Issue 43 - University of Surrey's Student Union

34 SOCIETIES
The Stag | 6 th March 2012 societies@thestagsurrey.co.uk
A successful month for PENsoc
By Tom Goulding, Deputy Editor
February has been a busy month for Surrey
PEN. From our postcard campaign to
themed cupcakes, we have been working
hard to promote the importance of free
speech across campus. Elsewhere, the English
Department has successfully launched its
Censorship & Freedom module, proving that
efforts to engage with political expression
aren’t just important for Surrey students, but
Surrey lecturers too.
We kick started the month at Refreshers
Fayre, where a dedicated team of helpers
were on hand to distribute flyers, literature
and bribe new members with the promise
of chocolate. Our competition to finish the
sentence ‘The worst part of censorship is...’
was also a popular addition; the winning
suggestion ‘that it gives way to ignorance’
was thought provoking, sincere and
deserving of first prize. To top it all off, the
day’s proceedings were of course supervised
in ironic silence by our new mascot: Sylvia
the Pink Free Speech Bear.
This was quickly followed by the
Do>More Volunteering Exhibition, where
we encouraged people to write postcards
to Liu Xiaobo, a Nobel Peace Prize winning
literary critic and humans right activist who
is currently being detained due to his work
calling for fair political reform in China.
The importance of writing postcards is to
show appreciation and support for those
without a voice, reminding them that they
are not alone and have support throughout
the world. Our attempt to demonstrate this
at the exhibition was not only successful, but
also crucial in showing Liu Xiaobo’s efforts
have not been in vain.
Finally, the iExhibition proved to be
a great conclusion to the month’s events,
with our team baking cakes, painting faces
and providing more information on how to
get involved. “The iExhibition was a great
experience for the society”, said PENsoc
President Shaun Millis, “We had a lot of
support from students of all nationalities
and it was great to see so many people having
their faces painted in support of free speech
throughout the world.”
With even more activities planned for
March, including an afternoon with English
PEN guest speaker Rob Sharp, there hasn’t
been a better time to join Surrey PEN.
To find out more, please contact ussu.englishpen@surrey.ac.uk, or join as a member at Facebook.com/SurreyEnglishPEN
Newly formed Postgraduate Society
Calling all Postgrads! A newly formed postgraduate society
has been formed to act as a central hub for the postgraduate
community at Surrey.
The society has been set up to provide a forum where
postgraduate students can voice issues regarding all aspects of
University life and to also provide a central point for Masters
and PhD students from all disciplines to meet and socialise
together.
We will be holding regular meetings and as a committee it
would be great to hear from fellow postgraduates about what
you’d like to see the society doing in the future. Please join
our facebook group or email the committee (details below) to
join the discussion and find out when we’re meeting and what
events we’re running.
We very much look forward to meeting you in the weeks
ahead.
The Postgraduate Society Committee
Email: ussu.pgs@surrey.ac.uk
Facebook group “Surrey Postgraduate Society”: http://
www.facebook.com/groups/374956882534015/