Boobie Nights, Elections and the Best of Bristol

The pace of life seems to have lulled in recent weeks (although maybe that’s just how it feels in comparison with the stress of January exams) and I’ve taken the opportunity to do more with my down time.  Last week I went to the legendary Fem Soc club night Boobie Nights and discovered that the hype was justified: loads of people with good attitudes throwing great shapes to sex positive funky house. I had a fantastic time. To top it all off, 100% of the ticket profits go to charities called One25 and The Gender Trust, the former being a Bristol based organisation helping women break free from sex work, and the latter aiding people who have issues surrounding gender identity. Boobie Nights is a brilliant concept and it definitely delivers.

I have also volunteered at a few lectures in the Best of Bristol series. The speakers I have seen have been inspiringly passionate and knowledgeable, and it’s wonderful to see so many students coming along to listen. In the interest of maintaining my cultural streak, I went for the first time to see a production by the Drama Society called Just Before Sunrise. I was genuinely blown away by the acting and writing talent on display. I struggle to comprehend how these students manage to balance their time between work and rehearsals and everything in between. I really respect them; it can’t be easy.

In the last week or so, campus has been buzzing with anticipation, full of posters and people trying to get voted into full and part time roles in the Student Union elections. I got to see first hand how much work goes into these campaigns by helping my friend Zoe raise awareness of her manifesto on social media and by putting up banners. In the end, she won, so the hard work paid off and I’m really excited to see her bring about some positive change as Arts Faculty Rep next year.

All this has been punctuated with weekly post offer visit days for the Arts Faculty up at the stunning Wills Memorial Building. It’s so strange seeing all these excited new faces, walking up those steps for the first time, just as I did almost exactly a year ago. It feels like a lifetime ago, and I guess that’s because I feel involved and engaged with the university on so many different levels now. It’s difficult to imagine a time when Bristol wasn’t my home.

– Alice