By Hazel Stabler
Fresher’s fayre is over, the tent has been brought down, and lectures have begun. And yet, the time for joining new societies has only just started. Swansea university is home to some of the most exciting societies in the country, and freshers fayre is a time to reflect on which you would like to join and be a part of. Each year, more and more new societies begin, and I’d like to give you the opportunity to find out what a few of them are about before the shrill of scan and sit and pre revision stress grinds the fun to a glaring halt.
The Swansea University Soapbox Society
The Swansea University Soapbox Society is an aspiring group of people from a range of subject areas including Engineering and Humanities. They design and engineer soapbox racing carts and are currently developing a new cart to compete in Redbull’s Soapbox 2017 Race.
The committee is made up of 6 members. Laurence Brown is the current president and founder for the soapbox society. He overseas the society operations and leads the committee.
Ben Larwood is the society secretary, and is an aerospace engineering student with a talent for helping the society run smoothly and efficiently. Lizzie Findley is the society treasurer, who ensures that the society remains on budget. Carys Svendsen is the Campaign Manager, who helps raise the profile of the society through outreach to the local community and helps find sponsors to enable them to go to the 2017 Redbull Soapbox Race. Thomas Astley is the head engineer who helps maintain and develop the carts as well as ensuring that all the wheels are aligned. Finally, Kieran Howard, an aerospace engineer,is the media manager. He is in charge of social media operations and aims to make a digital impact for Soapbox Racing at Swansea University.
Laurance’s initial development of the society came from an A Leven project in which his passion for this continued when he reached university. Never one to back down from a challenge, he claims, “I started the society and formed an unstoppable committee with shared goals and members with a keen interest and dedication to make the society continue into this year, and hopefully for many years to come.”
The Swansea University Soapbox society can offer students an opportunity to access engineering knowledge no matter their background, gender, or engineering experience. According to Society President Laurance, “our members are absolutely phenomenal already, but our society is always looking for more amazing people like yourselves to help achieve our society’s dreams. We also have cookies, which is a big plus!”
Postgraduate Research Society
The Postgraduate Research Society is a group aimed at all research students at Swansea – as well as all those hoping to become researchers in the future! They come together to learn from each other, organizing events and social activities open to all. They are committed to multidisciplinary and enabling members to fulfill their potential, so why not get involved?
The founding committee included Sara (Criminology), Jens (Law), Melissa (Arts & Humanities), Charlie (Science), Jacob (Engineering) and many others. They are however going to hold an election in the coming term and are looking for new people to put themselves forward for one of six available committee positions. No experience required!
Being a researcher can be an isolating experience and access to opportunities is dependent on luck of the draw with your supervisor and department. “Together” pledges president Sara Correia, ”we can share what we know and make sure research students at Swansea are in the best possible position to pursue their future careers. Alongside this, networking with each other students and guest academics is where the seeds for future research collaborations are sown!”
This Society is working to establish and grow a healthy research culture at Swansea University. Research students are the future of academia and they have a key part to play here! If you have become a research student or are thinking of becoming one, the Swansea Postgraduate Research Society can help! Come along to one of the socials or events and see for yourself!
Cartoon Society
However, if you’re up for something a little more load back, head over to the Cartoon Society. They watch cartoons from all channels Including Cartoon Network, Nick, Disney XD, Adult swim and more. This is a society where members can watch, create, marathon and dedicate themselves to their favourite cartoons.
The society president is Ciaran, a fun loving person a heart who has deep passion for cartoons such as Steven Universe, Rick and Morty, Regular Show and many many more.
Leyla is the treasurer for the committee. She enjoys watching cartoons as they are no longer solely aimed at children. There are so many different cartoons and it is very easy to relate to the characters.
The committee sought out a society which catered to their love of cartoons, and originally wanted to make a Steven’s Universe Society based on the Cartoon Network series, but decided to broaden their horizons and celebrate all cartoons. This is a society where all genders, sexualities and people form all different walks of life are accepted. Cartoons recently have been evolving into a much more accepting medium. Certain Cartoons like Steven Universe have made massive head ways for the LGBT+ community. The medium has transformed a lot over the years and have become a way to grow and expand world views in ways no other media can. This belief is founded by President, Ciaran, who claims that as a society, they are “a lovely bunch of people with a lot of enthusiasm for cartoons. If you want to spend a Friday watching your favourite show or arguing which is your favourite ship (Lapidot obviously!), then come along! We have lots of great ideas for themed socials and we hope to be mingling with other societies, such as Disney. Whether you want to watch some shows with friends, or just want to watch the line ups we have for that evening, this is the society for you!”
