Here at qmunicate we’ve assembled all of the Freshers’ teams representing the Queen Margaret Union. Meet the helpers and hear all about their favourite moments from Freshers’ so far. They’ll be on hand helping you get settled into Glasgow whilst making sure you have the best time this week and that you get home safe at the end of the night.
To kick off Freshers’ Week, we headed down to Qudos on Friday night to meet some of the freshers at the International Ceilidh. We got talking to them about their time in Glasgow so far, what they miss about home, and what they’re looking forward to this week and over the next year (mostly the absence of constant rain).
Freshers’ week has become a rite of passage for students – almost as important as actually starting university and arguably more so. It’s a week of non-stop chaos, with events on all corners of campus. This year, as we do every year, the Queen Margaret Union will aim to raise as much money as possible for our chosen charity: this Freshers’ week, it’s the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH).
I think I might have mentioned this before, but in case it’s never come up, over the last year I’ve been helping out at and running a poetry open mic in the fine establishment that is the QMU.
On Monday, I relinquish my dictatorial grip on Aloud, the QMU’s literary spoken word night, and go back to being that punter who shows up every month to shout into the mic.
Isabella Elder Feminist Society, QMU, 11th March 2016
Vagina. Vagina. Vagina.
It’s a word a lot of people cringe away from- and not really one you’re used to hearing very often during performance. And, as the title might subtly suggest, it’s a word you will hear very, very often throughout this particular play.
It’s a breath of fresh air! In fact, I propose that all plays throw “vagina” into the script once in a while, just to keep us on our toes.
The Vagina Monologues opens with a group of women who take it in turns to perform their particular monologue. What about? Well, their vaginas. And, of course, these are far from your typical monologues.One of the most memorable lines for me was “It’s gone! I’ve lost my clitoris! I shouldn’t have worn it swimming!” (Someone, please be my hero and use that excuse next time you’ve forgotten an essay deadline.)
Described as “a celebration of female sexuality”, The Vagina Monologues highlights a range of different women’s experiences, from the joyful and liberating to the harrowing. One minute, you’ll be grinning in triumph at the monologue by ‘The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy’, and then sobering at another woman’s fury towards rape culture. The performance by the whole cast was pitched well in tone- enthusiastically encouraging audience interaction, getting great laughs, but also speaking passionately from the heart. After all, the play acts as another significant window into how women live and love in the world. It is hugely important for these honest stories about women to continue being told.
All proceeds from the performance went towards Rape Crisis Glasgow. As The Vagina Monologues ended, awareness was brought to the “Let’s Talk: A Campaign Against Sexual Violence on Campus” petition. The campaign’s aim is to amend Glasgow University’s student code of conduct to prohibit sexual violence. This includes introducing Sensitivity Training for all student body execs, and Sexual Violence Training for Freshers’ Helpers. You can sign the petition here.
[Jenna Burns – @Jenna_221b]
Unashamedly rock n’ roll, Glasgow’s Tijuana Bibles bring an explosive energy to their music, moving on from their bluesy 2013 Wild River EP and venturing into a more aggressive style with Ghost / Dance / Movement, released last year. Drawing heavily from the emerging rock n’ roll style prevalent in the 1950s US as well as more recent US blues rock bands such as The Black Keys and Cage the Elephant, Tijuana Bibles embody that very specific, adolescent brand of rebellious spirit better than any other local band. This comes across especially well in their music videos, which use film reel effects and excerpts from Golden Age-era Hollywood films to create a style anachronistic of American culture at that time.
