Exclusive for Freshers’ Week: The Hoosiers and The Automatic play the Union For the full night time schedule, turn to Pulp on Page 9 ISSUE 1173 SEPTEMBER 2008 www.thecouriernewcastle.com FREE INSIDE Competitions Win tickets to see the Mighty Boosh and The Streets live! Page 20 Welfare All you need to know about staying fi t and healthy during the week Freshers’ Week 2008 Page 6 5000 new students descend on city for week of madness WELCOME TO Newcastle - a city famous galleries, this Freshers’ Week is about more remember to get your money’s worth! for many things that you will soon grow to than just partying – it’s about having new Finally, there is the 2008 Freshers’ Handbook love. experiences with new friends and getting to that will be handed to you as part of your But before you have a chance to meet the know the city that is now your home. welcome pack. Not only will it provide locals, sample the ‘Broon Ale’ or witness the Alongside all of the fun, there are huge you with something to remember Freshers’ fanatical following of the Toon Army, there measures in place to make sure your Week by, it also contains tons of information is another experience to enjoy that people all Freshers’ Week is safe as well as enjoyable. about the city and the area that can help you Activities across the country associate with your new Inside this special commemorative edition of get a head start on getting the most out of home city – Freshers’ Week! The Courier are details of all the tents, crews Newcastle and your student’s union. Renowned in the past as being one of the and services made available for your welfare, Remember, everything from Fresher’s Week Timetable best in the country, Freshers’ Week 2008 along with Top Tips on how to keep healthy to this newspaper has been put together and The complete timetable of the week’s is no exception – in fact, we’re confi dent and happy during the week. produced by people who have been students activities the bar has been raised even higher. From Make sure you look after your wonderful and were once enjoying their Freshers’ Week September 20th to the 25th, the union will pink wristband which should now accompany just like you. Pages 11 & 12 greet 5000 new students, with this year’s you wherever you go for Fresher’s Week. It’s a brilliant experience, but it can also organizers determined to give you the They’re a nice soft fabric as well as being sometimes be a little overwhelming – don’t ultimate introduction to what for many of highly resilient (even to paintballing and worry if you feel like that, just talk to someone you will prove to be among the best years of break-dancing!) - so no excuses for them about it. Chances are they feel exactly the your lives. snapping off! same or have been there themselves! PLUS - know your t-shirts... life after Freshers’ They’ve worked their socks off to put As you get used to wearing you wristband, The important thing is to look after together a fantastic programme of events make sure you familiarise yourself with the yourselves (and each other), get as involved Week... ‘U-Card’ investigation... how to get in- to suit students of all tastes and interests. centre page timetable in this very newspaper in as much as you can and have fun! volved in university sport, societies and student With two top bands signed up and activities as well – it’ll tell you when everything is on Welcome to Newcastle, Class of 2008 – it’s media and everything else you need to know this ranging from F1 Go-Karting and paintballing so you don’t risk missing out on anything. going to be blast! Freshers’ Week - and beyond! to trips to the cities best museums and art Don’t be scared to try something new and WELCOME 2 Freshers’ Week 2008 [email protected] Top Ten Tips for Freshers’ Week 1• Talk to as many people as possible… you never know who you might meet! 2• Make the most out of your wristband.... We offer a huge range of day time activities from paint balling to cocktail making, and a load of different nights out from live bands and club nights to nite golf and bingo! 3• Try out the Sports and Societies Fayre.. There’s everything from Rugby to the Circus Society so there should be something that takes your fancy! This is held up at the Claremont Sports Centre on the Mon- day and Tuesday between 10am-5pm. 4• Don’t forget to get your Smart Card (student card) from the King’s Road Centre, which is right next to the Union. 5• Try to get to know your fl at mates / people on your corridor. For some people these guys will be their best friends, for others they won’t. Don’t worry too much if for you it’s the latter…. There are over 3,000 freshers to choose from! Your main group of mates might come from your course or a sport or society instead. 6• Don’t panic if you don’t like your room… you won’t be the only one! But remember by the time you’ve decorated the place it will seem much better! 7• Try to remember if you feel a bit homesick not to worry. Moving to Uni can be a big transition and lots of people will feel like this at one point or another. Try to get involved as much as possible to keep your- self occupied and before you know it you’ll feel homesick when you’re away from the Toon! 8• Don’t forget to register with the doctor. You can do this at the well-fayre, which takes place between Monday and Wednesday in the Bamburgh Room in the Kings Road Centre. Welcome! WELCOME TO Newcastle University’s Freshers’ Week a comedy night. 9• In between making your 101 new best friends try to remember to 2008! We’re the 4 organisers of Freshers’ Week 2008 We hope that you thoroughly enjoy all that we have eat a few meals, drink plenty of water, call home and get a few hours Andi, Flick, Matt and Paul. organised and get involved in as much as you can, from sleep! So - you’re fi nally out of school, GCSE’s are long gone go-Karting to cocktail master classes and from The Hoos- and A-levels are thankfully in the past! Now it’s Degree iers to our Comedy night. Apart from having a great time 10• And most importantly… enjoy yourself! If you have any problems time and there’s a glimmer of being in the real world. The Freshers’ Week is the perfect time to meet new people and you can always drop into our Welfare Tent which will be outside the majority of you will be moving away from home for the to share a few drinks with them. Don’t be shy just turn to Union all week. fi rst time, this may scare the hell out of you or excite you the person next to you and say hello. to the point of wetting yourself, but either way the best Good luck in your Uni career, we all wish you the best thing to do now is to get involved in University life, start- possible time at Newcastle University! ing right here in Freshers’ Week! If Carlsberg did universities…. We’re all ex students having graduated at about the same time that you were sitting your exams and we’ve been The Courier & Pulp are printed by: Newcastle Chronicle & Journal Ltd, Groat working full time all summer (that’s 38 hours a week - not Market, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. NE1 1ED Tel: 0191 232750 nice after being used to only 12!) meticulously planning Much love, Established in 1948, The Courier is the fully independent Student Newspaper of the Union Society at the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Pulp, established in 2003, this week so that you will have the best possible introduc- exists as The Courier’s entertainments pullout. The Courier is published weekly dur- tion to Newcastle University. (from left to right), ing term time, and is free of charge. The design, text, photographs and graphics are copyright of The Courier and its We’ve organised a host of activities to keep you enter- individual contributors. No parts of this newspaper may be reproduced without the tained by day when you don’t have any compulsory lec- Matt, Flick, Andi & Paul prior permission of the Editor. Any views expressed in this newspaper’s opinion pieces are those of the individual writing, and not of The Courier, the Union Society tures, and booked some top class bands and DJ’s for the or the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. evening fun - and if bands and DJs aren’t your thing then xxxx there are alternative events available too like NiteGolf and Your Union... Your Host WHEN YOU fi rst arrive at univer- cieties interest you, then come and sectors, research positions and even sity, it’s not always obvious what Volunteering fi nd out about starting your own - it the occasion modelling or television exactly the student’s union is. can be about anything you like! and fi lm extra work! ‘Isn’t it just a cheap bar?’ ‘Is it run As greater numbers of people Finally there is student media.