Present: EM, DV, AH, KW, JS, KJ, SB, EM, ET, MG, HM, SS, ES, BS, OW, VM, MT, AS, MM, VA, AB, MP, IU, NG
Absent:
Apologies: IN, CC
Setting: Brooks bar. Looking fancy. Me and LM are also looking fancy for Hatfield Formal.
Aim: to finalise plans for Man Up campaign and Movember and begin planning individual days for mental health awareness week – consolidating some ideas for Michaelmas term and say a big ol hello to new members n old alike x
Other points of info: remind them to send me their pieces of info for the insta – name, subject, year, 3 likes, fave emoji, fave thing about Cuth’s
MAN UP/MOVEMBER:
-idea of waving goodbye to traditional toxic masculinity
-current idea – is to raise awareness of men’s suffering with them writing something they’ve struggled with in their lives on their hands and covering their mouths with it to highlight that often men feel silenced about these issues – doing it on kingsgate bridge which will be out of focus in the background to highlight that this is something that affects men everywhere and especially men in Durham and silencing it and not opening up can lead to very sad things
-man up – what do you think about the name? Was thinking about men of Cuth’s too
-idea about redefining masculinity and shifting the definition
-want involvement from people like freps, sports team, maybe SU reps to raise awareness, anyone can essentially get involved
-maybe a little video that runs alongside it of people writing on hands and posing on the bridge etc
-need to just confirm dates with DV– ideally 3 1 hour sessions
-exhibition – depending on where the movember quiz is would like it to be very visible there
-in terms of images what to do with them.. huge posters/canvas?? – NEED TO TALK TO COLLEGE
-black tshirts in all sizes for them
-moustache bunting
-posters pls
-in process of making an adobe just for us so we have a kind of uniformity to the posters
-last time you cried on whiteboards for social media too??
-movember postering
-quiz in conjunction with outreach – maybe have like cake stand, bunting, face painting moustaches?? Will be writing facts about mens mental and physical health on cups probably. Apparently college have a Movember drink – need to find a little more about this
Discussion:
LM explains that we have a few things in place that she wants to run past everyone to make sure that everyone contributes. Reiterates that welfare is run by you.
LM explains her “Man Up” campaign which is in honour of Movember. Wants to do all the photos of Kingsgate Bridge.
AK asks if the idea is just to post them on facebook. LM makes reference to the Self Love campaign that CM did where there was sort of a gallery in Brooks.
We also want to have a Movember quiz so we could have the gallery up for then. Maybe on a big canvas that ends up going into the welfare room.
DV thinks its good to get guys who do macho sports like rugby and football to come and do it to destigmatise it.
LM explains there are going to be a few sessions over next week and DV is going to take all of the photos and she is going to write on the hands.
LM asks whether Man Up works as a title. Everyone seems to like it.
Good that we have lots of blokes on the society at the moment.
LM is thinking of asking the SU Officers as well and maybe the two Movember officers. Hoping for at least 30 photos. It’s hard to get men involved but that is the point of it all.
BS says that everyone needs to encourage their male flatmates and things- don’t force them but nudge them. It doesn’t have to be that serious.
MM asks if there will be posters around the Bailey. Yeah, but LM is going to spam for a while.
We also have uniform black t-shirts.
For the Pub Quiz, we want JE because he will bring in more people. We think he might be able to do it, so we are waiting on his availability. JS says JE is free so we okay for that date.
We are going to have crafts.
AH talks about how her team did Fresher’s week so she can help with that, so can MM.
NG says there is a good time to change quiz which is good for mental health things which we could use for a round.
We don’t know where we have the quiz yet. JS says we could do it in the dining hall, and JOW agrees,
KW notes that 20th November is also the trans day of remembrance so would like to note this or something. She wants to low key show something in the day – like a Queer Eye episode. LM wants Brunch.
Posters will be up throughout movember so that we have a presence.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK:
-thinking a day dedicated to each day – doesn’t have to be a physical event but so we have a visible presence on it
-would like a day dedicated to suicide – think there should be an event where people go around together to put up words of positivity and love around – im thinking mainly kingsate bridge at the bottom of the steps before the bridge like Samaritans have done on bridge near the viaduct – are we actually allowed to just do this?
-It’s NOT ok organising. Like a self empowerment week where they are highlighting importance of concepts such as self love, esteem, body positivity etc – I’ve told them about our week and they would like us to try and highlight the self empowerment aspect of maintaining our mental health – not quite sure how?? Any suggs?
Discussion:
This is going to be the end of the month/ first week of December.
LM would like to dedicate one of the days to Suicide and wants to do an event where they we put little notes all over the city. Not sure if this is allowed but hopefully it’s okay.
NG notes that week is the same week as the SCA Goodwill week and she can let us know what’s going on to see if we can collaborate with this kind of thing. Maybe we could do a cross over event some how.
LM wants a day to help friends.
LM explains how lots of the text-a-toastie style events work in college. These are always really popular.
MG suggest brigaderos which are chocolatey truffle things and we could make lots easily.
LM wants to balance the week out. We don’t have to have a big thing on every day.
NG suggests a stress related week. MG thinks its good to have lists of thing that are good to do when you’re stressed and to tie it into anxiety.
BS notes that the Drug Awareness people.
OW suggests something on self-harm as we know it’s very prominent under the surface. Maybe something about how to cope with this. Poster and presence and also some signposting what the NHS suggests. AB agrees with this.
BS says it’s good to have these things on the Instagram page.
OW suggests notes on the facebook pages.
AK says we should compile all of this in some sort of document.
JOW asks if we could have a table with little stress related handouts/ selfcare packs. IU agrees. MG says that people just pick free things up in person and don’t read the information.
We can have things everywhere.
MM and BS want to make things relatable to Durham life.
AH wants to put in warning signs because people don’t always realise how damaging things are.
LM wants to do a collab through the week. Maybe yoga.
OW and MG think there could be sporty.
MM we need to put in something about counselling because people don’t know it’s free.
JS have a film night that touches on the subject but then we aren’t actively talking about it
OW- durham counselling quite complicated to get into it and complicated to understand. Start a video or a skit that’s lees intimidating for people to go through—> people won’t be interested to look over the website so video makes it easer to understand what you have to do
Seasonal effective disorder day
Housing talk or just telling people that its fine if you haent signed it yet
Collabing with pole about self esteem
Text a toastie per rep
C card:
Welfare got the contact for c cards
Spread it over a couple of weeks
Have a stand in parsons and bailey
Have it more than once a term
Wednesday afternoons people pass by to MC
12 days of welfmas:
More social media run? Considering outreach has it
Candy cane sending to your friends with cute notes
Golden coins or chocolate Christmas tree decorations
Cuths loves consent:
Could do it towards the end of the term
Polaroid and get white board where you write a pledge
Can write peoples names on it and stick it on the wall
AK: if we can have a welfare board in parsons as people are self-catered
Might do during shag week if we don’t have time this term
EM: repeating it next term is continuing consent as freshers had it this term
Movie night:
If we have time have a movie night
Chill film night
JS: informal nights to fill days
MM: collab with film soc?
DV: people of color meet and great – everyone come down or push it to only people of color
Make it as inclusive as possible or more as a inclusive discussion?
ES: if you word it, just don’t say anything about everyone included then some people might not come
KJ: Christmas tree with little notes -where peoel can write what they want
OTHER THINGS GOING ON:
-C card sign up at some point
-think we should have one Text-a-toastie or similar event per rep a term
-12 days of welfmas – diff days dedicated to diff things – again requires much more thought but would be nice lil thing to have going
-candy cane sending campaign thought would be quite cute
-if we find the time run Cuth’s loves consent polaroid campaign we didn’t have time for in freshers
-it gets better movie night if we find the time??