The cultural diversity at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will be on show when the national 2011 Harmony Day is embraced with the theme of ‘Everyone Belongs’. Staff and students will celebrate Harmony Day on 21 March by coming together to taste foods from around the globe. “We are urging staff and students to come along to our local Harmony Day celebrations dressed in their traditional national costume, and with music from their country of origin,” Student Support Officer (International) Ms Jacquie Blomfield said. The local event is being organised by the University’s Division of Student Services and supported by the Health Promotion Service, Rivcoll Student Representative Council and Halls of Residences at CSU in Wagga Wagga.

About 50 senior students from 12 high schools in the region will gain information and insights about nursing and paramedic courses they can study when they attend the MyDay promotion at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Tuesday 29 March. CSU Prospective Student Adviser, Ms Fran Dwyer, said, “This MyDay will provide general information sessions and interactive sessions with academics from the nursing and paramedic disciplines and courses at Charles Sturt University. These are important disciplines with increasing employment opportunities and expanding career options, so we aim to confirm the students’ interest in these fields.” Participating high schools include Canowindra, Coolah, Crookwell, Bathurst, Kelso, La Salle Lithgow, Mudgee, Orange Christian School, Orange High, Peak Hill, Springwood, and Henry Lawson Grenfell.

It is hoped that some good old fashioned inter-campus rivalry at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will encourage staff and students to donate to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. The Red Cross 2011 Inter-campus Blood Donation Challenge is being run until July. The mobile blood bank will parked in the CSU car park near Beres Ellwood Oval, Nathan Cobb Drive at CSU in Wagga Wagga from 8.30am to 3pm on Monday 28 March, and from 10.30am to 6pm on Tuesday 29 March. Appointments can be made online here or by calling 13 14 95. Read about blood donor arrangements for CSU in Bathurst here.

Students from a range of science degrees at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange will graduate at a ceremony on Friday 25 March. The Head of Campus at CSU in Orange, Professor Kevin Parton, said, “There are 160 students from allied health, medical sciences, and agricultural sciences graduating from Charles Sturt University in Orange this year, and a large proportion of these students will take up employment in regional NSW, contributing to our workforce and communities.” The Occasional Address will be delivered by CSU medical school consultant Professor John Dwyer, AO, with active student Ms Nicole Forbes giving the vote of thanks on behalf of the students. The graduation ceremony starts at 10.30am at the Orange Civic Theatre, Byng Street, Orange.

Members of the Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Ag Club will host a qualifying round for the Royal Agricultural Society’s Young Farmer Challenge on Friday 25 March at CSU in Orange. Students from the Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management are just some of those competing in the event which is designed to promote excellence in farming and showcase the involvement of youth in agriculture. “The Charles Sturt University Ag Club has a team competing in the Young Farmer Challenge but there is also an Orange Fire Brigade team, rugby teams, and students from St Stanislaus and Mackillop colleges taking part,” said CSU Ag Club president Mr Richard Connell. “We’re hoping to have about 40 competitors donating their entry fees to mental health agency Beyond Blue.” The teams of ten will compete in challenges including basic farm skills such as fencing, carting hay and shearing. “We encourage those interested in agriculture to join the CSU Ag Club which is not just for students.  It’s for anyone keen to be part of an agricultural network.”

A visiting international academic to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga throws new light on climate change by asserting the gradual breakdown of the Earth’s water cycles caused by land clearing is playing a major role in climate change. Hosted by CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, Professor Jan Pokorný, a plant physiologist from the Czech Republic will present his controversial views in a meeting to be held in Albury starting at 3pm on Wednesday 23 March. “The circulation of water in nature is driven by solar energy and takes place through 'large' [global] and 'small' [local] water cycles. Humanity, through activities such as agriculture and forestry systematically transforms natural land into cultured land, which accelerates the runoff of rainwater from land and increases the temperature of the land,” says Professor Pokorný. “The local water balance is disturbed and gradually breaks down over land. Global climate change is seen to be caused by human activities, where land clearing affects water drainage which causes temperatures to rise and trigger more climatic extremes: more frequent flooding, longer periods of drought and an increase in the water shortage in regions worldwide.”

Students with Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga will take a break from the normal mental challenges of study to pit themselves against fellow students from CSU in Wagga Wagga and La Trobe University in Wodonga in some physical competition in the annual Southern Zone Challenge this Thursday 24 March. The students will commence playing mixed netball and mixed touch from 3.30pm at Thurgoona Football Oval and Netball Courts, Tabletop Rd, Thurgoona, followed by presentations, a barbeque and music at ‘The G’ on the University’s Thurgoona campus. Student services adviser, Ms Kerry Read, said the event gives students the opportunity to travel to other universities and campuses and socialise with their peers.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer who will be a guest speaker at a political forum at CSU in Albury-Wodonga on Wednesday 23 March is predicting the NSW election could be an acid test for the role of independents in Australian politics. Dr Troy Whitford, from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU, is keeping a close watch on the performance of independent candidates in regional electorates. "The federal scene may have people second guessing the role of independents and their ability to contribute to good government," he said. With widespread predictions of a Coalition victory in the Saturday 26 March poll, Dr Whitford says the makeup of the NSW Legislative Council could be interesting. "It really depends on how much of a mandate voters want to give the prospective coalition government," he said. "A new government won't want to be stuck in negotiations with minor parties and independents." Read more here.  

A key part of the graduation celebrations later this month at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga is the Town and Gown ceremonial parade through the city’s central business district. The annual parade of academics, local councillors and graduates will be held from 4pm on Tuesday 29 March. The procession will be led by the Riverina Concert Band and follow a route down Baylis Street to the Civic Theatre where a reception will be hosted by the Head of CSU in Wagga Wagga Mr Adrian Lindner and the Mayor of Wagga Wagga, Councillor Wayne Geale. More than 3 000 graduates are eligible to attend six ceremonies to be held at CSU in Wagga Wagga from Wednesday 30 March to Friday 1 April. The Town and Gown is open to members of CSU’s governing body, the CSU Council; CSU general and academic staff; Wagga Wagga City Councillors; CSU graduates. Eligible staff from the Riverina Institute of TAFE NSW, UNSW’s Rural Clinical School, and the Wagga Wagga City Council have also been invited to participate in the colourful annual event.