Hands down, these past two weeks have been some of the most exciting of my life. Very few things compare to the buzz of a University getting back into full swing and the elation of five thousand new Imperialites at being made a part of it.

To me, and to many of those just starting, welcome week was a massive blur of speeches. The difference between now and my first year though was that I was the one giving them! From the one-off-welcome to the eight-in-one-go at the Provost’s Welcome my vocal chords took a grand beating.  However, having given a total of seventeen, I can safely say that I’m ready to take on October Graduation. Bring it on Albert Hall!!!

I feel though that I should make a very quick apology to the few students who are both International, not living in halls and a physics PhD student- I will have most certainly given you four of these welcomes. The only comfort I can give is that as far as I am aware the only path to enlightenment is through an intimate knowledge of your Union…

A massive thank you must be said to this years’ brand new HelloICU Crew. These were volunteer students in purple t-shirts, trained up by the Union (including another talk from me!) to be the heroes of Welcome Week. They helped students move in to halls, enabled freshers’ fair to run smooth-as-velvet and manned the Union stall. With over 60 sign-ups this new scheme was hugely successful and will most definitely happen again next year. I got stuck in with these guys on moving-in-day and I must say that they truly went out of their way to make the transition to University a great one.

 From the Fabric-esque(1) laser lights and steam-machines at the Union to the bubble tea, jazz and rock in the JCR the Mingle and Alt-mingle were exceptional nights out. What brings a tear to my eye is the absence of any pre-judgment on the part of the new students- everyone wants to be EVERYONES friend, and I made sure to make the most of it. From these nights, to sports night, to IC big band night, the Freshers’ Ball and the Postgrad mingle I made sure I got to know as many new students as I could. Now hundreds of new names are bouncing around in my head! If I’ve met you test me and see if I can remember your name (I like to think I’ve become pretty good at it). 

But the past few weeks haven’t all been fun and games- you see the serious stuff never stops! And what can be more serious than a committee. Committees in the College I’ve been to so far:

• Undergraduate Admissions Committee
• Access Agreement and Financial Support Working Group
• College Council
• Scholarships Panel
• Risk and Disaster Recovery Steering Committee

As well as some Union ones (https://www.imperialcollegeunion.org/your-union/how-were-run/committees/...):

• Union Council
• Trustee Board
• Executive Committee
• CSPB (Clubs, Societies and Projects Board)
• ERB (Education and Representation Board)

 There is not much to inform you of on the College side of things other than that the College is currently developing a Scholarships search page to make it easy to find the scholarships that apply to you. A particularly interesting meeting was the Risk and Disaster Recovery Steering Committee where we talked about the most extreme disasters (like pandemics) that by some minute chance could hit the College and what needs to be done to account for these risks! When relevant things do come up you’ll hear them all here or on my Council Reports https://www.imperialcollegeunion.org/your-union/how-were-run/committees/...

With the festivities of the Freshers’ Fortnight coming to a close more time has freed to allow me to get back to my projects. The SABB-Hot Desk started last Friday and will be in the JCR every Friday for the whole of the academic year. Use this chance to come and ask either me or the Deputy Presidents a question or to air your views- we’re thirsty for as many as possible!

I want to use this opportunity to give a quick plug-in for the Saturday RAG Rubik’s Cube Ball last night. I was working late in my office when I heard the thumping of music downstairs. After coming down I became immersed in a throng of freshers dressed in a multitude of rubik’s cube colours. I danced like there was no tomorrow. It was truly a fantastic night and I would like to give a big congratulations to RAG on their first event.

Until next time!

David

1. Fabric is a nightclub in London that is well known for its extravagant lights