Our News Editor, Izzy Brann, brings us an article updating Loughborough life.
As the new semester approaches, we welcome a new wave of freshers to the Loughborough family and, while this may be the most obvious example of what’s new in Loughborough (or should I say who?), we return to new sights and sounds on campus as well.
First of all, we must welcome our new executive team led by Union President, Rahul Mathasing. The Exec, for those of you who are new to uni life, are the main representative committee for students and is comprised of twelve officers representing different sections, from sport to societies, so you will often see them around campus.
The most visible change on campus is possibly the new addition to the student village. The new halls (which seem to have sprung up over the summer) are named after our very own female pioneer, Claudia Parsons, who became one of the first female graduates of automotive engineering in 1922. Meanwhile, the new development is a flagship itself, incorporating many facilities such as bespoke dining, a running track, rock climbing walls and even climate controlled rooms. Yet, it’s not all serious- there will also be adult playgrounds to indulge your inner child and blow off some steam. The first few blocks of this amazing accommodation will open this year, including a four-star elite athlete centre and hotel.
However, this isn’t the only news on campus as Loughborough rounded off last year with various accolades and achievements.
After a summer of surprise for England’s world cup squad, we enter the semester celebrating our own sporting success. Yet, while football didn’t come home, Loughborough ended the year as the sporting supreme after winning the BUCS trophy once again. BUCS, for those new to uni life or for those of us who have just feigned knowledge, is the British Universities & Colleges Sport league and last year we were deemed champions for the 38thtime in a row. Once again defeating Durham, Loughborough scored 6230.7 points in total, with a clear lead of over 1000 points above our rivals.
Subsequent to bagging a place in some of the top spots across the UK league tables, the university’s Rag section has seen major success. While the Action section ended the year with a massive 20,500 hours of volunteering under their belt, RAG raised a massive £1,032,411.98, through their various campaigns such as dog sledging and Movember, over the year 2017/18. The success of such campaigns then recently been recognised with Action’s ‘Heart 2 Heart’ campaign, winning a prestigious National Student Fundraising Award. The project was run over the course of Valentine’s Day and managed to train over 1000 people in vital CPR skills. Let’s hope we can match that in this new year!
On another note, this year at Loughborough marks the beginning of significant change in the impact we will be having on the environment around us. This year the university will begin to divest in the fossil fuel companies, following the example of various other universities across the country.
Thus, we come back to campus with our ears ringing with success and seeing new sights, which promise this year will be the best yet.
