Slip-sliding slapstick action will be centre stage at the Ponton Theatre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst when the physical theatre production Too Bloody Right hits the boards from Thursday 9 to Saturday 11 August. The production by second-year theatre/media students is directed by Mr Daniel Aubin, lecturer in theatre/media at the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst. “Too Bloody Right is the outcome of a five-week process, exploring the role of human rights in our modern society through a mixture of acrobatics, table-sliding, ‘mockumentary’, and food puppetry,” Mr Aubin said. “It uses comedy to look at a serious topic. The show is a lot of fun, and features a spectacular table-sliding circus act.” Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for non-students at the door for a 7.30pm start.

Celebrating Your Future is the theme of Orientation 2010 at Charles Sturt University (CSU) from Tuesday 23 to Friday 26 February. In distinctive yellow t-shirts, student coordinator Nicole Forbes and 16 student leaders will welcome the new arrivals at CSU in Orange as part of the week-long introduction to university life. Orientation 2010 activities include academic information sessions, campus and library tours and a community focused social event encouraging students to get to know the city. “We want new students to get to know the place they’re going to call home for the next three or four years,” Nicole said. “It’s like a great race with clues along the way at different shops they’ll need during their time here.” The Head of CSU in Orange, Professor Kevin Parton will officially welcome the new students and their families at 1pm on Tuesday 23 February. The Orientation 2010 program, which is coordinated by the Division of Student Services at CSU, can be found here. The University expects to enrol about 2 800 new on campus students in 2010, with 150 based in Orange.

Almost 3 000 new students are expected to descend upon Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) six Campuses on Monday 19 February for the beginning of Orientation Week. At CSU’s Bathurst Campus, O Week starts on Monday and Tuesday with information sessions about courses, enrolment and living both on and off-campus. New students can learn about CSU’s online services, electronic communications, library and Student Services on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday are Meet The Staff and learning skills workshops days. At CSU Orange Campus, Orientation Week begins on Tuesday 20 February. As well as the usual welcome ceremonies and information sessions, there will be a special ’meet and greet’ for students beginning the new Clinical Sciences degree on Wednesday 21 February. Student coordinators and leaders will wear orange shirts with paw and claw prints to reflect the 2007 Safari theme. Paul Shaw, Senior Program Coordinator said CSU staff look forward to a busy week. “It is a very mad week - in a good way.”

Primary and secondary school teachers and pupils from schools across the NSW Central West will gather at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Monday 15 February for training to help them compete in the regional RoboCup Junior Challenge to be held at the University in June. Mr Allen Benter, a PhD student and researcher at the Centre for Research in Complex Systems (CRiCS) in Bathurst and coordinator of the RoboCup Junior Challenge, said, “This workshop for teachers and pupils will assist them through the process of constructing and programming a robot to compete in one of three events at the competition in June: Dance, Rescue or Soccer. The winners of the regional competition will then advance to the NSW competition. About 45 teachers and students will attend in groups of one teacher and two students from schools in Bathurst, Orange, Wellington, Oberon, Hampton and O’Connell. During the training day they will construct a robot using Lego and write programming on computers.” CSU is the official sponsor of the regional RoboCup Junior Challenge in the NSW Central West.

A report was released in the UK last week which claimed that watching television harmed children much more than previously thought. The research was drawn from analysing 35 scientific studies and identified 15 negative affects including obesity, which the report claimed TV caused through a lack of exercise. That sets off alarm bells for Charles Sturt University’s Dr Michael Gard. “All 35 studies will be variable in terms of methodology, the strength of their findings, and what they measured. There is a lot of research on obesity, health and television, and none have shown any connection between TV watching, physical activity and obesity. Technology does not make you fat and stupid and sick. Yes, kids need a variety of experiences. But there is a greater evil here and that is people like this who start telling us how to live our lives rather than kids watching TV every day.”

Places are still available for a new course directly addressing the shortages of doctors and dentists in inland Australia. Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) new Clinical Science degree, launched by CSU in 2006 and offered from the University’s Orange Campus, allows students to complete a degree specifically designed to prepare students for graduate entry into medicine or dentistry. Under a collaborative agreement signed with the University of Sydney (USyd), a number of rural and regional students from this course are eligible for facilitated entry into dental and medical degrees at USyd. Course coordinator Dr Debbie Burton said the course will see regional would-be doctors and dentists begin their training in regional Australia. "This is a great opportunity for suitable regional people to access a career path that they might not have previously considered," Dr Burton said. Further details on the CSU Clinical Science degree are available from Dr Burton on (02) 6365 7828.

The Greater Western Area Health Service (GWAHS) says their success in attracting graduate nurses is partly due to the close relationship between GWAHS and Charles Sturt University (CSU). Around 45 Registered Nurses are commencing their careers with the GWAHS in February through the flexible GWAHS Nurse Graduate Program (NGP) that enables nurses to work full or part time. Rebecca Dixon and Matthew Rowe, who both studied nursing by distance education at CSU will soon move from their home in Melbourne to Orange. Rebecca will begin the NGP at Orange Base Hospital while Matthew continues his studies at CSU, this time as a Pharmacy student. Matthew said their CSU experience was “fabulous, very supportive. We realised that was where we would like to have a future.” Rebecca added that “it just all fell into place. We never thought a few years ago when we first started studying that we would end up moving to the Central West.”

A new initiative within the NSW Ambulance Service (NSWAS) has seen 22 Charles Sturt University (CSU) Paramedic graduates begin a one-year internship. Peter O'Meara, Associate Professor in CSU’s School of Public Health said previously the CSU graduates had to train all over again within the NSWAS three-year entry program. “This recognises our students’ skills and knowledge and it means they get out into practice more quickly. It is excellent for CSU and we hope to see it expanded in the future, with the ultimate aim of all entry into the NSWAS being by university degree.” Professor O’Meara explained that other states have phased out their own training programs altogether in favour of university graduates. And, he added: “We understand anecdotally that the students are doing very, very well and have made quite an impression.”

Prime Minister John Howard announced last month that “the existing Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs will become the Department of Immigration and Citizenship” adding that the new title better reflected “the pathway to becoming an Australian inherent in a vibrant immigration program”. In the UK, multiculturalism has been described by Tory leader David Cameron as a “wall of division that must be torn down”. Dr Rabiul Islam, lecturer in Psychology at Charles Sturt University (CSU) has a special interest in people’s perceptions of the word ’multiculturalism’. He agrees that multiculturalism can be seen to divide society into ethnic groups. “The concept of multiculturalism has been misinterpreted. I think a better word is diversity, as it conveys a purpose to unite the nation. It is important that different ethnic groups mix with mainstream Australians and understand Australian values,” said Dr Islam.