On 1^st November, our Academic Coordinator, Bill, started growing a spiffing moustache for Movember, the movement for men’s mental and physical health.  Bill and Adam (University Experience Officer) offered a weekly hot beverage and chat in the Chancellor’s Mall to men throughout November.  This was the first year we have done this, and after having lots of brilliant feedback, we will do it again next year.  Hopefully, next year, more students will join Bill and Adam in growing their moustaches for Movember. 

We celebrated International Men’s day with a montage, in the Chancellor’s Mall, of influential men local to Bolton.  We also had a board in the Mall where students could post a message to the influential men in their lives.

We hosted more of our popular GIAG Bob Ross painting sessions.  We provide the equipment, the SU’s Emma stands in for Bob Ross and at the end of the session, students walk away with a masterpiece. 

We attended the International Student Inductions at GMBS, introducing the Students’ Union to new students. 

One of our SU student staff, Jake, put on a Give It A Go Mindfulness event in the Loft.  Students joined him for a relaxed colouring session in a quiet, calm space.  It was an opportunity for everyone to have some downtime and chat, if they wanted to.  It’s always good to take time out to rest and relax your brain.  It’s a muscle after all, and it needs looking after, just as you look after all your other muscles.

The Festival of Faiths and Cultures event was a fantastic day.  Many local faith groups were represented in the Chancellor’s Mall.  Students got to ask questions and take part in small activities.  Another of our student staff, Yash, had the brilliant idea of creating a Rangoli, something we had not done before.  A Rangoli represents happiness, positivity and liveliness of a household and is intended to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good luck. They are commonly created around Diwali, an important Hindu religious holiday that celebrates the victory of light over darkness.  We took his idea and ran with it!  We dyed uncooked rice lots of bright, vivid colours and Emma created a huge Rangoli template out of cardboard which we placed on the floor outside the SU Office.  During the Festival of Faiths and Cultures day, students of every faith, poured our beautiful, brightly coloured rice into the template.  Once the template was lifted, the result was astounding.  We had so many wonderful comments about it that we left it for a few days for students to admire and take photographs.  Thank you, Yash, for your wonderful idea and thanks to everyone who took part and helped Yash’s idea come to life.  The Festival of Faiths and Cultures was a colourful and uplifting day, a day everyone enjoyed.

25^th November was the start of ’16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.’    This is an annual international campaign that starts on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. 

Our ‘Red Flag’ campaign, commenced on day one of the 16 days of action.  We placed a small number of small red flags around university and on social media.  We gradually increased the size and number of red flags placed around the campuses and during the last week we followed this up with a poster campaign.  The last poster asked everyone How Many Red Flags did it take for you to notice and realise what our campaign was about.  We also held an event in Chancellor’s Mall on 4^th December where a number of Charities came on to campus, raising awareness and giving students and staff the opportunity to ask questions and get advice and information. 

This thought provoking, impactful campaign was designed by SU student staff member Matt who currently works in the SU Shop. Thank you, Matt, for the huge amount of thought and effort you put into this impressive, visual campaign.    

We held ‘don’t drop out, drop in’ advice sessions, our usual Thoughtful Thursday in the Mall and at the end of the month a Harry Potter Quiz.