UNION OF SOCIETIES AND CLUBS
of his experiences working for the British Foreign Office in Berlin during the Cold War. We are also extremely grateful to the Friends of DC for helping us with grants on numerous occasions to ensure all students have the best experience in the Union of Societies and Clubs. The 2022/23 academic year has seen the Union bounce back from Covid years, with more students attending so- cieties and new societies being created, further expand- ing the subject range. It has been a joy to be involved in this growth and I’d like to pass on my thanks to all the society leaders, volunteers and attendees who have made it possible. Reflections from different society leaders: Climate Change Society Mr Brown It was another fantastic year for Climate Change Society. We hosted a series of guest speakers throughout the year and particularly during Eco Week. It was also fantastic to merge presentations with other societies, such as Geogra- phy, Economics and Aviation. We are extremely proud of the growing community we have on this important agenda and we can’t wait to share out more Climate Change Soci- ety ties with students around the College.
Aviation Society Matthew Wu (Year 13)
Intersectionality has been a big focus for Aviation Society this year. Some of the talks covered equality and equity in the industry, while others were more technical, original and creative, including one in which our members pre- sented their project of creating an ‘Avro Shackleton’ plane model. We will continue to build conversations while mak- ing this a space for aviation enthusiasts to gather, to learn and to discuss.
As Union Secretary this year I’ve been able to oversee not only a host of exciting changes coming to the society system, but also the maintenance of what has always been a really well functioning part of the extra-curricular life at the school writes Hugo Bird (Year 13) in collaboration with Ms Wang
W e kicked off the year with the annual Union Fair. With over 50 society stalls and hundreds of students in the auditorium, it was a fantastic opportunity for everyone to be reintroduced to the variety and vibrancy of the Union societies. From Yu-Gi-Oh to Music Discussion Society, there has been something for everyone – whether the aim was to pursue existing inter- ests or discover a new hobby, new friends or old. Within the year there have been many society events specially coordinated to correlate with Black Histo- ry Month, LGBTQ+ month, DCIAM and International Women’s Day. Collaborations between societies have enriched the College’s celebration of these events by facilitating the cross-pollination of ideas. During Black History Month, we saw African and Caribbean Society work with Junior Doctor’s Society to present a black OA’s experience in medicine, and Aviation Society discuss the contribution of black pioneers in aviation.
Geography Society Sebastian Khoo (Year 12)
Geography Society has gone from strength to strength, with this year’s membership totalling 200+ pupils, making it the largest at Dulwich College. With broad ranges of topics, from Geopolitics with British ex-Diplomats and Climate Change by leaders of European Energy com- panies, along with student-led talks, GeogSoc has it all. We welcome any and all topics and hold multiple quiz- zes, with big prizes for the winners, every term. Not only challenging the academic minds of DC but also bringing relevant and important topics to the forefront, GeogSoc – every Friday in S102 – is a non-negotiable event. Chinese Society Mr Suddaby Chinese Society has held a series of excellent sessions so far this year. Subjects have ranged from the Cultural Revolution, to LGBTQ+ rights in China, to beginners’ Cantonese.
Queer Soc have had talks on all manner of topics from drag to sexuality in na- ture this year. They have shared thoughts and ideas through workshops, marked LGBT+ History Month and are currently preparing to march in London Pride 2023
In LGBTQ+ History Month, Economics Society host- ed a session entitled ‘JM Keynes: Pioneer and LGBT icon?’. As part of DCIAM week, MFL Culture Society was joined by lawyer Lewis Fairfax, who talked about cultural sensitivity within international law. Excitingly, this year has been the first in which we have officially been joined by students from JAGS, and we are looking forward to building more collaborative events and soci- eties together in the years to come. Although societies are run by the students and rely heavily on OAs returning to recount their achievements post- Dulwich, we are also grateful for the staff, parents and other friends of the College community contributing to the breadth of the programme of talks. For example, in His- tory Society, Miss Gibbons, Drs Spence, Black and Pyke gave a panel talk on PhD research, and a parent spoke
Friends of DC have helped us to raise funds to replace old chess pieces and design the first Aviation Tie
170
171
THE ALLEYNIAN 711
THE UNION
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator