www.thecourieronline.co.uk Monday 8 July 2013 Issue 1273 Free
GRADUATION SPECIAL EDITION
Newcastle University’s award-winning student newspaper
Est. 1948
Congratulations, Class of 2013
Photography: Zander Wilson
By George Sandeman Editor Elect This is the first day of the rest of your life. I suppose you could say that every morning when you wakeup and it would still be true... but the point here is that, as you read this special edition of The Courier which looks back at the highlights of this past year, today signifies the end of the student chapter of your life. No more raucous Wednesday sports socials, no more communal hangovers in the flat and no more proclamations that “you’ll never drink again” whilst knowing fully that you will be getting out your smoothest dance moves again at CCTV the following weekend. It’s now no longer acceptable to be fuelled only by caffeine and fast food or to pretend that surfing Facebook counts as actual work. It’s the end of waiting awkwardly outside seminars, rushing to the library for the best revision seats during exam period and hanging out endlessly on Osborne Road. You and 4,000 other students will be graduating in front of proud family and friends. This is the culmination of three years of your life, three years that will be forever distinct from any postgradu-
ate study or employment you go on to do. Never again will you experience the über-friendly first few weeks of freshers’ year, the fancy dress nights out where people actually put in loads of effort to look like a Smurf or the satisfaction that only comes after pulling a mammoth all-nighter in the Robinson Library.
it all together. You might be embarking upon your professional career as you start to compile your life’s work and make your mark on the society you live in. It’s clear from events such as the NCL+ Awards, an annual ceremony that recognises extra-curricular student achievement, that so many of our students
Graduates of Newcastle University are a special breed, bound by the unique bond of being shaped and formed as a young adult on the banks of the river Tyne in this glorious city But don’t worry, for generations of students have stood under the arches or on the quad feeling exactly the same. It’s easy to look back on the last three years and longingly reminisce about the times you’ve had, but in doing so you lose sight of all the prospects and possibilities the future has in store. By now you will have clicked with a few people who you know will be life-long friends, and only you know all those embarrassing stories just perfect to bust out at their wedding. Whether it be losing their dignity in dingy nightclubs, disgusting living habits or unbelievable moments of stupidity you thought weren’t possible, you’ve been through
get involved in worthwhile endeavours outside of academia, and that they are capable of magnificent feats. Graduates of Newcastle University are a special breed and, whilst they go on to do a vast array of different things once they walk out of Kings Hall, they are bound by the unique bond of being shaped and formed as a young adult on the banks of the River Tyne in this glorious city. Kings Hall is the grand setting in which you’ll receive your well-earned parchment from the Vice-Chancellor whilst your family watches on in a building that first opened its doors in 1888. Whether you’ve taken the trusty suit for a dry
clean or splashed out on a new dress you’ll be looking sharp alongside your fellow graduates, and all should work out perfectly as you go up on stage to collect your degree. That is, providing you’ve made the mandatory prayer to the graduation gods that you don’t trip as you walk up the always treacherous stage stairs. Although traditiaonally a graduation staple, don’t expect to see any mortar boards on show - legend has it that when Newcastle became an independent university in 1963, students celebrated by throwing the traditional headwear into the Tyne and the University has been conducting graduating ceremonies without them ever since. So as your proud parents think about whereabouts on the mantelpiece your beaming graduation picture is going to sit, take pride and take heart from your years at Newcastle University and remember: today is the first day of the rest of your life. A life uncharted and unmapped, with plenty of room for the twists and turns that will undoubtedly come your way. But remember you are, and always will be, a graduate of Newcastle University and you are armed with the friends and experiences only this place could give you. So, from everybody here at The Courier, we wish you all the very best of luck for the future and in all the things that you do.