Lots of people ask what I do; some people ask why I do it.

Activists Unite together through NUS, using pledges to acheive.

What I do is a combination of student activism and student voice, to achieve one broad outcome; a better life for students. That spreads out into a number of different strands; a better quality of education, a better student experience, better accommodation, better financial support etc.

Why I do it? Because if we do not stand together and fight for our rights, we will be walked over by those who have ideas and priorities different to our own, the big current example would be Vice Chancellors wanting to double Tuition Fees – if we sit silently and do not get involved, we will end up with debts of over £30,000 which isn’t right, especially for those who would receive no financial gain from their degree.

A more local, accessible situation currently evident at Lincoln is the distinctly substandard teaching and unchallenging content of one unit on my course. We could just accept that, or as Course Reps we could coordinate the efforts of Students to collectively lobby the Programme Leaders so that they review the Unit and improve things ready for next year’s cohort.

On reflection, I do this because I do care and I really cannot sit by and watch students get screwed over and have to settle for second best. Additional, I benefit personally from being involved through the development of my personal skills and qualities – in my opinion; my CV is pretty damn hot because of everything that I’ve done – I want to make sure that everybody has the same opportunities that I’ve had, assuming they want to better themselves.

If you’re a Student reading this, why not consider becoming a rep? You’ll benefit yourself and those around you. I’m not using my blog to sell Course Reps, but think about the concept of representation, student activism and student voice - can you really afford to sit by and not act?

Time for change!

In my mission to become the new Barack Obama, I’m planning on creating change today. I have a meeting which should, in theory, lead to some improvements in our Union, and hopefully it will show what Student Council should be doing.

I doubt it’ll be an easy meeting, but it will be productive, and it will beneficial to the students! I shall update on the outcome later!

On a more positive note; we have a new Faculty Rep for Business & Law, who will replace the one that has never turned up! I’ll be briefing her tonight ready for next week’s meeting and then I plan to go out tonight and enjoy ‘a few’ beverages!! In a responsible way of course

My first Faculty Board meeting tomorrow… Long… Boring… Uninspiring… But I plan on changing that