University of Sheffield Union of Students

Infobox Students Union
name = University of Sheffield Union of Students


motto =
established = 1906 | institution = University of Sheffield
president = Dave Hurst
other_sabbs = "Education Officer:" Rebecca Watson, "Welfare Officer:" Kathryn Axon, "Women's Officer:" Fiona Edwards, "Finance Officer:" Alex Pott, "International Students' Officer:" Sajeev Jeganathan,
"Sports Officer:" Ella White,
"Activities Officer:" Matt Fox
location = Western Bank, Sheffield, England
members = 23,914 (2007)
affiliated = National Union of Students, Aldwych Group
free =
homepage = [http://www.shef.ac.uk/union www.shef.ac.uk/union]
The University of Sheffield Union of Students is a Student's union in Sheffield. It contains two bars, four club venues, a chain of coffee shops, nearly 200 student societies [Union Societies " [http://www.shef.ac.uk/union/activities-and-sport/societies/] " ] , an independent pub (the "Fox & Duck" in Broomhill) and a turnover of around £10,000,000. Its mission is "to act in the interests of all our members" and has a vision to be "the outstanding student-led organisation in the UK." [Union Strategic Plan, 2006/7 - 2008/9 " [http://www.shef.ac.uk/union/about/strategy/mission.php] "] . It was also voted best Higher Education Students' Union in the country at the first ever NUS awards ceremony in 2008 [NUS Awards 2008 - Winners " [http://theuniversityblog.co.uk/2008/06/11/nus-awards-2008-winners/] "] .

The Union is run by a variety of working, representative and standing committees, presided over by the Union Council and eight elected full-time sabbatical officers. It is a constituent member of the National Union of Students (NUS).

The Union holds a variety of student club nights throughout the week at the Fusion and Foundry and the Octagon Centre. These include pop music nights "Population" (Monday), "ROAR!" (Wednesday) and "Pop Tarts" (Saturday), as well as Drum and Bass/Hip Hop night The Tuesday Club, Indie rock night Fuzz Club and rock/metal & hardcore night "Bleach". Chart and dance night, "Space", is held in the Octagon on Fridays as the Fusion and Foundry hosts monthly nights such as "Climax", "Cuba Libre", "Stuff't Olives" and "Urban Gorilla". Several times a year, large, multi-venue events, such as "Freshers Mania" and "Carnival", are held, attracting over 3000 students. Other one-off events include the "International Cultural Evening", "Christmas Cracker", "Big Night Out", "Scary Tarts" and "Freshers Ball".

Bar One is a more traditional student bar, while The Interval is described as a "continental style cafe/bar". Both bars host regular pre-club nights with a variety of music and special events such as "Union Christmas Day" and "ExamSlam" along with serving a wide range of food and drinks. Upon the opening of Bar One, it was the longest union bar in the country. The union also features one of the largest beer gardens in Sheffield.

The Union, under its obligation as part of the NUS to provide 24-hour support for students, funds Sheffield University Nightline, a telephone and email based listening and information service run by student volunteers from the University.

The Union is run by a variety of working, representative and standing committees, presided over by the Student Union Council (SUC) and eight elected full-time sabbatical officers. These elected officers are supported by a number permanent staff led by the General Manager Paul Blomfield. It is a constituent member of the National Union of Students.

A Union group publishes The Steel Press newspaper fortnightly, while another runs Sure Radio, which broadcasts throughout the Union building during term-time and over the Internet. A third group maintains a news-based website, "Sheffield Base".Stiletto is the Union's Women's magazine written and produced by students. It is currently published three times a year and distributed for free around the Union.

Film Unit, the Union's Film Society, shows four films a week during term time: independent and arthouse films on Wednesdays, mainstream films on Fridays and Saturdays and classics on Sundays. Films are played in a cinema with a capacity of nearly 400, equipped with commercial 35mm film projectors and a Dolby Digital sound system. suTCo (Sheffield University Theatre Company) produce nine plays a year at the Drama Studio, a studio theatre converted from a church, as well as the biennial 24 Hour Charity Musical - rehearsed, choreographed, designed and produced within a 24 hour period.

The "Motor Club" existed from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s and membership was open to students and post-graduates from the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam University). The club organised twelve-car rallies and treasure hunts and two major annual rallies, the Rallye Escafeld and the Witchhunt rally. The club also ran the Mid Summer Venture Rally one year. Many of the members subsequently made their careers in the motor industry including Ford, Austin-Rover and Lotus. There was a reunion of members on 12th - 14th October 2001 in Sheffield and another one on 25th & 26th of September 2004.

The union supports a large number of sports teams, which compete in the BUSA championships. The annual Varsity Challenge takes place between teams from the University and its rival Sheffield Hallam University in over 30 events.

Affiliations

*Association for Managers in Students' Unions
*National Postgraduate Committee
*National Union of Students (NUS)

References

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/4057541.stm Union gets award for best student union in the UK.]

External links

* [http://www.shef.ac.uk/union Official Website]