The first blog post of the year from Joe Cox, Vice President Art & Design and Media & Performing Arts 2016/17

This is a period that, for all of us, is probably providing some kind of ‘first’.

For me, it is my first time as a Student Officer, my first time doing Freshers as an organiser rather than a student, and this is my first blog post for the MDXSU website!

For many of you it will be your first time being a student, your first ever freshers, or maybe just your first time being a second or third year. (Okay, that last one is clutching at straws a bit.)

What’s really exciting for me, however, is that this is the first chance I’ve had to work on all of the ideas that I stood on during the election last year. So, what exactly am I working on?

One of the biggest things we’ve been working on so far is a really exciting project called MDX Home: a soup kitchen looking to reach out and help the homeless community in our local area.

This will be a big operation; not just providing food, but also use of our facilities, health checks, legal advice and much more. This is also a fantastic opportunity for students to get involved! Whether you’re a law student who could help with advice, a nursing student who could help with health checks, a student with a passion for charitable work, or just someone who would be up for buttering some rolls and ladling some soup! There are opportunities for everyone to get involved, so please feel free to send me a message if you think this would suit you!

I have also been working on my manifesto pledge to keep the Grove building open 24 hours a day. This is obviously a huge issue and it really is something that is going to take some time, but progress is being made! Again, this is an area where it isn’t just something I can do by myself, it’s going to take a lot of us to make this happen. If you do have any ideas around this or want to help out, please do get in touch.

So, what’s the next step for all of us? Well that’s an easy one: Freshers'! This year we have a fantastic six week programme ready to welcome you all to MDX - or welcome you back - and in those six weeks we have some amazing events planned. My personal favourites include the Boat Party on the river Thames, the Pokehunt (I really need a Pikachu) and our our TV boxset/BBQ night… Netfix and Grill! That’s just the tip of the iceberg though, so be sure to check out your MDXSU Welcome Guide or the MDXSU website to find out about all of our events.

Apart from that, I’m just really excited about the year ahead. Middlesex is an amazing university, and for me the best decision I made here was getting involved with the Students' Union. We have societies, campaigns, parties and so much more, and being a part of all that made my three years studying here amazing.

I am so excited to be able work on your behalf to make all of these things better this year, and I’m looking forward to meeting all of you! So if you see me at a Freshers event or wandering round campus come up and say hello! If you have any problems or something you’re worrying about please don’t hesitate to get in touch, and in the meantime, have a great summer, and see you all soon!

Click here to find out more about Joe, or email him at j.l.cox@mdx.ac.uk