Lincoln Freshers' Guide 2020/21
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LINCOLN FRESHERS’ GUIDE 2020/21 CORONAVIRUS AND COLLEGE LIFE Given the situation with Coronavirus, there is some uncertainty as to the exact shape that this academic year will take. This uncertainty will impact the events of Freshers’ Week, the calendar of events going forward and the academic life of the wider College and University. Even though we will be in College, in-person events and activities will run a bit differently, observing social distancing and other guidelines. The way we use certain facilities will also be different. In some cases, events may need to be moved online, cancelled, rearranged, or replaced with other types of events. Although we don’t quite know how things will look exactly, we are working hard to provide a range of events for the year that fit with various guidelines and scenarios, so that you can all have the best experience possible as you start your Lincoln journey. Please refer to the University’s offer-holder Coronavirus advice page for the latest information. You’ll notice links like this throughout this guide - follow them for more information! ENTZ LETTER HELLO FRESHERS!!! We are your Entz team and our names are Carla, Lara, Cam, Obaydh, Charlotte and Ella. We will be running Freshers’ Week and we are here to help you settle into life at the undisputed BEST Oxford college and to make sure you have as brilliant of a first year as we did! (regardless of COVID complications). We have all kinds of fun events planned for you over the course of the week, like Scavenger hunts, a ghost tour of Oxford, pub quizzes, nights out (hopefully), workshops on Race, Gender and LGBTQIA+, pub crawls and so much more! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch or come find us as we will be around all week, accompanied by our stellar team of Freshers’ Helpers. All of us were in your position last year so know how to help you feel comfortable and settled in the college. Aside from Freshers’ Week, we organise events throughout the term like movie nights, formal drinks, fun games like Human Cluedo and most importantly our college parties, BOPS!!! This guidebook is full of useful info to help you through Freshers’ Week and first year in general. Any questions? Ask away! One of us or anyone on the JCR committee will be happy to answer. We can’t wait to meet and get to know you all!!! HUGE Entz love, Carla (she/her), Lara (she/her), Obaydh (he/him), Charlotte (she/her), Cam (he/him) and Ella (she/her) Top Picture (Left to Right): Lara (Entz Treasurer), Carla (Entz Chair) Bottom Picture (Left to Right): Carla, Cam, Ben (not Entz*) , Charlotte, Obaydh, Ella PRESIDENT’S LETTER Hi Freshers, Welcome to Lincoln! My name’s James, my pronouns are he/him and I’ll be your JCR President for this academic year. In short, it’s my responsibility to make sure that as a student body we are well-represented at the college and university levels, and to make Lincoln the best possible environment for you all. To do this, I regularly and frequently meet with college staff, attend college committees, liaise with the MCR President, and go to PresCom in alternate weeks, which is basically a get-together of the JCR Presidents to share advice and university news. I live in room 1.04 in college, right by the lodge, and will always be happy to answer your questions - you’re always welcome to drop me an email or message me on Facebook, or simply have a chat with me! We’re also very fortunate to have fantastic Executive and Wider JCR committees, who support me in making Lincoln even better for you all. Being at Oxford is a weird and wonderful, but sometimes challenging, experience, so please do let us know if you ever have questions or if we can do anything to help! Outside of my JCR role, I play tennis for the uni and have been involved in translation tasks, literary panels, and sustainability work. I’m also involved in Lincoln Unites, our annual Equality and Diversity Week, which is one of the many opportunities for involvement in college life. There’s so much on offer in Lincoln and the wider university; look out for these opportunities and if something seems interesting, even something entirely new, I’d encourage you to give it a go! I study a French degree, and if you ever want to strike up a conversation with me, just ask me about whichever book I’m claiming to be reading at the moment, or my pets. Congratulations, also, for getting into Lincoln! You’ve all thoroughly earned your places, and we’re very excited that you’re joining us. We appreciate that this term may not look or feel like the ‘typical’ university experience, and will do our utmost alongside the college to help you make the most of your time here. When I started at Oxford, I was pretty nervous about, well, everything. We hope this week will give you the warmest welcome possible to Lincoln life, but if we can ever do anything more, or if you’d simply like a chat, we’re here for you. Looking forward to meeting you all! James OXFORD TERMINOLOGY MICHAELMAS - 1st term HILARY - 2nd term TRINITY - 3rd term. ENTZ - the JCR’s Entertainment Team - they organise BOPS and all kinds of fun, from Groove Quad in the summer to the majority of Freshers’ week. BOP - a big party, usually in Deepers, with a theme chosen by Entz, usually attended by the whole JCR and held a few times a term. MATRICULATION - the ceremony at the start of your first term that officially initiates you into Oxford! (wear your sub-fusc, online as a ‘Formal Welcome’ this year). SUB FUSC - the uniform you wear for Matriculation, exams and graduation. CREW DATE - two groups of people (often sports teams) go out for a meal, sconce each other, play drinking games, possibly go out after etc… SCONCE - basically a truth, e.g. “I sconce anyone who’s JCR Pres -> James would have to drink (usually a lot more revealing and funny than that!). HALL - abbreviation for the dining hall in college. INFORMAL - normal dinner every night (except on Saturdays). FORMAL - three-course meal in hall every night (get there a bit early to sit together!) Normal clothes are fine but wear your gown. GREAT HALL - A more posh formal hall every 2nd thursday - HUGE fun! DEEPERS - college bar :) BATTELS - the bills you pay to college for accommodation, food, etc... COLLECTIONS - college mock exams in 0th week of every term. TUTES - abbreviation for tutorials. PRELIMS - 1st year exams. RUSTICATE - suspend studies and return a year later. PORTERS - staff who man the lodge, be nice to them!!!! PIDGES - pigeon-holes in the lodge where your post is delivered. OXFORD TERMINOLOGY SCOUTS - cleaners who clean your rooms / corridors, also be nice to them!!! LINCOLNITES - the people who study at Lincoln (i.e. YOU!). LINCOLN TIL I DIE - our college song, an absolute tune. THE IMP - both our college mascot (look out for it as you enter Deepers) and the name of our satirical newspaper! QUADS - the grassy squares surrounded by buildings that make up the college site! At Lincoln we have 3: Chapel, Front and Grove (best). RECTOR - head of the college! Ours is Professor Henry Woodhuysen. The head of a college may have a different title at another college. JCR - collective name for the body of undergrads + the physical common room for undergrads (found in Chapel Quad). HUSTS - if someone wants to run for a JCR position, they will give a hust which includes a short presentation, answering some questions and often completing fun challenges set by their predecessors. TRASHING - post-exams, your friends throw confetti, shaving foam and coloured powder at you in celebration! TORPIDS / SUMMER 8’S (ROWING) - obvs you know what rowing is but these are some key terms: intercollegiate rowing competitions which the majority of us don’t understand but still enjoy. If you see a rower, you are contractually obliged to say “WOW do you row?!” any time they mention it (which will be a lot, brace yourselves). CUPPERS - any intercollegiate competition in sports, drama etc… VAC - our name for the breaks in between terms, short for Vacation. VAC RES - short for Vacation Residence. BOD CARD - your student card, VERY important, try not to lose it! DEANED - when the Dean tells you off if you misbehave in college. THE JUNIOR COMMON ROOM HOW THE JCR WORKS The JCR stands for Junior Common Room, and any undergraduate in Lincoln belongs to our JCR. This term also refers to the physical common room (recently refurbished!). There is also the MCR (Middle Common Room) for graduate students. The JCR is based at the bottom of staircase 5, on the right as you go into Chapel Quad, and also includes a small kitchen for students to use at any time they wish (even for toast at 2am). The JCR committee all have particular roles to improve the experience of and represent the JCR. The Exec is made up of the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Entz chair, Academic Affairs Officer, Access Rep, and Welfare Officers. Then there is a Wider Committee who have much more specific roles. We also have an Independant Chair to run JCR meetings, which happen on the Sundays of weeks 2, 5, and 8 every term. In these meetings officers can raise any points they may have, and anyone can present a motion, which is then voted on by everyone at the meeting.