The passion and work each and every executive member has shown towards the organisation  was undoubtedly evident through the dedication they put in their work,  always giving  their 100%. As an active member in this student organisation, I have attended this AGM to show my support. This wasn’t a normal AGM to me however since I contested  for the role of MHSA Education Officer.

Every report by each member was approved by all those present with the right to  vote. The meeting  then proceeded to the point that would determine the fate of the coming year of the organisation.  

Without further ado, it is my pleasure to present to you all the 12 new executive board members for MHSA:

• President – Christoph Schwaiger
• Secretary General – Gabriella Sutton
• Internal Affairs Officer – Laura Coppini
• External Affair Officer – Janine Saccasan
• Public Relations Officer – Naomi Attard
• Financial Officer – Justine Lanzon
• Health Officer – Miriana Borg
• Education Officer – Kaitlyn Byrne
• Leisure Officer – Alex Role
• International Officer – Julian Camilleri
• Social Policy Officer – Joseph Sciortino
• Executive Board Member – Martina Darmanin

To the former executive team, thank you for setting the bar high and giving the new executive members the ambition to surpass them.

To the new executive, myself included, we look  forward to a productive term with each and every one of you. In a years’ time it will be us presenting our annual report. Let’s make it one awesome year!

The post New Term, New Exec – The Day after the MHSA AGM appeared first on The Third Eye.

Even though the day started off rainy, many people still fought the weather and attended the workshop. While everyone was getting registered, some breakfast snacks were being served. Until the first speaker arrived, everyone was mingling with an excellent ice-breaker game which involved random facts about all those present was taken beforehand and we all had to guess who’s fact was whose.

The first speaker, Mr Albert Camilleri, spoke to us about marketing and how even as student organisations, we can use these skills to push our organisation forward. He spoke about how important it is to try different mediums in order to push forward events/campaigns etc. and not just limit ourselves to the use of social media. Even though he recognised the role that social media plays in marketing something: by trying many different media, the outreach will be more diverse.

Mr Mario Frendo spoke to the audience from the journalistic point of view. He spoke to us about how to properly write a press release, describing journalistic laws and freedoms whilst giving some very helpful tips as to how we can get the attention of journalists to make sure what we have to say gets heard. He spoke to us about how student organisations also need to target people outside the organisation when writing a press release and also how to find the right channels to get the news out there.

 After a lunch break, Mr Andrea Attard spoke to us about finance and how important it is for all members in the organisation to work together in order to keep to a budget. Mr Attard shared his experience as Financial Officer in KSU and how important it is to see finances not simply as one event at a time, but more importantly the finance of the whole year in order to have successful finances within the student organisation. He also told those present about how important corporate sponsors are to student organisations and how the student organisations can also help their corporate sponsors.

Some public speaking training was given by MHSA’s own Education Officer, Christoph Schwaiger. He explained how important it is to know your audience in order for you to deliver your message well. He gave many different tips as to how important public speaking is to an organisation and also carried out little exercises to prove this point.

The workshop came to a conclusion when the past and present executive board members of MHSA spoke to us about what it meant to be a part of MHSA, how their roles helped them improve both in their personal life as well as professionally and also answered questions of the students present.

All in all, the MHSA TRAIN workshop could not have been more interesting. Jam-packed with useful information that at the end of the day will not only benefit those who attended in the near future, but also many more years down the line. Student activism was really pushed forward in this event. One can really learn to respect and appreciate more what it means for students, under voluntary basis, that find time from their own busy schedule and work for a better environment for other students. I think we can all agree that our experience as students would be a lot duller without student organisations to help make it better. A big well done goes to all the students who form part such organisations and thank you to MHSA for organising this informative event enabling students to improve their scholastic experience.  

The post Empowering Student Activism: The MHSA TRAIN Workshop appeared first on The Third Eye.

1)   Malta’s ’Most Wonderful Road’ (or whatever they called it) FINALLY got the rebuild it needed with the one-too-many roundabouts placed at random throughout. I will give them this, they are far more effective than those speed bumps intended to slow cars down. Now, Malta can finally host Fast 8 on that road.

2)   We  witnessed the "On Again…Off Again’, permanently off again, of Julie and Ludwig in 2004.

3)   Bell-bottom jeans with a skin tight shirt was a big trend that we all can look back on and think "what the heck was I thinking?’ Especially if you added flare to it with statement shocking eyeshadow.

4)   Goth  and Emo trends were at an all-time high. We all wanted to bring out our mysterious dark side. Some failed (miserably) while others sort of managed it.

5)   We  finally saw more girl power on our little island when announcing our second female president since 1982.

6)   Not to  mention, the big headache we all got when changing from our old Maltese Lira to Euro. Those suckers took forever to get used to. Seeing all the prices double, then having to mentally remind yourself that Lm1 was equivalent to €2.33.

7)   Speak  of headaches, lest we forget the change in bus system that has had everyone swearing. From the Non-Arriva to the company whose name is constantly forgotten by half of the population, because it takes as long as a bus to finally arrive to say it. (For those of you who can’t remember it as well, I will save you the internet search. It is "Autobuses Urbanos de Leon’ and you can bet your lucky stars that as most of us will forget it by the end of this article.).

We can all agree that some of the changes that have happened could have been for the better instead, but let us hope that we learnt our lessons from the mistakes. I have one simple question to end this article with: are you feeling old yet?

The post The 7 Wonders that Malta Has Seen Since Ira Last Won the Malta Eurovision Song Contest appeared first on The Third Eye.

As every car enthusiast that takes his or her car to the show, the morning started off quite simple: getting my beloved VW Beetle ready for the show, getting to the show reminiscing on last year’s awesome show, which made me look forward to this edition even more.  

The show kicked off with a bang. Everyone was enjoying himself, seeing all the different kinds of cars, getting to ride in the drifting cars and seeing what this edition has to offer.  I was proudly displaying my Beetle to some people who were eyeing it when we heard a bang, saw a plastic barrier fly and heard agonising screams. 

Everyone was in shock and trying to see what happened. Many, including myself, couldn’t believe our eyes. Closer to the scene, one could clearly tell the scale of the incident – people lying on the floor with blood surrounding them.  The ambulance, paramedics and first aiders worked professionally and promptly to help all affected.  On the ride back home many questions arose…

Being a car and motorsport enthusiast, it is not the first time I attended all kinds of car events. There were a few things which were not taken into consideration before the event. Firstly and most obviously were the barriers. How can plastic and metal barriers, which even a child could lift up, be enough to stop a car going at such high velocity from crashing onto the people if such unfortunate events arise? For example, in the Hal Far raceway, where other car events take place regularly, there are solid concrete walls one person high separating the people from the track. During events, the authorities do not even start the race if a person is sitting on the wall.  Secondly, the people in the car at the moment of the crash were not in the appropriate attire. The videos of the camera in the car proves that neither the driver, nor the passenger were wearing the helmets or the suit.  

Being such an enthusiast, it greatly saddens me that these events happen. Going on the news forums, reading about the event on news websites, I saw some comments that I felt needed a means of justifying. Motorsport IS a dangerous sport. Hence, the purpose of the sign “enter at your own risk” on most of the events places.

However, saying that it should be banned is taking it a bit over the limit. Apart from being the passion of many, they know what they are going in for and they know what the consequences are. This is the reason why in many tracks, precaution is taken to ensure the safety of everybody. Recently, there have been talks of building a racetrack and some argue that it is a dangerous thing to have. Racetracks are built solely for racing, for cars going at high speeds. They are built with everything taken into consideration. The Lufthansa Hanger is large and one could race a supercar in it, however, its purpose is to hold planes ready for take-off.  

I do wish all the people hurt a speedy recovery, both mentally and physically. Such an event might not only leave physical scars but also emotional ones. I do wish the situation is deeply investigated – a hyper-supercar does not simply just malfunction like that.  

Apart from the well being of those hurt, one other question simmers in everyone’s mind; will this be the end of ‘Paqpaqli Ghall-Istrina’? 

The post Paqpaqli 2015 Turned into a Disaster… appeared first on The Third Eye.

So here are a few pointers to understanding women:

1.   FINE: This is women’s most used word after an argument. You would be quarrelling around and finally you think you said something that made you win. What does she say? “FINE”.  Now let me explain this. Fine does not mean “OK you got a point, you win”. Fine means “I’m going to stab you with a spoon, burn your body and feed what’s left of it to the starfish” (and before you say anything, yes starfish are carnivorous. You learn something new every day!)

2.   Make-up: If you want to go out, do not tell us 10 minutes before you want to go out. We need to get ready. We LOVE to look good. Why? Cause we are constantly feeling as if we have to compete with other women to see who looks better. Who has the prettiest face, who wore what better, who can get the most stares from men. So the next time you tell us that we "don’t need make up’ before going out, don’t be surprised if we look at you like you’ve lost it.

3.   Clothes: If after a successful shopping spree I decide to parade the clothes in front of you so I can get your opinion and you snicker and say that what I’m wearing reminds you of your old grandma, nothing you can say or do after this will stop me from thinking I look like a granny. Even if you try to redeem yourself by telling me that you meant I look like a female Macklemore.

4.   Don’t be a jerk. Being mean to get lucky only works on the docile. And even after a while it will get old with them.

5.   No is no. Not a yes if you ask again later. And if you do ask again and I say “maybe” it is still a no.

6.  If we suddenly are pissed off at you for no reason it’s either because

   A = we have been snooping through your stuff

   B = we found out something about you that we really don’t like

   C = we remembered something stupid you did which pissed us off

   D = all of the above.

And all this would be used against you at any unknown future circumstance.

7.   We love cuddles. So even if we are in a bad mood and push you away, one good cuddle would work wonders to turn that frown upside-down.

8.   There is only a limited amount of temper-tantalizing things we can take before exploding. If I am stressed about something school or work related, try as much as possible to not dump your problems on me, or I will explode bigger than Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. It’s not that we don’t care about you, it’s just we can mentally store only so much negativity.

9.   Yes, I am crankier when my monthly visitor comes and I would, by all means, bite your head off at a faster rate than usual.

10.   If you wake me up stupidly, you will regret it at some point during the rest of the day…

11.   Showing us your little peckers randomly would not make us want to jump on you. Actually quite contrary. If I am talking to you normally and you decide to flash it, there is a higher chance of getting racked than getting laid.

12.   Another thing about your pecker is this; must you continuously scratch your particulars in public? What, are you that so scared that they are gonna fall off that you MUST check if they are still attached?

13.   Thinking with the head that’s between your legs for us is the sickest thing men do. Hearing how many women you have been with really does not impress us at all. In fact, it will either make us: A. throw up or B. get upset. We don’t want someone that sleeps around just as much as you do.

14.   WHATEVER: this phrase is used when a woman is sick of the argument because you won’t try to see her point of view, Can be just as deadly as “FINE!” (see number 1).

15.   Your appearance: Yes, we like our man to look good. We like to have some eye candy to look at and call ours, but mostly we love the looks other chicks give us when we walk around hand in hand. The “look at that little female dog; how did she manage to get such a hunk?” look. But then do not take this to the extreme and turn on the vanity. That is a major turn off.

Boys seriously, how hard is it to give a girl chocolate and call her beautiful? We really aren’t the pretty puzzle you make us out to be. Sometimes a little observation would do you good. For the single guys, good luck. As for the committed ones, utilize this information as much as you can. Till next time, enjoy.

The post Men’s Guide to Understanding Women appeared first on The Third Eye.

Looking back on the pre-sixteen years, relaxation was the only thing we would think about in the summer. Being as far away from schoolwork, and anything related to it, as possible.

However, when it comes to a time when you are legally allowed to work, that totally changes upside-down and inside-out. The only thing on our mind is to work work work so maybe we won’t have to depend on mummy and daddy for spending money. Summer turns from being relaxing to working your butt off. It’s right then when you taste the bitter-sweet taste of reality. And it’s bitter-sweet for the simple reason that even though you are spending most of your days at your work place, gaining that independence of earning your own money, so it’s yours to spend how you want it, when you want to…till the time comes when you want to start saving up for that car, holiday or even a scholarship abroad. Knowing the demand for money has increased, you end up wanting to work more and more just to satisfy your demand (well, at least for those of us who aren’t born with a silver spoon in our mouth, with mumzie and papa still paying for your every whim).

Summer turns into an even bigger bore once you can’t find a job. Why? Well, no job = no money, and no money means? Well I’m not gonna spell it out for you, cause I believe you know how to do the math.

Times change. We can no longer act childish. It’s time most of us woke up and smelled the coffee. We can no longer go out partying every night getting drop dead drunk. We need to find a balance between our social life and our professional life. Enjoy the summer holidays as much as you can, but act your age.  Go out and have fun and have something to speak to your grandchildren about when they come and visit you when you are old, but don’t let a moments pleasure ruin tomorrow.

Till next time, get those BBQs going, dig out those swim suits and work your bottom off.

The post Summer – Is it really the Fun, Laid Back Time we Make it to be? appeared first on The Third Eye.

1. The "feel sorry for me’ cry for attention.

This is not an uncommon occurrence on our beloved Facebook news feed. For those of you who still can’t get the gist of what I am saying, I’m referring to this lovely little bit of drama: let’s take a look at the above picture number 1… See what I am talking about now? Ok, so let’s dive into this little bit attention seeking drama and understand it. So, you post a status saying how bad your life is right now, not giving reasons why and to top it all off, when people ask you what for, the answer you give is “Nothing. Don’t worry.”You know what that screams to me? It screams "GIVE ME LIKES I NEED ATTENTION’ even louder than a blow horn. If your problem is so personal that when people ask you what’s wrong you don’t wish to answer them, then why in the seven seas did you post it on your Facebook timeline to start off with?

2. The direct sting

We all are human. We all have different views, and we all will undoubtedly quarrel with other people ("coz if you quarrel with yourself, I suggest visiting a physiatrist. You got a few nuts and bolts loose up there then, mate). But instead of solving an argument maturely and sensibly, what do some people do? They get a bright idea to take the whole load to Facebook. Let’s put picture number 2 into consideration……This little bit of squabble makes me just want to heat up a packet of microwavable popcorn and just sit there refreshing the page just waiting for the upcoming comments. Little bit of entertainment, don’t you think? The truth is, when you pull a little stunt like that off, you aren’t appearing tough. You are actually looking somewhat of a troublemaker. And not only that, you are making your personal business everyone else’s. Let’s admit, we all have friends on Facebook we don’t really talk to, but are just acquaintances. And for those friends who may not know the whole situation, you will appear as the bad guy, not who the status was written for.

3. The relationship spill-it-all

I have one question for people who spill every little detail of their relationship on Facebook; who is in the relationship? Just you two, or everyone else on your friends list?The normal answer to that would be, just the two of you. It gets a little bit hypocritical if your answer is that, but after every little fight you post a wall post on your other half’s wall, like in picture 3.Little heads up, you are actually showing that nothing in your relationship is private between the two of you. By exposing stuff like this on Facebook every time you have a little fight, what will happen when things get serious? CNN, BBC and Sky News get informed and told to broadcast it?

 Points to avoid Facebook Drama:

1. You were given the commodity of chat. USE IT.

2. Your wall is not your personal diary.

3. If you have a problem, don’t Facebook it: meet up, talk it through, anything really. Posting it on Facebook never solved anything.

4. If a problem cannot be solved, cry a river, build a bridge and get over it.

5. Watch out for what you post. Half of the people couldn’t care less what you’re going through. The other half are grateful for the problems you are facing.

And on that note, I’m off to the supermarket. It seems I have run out of microwavable popcorn…

The post Congratulations on Your Ability to Create Drama Out of Absolutely Nothing appeared first on The Third Eye.