Students could be seen from as early

as several minutes before 8:00 am

clad in their full black as a symbol of

solidarity in sending the message

that our voices need an equal

audience in the grand scheme of things. Though the numbers started

off a bit shaky, as the time moved closer and closer to the 10:00 am

cut off point, the crowd grew larger, the chants louder and the

placards more vibrant.

To all who were passing by it was evident that something big was

happening on the compound. Passers-by stopped to enquire about the

nature of the protest with a few motorists honking their horns in

support. There were a few passersby, both motorists and pedestrians

alike, who regarded the proceedings with an air of disdain, but that

did not deter the protesters as they continued their cries for a 50/50

approach by the University, that they should meet us half way.

In the words of Students’ Union President, Delta Wright, the protest was a success as the University’s Acting President,

Ambassador the Hon. Burchell Whiteman had made contact with her, requesting an audience later that day to discuss the issues

highlighted during the protest. With that, the protest concluded as scheduled at 10:00 am, with t\students eagerly awaiting the

University’s response. (.S. Francis)

Lead STORIES: Tag Drive 2014… Students Protest at UTech

NEWSLETTER DATE: SEMESTER 1 ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/5

VOLUME NO. 3

The activities included:

Church Service – Sunday, Nov. 9

Launch & Press Conference – Monday, Nov. 10

Bake Sale – Tuesday, Nov. 11

Tag Fashion – Wednesday, Nov. 12

Jerk Sale – Thursday, Nov. 13

Corporate Drive – Friday, Nov. 14

Rural Drive – Saturday, Nov. 15

Message from the VP Public Relations

My fellow students, it is indeed a pleasure to address you once more as your VP

Public Relations for this academic year. It is the mandate of my office to bring

information to the fore hence the publication of this newsletter. Also, through our

various social media platforms we communicate vital information necessary for the

all round development of all students.

As we progress throught this our second semester, it is important that we keep

ourselves in the know. When walking on campus, be aware of the various notices in

order to ensure that important information does not pass you by. Follow us on social

media and download our app from google play, this is where you will get our most

recent updates.

I encourage you, be this best you can be every day and continue to excel in your

area of study. Never accept failure or defeat, stay focused, determined and

optimistic. These are a few charateristics that will allow you to have a successful

tenure here at the University of Technology, Jamaica.

Have a great semester!

Page 2

Tag Drive is a special initiative of the UTech Students’ Union. Introduced in 1950 as “Cast Your Bread upon the

Water Initiative” a week of fundraising activities is planned, executed and funds presented to a charitable organization

with special needs.

In previous years, proceeds have gone to notable organizations, most recent being; Jamaica Association for Mental

Retardation, The Juvenile Correctional Services and Mc. Leod Basic School. Tag Drive 2014 was held from

November 9-15 and funds collected in this drive will benefit the Kidney Support Foundation, Jamaica Society for The

Blind, and three carefully selected needy students.

Target areas for the Papine Campus were:

Half Way Tree

New Kingston

Spanish Town

Liguanea

Cross Roads

Target areas for the Western Campus were:

Montego Bay

Lucea

Falmouth

Page 3 VOLUME NO. 3

TAG DRIVE 2014— WEEK OF EVENTS

Church Service

The service was held at the Mona Baptist Church.

Present from the university were members of the

Students’ Union Council and the Community Service

Committee. A greeting was extended from the

Community Service Director, Jevon Reid and a

special prayer done for the week of activities.

Press Conference

The launch was held in the School of Engineering

Conference Room. Notable participants include;

Director of Community Service at UTech, Mr.

Seymour Riley and representatives from the various

beneficiary groups.

Present from the media fraternity were: Jamaica

Information Service, Jamaica Observer, Loop

Jamaica, I Watch Campus and UTech Media students.

Tag Fashion was a great exper ience for patrons

who came out and participated in the activities. The

real treat about this year’s show was the inclusion of a

local business enterprise, TrueShade Cosmetics, by

UTech lecture Ms. Dianne Plummer who took

responsibility for makeup. Jewelry and accessories

were provided by Vintage Chic

Jerk Sale

This event was hosted at the front of the UTech Barn

office where students turned out in their numbers to

purchase scrumptious meals and refreshments.

Corporate & Rural Drive

On this day classes were suspended for half of the day

and volunteers turned out despite afternoon showers

and took their zeal for volunteerism to the streets and

solicited the support of corporate Jamaica.

Page 4

The Inter-faculty Sports competition held under the directive of the Sports Director for the Students’ Union Council

Match Updates Netball - It was deja vu again as FOSS defeated SOBA in the finals and FELS placed third after defeating SHTM

Volleyball - SOBE defended their title by overcoming SCIT in the finals

Football - FOSS were double Champions on the day as their female team emerged victorious via a penalty-shootout after a hard fought battle with SOBA. The male team wrapped up business in regulation time against SCIT to acquire the title for the first time in their history. Okeamo White was voted the finals MVP for the females. Omar Teape received the award for the males. Roxanne Hayles from the SOBA team walked away with Golden Boot prize at the end of the competition. Chavaughn Montgomery from SOBA claimed the men's equivalent.. K. Morah

Page 5 INTER-FACULTY QUIZ

THE Clubs and Societies event, which was held

under the Directive of the Director of Elections and the 1st VP Academic Affairs/Clubs and Societies. Aims to showcase and promote the clubs and societies within the University. Their main focus was driven by a need to reach out to the wider school community in order to gain new members. There is currently a initiative on the way championed by the VP Public Relations to have a profile of each club/society hosted on the union’s website.

Inter– Faculty Quiz Competition , that is held under

the directive of the Editor-in-Chief of the Students’ Union. The competit.ion started on November 3, 2015 and ended on November 27, 2015. the competition started with appoximately ten (10) teams and ended with one VICTOR.. FOSS NATION.(Faculty of Science and Sports). The Quiz Competition is mainly about testing students knowledge on various area of knowledge including: Local and International Current Affairs, Local and Current General Knowledge, Sports, Mathematcs, etc. 1st place: Faculty of Science and Sports 2nd place: School of Engineering 3rd place:School of Computing and Information Technology.

Page 6

Page 7

UTech - A Growing Power in Global British

Parliamentary Debating Malaysia World Universities Debating

Championship (WUDC) 2014-15

The World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC),

held from December 27, 2014, to January 4, 2015 at sthe

University of Technology, Mara, Malaysia, saw UTech

retaining regional dominance in British Parliamentary

debating. At the competition's end, the UTech A team,

comprising Lamar Webb from the Faculty of Science and

Sport and Newton Harris from the Faculty of Law, ended on

15 points—just two points short of the 17 required to make

'the break' to the knockout rounds, where 48 teams compete

to the final debate. The UTech B team, comprising Chad

Zamore from the Faculty of Science and Sport and Omrie

Samuels from the College of Health Sciences, ended on 12

points. On both team points and speaker points, UTech

finished ahead of the University of the West Indies (UWI)

Mona, the UWI Western Jamaica Campus, the Universidad

Central de Venezuela and every other participating team

from the Latin America and Caribbean Region

The UTech teams came head to head with debaters from

every region of the world. They debated against teams from

Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United States,

Pakistan, Mexico and China. They showed their intellectual

wit and persuasive brilliance as they presented compelling

arguments for or against motions such as "This house

believes that developing countries should adopt economic

policies that heavily disincentivise urbanization", "This

House believes that the United States and the European

Union should seek to promote peace by heavily subsidising

Israeli businesses who invest in the Palestinian territories"

and "This House believes the international community

should cut off internet access in Syria." It was the power of

persuasion that gained the UTech debaters victories over

teams from universities such as the Ludwig Maximilian

University of Munich, Lupane State University of

Zimbabwe and the debating power house of Canada, McGill

University, among others.

The teams were accompanied by University Registrar,

Dr. Elaine Wallace, who adjudicated in several rounds

of the competition, and Dr. Rohan Lewis, Dean of the

Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies and co-

advisor to the UTech Debating and Public Speaking

Society (UDPSS). Dr. Wallace noted that the WUDC

provided “a wonderful international platform on which

to showcase the intellectual acumen of our students.”

She expressed delight at the creditable performance of

the teams in what is one of the most important global

events for university students. For his part, Dr. Lewis

praised the teams for the tremendous improvement

made over previous WUDCs.

Just under 400 teams from universities from more than

90 countries participated in the annual competition,

which was won this year by the University of Sydney A

team. They debated the motion “This House believes

that humanitarian organisations should, and should be

allowed to, give funding, resources or services to illegal

armed groups when this is made a condition for access

to vulnerable civilians” against Oxford University A,

(second place), BPP University A (third place), and

Harvard University A (fourth place) in the Grand

Finals. Germaine Barrett, a six times international

debater for the University, served as Coach of the

UTech teams.

Edited by: Adriana Robinson and Kinson Case

For more info: www.utechstudentsunion.com

"A genuine leader is not

a searcher for consensus

but a molder of

consensus." ~ Martin

Luther King Jr.

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