Trinity College Students' Union - TCSU

IMPORTANT SHADOWING SCHEME UPDATE
tl;dr a form for mentors and a call for content

Happy New Year everyone! Here are a few key updates to the Shadowing Scheme. Due to the increase in COVID case numbers, we’ve made the decision to move the 2022 Shadowing Scheme online. If you have signed up to be a Mentor on the Scheme, please check your emails from [email protected] and fill out the attached Google Form by 6pm on Monday 10th January.
We’re also looking for student groups to run an academic or extra-curricular session during the scheme, and we’d love to hear from you! If your society has an idea for an engaging and interactive session, which will give Shadows a taste of Cambridge life, then we’d love to have you! Email us with your ideas at [email protected] by 6pm on Monday 10th January.
Feel free to email Zaynab and Rebecca at [email protected] if you have any questions, we can’t wait to hear from you!

Hey everyone!

We just want to address some of the recent posts on Trinfess that have been in incredibly poor taste. There is a line between teasing/banter and bullying, and it’s a shame that recent posts are closer to the latter. It is completely unacceptable and inappropriate to use words attacking individuals on a platform that was meant to foster greater community spirit. In particular, misogynistic bullying (eg using words like “bimbos”) is exactly the opposite of what we’re trying to encourage at Trinity in making everyone feel welcome and safe in college. It’s obviously not possible for us to track down anyone who’s made the anonymous posts, but if you’re thinking about insulting others, please think twice and consider how damaging that is to our community.

Club tickets being sold in bar today at 5:45. Be ready to bank transfer. Limited numbers and limited time
£8 - Sundays (tonight and next week) Life
£12 - Monday Wednesday Friday Revs

Message from Cambridge Pink Week:

APPLICATIONS FOR CAMBRIDGE PINK WEEK COMMITTEE 2022 ARE OPEN

Interested in making a difference during your time at university? Do you want to build on the amazing £6000 raised this year for our charities? Are you passionate about encouraging the university community, and your friends and family, to look after their health?

There are just a few days left to apply for the positions of (Co-)President and Treasurer for Cambridge Pink Week 2022! Applications will close on the 7th of May with interviews taking place shortly after!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMgG2pzLODFdedoO79psLoHn7K0UjRSqwJeiCwFR7Aaw_gNA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Do not hesitate to drop us a message with any queries or questions on our page or instagram x

Pink Week 2022 Application This is the application form for the positions of Cambridge Pink Week 2022's (Co-)President(s) and Treasurer. Cambridge Pink Week is a student-led charitable organisation that raises money and awareness for breast cancer charities. Pink Week is a staple of the Cambridge university calendar, with the...

For 2nd/3rd/4th years!!

Oxbridge Insights as asked me to pass on this message:

With exam season approaching, we decided to create an article on exam advice to be published on the website (oxbridgeinsights.com).

We are hoping to reach out to 2nd/3rd/4th years to get advice about exams to ease concerns of 1st years who have missed out their A-levels and are attempting virtual exams for the first time.

Anybody who wants to help can do so by completing this google form:

Link: https://forms.gle/JQjweEQrYmmfD1GUA

Thank you!

Cambridge Exam Advice - Oxbridge Insights Your anonymous advice will be compiled in an article for Oxbridge Insights, www.oxbridgeinsights.com. Thank you for taking the time in completing this form, your experience and advice is greatly appreciated - every piece of advice no matter how small will help!

Hey everyone!
We're really excited to announce our first online formal! The WomenxBME Formal Alternative is happening next Wednesday 17th March at 6pm!
We know everyone is missing the annual Women and BME formals that usually happens this term, but we hope to recreate the experience online next week. If you identify as any of the following:
-Female
-Non-binary
-Black
-Minority ethnic
Then sign-up here: https://forms.gle/7ktvieP2wJqSa57D7
The first 30 sign-ups will get a £15 Deliveroo voucher, but everyone is welcome to join, dress up and meet new people online. The event will be held on Zoom and we’ll rotate you around breakout rooms to either just chat or play some games.
Lots of love,
Yi Wen and Ayesha xx
TCSU Women and BME Officers

WomenxBME Formal Alternative If you identify as any of the following: - Female - Non-binary - Black - Minority Ethnic Then sign up to join us next week. First 30 sign-ups will get £15 deliveroo vouchers provided you attend. Feel free to dress up too :) Date: Wednesday, 17th March 2021 Time: 6-7 pm

The Good Data Initiative (GDI), a student-run think tank at the University of Cambridge researching the impact of the data economy on society, is organizing a panel event ahead of the publication of its report on Digital Finance in Africa. The event will feature Nigerian entrepreneur and thought-leader Austin Okere and the Sub-Saharan Africa Lead for the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Patrick Conteh.

Austin and Patrick will discuss the current state of digital finance in Africa, debate the key levers to unlock the market's inherent potential, and reflect on the impact that COVID-19 had on this fast-evolving market.

The event will be this Friday, 5 March from 5pm to 6pm.

Sign up at: https://gooddatainitiative.typeform.com/to/mK17DeNR

Hi everyone, I’m posting to share part of an email I received from the Graduate Recruitment team at Bain & Company regarding an opportunity for penultimate year students. Please note only women are eligible. The whole thing is too long to share so if you’re interested message me (Menan) and I’ll give you more details.

Hello,

I wanted to reach out and introduce myself, I’m Aashna and I work in the Graduate Recruiting team at Bain & Company. We have an exciting opportunity that we’d like to share with you and your network.

This summer, we are hosting the 2021 Bain & Company True North £10,000 Scholarship for Women. We’ll be inviting top candidates to a two-day virtual workshop at the end of June, followed by the opportunity to participate in early full-time Associate Consultant Interviews throughout July and win £10,000.

The application deadline is 15th April 2021; eligible participants are women in their penultimate year (all nationalities welcome). We are really excited about this programme and hope that you and/or your peers will consider applying!

Exciting event for those interested in an career in education or social mobility:

Dear all,

Thinking about a career in the field of Education? Want to find out more about Teach First’s Graduate Training Programme? Come along to our webinar!

I’d like to invite you to join our online panel event to network with and hear from both current trainees and those who have taken part in the Teach First graduate programme. They’ll draw on their first-hand experience to discuss educational inequality, the current challenges facing teachers and their career development since the programme, both inside and outside of the classroom.

Join to:
ü Hear first-hand from, and network with individuals who trained with Teach First about their experiences on the programme and how this has shaped their career beyond
ü Find out more about our Graduate Training Programme and the impact you can make
ü Discuss some of the major issues in education at the moment, educational inequality and a career within the field
ü Hear about opportunities to get involved with our partner organisations including Accenture, Goldman Sachs, Amazon and PwC

With Marcus Rashford taking action to support the vital provision of free school meals and the BBC launching the biggest education offering in their history, the global pandemic and subsequent nationwide school closures have shone a light on the importance of education, access to resources and sadly, educational inequality in the UK.

Please sign up here and you will be sent further details and a link to join in advance of the event:

Event Title
Date
Link to sign up

A Teach First panel event: igniting a passion in the next generation
23 February 6pm-7pm
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-teach-first-panel-event-igniting-a-passion-in-the-next-generation-tickets-139925219097

Looking forward to seeing you there,

A Teach First panel event: Igniting a passion in the next generation Thinking about a career in the field of Education? Want to find out more about our graduate Training Programme? Come along to our webinar.

Hey everyone! If you're interested in promoting female leadership, check out the Cambridge Womxn Who Lead society for some exciting events and articles:

Cambridge Womxn Who Lead is a new society dedicated to promoting female leadership. We will be hosting talks and workshops and publishing articles written by, for and about student leaders and women who inspire us.

Female and non-binary students, please sign up at the link below to become an immediate member! https://forms.gle/vT1TKBJbMYZ1N7L68

This will grant you access to our five events this term. Speakers will be announced shortly but the stellar line-up includes the Founders of Race2Rise Podcast and the first female owner of a Tailoring House on Savile Row exclusively for women! There are a broad range of sectors ranging from women in finance, STEM, fashion, enterprise, and academia, with a brilliant event featuring several Cambridge female Masters in store....full details will be released very soon!

Every week we’ll release:
- An interview with a student leader
- Our Woman of the Week
- A recount of our weekly event

If you’d like to get involved with writing - please get in touch! We’ll be posting article commissions and would love to publish your work. These articles will be diverse in nature and include psychology-based studies of marginalised genders, celebrations of fictional female heroines who inspire us, and even an analysis of female leadership in classics!

If you know a female leader, whether that is your mum, auntie, sister, cousin or friend - let them know about our society and we can interview them or invite them to an event!

Here's the glimpse link: https://app.joinglimpse.com/room?key=33584A

Come join our virtual hangout!!

Join my event! Use this invite link to join the fun.

Hey everyone, another post from me! Quite similar to the Project Access email I sent round last term, there's another opportunity that's quite similar to get involved with mentoring called 'Zero Gravity'. It's all about getting promising students from less advantaged backgrounds into the top unis (not just Oxbridge). See below for info and again, please message with any questions :)

Hey,
CN: Racism
There has been a great deal going on in the news and being shared on social media. It is important for the TCSU to address this so that we can extend our support to everyone who this has affected, especially the black people for which this is a very personal issue.

We hope that each of us can reflect on our role in the continuation of racism and recognise areas that we can improve on in our approach. Every one of us has a responsibility to fight injustices in the world and although this may seem like a huge task, all we have to do is start with ourselves.

Trinity is known for a lot of things, such as being a very big college and all of us call this place a home. However, not everyone will come out with the same experiences as you. There are a number of things that we can do to educate ourselves and to support others that are being discriminated against.
We have linked the post from CUSU BME Campaign as it makes a lot of valid points, and also includes helpful links if you want to do something.

We are here if anyone is struggling with anything and needs a chat. Feel free to message Serena Cole on facebook or email [email protected] as well as the other welfare officers.
These events have taken a big toll out on a lot of people and we hope that none of us forget the lives that have been lost and the injustices that are going on in society.

Stay safe # # #

CW: Police brutality, racial violence, death ////////////////////

The CUSU BME Campaign is deeply saddened to hear of the loss of more black lives as a result of institutional racism and injustice.

We want to discuss recent events that have impacted the black community and make it clear that it is not the role of black people alone to take a stand. Following this, we were also disappointed to see some of the comments under the recent Camfess post discussing white supremacy and wish to provide a response.

Police Brutality - The recent protests and media campaign for justice for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless others, have once again highlighted the issues of racism, violence and injustice in society against black people. Issues of police brutality and the pertinence of racism should not be dismissed as an American issue and statements such as ‘it doesn’t happen here’ are simply not true. This is not up for debate and the lived experiences of many black students at Cambridge is evidence of this. However, it is not the responsibility of black students to explain why people should care about racism. Before engaging in an emotionally charged topic, educate yourself in order to avoid trivialising a matter that has taken the lives of countless innocent people.

Start with:
The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/29/heres-why-we-dont-see-protests-when-police-unjustly-kill-white-people/
Contains articles teaching about race, racism and police violence:
https://www.tolerance.org/moment/racism-and-police-violence
The Guardian (explores a case of police brutality in the UK): https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/29/iopc-launches-investigation-into-alleged-police-brutality-in-birmingham

Graphic Content - Although many have been shocked by the police brutality and want to share this with others, do not share videos of black people being killed, especially without a trigger warning. Despite how frequently it happens, it is not normal or healthy for black students to constantly see images of people who look like them being murdered. Be aware of what you post and how that may make others feel. There are better, and more productive ways of raising awareness and showing your support. Shock is not solidarity.

For other ways to show support please use these as reference:
The caption of this post explains this in more detail: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_28K3jnKz9/?igshid=bbmfh5dhxcjs
Racism’s Psychological Toll and how sharing graphic content can contribute:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/magazine/racisms-psychological-toll.html?_r=0

Solidarity and Allyship - The fight for racial equality is one that includes everyone, and we trust that Cambridge is a community where complacency is not welcome. One example of action: If you see your friends, or people you know, engage in the Camfess post about white supremacy by mocking or dismissing black people and their experiences of racism, now is the time to call them out. The burden should not be on black students to do this. Understand that going over semantics of white privilege for the sake of intellectual discourse when black students are going out of their way to explain their pain is extremely insensitive, unnecessarily defensive and hurtful. As a non-black person, you cannot act as a gatekeeper as to what defines the black experience. Nevertheless, as a non-black person, it is now more important than ever to be an ally.
Allyship can also be shown in the way that you treat the black people in your immediate circles. Experiences like this can be extremely traumatic: reach out and make sure that your black friends are okay. Another way to extend your solidarity is through material support, you can donate to organisations as a proactive and non-performative way to support protestors and the black community as a whole.

An alumna has compiled a checklist of actions you can do to support BLM from the UK - links to petitions and open letters to sign, templates for emails to send, etc.: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x65xLdIUDWMUl4_nkuD-EeP98UuJ2nuknUDsqUm7R9s/edit =1386834576

A collection of political education resources, GoFundMes, bail funds and more:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CjZMORRVuv-I-qo4B0YfmOTqIOa3GUS207t5iuLZmyA/preview?fbclid=IwAR1fWV1tkVPNCWJb-pu9Lb3_lXtKB7S9D86Xf-GCr3luNOu71DyLzZUnpN8&pru=AAABcopT7E0*gT0SLDHfxnJspdOKwXUgOQ
To understand more about this please read: ‘White Fragility’ by Robin DiAngelo for a better understanding of why:
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/a-sociologist-examines-the-white-fragility-that-prevents-white-americans-from-confronting-racism
Anti-Racism resources for allies: https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/mobilebasic?fbclid=IwAR2JIEOc25P-0Ax6DVy3XKyDgFyf5AHqcQxthI9wH2n1wo2zP3uPo5c7iHM
‘75 Things White People can do for Racial Justice’ article: https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234

If you are a Black student, please remember that the BME Campaign and the ACS are spaces where you can access support. However you are dealing with this trauma is valid. You do not need to engage in conversations to justify why your life matters if you do not have the emotional capacity to do so. It is okay to limit your intake of social media or engagement in certain conversations if they feel overwhelming. You are not alone.

If you need help:
The University Counselling Service are now doing all appointments over phone — fill in this form to book an appointment: https://forms.counselling.cam.ac.uk/
You can specifically request to have a BME counsellor on this form if that is what you would prefer.

Everyone must stand up to racism. Call out those that write harmful/racist comments. Educate yourself on what may be triggering. Listen and respect the feelings of others - we cannot tolerate hate on any platform. If you witness any of these actions, call it out by educating others and letting them know that this is not accepted in Cambridge or any other space.

Silence is complicity - show your support and break the silence.

Hi everyone,

Just a reminder that the virtual sports week vs Christ church starts tonight at midnight, and will last until next Sunday. Please follow all government advice regarding lockdown, and stay safe in this hot weather!!

Here’s your concise guide on how to take part:

1. Download the Strava app on you on smartphone and create an account: https://www.strava.com

2. Join the Trinity College Club - https://www.strava.com/clubs/trinitycambridge Joining requests will be approved by the administrator (Roly Peel), but you can record exercise any time from 1 June since the system can log sessions retrospectively.

3. Select ‘Record’ at bottom centre - start recording before each session, stop at the end, and then post.

4. Choose ‘Only Followers’ at bottom of screen to increase privacy, but if you choose ‘Only You’, your session won't be tracked for the competition.

5. Anything other than running, cycling, swimming – eg rowing machine, cross trainer etc - can be submitted via ‘Feed’ on the bottom left, then ‘Plus’ bubble above the ‘Training’ tab on bottom right, and then select ‘Manual Activity.’ However, due to technical reasons, to be counted towards the total club time, it needs to be logged as Run, Swim, or Cycle (‘Ride). This can also be manually changed retrospectively.

6. Optional! Share pictures of your exercise adventures by sending them to the TCSU instagram account: - we’d love to see how you’re taking part!

We’ve had a great turnout so far, but would love even more people to get involved. Keep an eye on social media throughout the week for various examples of tcsu members taking part, and please do send us pictures of yourself doing your exercise!!!

Stay safe everyone # # #

Trinity College The official club for Trinity College Cambridge. Help us beat Christ Church in our virtual sport's week!

Come join our film night!! We’re watching the Dictator, so get ready for a comedy classic.

https://www.netflix.com/watch/70228042?npSessionId=b066c5a94280d965&npServerId=s194

Starting at around 8 ish, but feel free to hop onto the party now :))

Netflix

Don’t forget to follow TCSU on Instagram () to keep up to date with what’s going on over the next few weeks. Motivational Mondays, takeover Tuesdays and more quality content to lighten up your self-isolation!

Stay safe everyone # # #

Hey everyone! Universify Education is a university access and outreach charity committed to countering educational inequality, running programmes, such as a 6 day summer school and 3 day Easter revision course, for disadvantaged students in Year 10/11. See below for a fantastic opportunity to volunteer with them this summer in Cambridge with many expenses paid for! Either contact [email protected] or complete this application form https://forms.gle/46Czz3Dinr67kxkY6
Have a great weekend :)

Facebook rejected the posting of male and female welfare officers, because they don't comply with their rules regarding job postings, but see the attached image for info about the two roles

And last but by no means least, here is our President (Emily) and our Vice President (Alex P)

PRESIDENT:
The role of TCSU President is a great way to directly make changes to student life at Trinity, through liaising with college departments on various student concerns and enabling the rest of the committee to achieve what they set out to within their own roles. It’s also an incredible way to meet new people - working with the rest of the committee has been a highlight, and the role also entails working with CUSU and committees from other colleges. I’d highly recommend joining the TCSU committee if you want to make a difference to Trinity life and make some great friends along the way.

VICE PRESIDENT:
The role of Vice President allows you to be an integral part of the discussion that help to push for change in the college. Within committee, you are responsible for supporting the President, acting as their deputy, and helping to keep the administrative side ticking over in a secretarial role. Outside of committee, you have a great chance to push the main college departments for the change that students want through the liaison committee, in which TCSU has built a healthy working relationship with the college over the last couple of years. I’d recommend applying for the TCSU Vice-President position if you want to be well-situated to listen to the change students want to see, and equally well-placed to act upon it.

Next, is our Treasurer (Tiffany) and our Computing and Publicity officer (Kiran)

TREASURER:
As Treasurer, I am in charge of our accounts and finances, drafting our budgets for 2019/2020 and Freshers’ Week 2019. I manage the spending of the Committee members by allotting each member their own budget, and keep a detailed record of reimbursements. I have established several discounts exclusively for Trinity students by negotiating with various local restaurants, and ensure that these deals remain available.

COMPUTING AND PUBLICITY:
Computing and Publicity is a great role if you want to get involved with TCSU and college life, without too much demanding work and many time commitments. Your responsibilities include managing IT services such as the website and emails for TCSU, proving support to the rest of college, and publicising events by taking photos and sending out a weekly bulletin. You don't need to have prior experience in web design, etc., but an interest in it wouldn't be amiss, and this role is a great chance to get experience and develop yourself in these areas!

Next up, we have three roles: the Access officer (Grace), the Entertainments officer (Angie), and the Junior Steward (Benedict).

ACCESS OFFICER:
There are some set things you are expected to do:
- help organise College tours / open days
- recruit ambassadors
- the Shadowing Scheme (3 weekends in Lent Term)
- Freshers Week
- Interview Week (ideally - I worked for one but didn't do it as AO)
- (Optional but highly recommended) residentials (they pay well and are good experience)
On top of that, the role is what you make of it. I organised the Access Formal and Freshers Sessions last term which was a lot of work but I enjoyed it. Unlike probably every other member of TCSU, you have an undefined but clearly very big budget for Access, and two full time members of staff (the SLOs) who are so supportive and willing to help.
Any ideas I had for change in the college (reducing long vacation rent for students on the bursary, raising the book allowance from 50 to 75 pounds, getting ambassadors paid etc.) I went to them for help an advice first. In this respect for how you want to change College for people already here, there is SO much you can start to do, and it'd be a massively wasted opportunity to snooze on that.
There are also some immediate perks to TCSU like invites to some College events, free entry to BOPs, about half a dozen free formals, looks good to your tutor etc. But most of the time it's just an hour a week in meetings + any extra you can do.

ENTERTAINMENTS OFFICER:
Ents are in charge of the smooth-running of all events for students at Trinity. This role requires close working with a variety of people, from external organisations to club managers, other colleges and Trinity staff.
I have personally enjoyed being Ents way too much. There is a real flexibility that comes with the role, and you can make of it whatever you like. During my time, I probably doubled the number of events we have throughout the year, and increased their variety as well, for example holding Trinity’s first ever casino night and inter-college silent disco.
If you think that you have a passion for organising events, the creativity to make sure that there is something for everyone, and the communication skills needed to pull everything (and everyone) together, I thoroughly recommend you apply for this role.

JUNIOR STEWARD:
As Junior Steward, you represent student views on all matters related to food, and are the main point of contact for College societies. It’s really good fun – the Catering department are very willing to take on student feedback, so you have plenty of scope to develop your ideas, and improve your ability to negotiate. You’ll also be in charge of distributing funding to College societies, which is great practice for budget allocation. You might even get a tour of the kitchens...

Fourth is the Environmental and Domestic officer (Puria) and the Overseas’ Welfare officer (Ludvig)

ENVIRONMENTAL AND DOMESTIC OFFICER:
The Environmental and Domestic Officer has to find and implement ways to make the college run more sustainably. This means engaging with heads of departments in the college to change operation policy, as well as making sure the college keeps full participation of the University's more ambitious schemes and programmes
OVERSEAS WELFARE OFFICER:
Being Overseas Welfare Officer means representing the international students on the TCSU committee. Despite being a college composed of roughly 40% international students, the interest of overseas students often run the risk of being overlooked. Making sure that this doesn’t happen, as well as championing causes that pertain specifically to international students, is the primary focus of the Overseas Welfare Officer. In addition to this, the role includes planning and staging International Freshers’ Week, arranging the Eurovision-final viewing party with the LGBTQ Welfare Officer, communicating with international students in college and participating in welfare events. It’s a great role that lets you work with fun and engaged people to improve the welfare of the overseas students here at Trinity.

Third, we have our Male Welfare officer (Ben) and Female Welfare officer (Jenny):

MALE WELFARE OFFICER:
Welfare is one of the most important and enjoyable roles on TCSU. Your responsibilities not only include looking after the well-being students but also looking to improve welfare at Trinity by working with the College. One of the great things about the role is the number of people you get to meet in college and the fun events you get to put on like weekly welfare teas and the Christmas bop. I really enjoyed my year as a welfare officer and would encourage anyone who feels that they are friendly, organised and able to support those around them to apply.

FEMALE WELFARE OFFICER:
As Female Welfare Officer, I am one of two general Welfare Officers and my job is NOT to cater ONLY to female students but rather to everyone equally, the reason we have both the Male and Female role is to offer students the choice of who they might want to talk to confidentially (a male student might only want to talk to a male student for example, but this isn’t always the case). It is so important to make sure that everyone feels at home at Trinity College and is consistently supported throughout their time here. We host welfare events of our choosing such as formals and bops as well as our weekly ‘Welfare Tea’ in the Welfare Room (Angel Court D5). We also provide free sanitary and contraceptive products and can deliver to students’ pidges at your request.