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Features
A pint-sized interview with the Pub Society pub
Ani O’Neill Print Editor
UniVerse met with Andrew Seaman of the Hertfordshire Students’ Union Pub Society to find out a bit about what they’ve been up to this year. UniVerse: Tell bit about the
us
a society
Andrew: We formed the society because we saw a lack of “pub culture” at the University. So we wanted to create a social group for people who prefer pubs to clubs. We currently have 12 members but we need 15! The more the merrier at a pub! Plus, with more members there’s more room to do bigger and better things (a trip to Belgium perhaps.) U: What do you do for socials? A: Every two weeks we go to a different pub - sometimes there’s
U: to
bands.
U: What do you still want to achieve?
What have you managed achieve as a society?
A: Next year we hope to have become more established at the University, and to gain more members as well as organise a trip to Europe for our members as well as attend more beer festivals around the country.
quizzes
and
live
A: We were able to get a local brewery’s ale to be sold at the EleHouse because we wanted better real ale for our society members. We also have 177 likes on Facebook which is great too. U: join
Why
should your
students society?
A: It’s something different than the average night out to the Forum or EleHouse. We aim to visit historical English pubs that are interesting and which give us the chance to socialise in a placid manner, and to enjoy the atmosphere around us. We recently visited a pub that is older than America! We want our members to enjoy pub culture in a stimulating, safe environment where we can make friends the old fashioned way. By talking over a pint!
U: What’s the being in the
best Pub
part of Society?
A: The best bit about being a part of the society has to be what we do best: going to pubs! We have a lot of fun. We’re planning to host our own beer festival at the University as well as an end of year pub in St. Albans. Other than that, we have many more pub visits and other beer festivals to attend around Hertfordshire. To find out more, visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/uhpubsociety
Active Students funding to be stopped, but you can help save it! “We have been trying to gather information highlighting why people enjoy it but also, for those who do not participate, why they don’t, and how we will help them to start participating to better their lifestyle!”
Charlotte Green Contributor
As you all know, Active Students is a project providing free sport and dance sessions for UH students. Since launching in 2011, it has received £369,000 by Sport England who funds it - the single highest amount of funding in the country from Sport England’s ‘Active Universities’ themed £10 million funding round.
To have your say and save Active Students all you need to do is fill out a quick survey rating the sessions and why you go or why you don’t! You can also provide any suggestions for improvement or sessions you’d like to see added. If that’s not enough reason, there’s a 16GB iPad up for grabs too.
However, Active Students could be coming to a close after this year as funding will be stopping. It’s not all bad news though as in January, Sport England announced a new funding pot of £15m – the University Sport Activation Fund. We are eligible to apply but it must be used to fund new activity and we do have some funding from the University. But to make sure Active Students
definitely continues, we need to hear your thoughts on the project! “We have to create a document
for Sport England showing why we should be given funding to keep the project running” says Senior Activator, Kirsty Feasey.
However, if you haven’t experienced Active Students yet then there’s still time to get involved. There are plenty of sessions on offer, whether it’s relieving some stress as Boxercise or a fun game of Basketball. Don’t forget there’s no sign up, commitment or cost! Toni Stone, a second year student who has taken part in Volleyball, Boxercise and
Burlesque Fitness says she’ll be filling out the survey; “I really like the sessions Active Students provide so I hope it continues to next year. I’ll be spreading the word and hoping I win that iPad!” Project Manager Rhian Crawford says, “Active Students attracts over 800 students each week to its 75 hours of sessions – we want to build on this and offer new and exciting activities, enticing those students who aren’t sporty to move more, more often. We know Active Students has a positive impact on student life and we want others to experience this too!” So, what are you waiting for? To find out more about Active Students then visit the website at activestudents. co.uk, or alternatively you can keep updated through the Facebook and Twitter pages. On these pages you will find the link to the survey or visit surveymonkey.com/s/6F25HBV.