21.

For anyone that is interested in playing in either team, matches take place on a Wednesday afternoon and we play Universities across the South East. We will start to play matches in term 2 in the BUCS leagues. If you come along and just want to play for fun you are still welcome to join us at training.

Furthermore, your safety is our number one priority, and to ensure there are no cases of Covid-19 being spread, the committee have access to a spreadsheet, (which is updated on a daily basis), which gives us notification of individuals with either a positive case of Covid-19, Symptoms of Covid-19 and individuals who are self-isolating due to being in the same circle as an individual tested positive for Covid-19. This is sent to us before our training session to ensure that we don’t allow any individual who is present on the spreadsheet to attend the session. This is all done to make the session as safe as possible, but we don’t stop there, we also take the temperatures of all the individuals before they enter the hall and clean all the equipment at regular intervals during the session and after it.

We hope to see some of you there!

By Yezan Amawi, Mackenzie Hoey

Bucks FC 4 gratifying years at Bucks FC, from joining late in my first year, to becoming captain in my fourth.

My Bucks FC journey so far has been nothing but rewarding and worthwhile.

Having missed out on several trial sessions in my first year, I found myself without a team for the first few months at university. Although the lack of game time was evident, thanks to the SU, indoor football was open to students every Thursday in the sports hall. After a few weeks, I was stopped by fourth team captain and Bucks New Uni Alumni, Luke Robertson.

We exchanged numbers and soon after, was introduced to the family that is Bucks FC. Though I joined late the boys were very accommodating upon my arrival, a theme that has continued throughout the years with Bucks FC. I was fortunate enough to have made a few appearances in the season which warranted me a place in the varsity fixture. Though we lost the game, being a part of a varsity fixture is an experience that I will always cherish.

A year in and it was time I started to join the Wednesday night socials.

The socials were an excellent way of building team spirit and camaraderie amongst the 4 teams.

Teammates would sit amongst each other, discussing the events that transpired between their respective football fixture while also playing games and having fun.

The second and third year saw me move into the second team playing under Joe Hampton and Jack Dawson. Training with the first and second-team players, helped me elevate my game, in which the quality of football increased.

After 3 years playing for the club, I then decided to nominate myself in becoming the third team captain, something I probably wouldn’t have done if it wasn’t for the social skills gained as well as the injection of confidence given with my time with the boys.

Now into my fourth and final year, I see myself captaining the thirds.

Although the circumstances aren’t the greatest, I’m still very grateful to be able to lead my teammates out in training sessions as well as be a part of a great committee that sees me join; Mackenzie Hoey (Chairman), Charlie Hickey (Secretary), Jack Dawson (1st Team Captain), Josh Holland (2nd Team Captain) and lastly Joe “Bedtime” Champion ( 4th Team Captain).

Even in this difficult year, the committee and I are hoping for and aiming for success all round, and will stop at nothing to get it!

On behalf of everyone at Bucks FC, we would like to say a huge thank you to our sponsor this year, Studee International LTD!

31 Movember edition 90

Bucks FC

% 50 off pizza when you spend £30 or more online

use CODE: STUDY£30 24/26 Castle Street High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP13 6RG

01494 539539

DELIVERY UNTIL 3AM THUR, FRI & SAT

opening hours: 11am - 1AM SUN - Wed 11am - 3AM Thu, FRI & SAT closed for collection: 12am mon-sun

/DominosPizza

@Dominos_UK

StudentsOfDominos

Click

Tap the app

Available on delivery or collection. Deal valid online only. 50% valid on pizza only, all other items will be charged at full menu price. Full terms and conditions see menu or online. Offer can be withdrawn or amended without notice on all please. Offer can be withdrawn or amended without notice. Offer can not be used in conjunction with any other offer. Expires 31/5/2021