The runny noses and wet sniffles, the chesty coughs and the constant feeling of exhaustion, and for some, the feeling of regret and loss of dignity... Welcome to Freshers’ flu!

The majority of students unfortunately catch it, with some showing more symptoms than others, but I really do hope that the pandemic that is Freshers’ flu hasn’t hit all of you lovelies too hard within the last few days. Try and power through it, because the SU has plenty going on within the next two weeks!

Next week, starting on Monday 5 October, is our first ever Student Media Week! The week is aimed at increasing awareness of the benefits of getting involved in student media, and also increasing engagement with our student media societies.  I know that myself and the rest of the exec team thoroughly enjoyed Huddersfield SU Freshers’ 2015, and we all have many stories and anecdotes to take from our experiences. This is why we thought that we would base the Student Media Week competition on your best Freshers’ stories!

Use the hashtag #FreshersFlashback and tweet to @huddersfieldsu, @THUDMag, @Radio_Hud or @Hud_TV to enter the competition, and tell us what your best memory or funniest story from Freshers’ was! The competition will be running throughout the week, so make sure you join in for a chance to win £50 at our Partner Bar, The Warehouse! The prize winner will be announced on Friday 9 October, at 15:00 on the Huddersfield SU Facebook page.

We are also running a trip to BBC’s MediaCityUK in Salford, where there will be a handful of tickets put out later on our website later on today. We are also running a day trip to Hertfordshire Students’ Union, to visit their Media officer and Trident Media. Tickets for this trip will be available on Monday, but again, there are very limited spaces! To find out more information on the other events that we are running as part of Student Media Week, please go to www.huddersfield.su/mediaweek to find the full schedule!

Also, the October elections are coming up fast, and this is your last chance to be nominated and put yourself forward to run! Nominations close on Monday at 16:00. You can’t nominate yourself, but all you need is one registered member of the Union to put yourself forward to be nominated. You can get the nomination forms from either the SU front desk, or at www.huddersfield.su/elections.

Here are the available roles for the October Elections:

School Reps (1 place in each):

Art, Design & Architecture – 1 place
Music, Humanities & Media – 1 place
Computing & Engineering – 1 place
Education & Professional Development – 1 place
Part-time students Rep (1 place)
Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Rep (1 place)
First Year Rep (2 places)
Postgraduate Research (PGR) Rep (1 place)

NUS Delegates (5 places)

I’d highly recommend getting involved in the elections and Union Council, as you really can make such an impact on so many students’ university lives. Before becoming an exec officer, I was the MHM School Rep on Union Council last year, which was an eye-opening yet rewarding experience. There’s also the perk of getting paid, so put yourself forward to run!

Big love.

George Gill – VP Communications & Engagement