Elsewhere at Warwick – 5/3/17

This week’s Elsewhere at Warwick includes stories on Pancake Day, Mental Health Awareness Week, the largest student-run TEDx event in Europe, a poetry slam competition and Go Green Week.

Pancake Day at Warwick
A number of events took place across campus on 28 February to mark Shrove Tuesday. SU food outlets prepared special treats for the occasion, with Curiositea providing a special menu and The Bread Oven serving Nutella and Banana Half Baguettes for the entire week. Student Accommodation Residential Teams provided kitchens with ingredients for homemade pancakes, so those in on-campus accommodation were able to make their own, whilst the Chaplaincy also hosted an event with free pancakes at lunchtime, stating that they served: “well over 300 pancakes in the end to about 250 people”.

Warwick SU and Mind Aware host Mental Health Awareness Week
Mental Health Awareness Week, organised by Warwick SU in association with Warwick Mind Aware, took place in Week 8. Throughout the week, the SU hosted a variety of events throughout campus, ranging from talks to workshops on wellbeing to a curry night in Leamington. The aim of the week is to promote awareness, let students know that they are not alone and should reach out as help is available if they need it.

Breaking Boundaries – Largest student-run TEDx in Europe takes place at Warwick
TEDxWarwick’s main event, called ‘Breaking Boundaries’, took place on Saturday 4 March in the Arts Centre. With 16 speakers from all over the world and hundreds of participants, it is the largest student-run event of its sort in Europe. Iulia Bucur, first-year PAIS student and member of the organising team, attributed the organisation of the event to: “The belief of passionate students that ideas can truly change attitudes, lives, and, ultimately, the world.”

Poetry Slam competition nears finale
The first Poetry Slam competition, held by Warwick society Shooting from the Lip, is nearing its conclusion with only one heat left before the final next term. This week’s heat ended with Grace Kelsey, a first-year student of Sociology and Global Sustainable Development, winning after three rounds of poems had been performed to the audience. Grace said that although she felt a bit out of place as a “newbie” and described the event’s layout as “brutal”, she enjoyed it and added: “the crowd was warm and lovely.”

Warwick prepares for Go Green Week
Sustainability at Warwick has joined forces with Coventry University and Coventry City Council to deliver Go Green Week from 6 to 12 March, which they describe as: “the biggest… our region has ever seen.” Events are taking place throughout the week both on campus and in Coventry to promote sustainability and environmental protection. Events include tree planting, a pub quiz a series of lectures on topics such as sustainable cities, and a Model UN summit as well as other activities. A number of other societies, such as Warwick Volunteers, are also taking part.