Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff and students in Wagga Wagga will don hats to raise awareness and break down the stigma associated with mental illness on Friday 10 October. The Mad Hatters Tea Party is an initiative of the Office for Students at catering at CSU. Health Promotion Officer Ms Coleen Pearce said "This event is all about shining a light on mental health, encouraging people to be aware of the issues and to look out for the well-being of their colleagues and friends," she said. Money raised from the sale of cupcakes will be donated to the Australian Rotary Health Hat Day appeal which raises money to help people affected by depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and many other illnesses. The Mad Hatters Tea Party is the culmination of a month-long mental health awareness campaign, which has included a Sock it to Suicide line.

Students from Bathurst and Wagga Wagga will represent Charles Sturt University (CSU) at the Australian University Games for the first time in the sport of sailing. Second year paramedic student Ms Kaela Sparre, originally from Sydney, is leading a team of six women in competition over three days starting Tuesday 30 September at the Georges River Sailing Club in Sydney. "I have sailed all my life and I wanted to go to the Uni Games and other university competitions and get my friends and other Charles Sturt University students involved in the sport," Ms Sparre said. "We are really not sure what to expect because half of our team, the skippers, are experienced while the other half, the crews, are beginners. Personally, I just want to beat my sister's team from the University of Technology, Sydney." The competition will see students sail in small dinghies from the Pacer class provided by the Georges River Sailing Club.

Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga are being urged to make use of their odd socks for a good cause. Organised by Health Promotion Officer in the Office for Students, the Sock It To Suicide campaign aims to raise awareness of suicide. As part of the campaign, odd socks will be hung on lines erected at two locations at CSU in Wagga Wagga from Friday 19 September to Friday 17 October. Health Promotion Officer Ms Coleen Pearce said suicide is the leading cause of death amongst 15 to 24 year olds. "It's frightening to think that suicide accounts for one in four deaths among young people. The idea of the 'Sock it to Suicide' line is to raise awareness of these high statistics, increase discussion on this topic and possibly help combat this high suicide rate," she said. The lines have been placed on Darnell Smith Drive between car park 1 and car park 2, and on the corner of Valder Way and Pine Gully Road at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Read more about Health Promotion at CSU in CSU News here.

New research into understanding how human DNA works will be explored when award winning mathematical scientist, Professor Terry Speed, presents a public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 25 September. A principal research scientist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Professor Speed has more than 40 years of experience in statistics, specialising in the design and analysis of studies in genetics and genomics. "Scientists have now mapped the human genome. The next frontier is to understand human epigenomes; the instructions which tell the DNA whether to make skin cells or blood cells or other body parts," he said. Professor Speed has recently been awarded the 2014 CSIRO Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science and in 2013 he won the Prime Minister's Prize for Science. The free public lecture is part of CSU's Exploration Seriesand is being held in conjunction with the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute. It will be held from 6 pm at the Wal Fife Lecture Theatre, building 14, near car park 4, off Tooma Way at CSU in Wagga Wagga.

Pharmacy students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will go out into the local community on Thursday 25 September to promote their future profession. The students from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga will be at the Summit Discount Pharmacy in Wagga Wagga for World Pharmacists Day 2014. The theme for this year's event is 'access to pharmacists is access to health'.  World Pharmacists Day is an initiative of the International Pharmaceutical Federation. "We appreciate the support for our enthusiastic students," said Pharmacist-in-charge at Summit Discount Pharmacy , Ms Pamela Cochrane, who is also a CSU pharmacy graduate. "The pharmacy students and staff will talk to members of the public about the value of pharmacists in the community," Program Leader of Pharmacy at CSU, Mr George John said. "Supervised by a qualified pharmacist, the students will provide Pharmaceutical Society of Australia's Self Care Facts Cards to members of the public." The students will be at Summit Discount Pharmacy at 46 Baylis Street, Wagga Wagga.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students Mr Timothy Morley-Sattler and Miss Meg Parsons will represent Australia in meat judging competitions in the United States in January. The students, from CSU's School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences in Wagga Wagga, were named in the five-member national Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) team after an industry training workshop in Brisbane earlier this month. Mr Morely-Sattler is studying a Bachelor of Animal Science and is looking forward to learning more about the American meat industry. "Taking part in the ICMJ program enables me to gain a better understanding of the practical side of what I am learning in my university studies and greatly improves my knowledge of the industry," he said. The Australian meat judging team will depart in early January for a four-week industry tour of the US where they will compete in three competitions. The annual competition is organised by the ICMJ Association to highlight careers in the meat industry and provide hands on training in carcass evaluation and meat science. Read more about the annual competition held at CSU in July here.

It will be a chance to reminisce and see how study has changed over the past 50 years when former students from the Wagga Agricultural College visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Friday 19 September. Head of CSU's School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences Professor John Mawson will welcome the class of 1964 before they tour the School, University farm and Winery Cellar Door. Reunion co-organiser Mr Neil Sowerby said most of the 32 graduates went on to successful careers in agriculture. "The broad foundation of practical and theory provided balance for those farming or serving the agricultural industry. Apart from the Diploma we also learnt how to communicate and get along with others, while the beer consumption was a side benefit," he said. "We're looking forward to catching up as many have retained strong friendships developed at the College during those formative years." The Wagga Agricultural College was formed in 1948 at what is now CSU in Wagga Wagga and is one of the preceding institutions to the University.

Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga, Orange, Port Macquarie and Wagga Wagga will put comfort aside in sleep outs during September to raise money for the not-for-profit organisation, Street Swags. Supported by CSU's Office for Students, the students are supporting Swagtember and the purchase of street swags for people unable to find accommodation. Students are being encouraged to register with Swagtember and get sponsored to spend a night away from home. A range of activities have been organised to keep students entertained throughout the night including music, karaoke, movies, a pillow fight tournament and a barbecue breakfast. The sleep outs will be held from 7.30 pm to 7.30 am starting: - Thursday 18 September, HeBrews Cafe, Munster Street, CSU in Port Macquarie. An outdoor cinema will show three movies during the sleep out.- Thursday 18 September, The Hub, building 20, CSU in Wagga Wagga.- Tuesday 23 September, Learning Teaching Hub, building 754 at CSU in Albury-Wodonga. A free soup dinner will be provided by the Uniting Church group from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm followed by a guest speaker from Youth Emergency Services to talk about local youth homeless. A Zumba class will be held on Wednesday 24 September from 6.30 am followed by a barbecue breakfast.-  Wednesday 24 September, Templers Mill Bar at CSU in Orange.

The annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition for Charles Sturt University (CSU) PhD students is on in Wagga Wagga on Monday 15 September. Sixteen PhD students will pitch their theses to a selected academic judging panel and interested audience members in just three minutes using only one static visual aid. Event organiser Ms Lisa McLean said, "The 3MT gives us a chance to hear about the wide range of research being undertaken at the University by our higher degree research candidates, and marvel that they are able to do it in under three minutes. A number of prizes will be awarded, and one of the sixteen will go on to represent Charles Sturt University at the 3MT Trans-Tasman Finals at the University of Western Australia in early November. The winner of the Judges' Choice Award will receive a $1 000 research/travel grant and audience members can also vote for their favourite presentation in the People's Choice Award, and the recipient of this award will receive a $500 research/travel grant." Audiences can also watch, and vote for their favourite presentation, online via Adobe Connect http://connect.csu.edu.au/threeminutethesis The 3MT will start at 1pm Monday 15 September in the Indyamarra Room, Convention Centre, at CSU in Wagga Wagga and conclude at about 4pm.