Bangor University’s Star Publication CREDIT CRUNCH FREE-ZONE ISSN 1755-7585 Issue No. 201 Freshers’ Issue 2008 BANGOR’S FIRST FRESHERS’ INSIDE: Freshers’ BALL IS FINALLY HERE! 08 pull-out his year will see the rst ever Freshers’ Ball at Bangor University and it’s going to be big! Organised guide byT your very own Students’ Union, Time and Academi will be as you’ve never seen them before. For this night only, the Union’s venues are going to be transformed! e SU are Safe-sex determined that attendees won’t feel that it’s simply ‘another’ night in Bangor and so they’ve pulled all the stops out to deck out special the venue with various themed areas… ey’ll be a vibrant and exciting Carni- val atmosphere in Academi and the adja- cent Cocktail Lounge. Bands abani and Bandabacana bands will keep you groov- ing away in Academi, supported by resi- Alcohol dent Racubah DJs, whilst Byd Mawr takes the lead on some funky global beats in the Cocktail Lounge. Adventure Time, the main arena, plays host to one of the most “hotly-tipped groups in Brit- ain”*, e Ryes, who have already attracted big name fans such as Jo Whiley and Alex Zane! Later on, Time will be going ‘Disco’ and taking us back to the days of tight jeans and big hair: Abba Gold will be taking cen- Loads tre stage! ese acts and more will be sup- ported by none other than resident DJ Karl- of new ton Rowley bringing you some of the best club anthems. e Curved Lounge is to be transformed columnists into the Dance Arena – a pulsating and en- ergetic space where dance and house music DJs will be the order of the night. UV lights and break-dancers included! Last, but not least, there is e Basement – the brand spanking new bar (see page 4 for more info on this particular venue) Music, fi lm which will be boasting ‘interactivity’ and other novelties and a chance to zone out from the crowds above. and book Dress code is smart-casual, so you’ll not have to blow all that loan money on a new reviews out t just yet. We’re told you can be as fancy as you want but if you’d rather just turn up in your jeans, then go for it. However, the rule of no sportswear does apply, so the Converse are going to have to stay at home. As for food, the Students’ Union is ... and tons promising us a vareity from pork loin baps to the usual burgers and chips for the less thing never seen before on this scale at Ban- of September and rumours are, they’re sell- gor students have never seen before and adventurous (vegetarian options too!). gor University. e process is rather com- ing out fast! ey’re available exclusively to Seren will be there reporting every detail! more ace One of the most interesting aspects of plex, but it’s nice to see the Union nally Freshers until the 22nd of September and the Freshers’ Ball organisation this year is arriving in the 21st Century! then anyone can get their hands on them! the introduction of e-ticket buying, some- Tickets have been on sale since the 12th One thing’s for sure, it’ll be a night Ban- Patrick Stephens stuff NEUADD WILLIS STUDENT ACCOMMODATION Luxury student Our rooms are ROOMS STILL AVAILABLE booking up accommodation Just call into our offi ce opposite Lidl car park very fast... situated within or call us on: 01248 371450 (offi ce hours) or so don’t miss out! 07841 369249 (evenings and weekends). walking distance of You can also email us at: Bangor University [email protected] 2 Freshers’ Issue 2008 Editorial www.seren.bangor.ac.uk Greetings... Freshers’ Issue 2008 ello one and all, welcome to Seren’s Freshers’ Contributors: Hextravaganza! We have got Patrick Stephens ten tons of amazingness inside for Iain Dalton you all to absorb and appreciate. Emily Collins The main focus of this issue is to Mark Jessett really entice you to get involved with the making of this beautiful Liz Stephens newspaper… and I don’t just Joe Firth mean Freshers, all other years Tom Hecht are included in this appeal! I must John Jackson apologise for the usage of the Spencer George following rather trite phrase, but it is 4.30 am and we’ve not fi nished Rob Samuel the paper yet; Seren is run by Matt McCullagh students, for students and without Matt Ison students there is really nothing Tom Durkin to report. Basically, we need you, Lee Howson and it’ll cost you nothing. So, get involved! You’ve (hopefully) seen Robert Mann our Facebook profi le by now, we’re Alex Farley making it as easy as possible, you Helen Aldred don’t even have to log out of your Abbey-Jay Wilson favourite social networking site to get in touch with us! What more Proof reading: could you want?! Spencer George Alright, I’ll stop nagging you now; Tom Hecht I hope you’ve got the message. As you may have noticed on the front of this issue, Seren is offi cially a credit crunch free-zone. This ludicrous phrase has become the bain of my life (and probably yours) this summer and as such I’ve Suppliment made our sub-editors remove all mention of it from their articles. Hurrah! I’ve begun to notice that the phrase itself dedication: doesn’t actually mean anything anymore. Anyway, we students are used to living without our organic beef, so I’m sure we’ll survive. Next time it’s raining though remember: it’s because of the credit crunch. to Emma Dodd I fully expect you to be reading this from the comfort of your cosy new hall / house. If you’re a Fresher, then this paper has been hand delivered to you by those lovely Welcome Week volunteers, so when you see them make sure you clap. Could you imagine what your life would be like without them? You’d not have a Seren to read and you’d feel empty inside, I can promise you that much. I’ve not really much else to say other than I hope Freshers’ Week is thoroughly enjoyed by all and I want to see you at our Serendipity stall... there are free sweets, so you’ve no excuse. Much love, Jo Caulfi eld (the one on the right) Seren is Bangor University’s monthy student newspaper. TEAM SEREN We have editorial independence from both Bangor BRINGING NEWS TO YOUR CRIB. University and Bangor Students’ Union. Seren is written Editor Jo Caulfi eld by students for students and we’d love you students to News Stephen Davies get involved! Features Bianca Murray Send an email to the editor ([email protected]. Music Emma Dixon ac.uk)or to a relevant sub-editor (sub-editor’s-title@ Film Mark Varley seren.bangor.ac.uk). The other option is to add us on Facebook and get in touch! Books Emma McColl Sports Will Varley The next issue of Seren goes to print on 23rd of October; Design Dan Turner the deadline for submissions is 20th October. Much love, peace out. 3 Freshers’ Issue 08 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk NEWS Students’ Union logo gets an overhaul his year sees the introduction of a new logo for our Students’ Union. After market research carried out before the summer Tbreak concluded that the ‘U’ logo was unpopular, it was clear a new design was needed. Seren spoke to Deputy President Spencer George and asked him what he thought the new logo could bring to the SU: “The new logo is one of a few communication tools at our disposal to help us deliver the message that we want to get across to students. The old logo was perceived by many as boring, bland and uninspiring. Instead we wanted a recognisable brand, one that students would immediately be able to identify as the students’ union logo. We also thought it was important that the logo represents democracy, equality and unity. We’ve worked on several designs over the last four months and after seeking student opinion, the ‘dragons’ tail’ option was by far and away the most popular choice.” He added, “We feel that the image is more powerful than the previous incarnation and we hope it will help us deliver a consistent message about why we exist, what we stand for and what we can provide for the students.” Companies and Organisations often re-brand to spruce up their image, which can become quickly outdated in a fast moving world. An old logo is the fashion equivalent to someone wearing platform boots today. Nevertheless, re-branding can be dangerous in the cut throat consumer world. Take a recent example of the ubiquitous social networking site Facebook. The company has launched a ‘new look layout’, yet there are already established groups opposing the changes. The group ‘One million against the new Facebook layout’ in fact has well over a million members. Yet there have been instances of successful new logos. The Conservative party scrapped it’s old torch logo in favour of a blue and green tree. Two years on and the party are in a far better position in the polls. Of course there may well have been other factors to explain their success, but that’s another story for another time... Here’s hoping then, that the new SU logo is the beginning of an exciting time for the union itself.