LUSU’s annual Refreshers Week took place in Week 2. From Monday to Thursday there were events aimed to get students involved in areas they may have missed in both Freshers’ Week and Michaelmas Term as a whole.
On Monday LUSU served hot vegetable pie, “packed with vitamins and seasonal vegetables” and gave students the opportunity to try alternative therapies offered by the Natural Health Care Centre on Campus. Other activities were also offered, such as bird feeder making and a walk through the campus woods where the feeders could be put to use.
Tuesday saw the return of Refreshers Fair where many of the clubs and societies on offer at Lancaster University were on show. The event took place on campus in the Great Hall allowing plenty of space for stalls. Here, students who had missed out or not thought to join societies in Freshers’ Week were given another opportunity to do so.
Wednesday featured a push from LUSU for students to go and take part in the university sport events as spectators. With a special 50th anniversary edition of Roses taking place later this year, LUSU were keen to encourage as many people as possible to attend the day’s sporting events.
At Thursday’s Farmer’s Market LUSU set up stands offering help to enterprising students who otherwise might not know what to do. Ideas included starting up a volunteering project, creating a new club or society, taking a project abroad or anything else students could present. The stalls were available from mid-morning to mid-afternoon in Alexandra Square, allowing students to approach LUSU for assistance at any time.
VP (Activities) Emily Pollitt told SCAN that the events of the week had been a success. Although she admitted that in previous years “sometimes we hadn’t had the numbers we expect” she said that this year LUSU were “really happy with how it has turned out.”
Pollitt went on to emphasise how she thought this year’s Refreshers Fair was better than previous years which “didn’t have the same buzz,” whereas at this year’s Fair “everything seem[ed] really busy.”
Pollitt conceded that some groups and societies hadn’t come to the event, citing the fact that it was late in the year and they already had a large enough number of members. However, she was keen to stress that Refreshers Fair and the week itself gave a good opportunity for “people who missed the boat first time round.”
