Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: 2014

Sports & Socs

#BearsDay- ‘The Bears steam out of the cage’

Royal Holloways’ Men’s 1st Hockey team produced a clean and clinical performance on October 15th, dismantling new boys Chichester 3-0 in a huge first game of the season. Game One: three points. Despite their being no earlier stage found than this one and even though it may not define champions or label relegation battlers, it was a gritty performance that already bore extreme significance. New to the League 4A experience, a lot has been expected of the boys that hold the highest hockey helm at the College. Royal Holloway, since I have been a student certainly, has been acclaimed to higher leagues in the past and the fact that relegation, albeit through default of not recording the end-of-season draw, had become a reality, there remained a lot on the line to ensure that we climb into ...
Sports & Socs

#BearsDay- Fencing to Victory

"Come home with your shield or upon it" tweeted President Mike Smith at the Men's first fencing team on the first #BearsDay of the year. If we had shields, we would have returned with them, in style. The match saw our Men's 1st team play the Sussex 2nds team, resulting in what I'd call a pretty impressive start to the year. We started out with Epée, featuring myself, President Mike Smith, and our STARS fresher Elliot Grover. There was a flurry of blades and 50 minutes later we had secured a 45-23 lead- a rare score in a Epée, as a weapon regarded as very balanced in scoring. We can owe our lead in part to the fact that I was particularly on form and only conceded 4 points, which we can't expect every match. Next came foil, an all-freshers team so talented that they have kicked me off it ...
Sports & Socs

#BearsDay- Shocking! Pre-initiations match to be more than actual initiations!

On the 15th October, the Women's 2nd Lacrosse team played their first BUCS match ever. It was an interesting experience, leaving me unable to disclose the score for reasons of pride... By the time we got to Brighton everyone in the SSHH bus, except for 3 people (including the driver) who were doing karaoke to 'Blue - Da-ba-dee-da-ba-da', was asleep. The other half of our fun crew, who were driving, almost didn't make it at all past the M25 because of their car's bad temper. With transport problems solved, we woke up, proceeded to the changing rooms, were amazed by the fact that they had a swimming pool (so unfair), warmed up, realised that we forgot half the stuff we needed in the changing room, went back, got it, and became more organised. All in all, everyone managed to get shoes on, ...
Features

General Meeting 14/10/2014: ‘The Devil is in the Detail’

Excited chatter fills the SU Main Hall as students file in, more or less thrilled about being at the year’s first General Meeting (GM). As the clock strikes 18:08, we’re still waiting to begin. Purple dots the SU Main Hall as the Executive Committee 2014-15 file in and spread out across the hall. Tonight, the students are joined by SU Contract staff, here to learn more about the GM and the democratic structures in place at the SU, in line with CEO Ian Dancy’s policy of taking staff back to the floor. Finally starting at 18:24 (24 minutes later than planned, but 6 minutes earlier than expected), Chair, Gillian Craig makes a tentative start, explaining how the GM works to newcomers: the fact that the GM is a safe space, that all are invited to speak and express their opinions, and that...
Basketball Bears
Sports & Socs

Basketball Bears

There's a lull of safety to the familiar phrases of parents, teachers, siblings and friends: "your first year will be the best year", "you're going to meet so many different people", "you're going to make friends and memories that will last your lifetime". They seem so certain. After my first year, it is my belief that it is exactly what you make it. Freshers is the only year at University that has as much free time as it does - it is a year designed to allow for the shift, growth and life changing that is moving away from home and starting in a brand new place. My advice, is to do as much as you can. RHUL bears basketball is one of those experiences. Unlike several of the sports teams on campus the basketball squad is composed of only two teams- RHUL Men's Basketball, and RHUL Women...
JOIN BIOSOC
Sports & Socs

JOIN BIOSOC

BIOSCIENCE STUDENT? Yes, we’re talking to you! BioSoc this year will be BIGGER and BETTER than ever! We’re looking forward to bringing you MORE socials, MORE events and all that is missing is YOU. We’re inviting you to join the most improved society of 2014 and we guarantee that you will not regret it. As well as bringing crazy fun to our students, we know how to work hard and play hard - the first commandment of living the BioSoc life, we also offer academic support to all years. There will be bio-mentoring sessions and careers events popping up throughout the year and the social highlight for this year is our trip abroad, which you can believe will be AMAZING, so keep an eye out for that! Not only is this a chance to meet other people in the same boat, it is a chance to be part of ...
An Introduction to Femsoc
Sports & Socs

An Introduction to Femsoc

Interested in feminism? Or simply finding out more about what exactly that means? The definition of feminism is ‘advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality’; we aim to work towards equality of the genders. As one of the first UK universities to accept women, Royal Holloway has a rich feminist history which we try to keep alive through our society. We meet weekly for friendly discussion with likeminded people, usually followed by a social. In the second week of term we will be holding an open session to give a feeling for the society before you pay membership, so don’t believe the ‘man-hating’ stereotype, come and meet us for yourself! We invite in a variety of speakers and hold charity and campaign events as well as a great mixture of soc...
Latin American Society
Sports & Socs

Latin American Society

Bienvenidos a La Society! The Latin American Society invites you to join us at our events and fiestas, transporting you from Egham to the Caribbean. We have planned so much to make this year the most amazing and enjoyable year at RHUL. From our Tequila Fest to the celebration of Carnaval du Brasil, we have exciting events for everyone. For those ready to impress with their hot Latin moves we have Salsa classes. For those interested in perfecting their Spanish, we offer Spanish lessons, ranging from beginner to advance with particular emphasis on the diverse and rich Latin American dialect; introducing them through dynamic and participative classes. Us Latin lovers want to create an idyllic, enjoyable and relaxing atmosphere in which everyone feels welcome. Our socials will often be s...
NASA say ‘BOUNCE’
Sports & Socs

NASA say ‘BOUNCE’

Do you fancy increasing your fitness, having a blast and learning something new? How about hurtling yourself into the air and plummeting back down to land on your front, back and, occasionally, your feet? If so, trampolining is the perfect sport for you! NASA has even approved the sport with a study revealing that trampolining is 68% more efficient than running. Nearly all muscle groups are engaged, yet bouncing places less strain on your joints. If NASA says so it must be true! Trampolining is a competitive gymnastic sport that involves performing acrobatic moves between bounces. RHUL Trampolining welcomes members from all ability levels. If you’re a complete novice our fully qualified coach will build your confidence on a trampoline before progressing to more complicated skills. For m...
Czech out Lacrosse!
Sports & Socs

Czech out Lacrosse!

Another year had passed and yet again the Lacrosse club cap off a successful season with a long lasting tradition… TOUR! This year had been, no doubt, filled with memories on and off the pitch with all Men’s, Women’s and Mixed teams yet again showing their presence in BUCS. However there was only one thing on our minds… Prague was the destination. Jetting in late at night, the club were dozily introduced to our hub for the coming week. Situated deep in central Prague, many of us had instinctively grown attached to the local beer museum for purposes no other than to sample the nostalgic ‘Kingswood’ cider. Our two fixtures were scheduled against Prague Lacrosse Club; both mixed games. However some of us who did not normally play mixed got in the spirit and took this opportunity to i...