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What are the SU elections? A brief guide…

It’s not just banners and badgering; the Students’ Union elections are actually important. Who gets voted in ultimately shapes student experience for the following academic year – so you should vote for someone who you think will represent you best! The 14 officers (7 full-time and 7 part-time) ensure that students are represented to the …

Top tips: the Long Distance Relationship

Valentine’s Day may have left you a little loved-up, or alternatively, love-lonely (if you subscribe to such capitalist commercialism, that is.)  In the will-they-won’t-they stage with someone, but their location puts you off? Or already with your S.O. but struggling with not seeing them? My mum advised against committing to a long distance relationship (“You …

The Student Dinner Party (is the best kind of dinner party)

When living with over-30s, dinner parties are often a melodramatic affair involving stuffing all mess out of sight, pretending to be an accomplished chef and acting generally grown-up and suave. The student dinner party, however, is a completely different ball-game. Embrace the clutter, don the apron without expectation, and enjoy an evening of unashamed eating …

5 reasons why Refreshers is better than Freshers

Exam season is officially OVER! Cue the return of socialising and going out – after the million hours of sleep to catch up on, of course. It’s not called refreshers for nothing; and instead of seeing the week as a calmed-down version of freshers (a reflection of your own student progression), here’s why refreshers week …

How to beat the January blues

It’s the same scenario every year. January has hit: dank, dark days, regretful (well, regret-fuelled) diets and the unwelcome resumption of everyday life after the festive utopia.  Add to that a foreboding few months of uninterrupted studying plus a handful of looming exams and the outlook is bleak. In such a situation it’s all too …

Remember the important things

There’s one thing that we’re victim to at this time of year. It’s hiding under the bed, it’s looming above the mirror, and it lurks around every corner: beware the cunning complacency. It’s not surprising really; after a whole hectic term of hard work, especially come the final few days, every student feels spent (in …

“Home” for the holidays

Christmas break has arrived! It’s the first holiday for first years; a time when every fresher has to grapple with one simple (or, not so simple) word: home. Many students say they’re going ‘home for the holidays’, meaning that they’ll be returning to their parents’ or family’s house. Yet confusion then arises in what to …

Are we losing our queer spaces?

Starting university in many ways marks the crossing of a threshold: the independence and change of scenery encourages individuals to come out of their shell – and many also choose this time to come out of the closet. For many students, university offers the first opportunity to explore the LGBT+ scene: not only the clubs, …

Don’t panic: top tips for when the parents visit

    It’s that time of year: week six and people have started getting homesick. (Well, our families assume we have, even if we actually forgot about our hometown – apart from the cat, obviously). For those like me who didn’t go back home but whose parents want to remember what their child looks like, …