The Editorial Team

Editor-in-ChiefShahman Prushuathamun [Off Campus Vice President (OCVP)]ocvp@monash.edu

Creative Director & Design Co-ordinatorMelanie Zimora [Student Engagement Support Officer (SESO)]melanie.zimora@monash.edu

Staff Writer

Benjamin Dahl

Freelance Writer

Tanya Bird

Photographers

Ben York Emily Henwood

Contributors

Sarah Hall[Environment Director, MUGSU]

Linh Tran[Womyn's Director, MUGSU]

Nigel Beck[Student Operations Coordinator (SOC)]

Keshav Rajcoomar[Activities Director, MUGSU]

-----------------Exchange is a publication of MonashUniversity Gippsland Student Union(MUGSU). All articles in this newsletterare provided in good faith. Exchange isintended to be an informative newsletterfor students enrolled at MonashUniversity & Federation UniversityGippsland campus, through OffCampus/Distance education.

Copyright © 2015 MUGSU Inc. All rightsreserved.

NOTE FROM PRES

03 A note from the MUGSU

President

UPCOMING EVENTS

05 August & September Events

FEATURES 1

NEWS 2

REGULARS 3

EXTRA 4

EXCHANGE | OCT ‘15

CONTACT MUGSU

19 MUGSU contact details

for services

UNI NIGHTS

08 Doctors & Nurses

09 Marvel vs DC

10 Sexy Disney

SEMESTER TWO ‘O WEEK’

06 Semester two Orientation

Week

MUGSU SNOW TRIP

07 2015 MUGSU Snow Trip

IN THE NEXT ISSUE

18 Item in the next issue of

Exchange

OPT IN SURVEY

17 For OC students

Get the latest MUGSU news

Bookmark us

MUGSU: https://www.facebook.com/mugsu

Off Campus: https://www.facebook.com/OffCampusGippsland

S(P)EED PLANTING

15-16 Tree planting with a

twist

INTERVIEW WITH DOLLY

BISHOP

12-13 Find out what help Is

available to OC students in

the Library

MUGSU AWARDS

NOMINATIONS

03 Nominate your lecturer for

a MUGSU award!

WE WANT YOU!

14 Become the next OCVP!

FRENCHY LIVE & LANKY

11 You don’t want to miss this!

A note from the MUGSU President

Hi all,

Hope you're settling in well this semester! Remember if you're having any issues please contact Shahman,

our OCVP or one of our friendly staff members via the contact info provided in this newsletter. It has been

a busy time at MUGSU of late as we work to secure our operations going into the future. Does joining the

Board and gaining valuable experience whilst helping to shape your educational experience sound

appealing? The OCVP 2016 board member position is still open. Please see the details outlined in this

newsletter for more information.

Every year MUGSU hosts an awards night to recognise the contribution students have made to the campus

community through volunteering their time to assist with events etc. A highlight of this night is the

presentation of the Golden Apple award which is awarded to an on-campus and off-campus lecturer to

recognise their efforts as decided by the students. This years MUGSU awards will be held on the 23rd of

October, in the MUGSU Lounge.

As we approach the end of yet another semester and towards the exams, on behalf of MUGSU Board and

staff members, I wish you all the best with your revision and exams!

Craig Wilson

MUGSU President

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UPCOMING EVENTS @ MUGSU

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Oktoberfest on the Deck

Friday 9th OctoberMUGSU Deck12pm

2ND SemesterOrientation week

2015

On Monday the 20th of July, Federation UniversityGippsland welcomed the fresh eyed studentsstarting their university education in semester two.

After an official campus welcome, Dr George VanDoorn from the faculty of Health spoke to thestudents regarding the importance of attendingtheir classes.

Introductions were made by each of the StudentSupport Services and discussions including “How wecan help support you at Uni” gave students aninsightful guide to the many services available atFederation University including:• MUGSU (Student Rights Officers)• Learning Skills (Workshops: writing, study,

presentation, referencing)• Library Skills (Workshops: search skills, using

library resources) • International Student Support• Fed Uni Living• Leadership and Volunteering• Sport and Recreation• Scholarships and Financial Aid• Student Counselling• Disability Liaison Unit• Industry Placement Program• Chaplaincy

Students attended a array of workshops that wereorganised throughout O-week, along with activitiesorganised by their faculties and had theopportunity to familiarise themselves with thecampus before starting classes on the 27th of July.

MUGSU hosted a FREE BBQ lunch for all thestudent attending Orientation while MUGSU staffand Student Connect Services casually mingled withstudents.

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MUGSUSnow Trip 2015

July 19 - 24

Before the beginning of another semester at Uni, a group ofstudents went up to Mt Hotham for the annual MUGSU SnowTrip.

Despite many bumps, bruises and even some bumblingattempts at snowboarding, it was all worth it with anawesome week on the slopes, snowboarding or skiing. Theadventurous bunch even made time to build a snowman!

The fun didn’t stop when the sun went down. Students tookto intense games of poker and other card games. Some eventwent to the extent of using snow goggles they had, to disguisetheir attempts at bluffing!

While most of the students who joined in the snow trips havenever attempted skiing or snowboarding before, they were allpros by the time they had to bid farewell to Mt Hotham.

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Article by

Nigel Beck

DOCTORS

&

NURSES UNI NIGHT

26th JulyWeek One of each semester is

MUGSU O WEEK.

This is the week where the returningstudents meet the new orientationstudents. Its a fun and exciting weekfor students and staff alike. There isfree food, lots of activities and parties!The first party of the semester isgenerally the best one but some maydispute that ;-)

MUGSU invited Ministry of Sounds DJFemme to lead the musical charge atthe very famous or infamous themedDoctors & Nurses party! DJ Sax onLegz along with DJ Ro also joined themusical assault. Sax on Legs is anaccomplished saxophonist whoturned her talents to DJ’ing addingsax to the mix.

The costumes were amazing, somecreative, some not.

The MUGSU deck was busy withstudents catching up and the dancefloor was near capacity all night.

Week One is the best #justsayin’

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“Super heroes and Villains”

from both the Marvel and

DC Universe descended on

the MUGSU Lounge on the

5th of August.

From Superman to The

Joker, party goers came

dressed in their favourite

costumes and had loads of

fun!

DJ Danny who usually runs

the night ‘Fresh As’ at Ryans

was the DJ for the night and

specials at the bar were

going on all night long.

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“Mirror, Mirror on the wall, Who’s the fairest (and sexiest) of them

all?”

MUGSU’s sexy Disney uni night was held on the 26th of August,

with some of our favourite childhood Disney characters were given a “sexy” twist, for

adult eyes only! The amount of time and effort taken by party

goers were really commendable and it was

photos galore!

With DJ RO and DJ Scotty mixing hits and an open bar, it was a

fantastic night for all!

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An interview with Dolly BishopCoordinator, Library Services for Off-campus Students, Feduni

By Tanya Bird

Have a library query? Ask Dolly and the team

Navigating your way through the online library can be a daunting, and often frustrating, process

for the off-campus student. Many hours can be wasted if you are not fluent in the language of

library. It is important to know where you can turn for help so that you do not find yourself

unnecessarily stressed by processes. The virtual library expert is not an urban myth, and support

is more accessible than you may realise.

Meet Dolly, the Coordinator Library Services for Off-campus Students. Dolly started at G.I.A.E.

(now Federation University) in 1980 when nothing was automated, the library had card

catalogues, and staff stamped books. Many do not realise that Dolly has been in her current role

for more than eighteen years, so she is a valuable resource for students. Some other things you

may not know about Dolly? At the end of a long week she enjoys relaxing at home while

listening to her husband yell at the football in another room. Her number one bucket list item is

to have a gap year to do whatever she wants, when she wants, where she wants. And her

biggest fear is that her son and husband will not get to go to a Richmond Grand Final. But don’t

worry, I also asked a bunch of relevant questions.

Where are you (physically) located?

Gippsland Library – Gippsland Campus, the best campus!

What does your role entail?

I coordinate a small team of staff who all take part in answering queries via phone, email, chat

and the FedUni Libanswers program. I ensure that all of these enquiry points are covered and

that queries can be answered. If staff are unable to provide an answer at the initial point of

contact, I ensure that queries are responded to with the information the patron requires. I also

work shifts at the Information Point, so I deal with students and staff face-to-face. Come say

“Hi!”

Do you have a team supporting you or do you work independently?

Currently, I supervise a small team of staff – Monika, Paula and Jason. The staff in my team have

worked within the Library for years too, Monika – 28 years, Paula – 20 years, Jason – 3 years. All

of us work well together 99.9% of the time, however, as with all groups, we have our issues. I

liken our team to a family: most times all works well, but, we are only human and we can all

have our moments. This human side to the team does not stop us from doing our job to the

best that we can, as we all have strengths in different areas.

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We not just provide the answers to questions we receive, but also value-add

information where we can. The enquiry staff are Tier 1, which means we are the

first point of contact. Some days we listen to student’s problems before they get

to why they have called the library. Students often tell us their life stories, they

vent about whatever, it does not have to be a library issue, and they sometimes

cry. So, Tier 1 staff listen, and help where we can. One thing that students may not

realise is just how helpful we all are – and if we can’t help you ourselves, we will

always point you in the direction of someone who can.

What support can your team offer DE students?

We deal with queries coming into the Library in a variety of formats. We assist

with renewing items, placing holds, locating items in the catalogue and assisting

or teaching students to carry out these functions online. When queries require

specialist help, we refer to Tier 2 staff. Tier 2 staff deal with searching in the

catalogue for specific subject matter, database searching for journal articles,

assisting students on how to carry out a literature search including what keywords

are best to use, as well as with how to use RefWorks and EndNote. Both Tier 1 and

Tier 2 staff also step students through any process so that students can then

become independent learners.

All library services available to on campus students are also available to off-

campus students. We aim to provide an equitable library service to all.

Contact can be made using:

1300 552 567 (cost of a local call from a landline) Telephone

operating hours are between 9am and 8pm daily during

semester (Not in semester, 9am to 5pm)

Online Chat – Connect via the link on the library home page.

This service is available during the same hours as the phone.

Email libinfo@federation.edu.au – response time a business

day or less

LibAanswers, available from the library pages - response time

a business day or less, alternatively, students may find an answer already published on this format.

Facebook/ Twitter

All contact information is accessible from the library website (http://federation.edu.au/library# or link via the

navigation bar in Moodle)

From left to right: Monica, Dolly, Paula

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Be the 2016 MUGSU Off-Campus Vice President

(OCVP)!

Interested?

Send in your Expression of interest (email) to

union@monash.edu or contact the 2015 OCVP at

ocvp@monash.edu to get more details!

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Speed Date your

Future Employer:

Planting Event

On Wednesday, the 23rd of September, Localbusinesses planted indigenous trees and ‘speeddated’ local university students at an event in

Boolarra. The event, run in collaborationbetween the Latrobe Catchment Land carenetwork, Energy Australia and the MUGSUGippsland Student Landcare group, gave localstudents an opportunity to have a chat with localemployeers in an informal and fun environment.

300 native wetland species were also planted onthe day, which assisted in the restoration of theold mill site in Boolarra. Latrobe catchment Land

care network Coordinator, Megan Hughes saidthe event will be of great value to localbusinesses, local students as well as theenvironment.

“We have university students coming along fromFederation University in Churchill who areinterested in chatting with potential employers,especially in the fields of VET, engineering,education, Medicine and Environmentalsciences. A great array of businessesrepresented, including Energy Australia,Environmental representatives, Ignite Energy,GHD Pty Ltd, SGS Pty Ltd, Habitat Creations andthe West Gippsland Catchment ManagementAuthority. Students spent 5 minutes with eachprofessional, working together to plant trees andchat about their goals and career aspirations”.

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“Professionals will be able to provide career advice and tips onwhat employers are looking for in an employee. It’s a greatopportunity for business to support the community, help studentsunderstand how to get work in their profession and contribute to thisimportant environmental project.”

A BBQ lunch followed the tree planting, enabling students to speakfurther with employers. The day commenced at 11.30am andfinished around 1.30pm.

MUGSU Environment director, Sarah Hall who was actively involvedin the organising and delivery of the event was extremely pleasedwith how the day went and the turnout. Sarah developed the ideaof incorporating employers and professionals into a traditional landcare tree planting session, in order to engage students with thecommunity and any perspective employers. With the help of EnergyAustralia, Latrobe Land care Network and Sarah, who is also thefounder of the Student Gippsland Land care Group, professionalsfrom various background around the region engaged with students

about their future, MUGSU student Land care merchandise werealso organised for students who attended.

This event was made possible with funding from Energy AustraliaYallourn

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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: ocvp@monash.edu.

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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