Being a fresher at Warwick means that you will get well acquainted with the infamous Copper Rooms in the SU building. Apart from occasional one-time specials, the Copper Rooms host three regular club nights, each having a very distinct character. Regardless of the numerous references to alcohol in the article, drinking is not compulsory.

POP!

Pop is arguably the only occasion where you can freely unleash your inner pop demon without having to worry about being judged

Its subtitle is ‘midweek mayhem’ for a reason. Warwick and Pop! are two sides of the same coin and you can’t really claim you have had the full Warwick experience if you haven’t been to Pop! at least once – it even attracts students from other universities that come to visit their friends and often sells out weeks before. Taking place every Wednesday, it is the only weekly event in the SU and many follow it with ritualistic loyalty. It is such a special event that there even is a night bus service so that students living off-campus can go back after it. The night kicks off at 7PM with so-called circling, whereby you drink insane amounts of Warwick’s very own Purple with your society friends, dressed fancily. The doors to Pop! open at 10PM and DJ Disco Dave fills the room with the cheesiest music to ever have existed. Basically, it’s all about ‘80s,’90s, and early ‘00s hits. Students dressed in all kinds of thematic attire mingle as Taylor Swift, Robbie Williams, the Spice Girls, and Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up set a happy party mood, climaxing when The Killers’ Mr Brightside, Pop!’s iconic anthem, comes on, so make sure you know the lyrics to sing at the top of your lungs just like everyone else. The night ends at 2AM with a few ballads to help you wind down. Pop! is arguably the only occasion where you can freely unleash your inner pop demon without having to worry about being judged – it’s one of those things that you pretend never happened the next morning, at least until next Wednesday comes.

Crash

You shouldn’t be surprised the Copper Rooms are transformed into a giant mosh pit, but if mosh pits are not your thing, worry not, it doesn’t mean you must get involved

Crash is very popular with rock music lovers and it is a very different night out in that it only targets a very specific musical audience, so the people who do go, really love the music and the mood of a rock party. It takes place on two Saturdays each term and its peculiarity is that you won’t hear the same songs you have already heard in previous Crash nights: only all-time favourites come on a second time in the year’s final Crash event in June. The music covers every taste within the wider rock range: from classic tunes (eg. Zeppelin), to harder rock like Chop Suey and Du Hast, to grunge like Smells Like Teen Spirit, to contemporary alternative rock (eg. Muse). Rock Society is obviously at ease and makes sure that everyone else is too: they pre-drink in a very friendly setting and help you get to know each other better. You shouldn’t be surprised the Copper Rooms are transformed into a giant mosh pit, but if mosh pits are not your thing, worry not, it doesn’t mean you must get involved. However, if you do and fall on the ground, the rest of the participants will take care of you, regardless of how intense it is. When you wake up the next morning, your ears may still be ringing but I can guarantee you will be going online to buy a ticket for the next Crash.

Skool Dayz

…the atmosphere will take you back to your first WKDs, nights out with your friends, and other (most probably embarrassing) Year 10 memories

Skool Dayz is the third regular event that the SU holds. Like Crash, it takes place on Saturdays twice a term and, like Pop!, some societies circle before the event. What is special about it is that it has a school uniform dress code. You don’t necessarily have to follow it or bring your school uniform to uni, anything that resembles Britney’s look in ‘…Baby One More Time’ will work. If, like me, you come from a country where uniforms are not a thing, you may feel shocked, alienated, or even repulsed by the uniformity (see what I did there?). If you’re British, the atmosphere will take you back to your first WKDs, nights out with your friends, and other (most probably embarrassing) Year 10 memories. The music contributes to this feeling: you will hear the greatest hits of your school days (Justin Bieber, Pitbull, and JLo included), but also of your older cousins’ and of your parents’ school days. It could be compared to the music played at Pop, but in this case there is a somewhat greater emphasis on late ‘00s and early ‘10s songs and they don’t play exclusively pop music, while there is also a room dedicated to the disco songs that our parents danced to in the ‘80s. Skool Dayz brings together a little bit of everything, and this is what makes it so exciting, loved, and sold out.