Bring on semester one

Today I had my first couple of lectures of the new semester and so far I’m very happy with my module choices! Once you get to your third year studying for BSc Biology you gain a lot of freedom in terms of what modules you can choose to study, which allows you to really focus on the areas which you’re most passionate and interested about. The lectures I had were for an Applied Ecology module which will be covering many of the topics and environmental issues I’m most interested in, including food and energy security, land and resource management and ecosystem services. I’m keen to see what is in store in terms of the rest of my modules. Even though the start of lectures in a way marks the start of the term, I kind of feel like university started a while ago, since I’ve already been quite busy beginning work on my third year project, as well as making preparations for last week’s Bunfight in order to introduce the Green Action Society to the new (and current) students looking to get involved.

As you may already know if you’ve read some of my previous blog posts, I am now the President of the Green Action Society. Basically, the society’s aim is to increase awareness about a variety of environmental issues. We do this through bringing in guest speakers to share their knowledge about the topic and through film showings. This year we’re also going to try and continue with a fossil free campaign the previous committee started last year and hopefully make it even bigger this year by collaborating with other societies with similar goals.

In addition to meeting a lot of new students eager to join Green Action at the Bunfight, we also spoke to a number of other societies who are interested in collaborating and putting on some bigger events. This made the day even better than what I expected, so I’m excited to see what we can achieve this year. All in all I’d say the Bunfight was very successful and I had a great day!

Me and my friend who helped out for the day at our lovely Green Action stall at the Bunfight. 

One of the perks of being on a committee was getting a pass to cut the queues, so in the middle of the day I got to take a quick break from the Green Action stall and go and check out the other societies. Like I’ve mentioned before, I really recommend getting involved with as many societies as you have time for at Southampton, and trying out as many of the societies as you can seeing as most of them offer free taster sessions.

This year my friend and I were looking to try something new, so we’ve been to a number of the different Martial Arts taster sessions, as well as Archery and even a Pole Fitness taster session! Last year, I tried Wakeboarding and Tennis Club amongst other things. As you can see there’s quite a variety there so don’t be afraid to try something new. I also plan on going to a few more taster sessions during this coming week and while I know I already have a lot on my plate (and am therefore unlikely to be able to commit to any more societies) it’s still fun to attend the tasters and try something new.

Lastly, here’s a photo of the new SUSU Activities Room I mentioned in my previous post to show you all. Of course, it looks more exciting when there’s actually people in there practicing - but this gives you an idea of where we practice. There is also the Multipurpose Studio right below the Activities Room which looks very similar and is where most of the dance classes are held. I think it’s great that we have so many different facilities to support the different clubs and societies at the University.

While attending the tasters for the different Martial Arts clubs, many of them were held in the Martial Arts Room which was decked out in padding covering the walls and floors - so while we were attempting to do a number of moves that looked and sounded quite painful they actually didn’t hurt at all!

Until next time,

Kristin