Law Society to raise money for charity

February 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment

By Emily Barker

De Montfort University’s (DMU) Law Society members is aiming to raise money and awareness for mental health by holding a bake sale tomorrow (Wed, Feb 7).

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The bake sale will be held in the Hugh Aston building atrium between 9am and 4pm and will be open to everyone.

At its last bake sale, the Law Society raised £70 for Amnesty International, due to generous donations.

This time, it is aiming to raise at least £60 for mental health charity, Mind.

Second year Law student and Charity Secretary for the society, Rhys Tilsley, 19, said: “It is important for us to raise money for charity. I feel that if we don’t do it, chances are that no one else will.

“It is not just about buying cake and raising money for the charity. Although raising money for charity is important and will help them, it is primarily about raising awareness.

“The purpose of law is to protect and help people, and this feeds into the Law Society’s values and ideologies.”

Mental health issues in first year university students has risen by 500 per cent since 2007 and 1 in 4 people suffer from mental health globally.

The Law Society asked lots of people to help them by baking some cakes and also by raising awareness about the bake sale and mental health issues.

The bake sale was turned into a community effort when they asked for help and people answered. The society also messaged lecturers to read out in classes about the event, to make sure that everybody knew about it and to ensure maximum turn-out.

Mind is a mental health charity that seeks to assist any and all affected by such issues. It provides services and helplines for confidential advice and support. One of its core principles is to promote awareness for and understanding about mental health.

If you are unable to attend the bake sale but still wish to donate to the charity, you can do so here: https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/donate-or-fundraise/donate/

Filed Under: charity, DMU News, First Year, Latest

Bronze statue of Alice Hawkins unveiled in Leicester Market Square

February 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment

By Callum Faulds

A 7ft bronze statue of suffragette Alice Hawkins has been unveiled in Leicester to recognise her contribution to the Women’s Social and Political Union militant campaign.

The event in the new Market Square began at 2pm on Sunday (Feb 4) when a mass procession marched from Humberstone Gate East to the clock tower and then to the square.

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At the front of the procession was city councillor and comedy actress Elain Pantling. When the procession arrived at the square, Cllr Pantling gave a speech which was a true-to-life tale of the movement’s golf course sabotage.

Cllr Pantling herself has a show on at the Curve theatre on October 28 entitled ‘Alice in her shoes’.

Many other notable names were at the grand unveiling, including city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, Peter Barratt (Alice’s great grandson), Kate Barratt (Alice’s great great granddaughter) and Leicester West MP Liz Kendall.

Hawkins was among the boot and shoe machinists of Leicester. There she learned of socialism and the writings of Thomas Mann.

In 1894 she joined the Independent Labour Party where she met another notable Suffragette activist, Sylvia Pankhurst.

During her time in the Independent Labour Party, Hawkins was jailed 4 times standing up for women’s rights.

Prior to this statue, Hawkins has had a plaque devoted to her at her workplace and another on the Leicester Walk of Fame. However, this is the first statue in Leicester to be devoted to a woman.

Leicester city mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby said at the event that he hoped it would be “the first of many.”

To find out more information about Alice Hawkins and her role in the Women’s Social and Political Union militant campaign visit www.storyofleicester.info.

Filed Under: First Year, Latest

Faculty Championship marks a victory for the DSU

February 6, 2018 by 1 Comment

By Bethany Spence

Last Thursday (Feb 1) an inter-faculty competition between students and staff from all six faculties was launched to a roaring – and whistling – success.

Taking part in the various challenges were teams Health and Life Sciences, Business and Law, Technology, Team Department, Team EP and Art, Design and Humanities.

After many years of events to bring the university together, the De Montfort Students’ Union finally found a fun and united way of bringing people together for a bit of friendly rivalry.

Derrick Mensah, the DMU Vice President of Student Activities at the Students’ Union, presented the game show styled championships to the in-studio audience and over YouTube’s live streaming platform with the help of representatives of Demon Media.

More than 1,000 students and faculty staff took part on the night in games such as Not So Hungry Hippos, dodgeball and the Surprise Round, which featured a faculty wide dance off to a mash-up of song genres.

Amidst the cheerful chaos and plentiful allegations between teams, camaraderie was rampant through the joining of students from all years, courses and ages in each faculty. The winners, Team Department, were overjoyed by their victory after leading throughout the games.

Further Faculty Championship events will be announced in the coming weeks, starting with The Faculty Talent Show on Monday, February 12, to coincide with DMU’s RAG week and The Faculty Games (date to be announced).

First year Tech quiz member Renz Sarabia said: “This is a great way for us to meet other people across the department, as otherwise we don’t mingle as much as I thought we would.

“It’s also really nice that I could share this with people back home through the live stream as I got to have my family cheer me on.”

Filed Under: DMU News, First Year, Latest

Milly Lane’s Café in the heart of DMU Campus set for closure before the end of the month

February 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment

By Naomi Dann

De Montfort University’s Students’ Union has announced the anticipated closure of the much loved café in the heart of the Campus Centre for the end of the month.

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Last week Milly Lane’s was closed for several days to undergo an analysis of services and facilities to see whether the investment was cost effective or not.

On 30th January, DMU SU posted an update about Milly Lane’s onto its website stating that the DSU-owned eatery was “costing the union money that could be better invested elsewhere.”

Milly Lane’s has been a roaring success amongst the students at DMU since it opened last January.

Students and staff will be sad to see it go – Lissie, a second year Psychology student at DMU, said she was devastated to see it go. She joked: “Where am I going to get my hangover cure of cheesy chips from now?”

Many students were not aware that the closure of Milly Lane’s was even in consideration, and many were confused as to why the SU would close such a busy and vibrant place dedicated to students.

The statement published onto the DMU SU website also stated that the money invested into Milly Lane’s would be better invested in something else that would “further increase academic representation.”

It is not known what this proposal might be. If you have any thoughts or ideas on this topic, please e-mail voice@dmu.ac.uk or for further information regarding the closure dsureception@dmu.ac.uk.

 

Filed Under: DMU News, First Year, Latest, Today's Top Story