Category Archives: Student life

Everything student life – from halls and flatting to recipes, advice, reviews, fashion and travel.

Behaviour and Responsibilities, Community notice, Health and Wellbeing, Student life, The Community, Wellbeing

Think First – Winter Safety

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Welcome to Semester 2! The campus is bustling with lots of people around, so here’s a checklist to keep yourself safe when you’re out and about.  

Be safe on your commute 

  • Allow time to fully defrost your car. It’s not a great look (and also illegal) to peer through a defrosted section the size of your hand!  
  • Take care on painted surfaces and in areas that don’t get much sun during winter when you are walking, scootering or skateboarding.  
  • Consider your footwear (is it really the season for jandles?), use handrails when you can and if it’s safer, opt to walk on the grass during frosty mornings.  

Keep an eye on your surroundings 

We know how easy it is to keep scrolling on your phone while you’re on the move, so make sure you know where you’re going, or who might be coming towards you. Watch out for crowds in between lectures and look up when you’re crossing roads. 

Keep your emergency contact details up-to-date 

Winter is a great time to take a minute to log into myUC and check if your emergency details are still correct.  

Security on UC Te Ara Pourewa o Ngāi Tahu | Help Point Towers  

Have you spotted the Help Towers on campus? There are 13 in total, and you can use them to quickly call Security at any time – push the black button for information and the red button in an emergency.   

Save UC Security’s number in your phone – 0800 823 637  

UC Security staff are on campus 24/7, so someone will always be there to help you in an emergency at UC. Be prepared by saving UC Security’s number in your phone: 0800 823 637. 

Do you know where the Emergency Procedures are located around your lectures?   

All departments have an Emergency Procedures flip chart outlining what to do in different types of emergencies. The flip charts are on display throughout the University and can be found in all lecture theatres. A PDF version of each page can be found on the UC website Emergency Procedures page.  

 Assura: 

We need your help to keep our campus safe. If you see something unsafe or get injured while on campus, it is super easy to let us know. Assura is our easy to use health and safety reporting system. Reporting through Assura will increase our visibility of hazards, so we can correct any issues and make UC safer. Health and safety is everyone’s responsibility, and by working together we can protect our community. More information on reporting an incident or hazard can be found on the UC website Report an Incident page.   

Community notice, Our Community, Postgraduate study, Student life, Student Success, Study@UC

Ashleigh’s advice

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Ashleigh Johns (PhD student)

Digital assistance for your studies

Read&Write has been an excellent addition to my studies. It offers more than 18 study support features, all on a customizable floating toolbar. One of my favorites is the highlighter feature. I use it while reading course material to mark important points. At the click of a button, R&W can pull out the highlighted text portions and paste them into a Word document within a few seconds. I find this feature very helpful when there’s a lot I’d like to note down from an article, textbook, or other documents that I am reading. I also find the dictionary tool quite handy. It helps me check out the meaning of new or complex words. And if I want to rest my eyes, I can have R&W read aloud the text on my screen.

R&W has a translator tool too that can be very useful to international students.

The Assistive Technology Team runs fantastic training sessions to help students access the benefits of Read&Write and other such learning support applications.

I highly recommend R&W as an excellent learning support application.

Go ahead and enroll in an information session right now! You will be amazed to see what you can achieve with R&W!

Behaviour and Responsibilities, Community notice, Our Community, Student life, The Community, Wellbeing

Kia mataara | Think First – and party safely

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Celebrating the end of semester? Got a post-exams party planned? There are a few things you can do to look after yourself and those around you. 

Be sure to have a ‘Good One’ – register your party on Good One Party Register

Hosting a party can be a bit overwhelming. Having the Police notified means they can help as you plan, provide advice, and give you a call to ensure everyone is safe and having a good time. Find out more about how it works here. 

Benefits of registering with Good One 

  • Party knowing you have back-up if needed. 
  • Police will get rid of any unwanted guests to keep the good times rolling. 
  • Easy chats with Police as they know what’s up. 

Consider your community
Keep bottles in the bin and off the ground and turn the bass down a notch or two – your neighbours will thank you 😊   

Understand sexual consent
Sexual consent is a free and voluntary agreement to participate in sexual activity. Consent involves ongoing and mutual communication, where people can communicate their wants and their limits, and freely agree to doing things without feeling like they have to, or are being made to. Read more about sexual consent here> 

Secure your things and lock up your flat
Keep your valuable items hidden away, and double check you’ve locked your flat when you’re heading out. 

Good luck for exams, enjoy your mid-year break, and if you’re celebrating the end of semester, please take care and look after your mates.