The Recruitment and Marketing team is creating this year’s Extras, a student life magazine sent to all Kent undergraduate applicants and we’d love your help with two of the features: ‘Why we love Kent Uni’ and ‘Six of the Best’.

Why we love Kent Uni feature

We’re looking for short quotes of 50-100 words, about why you love the University of Kent. If you would like to help, simply email your quote, full name and the subject you are studying to c.saunders@kent.ac.uk.

Six of the Best feature

Tell us about your favourite places on and off-campus. Simply fill in the questionnaire at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/medway2016

As a thank you, we will give a £10 Amazon voucher for any quote we publish in the Extras magazine. If you need a little inspiration, why not check out last year’s magazine at www.kent.ac.uk/extras

Please note: The closing date is Monday 18 May 2015 and we reserve the right to make minor edits.

While the rumour that the BBC game show Total Wipeout is coming to the University on Saturday 3 October 2015 is not true, it is true that we are holding an Open Day on that day for anyone wanting to find out more about what it is like to be an undergraduate, postgraduate or part-time student at Kent.

Find out more on our open days webpage.

The UCAS Kent & Medway Higher Education Convention 2015 takes place on 22 and 23 April at the Canterbury campus.  To assist with this event the University needs to temporarily close car parks and parking bays for the management of traffic.  Please remember, that it is likely that car park areas may be full and we advised you to consider alternative means of transport, where possible.  Ensure that you park in marked bays only and not on grass verges, foot/cycle paths, yellow lines or fire roads. Parking enforcement will continue during this event.

Pink permit holders; can use all car parks except those car parks which are closed and the Central Visitor car park.  Remember Park Wood courts car parks are also available for you to use.

Blue permit holders, Park Wood courts, Pavilion and Oaks car parks are available for you to use.

The car parks affected are as described below:

• Sports Centre Blue Zone & Visitor P&D car park is closed on 22 and 23 April – for deliveries and exhibitor parking. Some bays will be closed from 21 April to assist with deliveries
• Sports Centre Road parking area by Stacey is closed 21 to 24 April – for HE convention skips
• Giles Lane Blue Zone is closed on 22 and 23 April to assist with the traffic management of coaches

The Spring vacation catering opening times can be found on Kent Hospitality website.

KentOne card news 

Did you know that you can use your KentOne card (your staff ID card) as a cashless card?

We are excited to announce that we’ll be launching a new promotion which will offer a 5% discount off every purchase in all Kent Hospitality catering outlets as well as Blackwell’s Bookshop when you pay at the tills using your KentOne card. This will start next term, 11 May, for staff and students.

If you would like to check you are set up and ready to use cashless*, please either:

• Email: kentone@kent.ac.uk
• Visit the drop in facility at Tanglewood between 10am and 2pm each day, week commencing 20 April, with Kent Hospitality Finance team

Don’t forget you can now top up your card online quickly and simply, as well as check your balance and see recent transactions.

*It is worth noting that you are already set up if you have been using your KentOne card for cashless purchases in the last six months.

Kent Law Student Gemma Blythe asks what incentive there is to become a legal aid lawyer in an article published by the Solicitors Journal online.

In the article ‘Happy 10th birthday to the Young Legal Aid Lawyers’, Gemma writes: ‘No legal aid lawyer is in it for the money, not that there’s much left of it.

‘What is the incentive to become a legal aid lawyer when the government are decimating public funding? Before becoming a law student, I was a legal secretary in London and earning £28,000. The average salary of a newly-qualified legal aid lawyer is £25,000.

‘I worked as a legal secretary in a criminal law firm and caught the bug. I started becoming more and more aware of social injustices, and wondered what I could do about it. I always had an interest in law, so becoming a legal aid lawyer was a no-brainer. I have chosen this career path, not for the money, but because I am committed to access to justice.’

Gemma is now a Stage 2 LLB Law student, studying part-time at Kent’s Medway campus. She is also an active member of Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) and works as a Criminal Caseworker for law firm, Kent Defence.

In her article, Gemma writes: ‘It is so important that students, paralegals, and young lawyers, who, like me, have an interest in social justice and legal aid, make themselves heard. Not only are the YLAL committed to practising in areas of law which are publicly funded, we are campaigning for a sustainable legal aid system and are committed to increasing social mobility in the legal aid sector. Aside from that, we are a social network for like-minded, passionate, and dedicated people.

‘This month, the YLAL are celebrating their 10th birthday. Join us on 23 April at London’s South Bank University. It’s a cause most definitely worth celebrating.’

Read the article in full on the Solicitors Journal website.

Gemma is also involved with a new YLAL Kent group which is hosting an event to celebrate the YLAL’s 10th birthday at the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus on Tuesday 21 April at 6pm.

Gemma said: ‘If anyone is interested in listening to some experienced legal aid lawyers, and watching a screening of the new Legal Aid Team animation (which sets out the cuts to legal aid), then please come along. We have four experienced speakers talking about legal aid in the following areas: crime, family, and extradition.’

You can register your attendance on Facebook or email Gemma direct at: ylal.kent@gmail.com.

Gemma is also an active blogger, posting articles about legal aid, many of which have been picked up and published on websites such as, OpenDemocracy, LegalVoice and The Justice Gap. She’s also been featured in Cilex Journal (with her photo on the front cover) in a story about students identified as wanting ‘to change the world.’ You can follow Gemma on Twitter @gemma_blythe