The first pub quiz of the year took place on Monday 5^th of October. A total of 9 teams competed for the grand prize of 2 high quality bottles of port. The questions were a good mix of genuine knowledge, random trivia and some Cambridge questions just to test whether the freshers have been paying attention during the tours ! After a hard-fought contest the team ‘Ennea’ (greek for nine, the number of team members) won with only a point’s difference. Many thanks to Charles Rees for organising and serving as the quizmaster. 

Speed meeting promised to be a great night, and it truly exceeded
expectations! Freshers were randomly split into 9 groups and apart from
meeting each other, people also took part in a number of games devised by
the organisers. A definite highlight was the giraffe-making contest that
produced some great artworks but in the end rewarded ingenuity. Following
this DJ Tim kept the music playing until midnight to cap off ah night of new
acquaintances and great fun. Many thanks to Nush Patchava and Paul Hurst for
organising the event.

By Kyriacos Mouyis

Report by Majid Al-Sadoon

One could not have hoped for better weather last Sunday; the sky was clear, the sun was warm, and there was a slight but refreshing breeze. It was warm enough for comfort but cool enough so as not to worry too much about over-heating; perfect weather for running!

The town was literally buzzing with runners. Some could be seen warming up a hours before the race and as the race time approached, hundreds of runners poured out of Cambridge's alleyways and roads to congregate at the starting line on the backs. Around 2500 runners took part in the race. Some were veteran runners hoping to leave their mark; some were amateurs doing it just for fun; there were runners dressed as waiters, batmans, scooby doos, and even a moose; but every one seemed in high spirits for the event.

Smoking in Wolfson

In July of this year, students were surveyed for their views on smoking in Wolfson, and the results were published online and can be found here.  Following this survey, and further discussion within the college, a way forward has been agreed.  The Bursar has set this out below.

"The recent smoking survey was very helpful and clarified two things in particular: (1) that the current designated smoking areas alongside the Club Room are unpopular with the majority, for reasons of both smoke and noise; and (2) the location of smoking areas in general in the College is problematic and there are no obvious solutions.

One thing is clear, namely that it is not appropriate to have designated smoking areas in residential courts, so it is intended to close the two smoking areas in the East and West Courts (the ones along the sides of the Club Room), for the benefit of the residents in A, B, C, D, E, F, G, J, K, L, M, N, O and P who face into those courts, as well as for the benefit of those in the Club Room and those working in the Porters' Lodge, both of which rooms suffer from second-hand smoke.

In addition to the existing designated smoking areas by the Lee Hall and between R and S, it is proposed that a new designated smoking area will be set up on the gravelled area between the Gym and Fuchs House. Initially this would not be covered, so would be more for use in fine weather, but a new covered area could be considered in due course.

It is recognised that there is no one solution that will suit all members of the College, resident or non-resident, but tackling the problems of noise and smoke in the East and West Courts is a priority, hence the intention of closing these two smoking areas as a first step."

This has been hosted on the WCSA website so that you can let your comments be known if you wish - please use the box below.

Attending a Wolfson Howler Stand-up night, I should imagine, is very much like swimming with sharks. A bizarre comparison, one may think. Bold, even. Outright wrong and blatantly exaggerated, other, more critical readers, may feel. To an extent, yes, this is true. However, much like a saunter with the razor-toothed ocean dwellers, a night at the Howler is a wonderful and gleeful experience.... yet, it is very much done at your own risk.

Sit at the front. You'll soon find out.