Author Archives: Residences Life

Meals In Minutes – Mexican Quesadillas

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It’s coming to the end of Week 24 on campus and soon to be the start of a new episode of Meals In Minutes coming to your social media pages in Week 25! The episode will be hosted in St Margaret’s Hall on Thursday 12th March 2020 at 6pm.

The dish which will be made, from the help of our culinary expert, Chef Malcolm, will be Mexican Quesadillas! Chef Malcolm will guide us through the process, teaching our viewers how to make the dish from their very own kitchen.

Influenced by the “Stop Food Waste” initiative, the Quesadillas can be made with ingredients which students regularly seem to throw out, increasing their food waste. So instead we’ve come up with the perfect ingredients list so you won’t have to throw anything away again…

Ingredients List:

  • The Basics
  • Flour tortillas
  • Grated cheese
  • Sour cream
  • Guacamole
  • Lime wedges
  • Cold beer
  • As for the fillings anything goes but here are some suggestions:
  • Refried beans
  • Onions
  • Peppers
  • Courgettes
  • Charred corn
  • Tomatoes
  • Mushrooms
  • Coriander
  • Spriing onions
  • Left overs:
  • Curry or stew
  • Cooked sliced meats
  • Cooked sausage
  • Cooked bacon
  • Vegan alternative protein
  • Quorn pieces
  • The only limit is your imagination…

Remember to tune in Thursday 12th March 2020 at 6pm and to keep an eye on our social media pages for information!

If you’re interested in getting involved in future Meals in Minutes episodes either contact us by email at Residences-Ambassadors@brunel.ac.uk OR follow us on social media, brunel.ras! We look forward to hearing from you and we hope you enjoy this Thursdays episode!

Drug Awareness – Cocaine

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Cocaine/ Coke/ Blow/ Crack/ Snow

A powerful stimulant that’s snorted as a powder (coke) or smoked from small rocks (crack). When snorted, cocaine can take from around 5 to 30 minutes to take effect, whereas the effects of smoking crack are almost instant. Users seek heightened euphoric sensations.

Cocaine doesn’t last that long, around 20 to 30 minutes – although this depends on the purity of the cocaine and the person’s tolerance.

Possible side effects include:

  • Short term = increased heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature
  • Medium term = depression and anxiety, increased craving for more cocaine
  • Long term = Heart attacks and kidney damage as a result of high blood pressure, severe tooth decay, reproductive damage and infertility, loss of sense of smell and can erode your nostrils

Drug Awareness – Ecstasy/MDMA

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A popular club drug that’s sold in tablet form is (ecstasy) or as a powder (MDMA).

The strength and effects of ecstasy tablets are highly unpredictable.

When taken orally, ecstasy normally takes 30 minutes to kick in, but it could take as little as 20 minutes, or it may take over an hour or more. Some other (more dangerous) drugs sold as ecstasy take longer to kick in. Users tend to feel high for 2 to 4 hours. You might still experience some physical effects, like a fast heart beat or insomnia (not being able to sleep), for a few hours after you stop feeling high – especially if you take a large amount.

Side effects can include:

  • Short term = distortion of senses
  • Medium term = confused episodes, anxiety, lethargy, depression, dehydration and overheating
  • Long term = memory deficiency, supressed immune system, depression
  • Has been linked to liver, kidney and heart problems
  • Drinking too much (including water) can also be dangerous while on ecstasy as it can cause the body to release a hormone which stops it making urine. If you drink too quickly, you can affect your body’s salt balance which can be just as dangerous as not drinking enough water

Drug Awareness – Marijuana/Weed

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Weed/ Cannabis/ Marijuana/ Hash/ Ganja/ Dope/ Skunk/ Pot

Cannabis can be smoked, eaten and vaped – and is the UK’s most widely-used illegal drug. How long the effects last and the drug stays in your system depends on how much you’ve taken, your size, whether you’ve eaten and what other drugs you may have also taken. When smoked, it normally takes a minute or two to feel stoned. This depends on how much you smoke. Generally, the effect is strongest for about 10 minutes to half an hour after smoking cannabis, but if you smoke a lot, you may still feel stoned for a couple of hours. If you eat cannabis, the peak effects can last for 2 to 4 hours, and there may even be a few more hours before the effects wear off completely.

Main side effects include:

  • Can make mental health conditions worse or can bring on mental health issues in people with an underlying condition they are not aware of
  • Can cause physical changes in the brain, especially in teenagers and young adults as their brains are not yet fully grown, this can lead to schizophrenia or psychosis
  • Releases harmful toxins into your body which is damaging to your lungs, throat and heart
  • Increase your risk of getting lung cancer
  • Can reduce your sperm count or supress your ovulation

Drug Awareness

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Did you know, according to studies, almost 70% of students are likely to have tried an illegal drug or psychoactive substance during their time at University.

Whilst some of the impacts may be desirable short-term, we want to ensure that all students at Brunel are aware and understand the bigger picture of the effects of drug use so we will be sharing several articles covering the short, medium and long term impacts of drugs use.

ReCO2ST Project – Key Information

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ARE YOU AN ART/DESIGN STUDENT OR JUST ENJOY BEING CREATIVE? TAKE PART IN OUR COMPETITION TO HAVE YOUR DESIGN ON CLIFITON HALL’S WHITE WALLS!

Green Buildings – Design competition for white walls at Clifton Hall Staircase R

ReCO2ST  (https://reco2st.eu/) is a European research project which demonstrates how buildings can be renovated to ‘near zero energy’ and CO2 emissions with optimum cost, health, comfort and environmental quality. Featuring 17 partners from nine European countries the project brings together academia and industry to develop a ‘Retrofit Kit’ that can be used to reduce energy consumption by 60-95% in renovated buildings. The Retrofit Kit brings together a number of advanced, cost efficient, and energy saving technologies which can be fitted 30% quicker than typical renovations. One of the demonstration buildings is Brunel’s Clifton Hall.

One of the technologies is the use of Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIP) which were installed on the ground floors of Clifton staircase R.  The VIPs need to be protected and this has resulted to a white area on the north and south walls; see photo showing the south wall by the entrance to Staircase R.   The size of the white panel is 3.30×1.95 m2 each.

We are therefore inviting designs created by individuals or groups to paint the two white areas with a theme representing the scope of the project; which is to reduce the energy use of a building at a near-zero energy coefficient, in a cost-effective way and decreasing installation time, whilst simultaneously increasing indoor environmental quality which is known to affect the health, comfort and well-being of building occupants.

The design must also highlight wider than just energy sustainability issues, for example green impact, recycling, water quality, biodiversity.

The designs should be submitted to: maria.kolokotroni@brunel.ac.uk by Monday 24 February 2020.  Please put ‘Clifton Design Competition’ in the subject line.

What you need to do:

  • Send over your design
  • Write a 200 words description about your design
  • An estimation of the cost for materials (The cost of materials will be covered by the ReCO2ST project).

The designs will be judged by a three-member panel which will include representatives of the ReCO2ST project, residences and student residences ambassadors. 

Following the selection of the successful designs (one for each wall), the painting will be carried out in March 2020 by the successful designers. 

A plaque with a short description of the design and the names of the designers will attached to the wall next to the design. 

We look forward to hearing from many of you and are very excited to see how this amazing opportunity comes to life!

white wall at Clifton Hall Staircase R

Meals in Minutes – Spicy Plant Burger

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We’re just coming to the end of Week 18 on campus and our Residences Ambassadors have been getting stuck in presenting another episode of Meals in Minutes!

Meals in Minutes is our take on our very own cooking show, where students interact either through social media or put themselves and their friends forward to being on the show. Short videos are made beforehand to highlight which ingredients are needed for the chosen healthy dish so everyone can make it, wherever you are! The best thing about getting involved in the show is you get to eat all the food after… What more could you ask for?

This week’s episode was held on Thursday 23rd January hosted by RA, Siobhan. The dish which was made with the help of our culinary expert, Chef Malcolm, was a very tasty Spicy Plant Burger. Chef Malcolm guided us through the process, teaching the viewers how to make the dish. The burger was made with a kidney bean base, herbs and spices and lots of other tasty ingredients (which can be found below). The full 23 minute video can be found on our Facebook page, @Brunel.RAs.

Ingredients List:

  • Red onion
  • Lime juice
  • Coriander
  • Mint
  • Pepper
  • Salt
  • Tomato
  • Cucumber
  • Mushrooms
  • Kidney beans
  • Marmite
  • Parsley
  • Carrots
  • Flour
  • Celery salt
  • Porridge oats
  • Onion powder
  • Garlic greens
  • Paprika
  • Cumin

The Residences Ambassadors want to say a big thank you to Chef Malcolm and also to say thank you to Sherry who allowed us to use her kitchen for this episode and for helping out with the making of the dish! We hope you enjoyed eating the burgers after!

If you’re interested in getting involved in our Meals in Minutes episodes either contact us by email at Residences-Ambassadors@brunel.ac.uk OR follow us on social media, brunel.ras! We look forward to hearing from you!

Useful Studying and Exam Tips!

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It’s the start of term two and some of you may have already had exams! This is when most of us really start to feel the pressure of uni… with deadlines beginning to build and summer exams drawing ever closer it can be a stressful time.

Lucky for you we’re on hand to provide a few tips on studying and preparing for exams:

1. Set goals and plan out your time – Be sure to set yourself goals, with these in mind it gives you a plan of what you’re aiming for. From here you are able to set yourself deadlines and plan out your time… but make sure your goals are realistic, and any deadlines you set for yourself are achievable. This structure will allow you to stay on track to achieve all deadlines and smash your exams!

2. Take breaks! – Remember to allow yourself downtime and time to distress, this is equally as important as studying, to make sure you get the most out of your efforts and stay in a healthy mind set. So set yourself time to work but also time to relax; whether this is with friends or just watching a film. Work hard, play hard!

3. Test yourself – This is a great tip which can go a long way! Instead of endlessly writing notes over and over again, once you’ve completed a section of revision, test yourself or get someone else to ask you questions about your notes, this really tests your memory and is a great way of recognising the gaps in your knowledge… so get out the que cards and start testing yourself!

4. Routine Routine Routine – Don’t let the freedom of uni life bog you down, make a timetable get into a sleeping pattern. This will benefit you in the long run and will allow you to make the most of your days at uni and utilise your time successfully. Get the alarm set!

5. Make sure to use the experts – Make the most of your lecturers and seminar leaders, find out their office hours and contact details so you can visit them with any queries regarding exams and coursework. This is also a great way to make a good impression on your superiors.

Finally, the RA Team want to wish you all a BIG good luck and lots of success this Term!

Have you got what it takes to be a Residences Ambassador?

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Are you:

  • An excellent communicator
  • Friendly and approachable
  • A great listener
  • Someone who enjoys speaking to new people and making connections
  • Somebody who has experienced living in halls…

If the answer is YES then this could be the role for you!

The Residences Ambassador team are a crucial resource which provide support to students living on campus by being a friendly face! Each first year hall are assigned a pair which will visit twice a week in the evening for a few hours!

The core purpose of this role is to provide information to students regarding living in halls of residence and creating a community vibe around campus! Make sure to speak to your RA’s for more information or pop down to the bishop post room Monday – Friday, 5pm – 10pm we’re always available to answer questions!

 If you feel you’re suited to this role keep an eye on our social media (listed below) to be in the know and find out when applications open!

Happy Holidays!

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It’s almost that time of year again. The decorations are up, you’ve bought the presents and you’re excited to relax, but you’re stuck in lectures for another week. Urgh.

But please don’t be disheartened as we have some equally exciting things to keep you from going insane with revision before the holiday!

Next Wednesday (11th December) we will be making Christmas cards in the Bishop Post Room to send to the wonderful children at Post Pals who are spending their holiday in hospital. Why not take a break from revision and lectures and help us put a smile on the faces of some very sick children this year. It’s a great way to de-stress and can really make a difference to the children who receive them.

On Thursday (12th December) we have our movie night! You have voted for which film you wanted to see and we listened. Elf will be screening in Lecture Centre 261 from 7pm. Come and join us as we get into the festive spirit with free popcorn and drinks. If you missed your chance to vote, don’t forget to follow us on social media and watch out for when we advertise the vote for our Valentine movie night!

Throughout this week we are also collecting donations for Hillingdon Food Bank in the Bishop Post Room, so if you have any items of food that you’d like to donate before you go home, bring them along or give them to your RAs and help those in the local area wo are less fortunate than us.

If you’re not going home this December, there is also an opportunity for you to join a number of other students at the University of Arts London on Christmas day for a host of festive activities! Breakfast, a hot festive meal, movie, mulled wine, hot chocolate and a small gift are all included in the price of £30. It’s sure to be a great day open to students from around London. If you’re interested, contact c.battenti@arts.ac.uk for more details.

Have a fantastic holiday however you spend it, and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year!