Happy March everyone! The year has progressed so quickly it's hard to believe it's almost the end of March. O-Week is starting to fade from memory as we turn our minds to the start of week 6, and the beginning of the university semester in earnest.
The month that was:
On behalf of myself, and the whole team at PARSA, we certainly hope you enjoyed the events and activities we had over O-week and Welcome Week. We are always looking for feedback on our activities, so please let us know what you think on the ANUeHub app, or by sending us an email: parsa@anu.edu.au.
You can check out all the O-Week and Welcome Week extravaganza through some amazing pictures on our Facebook page.
Week 3 brought another highlight in the PARSA calendar, Women’s Week. The initiative, started by PARSA last year, is a celebration of the contributions of women in our ANU community, as well as providing space to reflect on the work that needs to be done to achieve equality.
Keep in mind that many events are inclusive of all postgraduate students (and beyond!) in recognition that we need to come together as a community to bring about meaningful change.
I hope you were able to attend some of the great events organised during Women's Week. Picutres from Women's week are up on our Facebook page.
In other news:
PARSA and ANUSA have had success in recent discussions with the ANU surrounding class timetabling and the exam schedule, as you would have seen in the recent University email.
Both myself and the ANUSA President have had several discussions with the ANU regarding the proposed exam timetabling which would introduce a 7-day exam timetable, with exams proposed to take place off campus from semester 2.
The ANU have listened to our concerns and solved this issue through leasing local office space that will serve to accommodate exams, thus eliminating the two key issues.This also serves to reduce the strain on limited class space over the period of the Union Court Redevelopment which means that class time frames will no longer need to be extended into the evenings, as was previously proposed by the ANU.
On the topic of Union Court, the Pop Up Village will be commencing construction soon on University Avenue, near Melville Hall. For more information on the Pop Up and the new Union Court, visit the ANU website.
PARSA and ANUSA have also launched our own Facebook page to give updates on Union Court, and inform students of issues related to the redevelopment. This includes issues such as exam scheduling, venue hire and much more.
I hope your academic year is off to a terrific start, and please don’t hesitate to contact PARSA for assistance and support.
Best wishes,
Alyssa Shaw