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The Editorial Team
Editor-in-ChiefShahman Prushuathamun [Off Campus Vice President
(OCVP)][email protected]
Creative Director & Design Co-ordinatorMelanie Zimora
[Student Engagement Support Officer
(SESO)][email protected]
Staff Writer
Benjamin Dahl
Freelance Writer
Tanya Bird
Photographers
Ben York Emily Henwood
Contributors
Luke Icely & Claire Morrissey[Student Leadership Program
Officer, Student Connect]
Linh Tran[Womyn's Director, MUGSU]
Acknowledgements-----------------
Exchange is a publication of MonashUniversity Gippsland Student
Union(MUGSU). All articles in this newsletterare provided in good
faith. Exchange isintended to be an informativenewsletter for
students enrolled atMonash University & FederationUniversity
Gippsland campus, throughOff Campus/Distance education.
Copyright 2015 MUGSU Inc. Allrights reserved.
NOTE FROM PRES & OCVP
03 A note from the MUGSU President and Off-Campus VP
UPCOMING EVENTS
10 July August Events
FEATURES 1
NEWS 2
REGULARS 3
EXTRA 4
EXCHANGE | JULY 15
CONTACT MUGSU
19 MUGSU contact details for services
MUGSU SNOW TRIP
11 Dont miss it!
THE ART OF STUDYING
WITH CHILDREN
06-09 Feature Article by Tanya Bird
NEED HELP?
05 Contact our Student Rights Officers
CONGRATULATIONS
04 Well done on completing semester one.
SEMESTER BREAK IDEAS
14-15 Fifteen great ideas to fill in your semester break.
FED UNI LEADERSHIP
13 One small thing Conference
WOMYNS COLLECTIVE
18 Support equality, promote awareness
IN THE NEXT ISSUE
17 Item in the next issue of Exchange
OPT IN SURVEY
16 For OC students
DOCTORS & NURSES
UNI NIGHT
12 A must attend event
Get the latest MUGSU news
Bookmark us
MUGSU: https://www.facebook.com/mugsu
Off Campus: https://www.facebook.com/OffCampusGippsland
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A joint note from the MUGSU President and Off-Campus VP
Hi Everyone!
If youre reading this, congratulations! Youve survived another
exam period! Just a reminderthat if you require any assistance with
any issues you may have encountered during the examperiod, please
contact us through the communication channels outlined in this
newsletter.
Following on from the results of the off-campus surveys
completed so far, we have managedto consolidate the first batch of
issues that were raised and brought it to the attention ofsenior
Monash University staff and the issues have been highlighted to the
relevant individualsto tackle them. Overall, the most common issues
that were brought up were regarding a lackof lecture recordings,
lack of information for Off-campus/Distance education students in
theunit guides, lack of responses from lecturers both via email and
Moodle forums as well as alack of learning resources for OC/DE
students. As we are in a very unique situation (transitionfrom
Monash to Fed Uni), both universities will need to discuss these
issues and come to aconsensus on how best to resolve these issues.
We are optimistic that there will be a positiveoutcome from our
discussions with the universities and will update the student body
in duecourse.
Another round of student issues will be consolidated soon and
raised to the appropriatepersons, for resolve. We hope that all
students will raise and highlight the issues they areexperiencing
as off campus students, via the survey. If you have not completed
the survey(found on page 16 of this newsletter), we would STRONGLY
encourage you to do so.
We hope you have a relaxing break before Semester 2 begins and
wish you all the best foryour results and the coming semester!
Until next time,
Craig Wilson & Shahman Prushuathamun
2015 MUGSU President & Off-Campus Vice President
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The Art of Studying with ChildrenBy Tanya Bird
I have three boys aged five and under. People often ask me how I
have thetime and energy to study while keeping the asylum
operational (ok, I addedthat last bit). The truth is I dont. I
snatch time when the opportunitiesarise and I maintain a high sugar
diet which enables me to function in shortbursts. I believe that we
are all capable of finding time for things that areimportant to us.
It is not always easy, but it can be done. I knew when Istepped
away from my job, to raise a small army of boys, that it was
theperfect opportunity for me to implement a career change. I knew
I neededa wider skill set, and I knew the only way I could manage
it was from home.
I will admit that when my pre-study self pictured my
future-study self, I hadimages of the children playing happily by
feet while I flipped the pages ofmy latest text book. I imagined
lazy evenings tapping away on my laptop,while hubby watched TV at
my side and the little ones slept. Now I realisethat my pre-study
self was deluded. Firstly, children dont sleep. Well not
atconvenient times anyway. They also dont play happily when your
attentionis diverted elsewhere. They will literally tear pages from
your textbook andpress buttons on your laptop that you did not know
existed, until yourefocus on them. But dont be completely scared
off (some fear is healthy)by these realisations. If you have young
children but want your degree, it isachievable with some thoughtful
planning and clever tactics. Here are mytop ten tips for studying
at home with little people.
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1Remember that rule, sleep when baby sleeps? Wrong. Study when
babysleeps, as it may be your only window of opportunity. You can
alwaysinvoluntarily fall asleep on the floor later when you are
meant to beentertaining your (immobile once they are moving, youre
screwed)baby. Dinner prep, cleaning, talking with your mother on
the phone, canall be done while baby is awake. Use your baby
carrier for grizzly,unsettled periods, and smash through some jobs.
Of course this will notwork if you have older children also. When
baby sleeps you will bebuilding Lego, mediating toy custody
battles, and painfully watching asfreshly made play dough colours
are mixed into a familiar shade ofbrown.
3Assign TV appropriate chores to your partner. By this I mean
any chorethat can be done while watching television. I do not
expect myhusband to spend his evenings scrubbing bathrooms and
moppingfloors, but if he is watching TV, his hands are capable of
foldingwashing and ironing clothes. Once clothes are dry, I
helpfully placethem in a giant, mountain-like pile, in the middle
of the lounge roomso that he trips on them when trying to get to
his chair. This helps himto remember. And if there are films that
need to be watched for a unit,do this on a Saturday night, so that
your partner is forced to watchalso. We like to order Indian food
and drink beer. It is a cheat way ofticking off date night and
study in one easy swoop. Just dont forget togently remind your
spouse about the folding once they have finishedtheir food.
2When you cook, cook double the amount and freeze half for
anotherday. Food preparation is a massive leech of time and energy,
and it canbe overwhelming when the children expect to be fed every
day, atregular intervals. I always try and keep meals in the
freezer that I canpull out on those days when the thought of
cooking a meal from scratchmakes me ache all over. It also reduces
the amount of dirty dishes in theevenings so that you can squeeze a
few more study moments out of
your days.
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4Delete Facebook off your phone and iPad for the semester
period. Thismay seem extreme, but those rare moments in the day
that you have tocheck in with the outside world can really add up.
Instead, load your Unitreaders onto your devices so that every time
you open your phone, yourreading pops up and triggers a guilt
response. It is amazing how muchyou can actually get through with
this one tactic. And this brings me tomy next point.
5If you are a breastfeeding mum, anchored to a chair, imagining
all of thethings you could be doing if you had use of your arms,
dont despair. Thisis the perfect opportunity for some sneaky phone
action. Dont go too bigwith the device if you want to read from it.
You need something that youcan hold one handed, with easy thumb
swiping capabilities, and thatwont attract the attention of older
children who will suddenly decide thatthey must play Angry bird
Transformers on that specific device. If you havethe luxury of
listening to recorded lectures from a larger device such as
alaptop, then ensure it is placed on the head side of baby, because
it willget kicked off its perch.
6Get older kids to help you with food preparation and selective
chores. Itis a great way to spend time with the kids while ticking
off some jobs.Its all in the sell. Give them tasks that seem fun.
Washing windowssounds boring until you offer up spray bottles
filled with water. Just beclear about which windows they are
allowed to spray so that you dontend up washing each window five
times. Also, accept that you will allrequire a complete change of
clothes at the end. Pick jobs that willwear them out and reward
them with some quiet TV time while babysleeps. This is a study
opportunity.
7If you can afford it, get a cleaner to come weekly or
fortnightly dependingon your circumstances. Dont feel guilty for
spending this money becauseyou will still be required to do an
excessive amount of cleaning in betweentheir visits. You will still
sweep the floors and pressure hose the highchairafter each meal.
You will still do forty loads of dishes each day and wipebenches
until your fingers bleed. But what it does offer is a
guaranteed,thorough clean of the house on a regular basis. This can
be a lifesaver onweeks when assessments are due or if you have
unexpected guests thatshould know better. You also get to enjoy
that clean house feeling for theeleven minutes before the children
take to it with sticky hands and leakyChristmas stamps that they
miraculously find for such occasions.
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8Begin assessments immediately. Kids have a talent for getting
sickthe week that assessments are due. Essay due tomorrow? Cue
theexplosive gastro symptoms which last all night and ease just as
theother children are rising in the morning, filled with the energy
of abrand new day. Email your lecturer at the beginning of the
semesterand ask if there is anything further you need to know for
the essayother than what is outlined in the unit guide. You dont
want towaste time on an incorrect approach. Decide on your essay
questionin week one, and then take note of anything relevant in the
assignedreadings each week. This frees up time later on for your
additionalresearch.
9Use Moodle to ask seemingly embarrassing questions. Lecturers
oftensuggest that if you are struggling to understand a particular
concept, orif a reading is particularly challenging, that you
re-read it. I applaud youfor completing it once. Few parents have
the luxury of a second read.But if you have the time, by all means,
read it as many times as youneed. However if you are time poor,
seek answers that will enable youto keep moving forward.
10And finally, do not fall behind. There are no catch
upopportunities with young children. Dont naively think that
youwill have more time next week, because that might just be
theweek you are up all night with sick children, then suddenly
youare two weeks behind. Speaking from experience, the morebehind
you fall the less motivated you become.
I hope these tips are helpful and encourage those with young
children to recognisetheir own, unique study opportunities. And I
hope those without children are notput off ever having them. Good
luck in Semester 2!
Tanya Bird is a Professional Communications student and mum to
three young boys. She is currently working on her first novel and
aspires to be a freelance writer between school bells.
If you enjoyed Tanyas article as much as we (The editorial team)
did, do not hesitate to drop her an email and let her know! Tanya
Bird - [email protected]
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UPCOMING EVENTS @ MUGSU
29 July
Doctors & Nurses Uni night
12 August
Uni night
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1GET YOURSELF
ORGANISED
As a form of procrastination, studentstend to organise their
rooms whenthey need to study or do theirassignment.
Organiseyourself now so thatyoure less likely to doso when term
starts.
SNOW TRIP
Take advantage of winter and joinin the MUGSU Snow trip. For
moredetails email [email protected]
HIT THE GYM
It is common practice for students to stuffthemselves with junk
food during exams andjustify their actions by telling themselves
(andanyone else who asks), that they have notime to make a proper
meal and the stress ofexams is getting to them (Need comfortfood).
The result? Weight gain. So hit thegym or go for a run Which ever
floats yourboat.
Treat yourself to an outingto the movies and catchthe latest
flick!
READ A BOOK
Grab a book and read itfor pure enjoyment, notfor study!
SEMESTER BREAK IDEAS
SLEEP
Catch up on somemuch needed sleep!!
MASTER CHEF
Practice some quick andeasy meals to help outwith lunch and
dinner.
2
3 4
5
MOVIES
6 7
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TRY GROWING A PLANT
Try your hand at growing a plantindoors. its too cold at the
momentoutdoors, but watch your indoor
plant thrive from your attentionand care.
FRIENDS
BUILD
Use your talents to make or build something that you can sell
and turn into cash. Whether it be painting, woodwork, restoration
or craft, the options are endless and the money will come in
handy.
Organise a catch up withfriends. Whether its with aclose friend
or reconnectingwith one you havent seenfor a while,try going for
acuppa, dinneror drinks at abar!
CHILLAX
Grab a pillowand blanket,turn on the TV, lay onthe couch and
doabsolutely nothing!You read correctly!Nothing! You deserveit!
EXPLOREGo on a day trip to some place you have never beenbefore.
You would be surprised how much beauty,knowledge and wonder is on
your doorstep. Exploreyour surroundings.
Join a cause orcharity. Contactyour local shireto find outsome
localcharities that myneed your helpand support.
CHARITY
8
11
12 13
14
15
STAR GAZE
On a clear night, look up intothe sky and star gaze. Tryfinding
the Southern Cross,the saucepan and otherfamous constellations of
thenight sky.
9
BOOK A HOLIDAY
Book a holiday now for the end of Semester 2. It will give you
something to look forward to at the end of your 2015 studies. A
reward for all your hard work!
10
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Dear Off Campus/Distance Education students,
The MUGSU Off Campus Vice President (OCVP)
would like to hear from you on issues that you are facing
as an off campus/Distance education student, as well as
to get feedback on other matters related to your university
experience. Kindly complete the survey form in the link
provided below:
http://goo.gl/forms/eoCOemo4sl
Please direct any queries you may have regarding
this survey or any difficulties you have accessing the link
provided, to the OCVP via email: [email protected].
Thank you in advance for participating in this survey.
Thank you
Warmest regards,
Shahman Prushuathamun
Off Campus Vice President | MUGSU
Calling All Gippsland Off campus/Distance
Education Students!!
[Applicable to all students doing 1 or more units off campus and
enrolled at the
Gippsland campus only] Both Monash and Fed Uni students
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While waiting, why not like
the Off Campus Facebook
Page to get the latest Off
Campus News!
MUGSU: https://www.facebook.com/mugsu
Off Campus: https://www.facebook.com/OffCampusGippsland
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