News Archive November 2009

ROME VISIT

A slideshow of the recent pilgrimage to Rome.



REMEMBERANCE ASSEMBLY



St. Mary’s Chaplaincy held an assembly on the subject of remembrance on 11 November. Instead of simply describing what happened during the wars in the form of a history lesson, the assembly asked the question: “What were the wars fought for?”

In keeping with the Chaplaincy’s “Faith in Action” projects, the assembly discussed the sacrifice of the fallen and the value of democracy in Britain. The aim was to encourage a greater sense of civic and political responsibility, showing how the democracy that the war generations fought to preserve in the face of dictatorship should be protected and how this could be achieved. The College believes that it is important that students recognise the debt they owe to their grandparents’ generation.

DEBATING SOCIETY VICTORY

 

Following on from huge success in previous years, St. Mary’s Debating Society won November’s Debating Matters local final. The College was involved in two debates: a semi-final where Salma Iqbal and Matthew Jeffries successfully argued against the proposition “Competitive boxing is beneficial for young people”; and the final in which Natalie Nicholas and Joseph Duffield were judged to have convincingly argued that “Physician-assisted suicide should not remain illegal.”

Natalie said: “Debating is a key part of my student life. It teaches ways to talk to people and how to discuss issues without being aggressive! It has assisted me in my studies because it has developed so many relevant skills such as research and analysis. It really is a life skill.”

The College will now appear in the North-Eastern round of the competition, to be held in the Spring of 2010.



STUDENT PRESIDENTS 2009/2010

Salma Iqbal and Faye Buckton, pictured above, have been elected joint Student Presidents for the academic year 2009/10. This is their message to the students:



‘We would like to start by thanking our fellow students for voting for us and supporting us throughout the elections. As joint student presidents, we feel it our responsibility to ensure that we listen to the students and try to change the College so that it will be a better educational establishment while catering for the needs of the students.

We are working on two ventures at the moment: a College Christmas party and a source of music for the canteen. In the near future we also hope to cater for a different number of dietary needs in the canteen as well as arranging a College trip.

The College is excellent to be a part of and offers something for everybody. We feel honoured to be representing St Mary’s College and hope that we can re-pay our supporters in the near future.’