Carnival takes BU into the community

14 July 2010

Students' Union President Toby Horner at the 2010 Winton Carnival

This summer's Winton Carnival in Bournemouth gave the Students' Union an opportunity to take BU into the community.

The Students’ Union at Bournemouth University (SUBU) shared their community spirit at the recent Winton Carnival.

The Winton area of Bournemouth, adjacent to the University’s Talbot Campus, is home to a large student population. The Students’ Union used the Carnival as an opportunity to give something back to the community by operating a stall which offered face painting and free games including a basketball shoot-out and ‘pick a duck’ for children with prizes awarded throughout the day. Students also volunteered to collect litter throughout the day and handed out invormation about the many volunteering and fundraising activities the Students’ Union supports including MAD (Make a Difference) Days, beach clean-ups, looking after the elderly and conservation projects.

Neneh Peperell, SUBU’s Vice President Communications for the coming academic year said the Carnival also gave the group and opportunity to gauge local opinions of how residents feel about living amongst a high student population.

“The Winton Carnival is a fantastic event and we thoroughly enjoyed being there to represent all students living in the area,” she said. “The whole day was a really positive experience, not to mention the fact that we got some really valuable feedback.

“We’re currently using the comments we received from around 70 Winton residents as the basis of starting an ‘introduce your neighbour’ campaign in which we’re hoping to get students on a more personal friendly level with their neighbours,” Neneh added.

“The comments were mixed but very constructive with residents praising the students for their contribution to the town’s vitality, spirit and diversity,” she continued. “Concerns were also raised about issues such as late night noise, parking and showing respect for their neighbours who we’re planning to tackle in the months ahead by working more closely with the community.”