Charles Sturt University (CSU) is giving young people the opportunity to have an input into the challenging issues such as homelessness, teen suicide, drugs, poverty and crime. The Making a Difference (MaD) competition is now open and submissions close on Monday 5 October. “By writing a story, poem or script that addresses any issue of social justice, entrants are in the running to receive one of four $250 cash prizes,” explains CSU coordinator Mr Bill Anscombe. “In addition, Charles Sturt University will donate $250 to the charity of the winners’ choice.”  The School of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Social Justice Innovation Award is eligible to anyone aged between 15 and 21 and are in Years 10, 11 and 12 at high school or studying at TAFE. Judging will take place in October, with the winners announced early November.

Reflecting Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) continued support for students who wish to study and gain their professional qualifications in regional Australia, a new application process for entry into the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree will commence in 2010. In addition to lodging an application with the University Admissions Centre (UAC) by Wednesday 30 September 2009, a ‘Supplementary Application Form’ and interview process has been introduced. These changes will allow applicants to demonstrate an interest in, and commitment to, rural Australia, a career in pharmacy and the overall health of the rural population. “By showing an understanding of the unique issues that confront pharmacists and other health workers in rural and remote Australia, Charles Sturt University is ensuring students are prepared for an education and possibly a career in regional Australia,” said Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences, Associate Professor Lyndall Angel.

Veterinary science student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga, Mr Richard Sanders, has received a coaching award at a university meat judging competition held in Armidale in July. He was named the winner of the Tom Carr Award for Coaching Excellence at the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) competition. For a number of years, Mr Sanders has lent his carcass evaluation skills to fellow students and coached the CSU team for the annual ICMJ competitions. Mr Sanders, from Moruya on the NSW South Coast, also represented Australia at ICMJ in the USA in 2005. Agricultural science student, Ms Kylie Dunn won the overall individual award at the ICMJ competition, scoring 439 out of a potential 450. Ms Louise Lawrence, also enrolled in agricultural science, was the winner of the individual award in the competition’s pork judging category. A four member CSU team was also named runner-up in the overall team award. Three CSU students now have the chance to be included in the Australian meat judging team as they were named among the nine finalists for an elite industry training workshop in Brisbane. “The participation of the successful CSU team is largely due to the generous sponsorship of Cargill Beef Australia, who has willingly provided access for students to beef carcasses and primal cuts in addition to their financial support,” said Professor of Animal Production Peter Wynn. “Access to sheep carcasses through the Junee Abattoir and pork carcases through Knights Meats has also contributed greatly to the success of the team.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has signed on to the Bathurst Breast Screen Business Challenge and is encouraging its female staff aged 40 and over to take the opportunity for a free breast screening examination during paid working hours throughout July. Occupational, Health and Safety Manager at CSU, Mr David Tallentire, said, “Charles Sturt University takes its commitment to staff health and safety very seriously, and we are proud to participate in this important initiative in partnership with BreastScreen NSW and other local businesses. The University recognises the significant impact breast cancer has on Australian woman and their families. Breast cancer is the number one cancer killer of women in Australia, with one in eight women being diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. The early detection or identification of breast cancers can have significant benefits to the health outcomes of a diagnosed woman.” The screening only takes around 15 minutes to complete. To make an appointment, contact BreastScreen NSW on 13 20 50.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Winery Cellar Door at Wagga Wagga has again been named as a finalist in the annual Inland NSW Tourism Awards. The Cellar Door is one of the finalists in the Riverina region of the 2009 Inland NSW Tourism Awards. The winners will be named at a dinner at the Crossing Theatre in Narrabri NSW on Saturday 25 July. The Cellar Door sells wine and offers tastings from the University’s own range of premium table, fortified and sparkling wines. Since its inception in 1977, the Winery has won numerous trophies and medals in national wine shows. The winery has been rated as a 4.5 star winery in the 2009 and 2008 James Halliday Wine Companion and was a finalist in the 2008 Inland NSW Tourism Awards. “It’s a great achievement to once again be named as a finalist in these awards considering the number of cellar door’s in operation in inland NSW,” said Cellar Door Manager Mr Richard Lawson. “The award recognises the Winery’s contribution to local and regional tourism, as well as the extensive range of CSU wine, cheese and olive oil products available for tasting and sales. It also recognises the hard work of our dedicated Cellar Door team.”  

The shift in counselling technique from focussing on a client’s problem and where the problem originated from, to concentrating on solutions to the issue has been highlighted in a new book by Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic and counsellor, Ms Stephanie Johnson. Solution focused counselling... Keeping it Real, discusses the philosophy of solution focused counselling, now used in most government and non-government agencies, particularly in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. The eBook provides step-by-step examples of the techniques and principles of solution focused. “This is a book for therapists, social workers, psychologists and allied health professionals in the brief family therapy,” said Ms Johnson. “This is a book for those who are interested in using solution focus in their work and want to know more. Solution focused counselling fitted my counselling approach perfectly. It maintains that the client is the expert in their own life and that the problem is the problem; the client is not the problem. This book is the accumulation of 14 years of counselling practice - I felt that there was a gap in the market for information for beginning practitioners around solution focused counselling.”  

When the week-long live-to-air music festival Sounds Live returns to Bathurst community radio station 2MCE from Saturday 1 to Friday 7 August, the performances will be recorded for distribution to community radio stations around Australia. Ms Michelle O’Connor, Programming and Production Coordinator at 2MCE, said the station recently received a grant from the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (AMRAP) to produce a compilation CD of local musicians from the Sounds Live concerts for distribution nationally via AMRAP and the Community Radio Network (CRN). “The AMRAP funding comes from the Federal Government and is managed through the Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF). We are very pleased to be part of this project and look forward to sharing the great musical talent from the Bathurst region with the rest of Australia,” said Ms O’Connor. In 2009 Sounds Live will feature two live concerts for the Bathurst community.  

Half-way through her veterinary science studies at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga, Ms Simone Lee is putting her scholarship funds to good use. Ms Lee from Mathoura, between Deniliquin and Echuca, won the 2009 Greenham Dairy Scholarship worth $10 000. The funds are being used by the CSU student to meet the costs of the practical experience in her course such as accommodation and travel, including four weeks work in the field in 2009. She has undertaken placements at her home town of Mathoura in NSW as well as in Corryong and Tatura in Victoria. “I spent one year on a dairy farm before starting my degree at CSU in 2007 and it is there that I developed a strong interest in working with dairy cattle,” said Ms Lee. “This generous scholarship has made a big difference to my life  of study and work at CSU.” The annual scholarship, offered by H W Greenham and Sons in Tongala, Victoria, aims to promote education within the dairy industry and to encourage people to undertake further studies and make a commitment to the industry.

To say the odds are long when it comes to the chance of winning the largest lottery draw in Australian history on Tuesday 30 June is an understatement. Professor Nick Klomp, Dean of the Faculty of Science at Charles Sturt University (CSU), puts the chance of winning the jackpot in the $90 million Oz Lotto draw next week at one in 45 million. “If you want an even chance to win the first division just once in your life, you would have to buy a 10-game ticket every single week of your life, even when a baby,” said Professor Klomp. However the CSU academic adds “oh, and you’d have to live to be over 87 000 years old”. “You are much, much more likely to die from being struck by lightning than pick the seven winning numbers by playing a single game next week.” Professor Klomp usually advises people to keep their money in their pocket. He sees lottery tickets as voluntary taxes for people who are lousy at mathematics, but the size of this jackpot makes it worth thinking about.“In any normal week, the best way to be a winner is to put the money you were going to spend on lottery tickets into a savings plan,” said Professor Klomp. “However a $90 million lottery is not normal.  As soon as the first division prize goes over $50 million, the potential payback becomes worth the investment.  It doesn’t increase your chances of winning; it just makes it mathematically more sensible to buy a ticket.” Professor Klomp is keen to point out that all of this assumes that if you win the jackpot, you aren’t sharing it.  “You need the potential payback to be at least 45 million times every dollar you spend. So long as you don’t think it’s an investment and you get your money back in fun, then go ahead and enjoy yourself,” advises Professor Klomp.