Today an extraordinary thing happened

11th February saw something amazing happen on campus. So amazing, this correspondent felt compelled to write about it on his blog.

Students were actually involved in something other than themselves! Four separate events on campus were going on and people were stopping, listening and thinking about what was happening!

For many, this news would not come as a surprise. Students, many think, are very politically minded, and will often stand up and make a noise about things they do or don't like - look at Nelson Mandela and Nestle, and the campaigns around them in previous years.

However, whether it is the 21st century, or whether it is just the University of Kent, people just don't seem to bother here. 320 people attended the recent AGM, less than 3,000 voted in the Union elections, 'Varsity' - the local sporting derby between Kent and ChristChurch university is unknown to most. Over 15,000 students are part of this university, but many appear not to want to be too much a part of it.

But, today that was not the case. On one part of campus stood the Fruit and Veg stall. This was booming with customers. It is situated in a good part of campus, unlike its former site, in the depths of the Venue. A popular innovation liked by all.

But a little further along was a large white marquee with the words 'have your say' above, and the smell of burgers to the side. This marquee was part of Kent Union's attempt to hear from students about the direction of the Union for the next five years - their strategic plan for 2009-2013.

And people were in the marquee, reading the notice boards, writing down suggestions, and eating the burgers. It was a success - around 100 people had been through only a couple of hours after it was set up! Yes the free food was helping, but just to get people through the doors was good.

Thirdly (and a bit of a plug) inQuire! Woohoo, my own newspaper (well, I'm one of the section editors). I had great fun handing these out today, and people looked interested when I gave them one and started talking about the story on the front page. Again, people interested in what is going on at their Uni.

And finally, a table set up outside Essentials, advertising a Pro Evo Soccer competition in aid of a Gaza society. People here too were stopping, listening and signing up.

So, a normal Wednesday afternoon, but not normal activities, its so good to see people involved in what is going on around them, I like that a lot, and sitting here in the library, the world looks a happy place.

Job hunting

I haven't written on this for a while, so Honkit, here is the next entry.

June 2009 sees this particular blogger leave his degree at the University of Kent and enter the big wide world (note: that phrase was used when I left primary school, secondary school, sixth form. I think I'm at least partially in the big wide world already!)

I'm looking a job at a newspaper. My aim is to write for a national newspaper, and I have applied to a national newspapers graduate scheme, but I am also following advice to start in a local newspaper, and so I'm reasearching that now.

By picking big towns which are likely to have good newspapers I think I'll be able to find good newspapers to start with - that is what the advice I was given.

So I thought that instead of making the decision when I went to uni of not picking anything with 400 miles of my home, I would start in the South East: London, Brighton, Southampton, Dover, Portsmouth. Any other good towns?

Maybe I'll send a couple of letters off to Liverpool and Manchester too.

So, back to it...

time

By the way, the times at the bottom of these blogs aren't English time. I didn't post the last one in the middle of the night. Its 11.20 am here.

"followers"

Today I discovered this blog has a follower. Exciting, someone must be reading all these words!

I guess that is what blogging is all about - getting my thoughts out to the world. :-)

Its friday now, and next week is the beginning of term. This term has been a long time coming.

Today's job is to finish my CV. I'm sending it off to The Times for their graduate programme, which looks really interesting. And it pays too!

3 days of work experience and then...

Well, its less than a week till the beginning of term. Its the start of my final 'real' term before I graduate as the last term is only six weeks.

I've had a day of Tesco shopping and watching the Formula 1 review of the year. It was an extraordinary year in Formula 1.

AND the biggest thing that happened today was seeing my articles published in the local papers - the east kent gazette, faversham news and sheppey gazette. I was only there for three days on work experience and I wrote loads of articles for them. The first one was about the situation in Israel and Gaza! I had to some up the situation in a sentence.

I'm really pleased to have these stories in the paper; I've wanted for ages to be a journalist and I'm a lot closer to getting there now.

And again with gusto

So, Woolworths.

Why are people so keen to keep it running? I think the stores were always un tidy, the shelves too high and the general atmosphere too unpleasant.

And now its closing down, and really I don't mind that much. I do think the 30000 job losses is a bad thing, but I never used it as a first place to get anything, that was always WHSmith.

And the pick and mix which everyone goes on about, I never had. It is just so expensive.

GM, on the other hand...

How is it possible that it could be about to fall in the next couple of days? One of the world's biggest car manufacturers, it surely must have finances in place to stop this kind of thing happening.

They employ a lot of people, and internationally they are a huge force. For them to go the way of other companies would be a real shame.

[OK, I'm getting this blogging thing now, its just an oportunity to write whatever you think, and see it on the internet!]

Sam

thursday, templeman library, a laptop

Ok this is annoying. I'd written quite a lot on my latest blog, and then it all disappeared. Twice.

But I will persist, beacause apprentely this is the way forward in the media, and since I want to be going forward in the media, I will carry on writing.

So I said, (in condensed form)

BLOG, not for a while, LIZZIE, busy, but enjoys it, NEED TO GO, as laptop is due back and SOMETHING ELSE, which I can't remember.

I think I may just publish this now, and keep writing new ones so I find out how not to lose all the stuff I write.

Sam