Calling all students! This is your chance to do something worthwhile, improve your CV, earn money and have fun chatting to former students of Trinity Hall.

In March/April 2015, Trinity Hall will hold its eleventh telephone campaign.  The purpose of this campaign is twofold: to enhance communication and further develop relationships between the College and its alumni and to raise money for the Trinity Hall Fund.  Members enjoy hearing what’s happening in College – particularly from a current student’s perspective – and this is an important opportunity for you to help build closer links between Trinity Hall and our alumni.

All alumni whom we intend to call will receive a letter from the Master in advance, letting them know that a current student will be calling to update them on Trinity Hall’s news and forthcoming events, to ask for feedback and to seek support for Trinity Hall. Everyone will be given the opportunity to opt-out if they do not wish to receive a phone call.

To find out more and apply, please go here.

You should, by now, have received an email from the bursar containing details of end of term arrangements. Here’s the temporal highlights, for quick reference.

Please note this isn’t a replacement for reading the actual document. Terms and conditions apply. Not valid with any other offers. 

Important dates

• Full Term ends: Friday 5 December
• Vehicular Access Permit Day (Term Day): Saturday 6 December (for leaving Central Site)
• Entitlement to residence ends: 10.00am Friday 12 December
• Entitlement to residence begins: 2.00pm Thursday 8 January
• Vehicular Access Permit Day (Term Day): Saturday 10 January (for returning to Central Site)
• Full Term begins: Tuesday 13 January

Cafeteria

• Last Meal Michaelmas: Lunch in Hall 12.30–1.15pm, Fri 12th December
• First Meal Lent: Cafeteria in Hall, 6 – 6.30pm, Friday, 9th January

Finally, congratulations to our newly elected Freps, and a fond farewell to the old guard! They’ve got big boots to fill, but we’re sure they’re up to the job.

This term’s open meeting will be held in the Terrace Room at 6.45pm on Sunday 16th November.

If you have an issue to raise or something you want the JCR to discuss, submit a motion to Solene (sajf2 or pigeon hole SAJ Fercocq) by 6.45pm Saturday 15th November. If you have a burning issue let her or Ellen (eej24) know in good time and they can help you form this into a motion and get it added to the agenda.

The open meeting will be followed by Frep Hustings.

Here’s a quick message from James, the president of the film society:

Thanks to everyone who signed up to Film Society at the freshers’ fair, and apologies for the late start to proceedings this year, but we now have our first film showing organised!

We will be showing ‘Life of Pi’ in the Leslie Stephen Room in college this Friday (tomorrow). This film is viewed in some quarters as being something of a modern classic, the tale of “a young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.”

It’s sure to be a great watch, we’ll start the film at 7:45pm, though feel free to come down any time from 7:30 onwards. I’ll try to bring some popcorn/snacks but you’re very welcome to bring your own!

Also please do tell your friends if you plan on coming, all are welcome!

Get your thinking caps on, it’s University Challenge time again.

If you’re interested in potentially joining the team, tryouts will be 1-4pm on Saturday, in P seminar room. It’ll take about 20 minutes of your time in the form of (obviously) a quiz — all abilities welcome.

Come along — it’d be great to have a Trinity Hall team to cheer on this year!

If you’d like to be involved but can’t make the tryouts, shoot an email to Charlie O’Neill (co329).

Exciting news — the VIVA Hall of Fame is back for the new year, showcasing a small sample of the veritable smörgåsbord (I just worked out how to do accents on my new laptop) of fantastic costumes that were on display at the weekend.

The Ents timetable has also been posted on the Ents page. There are a couple blanks there that should be updated over the next few weeks. If they’re not, it’s probably my fault.

Michaelmas looms upon us once more, like New Year but with more resolutions and less bubbly. Here are some Useful Dates^® to help you navigate.

• Friday 3rd October: Entitlement to residence begins
• Saturday and Sunday 4th-5th October: Arrival dates for most freshers
• Tuesday 7th October: Full term begins
• Thursday 9th October: Most lectures start, start of week 1 of Michaelmas term
• Friday 5th December: Full term ends
• Friday 12th December (10am): Entitlement to residence ends

If you’re a fresher (or clueless), here’s a quick glossary:

• Entitlement to residence: Time period you rent your college room for. You must move in after it begins and before it ends, unless you’ve got your room over the holidays (this is not available in first year)
• Full term: The time period the university expects you to be in Cambridge for, according to university statutes.
• Michaelmas: Pronounced “mick-uhl-mus”. The first term of the academic year, the other two being the Lent and Easter terms.
• Looms: Devices used to weave cloth.

It’s that time of the year again — come down to the river to cheer on the Tit Hall black and white army as they smash the competition aside. Every day, each division will race in a line and attempt to ‘bump’ the boat in front, whilst avoiding the boats behind. If a boat bumps, it moves up one place in its division, swapping with the boat it bumped.

On Saturday 14th June (the last day), afternoon tea, cakes and biscuits will be available from the Boat House from 12-3. There will be an alumni reception upstairs and downstairs there will be more food and drink.

Racing is Wednesday to Saturday this week. The crews are currently racing at:

• M3 (in division M4): Wed, Thur, Fri 15:15 and Saturday 13:15.
• W2 (in division W3): Wed, Thur, Fri 16:00 and Saturday 14:00.
• M2 (in division M3): Wed, Thur, Fri 16:45 and Saturday 14:45.
• M1 (in division M2): Wed, Thur, Fri 18:15 and Saturday 16:15.
• W1 (in division W1): Wed, Thur, Fri 19:00 and Saturday 17:00.

However the divisions the crews are in and therefore the times they race may alter. Up to date information, including live leaderboards and commentary, as well as loads of other useful information (including an app) are available at the CamFM bumps website.

Allow 15 minutes to cycle or 30 minutes to walk from the Boat House to a prime spectating position. Directions on how to get to the boat house can be found here. A map of the river and course is available here.

Row hall!

First of all: it’ll be fine.

However, if you’re worried about exams (or even if you’re not), then the student advice service has some great pages of advice for before and during exams, and what to do if you experience any extenuating circumstances such as illness.

Remember, there’s a wealth of support both from the college and university, and you should make full use of it if you want it. The college’s own study guide includes some advice on handling exams as well.

As well as all that advice, the JCR’s Easter Term Happy Action Plan (ETHAP) is gathering steam, with free food and drinks, an upcoming BBQ, a much improved range of study areas and weekly yoga to help you de-stress.

Finally, if you’re looking for a soundtrack to your Easter term, here’s my 1000 track playlist of chilled out/happy music. Shove it on shuffle.

Stay happy, stay healthy. JCR love x

CUSU is holding a referendum next week on proposed changes to its constitution. You can vote tomorrow, the 28th of April, at this link. You’ll need a Raven login.

CUSU’s information on the referendum is here, including a list of the changes being proposed.