Blogs • The President 2008
Nev, Cam and College House
Posted by Tom Kuperus on Tuesday, August 26, 2008
/ 0 Comments
After a busy few weeks the College is on holiday, although quite a few have opted to stay in Dunedin to make the most of the quieter College to study for final exams in just over 7 weeks. As we've reached crunch stage in our sporting and cultural competitions I'll just bring you up to speed so any news over the next few weeks doesn't come as too much of a surprise!
Before we get into that I'll touch briefly on the College House Sporting Exchange, held over the 15th-17th of August in Christchurch. While I wasn't able to attend because of my hockey team's semi final in Dunedin I was told that it was a great weekend in all respects apart from the results of the games. Unfortunately College House were able to win 6-3 overall, but our athletes were contempt, approaching this exchange as more of a social meeting than our equivalent with Knox.
Speaking of which, in the Nevill Cup things still aren't looking too hopeful. Down 10-50 we need to win all of the remaining events; Big and Small Choir, Dance and Shakespeare in order to retain the Cup. Although this isn't impossible the Choir events have always been Knox's strength so we are clearly fighting an uphill battle.
The Cameron Shield has been a little more eventful over the last few weeks of term; Rugby, Netball, Cross Country and Volleyball have all been completed.
Volleyball was a particularly tight affair, the girls game held first resulted in a Selwyn victory in four sets, but the boys match went to the fifth, with the Selwyn lads eventually coming out on top by 3 points. Between the games we were entertained by an aerobics/cheer-leading routine performed by the Selwyn What Squad. In secret this group practised their performance for a couple of weeks, and then revealed their work to a surprised and receptive Selwyn crowd - just another secret tradition hidden in Selwyn's walls.
The Cross Country was run on what must have been the only fine Sunday morning in August. Starting at Selwyn we always had the advantage as we could get more people out of bed in time for the 11am start! The honours were shared, Knox taking the girls event while Selwyn ran strong to claim the boys section.
Last Monday Netball was held at the Edgar Center, with Selwyn quickly establishing their dominance racing out to an 8-2 lead. Complacency may have got the better of the girls as Knox crept back into the game, but late in the fourth quater when scores were tied a crucial intercept secured the victory for the Maroon and Golds.
Finally the annual Somerville Shield Rugby Match between Selwyn and Knox was held. After dominating for seven years, and then loosing 16-3 in frustrating fashion last year the Selwyn camp was fizzing for the match. 13 weeks of preparation and two practice games were setting the boys up in a strong position for what was tipped to be the big revenge match. Due to the heavy rain the game was shifted from it's home at the Alhambra Rugby Club to the Opoho fields, a shift towards Knox territory, and away from the familiarity of the Selwyn practice ground. The boys ran out to a strong crowd of current and ex residents including Dicon Sim, the Chairman of the Selwyn College Board of Governors, ready to represent the Selwyn College of 2008.
Knox drew first blood early in the game with a penalty, answered by a penalty for Selwyn from first five Sam McLernon. The soggy conditions suited 10 man rugby, and both sides certainly looked to keep it in close as much as possible. When the Selwyn backs were offered the ball they showed plenty of enterprise but failed to make effective line breaks. Following another penalty Knox went into the break with a 6-3 lead.
After the break Selwyn began to dominate more often than not at the break down, and looked to be putting some pressure on the Knox forwards, however against the run of play a clearing kick was charged down, and a Knoxie toed ahead and collected the ball to secure the only try of the match. Following a successful conversion from the sideline Knox took a 13-3 lead into the final quater of the game. Selwyn desperately attacked only to find themselves frustratingly short of territory and Knox managed to hold on for a well earned 13-3 victory, crushing the Selwyn team and it's loyal supporters.
The 2008 Selwyn Rugby Team was (in jersey order): Devon Latoa, Willie Allan (captain), Sofara Aiono, James Harty, Simon Luke (vice captain), Sam Lawson, Jamie Callahan, David Gawith, Tom English, Sam McLernon, Hamish Spear, Willy Sams, Devlin Elliott, Peter Trebilcock, James Hackett. Reserves: Hugo Webb, Fengyang Lei, Colin Haa, Pat Dowle, Tom Kuperus, Dominic Jones, Sean Conway.
After the game the College was understandably subdued, and slid uneventfully into the mid-semester break. There is always the overall Cameron Shield situation to consider, a win in the rugby would have secured it for the year. However, a win in either billiards, hockey, or both men's and women's soccer will be enough to ensure the Rev. Dr. Andrew Cameron's memorial shield is hanging in the Brother's Hall for Knox's Centenary year in 2009.
Hopefully we'll know when the first of those events, soccer, is competed for on the 11th of September.
Before we get into that I'll touch briefly on the College House Sporting Exchange, held over the 15th-17th of August in Christchurch. While I wasn't able to attend because of my hockey team's semi final in Dunedin I was told that it was a great weekend in all respects apart from the results of the games. Unfortunately College House were able to win 6-3 overall, but our athletes were contempt, approaching this exchange as more of a social meeting than our equivalent with Knox.
Speaking of which, in the Nevill Cup things still aren't looking too hopeful. Down 10-50 we need to win all of the remaining events; Big and Small Choir, Dance and Shakespeare in order to retain the Cup. Although this isn't impossible the Choir events have always been Knox's strength so we are clearly fighting an uphill battle.
The Cameron Shield has been a little more eventful over the last few weeks of term; Rugby, Netball, Cross Country and Volleyball have all been completed.
Volleyball was a particularly tight affair, the girls game held first resulted in a Selwyn victory in four sets, but the boys match went to the fifth, with the Selwyn lads eventually coming out on top by 3 points. Between the games we were entertained by an aerobics/cheer-leading routine performed by the Selwyn What Squad. In secret this group practised their performance for a couple of weeks, and then revealed their work to a surprised and receptive Selwyn crowd - just another secret tradition hidden in Selwyn's walls.
The Cross Country was run on what must have been the only fine Sunday morning in August. Starting at Selwyn we always had the advantage as we could get more people out of bed in time for the 11am start! The honours were shared, Knox taking the girls event while Selwyn ran strong to claim the boys section.
Last Monday Netball was held at the Edgar Center, with Selwyn quickly establishing their dominance racing out to an 8-2 lead. Complacency may have got the better of the girls as Knox crept back into the game, but late in the fourth quater when scores were tied a crucial intercept secured the victory for the Maroon and Golds.
Finally the annual Somerville Shield Rugby Match between Selwyn and Knox was held. After dominating for seven years, and then loosing 16-3 in frustrating fashion last year the Selwyn camp was fizzing for the match. 13 weeks of preparation and two practice games were setting the boys up in a strong position for what was tipped to be the big revenge match. Due to the heavy rain the game was shifted from it's home at the Alhambra Rugby Club to the Opoho fields, a shift towards Knox territory, and away from the familiarity of the Selwyn practice ground. The boys ran out to a strong crowd of current and ex residents including Dicon Sim, the Chairman of the Selwyn College Board of Governors, ready to represent the Selwyn College of 2008.
Knox drew first blood early in the game with a penalty, answered by a penalty for Selwyn from first five Sam McLernon. The soggy conditions suited 10 man rugby, and both sides certainly looked to keep it in close as much as possible. When the Selwyn backs were offered the ball they showed plenty of enterprise but failed to make effective line breaks. Following another penalty Knox went into the break with a 6-3 lead.
After the break Selwyn began to dominate more often than not at the break down, and looked to be putting some pressure on the Knox forwards, however against the run of play a clearing kick was charged down, and a Knoxie toed ahead and collected the ball to secure the only try of the match. Following a successful conversion from the sideline Knox took a 13-3 lead into the final quater of the game. Selwyn desperately attacked only to find themselves frustratingly short of territory and Knox managed to hold on for a well earned 13-3 victory, crushing the Selwyn team and it's loyal supporters.
The 2008 Selwyn Rugby Team was (in jersey order): Devon Latoa, Willie Allan (captain), Sofara Aiono, James Harty, Simon Luke (vice captain), Sam Lawson, Jamie Callahan, David Gawith, Tom English, Sam McLernon, Hamish Spear, Willy Sams, Devlin Elliott, Peter Trebilcock, James Hackett. Reserves: Hugo Webb, Fengyang Lei, Colin Haa, Pat Dowle, Tom Kuperus, Dominic Jones, Sean Conway.After the game the College was understandably subdued, and slid uneventfully into the mid-semester break. There is always the overall Cameron Shield situation to consider, a win in the rugby would have secured it for the year. However, a win in either billiards, hockey, or both men's and women's soccer will be enough to ensure the Rev. Dr. Andrew Cameron's memorial shield is hanging in the Brother's Hall for Knox's Centenary year in 2009.
Hopefully we'll know when the first of those events, soccer, is competed for on the 11th of September.
The Lighter Side of Life
Posted by Tom Kuperus on Saturday, August 16, 2008
/ 0 Comments
Ever since some of my first days at Selwyn I have been excited by the prospect of pranks, both internally involving other Selwynites, and with our foe at Opoho and our friends in Christchurch at College House. We've heard great stories - the front entranceway being bricked over, horses being lead up to Top Floor Whitehead, Pigs being left on Knox's front lawn, and numerous flag missions, whether they are true or not is for you to verify!
It must be something to do with our age goup, or maybe the living arrangement where we are all in such close proximity. Perhaps it's a desperate attempt to avoid growing up and hanging onto that last peice of irresponsible childhood. Either way it's great fun, and generally speaking very harmless fun at that.
During my time at Selwyn a number of particularly clever pranks have been executed. Last year at College House apon returning home from town a few of the Selwyn boys took it on themselves to decorate a mature tree in the CH quad with rather amusing consequences. As the College woke on the Sunday morning they were in disbelief as to how someone managed to aquire so many items (including a large cage of recycling, a fridge, a bicycle, a garage door, and many others), and place them so delicately in the tree
without anyone hearing. Those responsible were so discrete that even now I am not sure who was involved, or just when they did it, but I have my suspicions.
This year has already had some impressive stunts, in the first term a group of boys went up to Knox and planted a substantial tree on the front lawn leading to the main entrance way. It was executed thoughtfully, with the lawn cut out and place carefully beside the tree so after a couple of days of admiration the Knox ground staff were able to remove the tree and replace the grass. Both the Knox victims and the Selwyn audience recieved it well.
April fools day saw the Warden's van lifted into the quad, cups of water placed on the stairs so nobody could get down from Whitehead, and an impressively large string spiders web made in Cats.
In the College at the moment the Quiz Masters (QMs) are taking flight, and organising a new stunt on almost a nightly basis. They are a secret society, chosen by the QMs of the year group before them, who organise a series of publicity acts leading up to an annual quiz where they are revealed to the College. Having been extremely successful so far throughout their history they look to be a tradition set to stand the test of time at Selwyn. This years group are about to be revealed at the quiz tonight, but they have already executed some fairly amusing manouvres. On Sunday night they brought a significant amount of snow into Selwyn which they used to build a snowman on the front steps. On Monday night they brought
two sheep in and set them up in the quad to be discovered in the morning (the farmer was in on the prank and now has his sheep back). It's fair to say they're making the College a fairly interesting place to live at the moment.
I'm sure pranks are here to stay, particularly with the inception of new award donated by Rob and Anwyn Walker at High Tea last year to acknowledge the most daring and constructive prank. Rob's award is a replica of one of the Selwyn oars which now sits in the Brothers' Hall. I understand was originally competed for between College House and Selwyn, and I believe it symbolises a great mission to retrieve the oar during an exchange while Rob was at Selwyn.
I look foward to hearing of similar pranks and stunts for many years to come!
Tom
It must be something to do with our age goup, or maybe the living arrangement where we are all in such close proximity. Perhaps it's a desperate attempt to avoid growing up and hanging onto that last peice of irresponsible childhood. Either way it's great fun, and generally speaking very harmless fun at that.
During my time at Selwyn a number of particularly clever pranks have been executed. Last year at College House apon returning home from town a few of the Selwyn boys took it on themselves to decorate a mature tree in the CH quad with rather amusing consequences. As the College woke on the Sunday morning they were in disbelief as to how someone managed to aquire so many items (including a large cage of recycling, a fridge, a bicycle, a garage door, and many others), and place them so delicately in the tree
without anyone hearing. Those responsible were so discrete that even now I am not sure who was involved, or just when they did it, but I have my suspicions.This year has already had some impressive stunts, in the first term a group of boys went up to Knox and planted a substantial tree on the front lawn leading to the main entrance way. It was executed thoughtfully, with the lawn cut out and place carefully beside the tree so after a couple of days of admiration the Knox ground staff were able to remove the tree and replace the grass. Both the Knox victims and the Selwyn audience recieved it well.
April fools day saw the Warden's van lifted into the quad, cups of water placed on the stairs so nobody could get down from Whitehead, and an impressively large string spiders web made in Cats.
In the College at the moment the Quiz Masters (QMs) are taking flight, and organising a new stunt on almost a nightly basis. They are a secret society, chosen by the QMs of the year group before them, who organise a series of publicity acts leading up to an annual quiz where they are revealed to the College. Having been extremely successful so far throughout their history they look to be a tradition set to stand the test of time at Selwyn. This years group are about to be revealed at the quiz tonight, but they have already executed some fairly amusing manouvres. On Sunday night they brought a significant amount of snow into Selwyn which they used to build a snowman on the front steps. On Monday night they brought
two sheep in and set them up in the quad to be discovered in the morning (the farmer was in on the prank and now has his sheep back). It's fair to say they're making the College a fairly interesting place to live at the moment. I'm sure pranks are here to stay, particularly with the inception of new award donated by Rob and Anwyn Walker at High Tea last year to acknowledge the most daring and constructive prank. Rob's award is a replica of one of the Selwyn oars which now sits in the Brothers' Hall. I understand was originally competed for between College House and Selwyn, and I believe it symbolises a great mission to retrieve the oar during an exchange while Rob was at Selwyn.
I look foward to hearing of similar pranks and stunts for many years to come!
Tom
Labels: College Life
Open Drama, Squash and Band
Posted by Tom Kuperus on Saturday, August 9, 2008
/ 1 Comments
Following our three events last week the Nevill Cup situation has deteriorated significantly, and the Cameron Shield remains delicately balanced.
Monday night featured the Open Drama contest held at Union Hall where we performed a piece titled "Murder at Club Fishnet". The Selwyn camp felt well prepared thanks to the work of our three coaches Lucy Smith, Kiri Aikman and Lloyd Burr, and were confident of a victory after the Knoxies asked for the event to be postponed less than a week before the scheduled date.
Due to venue bookings this wasn't possible and we went ahead, with both the Selwyn and Knox peices performed to a noteably high standard. Unfortunately the judges saw the event differently to the Selwyn camp and Knox was announced the winners, leaving those of us organising the Nevill Cup campaign worried about our overall position half-way through the competition.
The squash competition was held on the 31st of July, our girls team was successful 3 games to 2, but unfortunately the boys lost 1 game to four. One of our Senior Residents (SR - the equivalent of an RA) Will Costelo was the sole male victor, it's great to see the SRs getting into our Cam and Nev events. Throughout this year we have been working alongside our Knox equivalents to amend the constitutions for both the Cup and Shield and one of the more challenging discussions we've had was over what eligibility constraints we should have on competitors. The status quo states any permanent resident of a College who is a full time student may participate. Both the Knox College Students' Club Executive, and our own Selwyn College Students' Association Committee agreed that it would be beneficial to elaborate on this rule to prevent significantly older members of either College dominating events in the future, so the focus remains on the undergraduate students. In saying that we are adamant that our SRs should still be able to compete as they contribute on a student level in many other areas of College life, and the only real difference to the majority of students is an extra level of responsibility. The difficulty with this is Knox don't have an equivalent position to our SRs, meaning they may suffer a competitive disadvantage if we excluded their older welfare staff. At this stage the eligibility debate is ongoing as both the Executive and Committee consider just what role SRs, Subwardens, Submasters, tutors, etc should have in future Cameron Shield and Nevill Cup events.
Our final event for last week was the Nevill Cup band competition held at ReFuel. Again the Knox effort was deemed to be marginally superior to our own, although members of both Colleges mutually agreed the standard was exceptionally high and could have easily gone either way.
The Selwyn band performed an impressive original song, written by lead singer Sam Wevers (above). Keep an eye on that name, he is a particularly talented musician. That result leaves us in a rather tough position overall in the cup at 10-50 in Knox's favour. With both Big and Small Choir (traditionally strong events for Knox), Dance and Shakespeare to come we will do very well indeed to defend the Cup from here!
On Tuesday we held our annual ex residents gathering at The Gardens Tavern. These nights are aimed at alumni still studying in Dunedin (referred to as exies) and are extremely popular, attracting several hundred people. It's reassuring to see a good turn out at events like this and ex residents supporting at our Selwyn/Knox events indicating there is still a lot of interest in the College from those remaining in Dunedin. The Committee is interested in organising other exie events so any suggestions on what could be successful would be welcomed!
Otago University Students' Association (OUSA) elections are coming up between the 11th and 14th of August and two ex residents are running for positions. Lloyd Burr is running for General Rep, and Ed Darlow for President. Both are exeptionally affable men who have, and will continue to contribute unselfishly to the College and I'm sure the Selwyn Community will be getting right behind their campaigns. I personally offer both candidates my full support and wish them the best of luck.
Keep an eye out for updates on the Volleyball, Cross Country, ANZAC concert and a wrap up of the 2008 Selwyn Ballet.
Tom
Monday night featured the Open Drama contest held at Union Hall where we performed a piece titled "Murder at Club Fishnet". The Selwyn camp felt well prepared thanks to the work of our three coaches Lucy Smith, Kiri Aikman and Lloyd Burr, and were confident of a victory after the Knoxies asked for the event to be postponed less than a week before the scheduled date.
Due to venue bookings this wasn't possible and we went ahead, with both the Selwyn and Knox peices performed to a noteably high standard. Unfortunately the judges saw the event differently to the Selwyn camp and Knox was announced the winners, leaving those of us organising the Nevill Cup campaign worried about our overall position half-way through the competition.
The squash competition was held on the 31st of July, our girls team was successful 3 games to 2, but unfortunately the boys lost 1 game to four. One of our Senior Residents (SR - the equivalent of an RA) Will Costelo was the sole male victor, it's great to see the SRs getting into our Cam and Nev events. Throughout this year we have been working alongside our Knox equivalents to amend the constitutions for both the Cup and Shield and one of the more challenging discussions we've had was over what eligibility constraints we should have on competitors. The status quo states any permanent resident of a College who is a full time student may participate. Both the Knox College Students' Club Executive, and our own Selwyn College Students' Association Committee agreed that it would be beneficial to elaborate on this rule to prevent significantly older members of either College dominating events in the future, so the focus remains on the undergraduate students. In saying that we are adamant that our SRs should still be able to compete as they contribute on a student level in many other areas of College life, and the only real difference to the majority of students is an extra level of responsibility. The difficulty with this is Knox don't have an equivalent position to our SRs, meaning they may suffer a competitive disadvantage if we excluded their older welfare staff. At this stage the eligibility debate is ongoing as both the Executive and Committee consider just what role SRs, Subwardens, Submasters, tutors, etc should have in future Cameron Shield and Nevill Cup events.
Our final event for last week was the Nevill Cup band competition held at ReFuel. Again the Knox effort was deemed to be marginally superior to our own, although members of both Colleges mutually agreed the standard was exceptionally high and could have easily gone either way.
The Selwyn band performed an impressive original song, written by lead singer Sam Wevers (above). Keep an eye on that name, he is a particularly talented musician. That result leaves us in a rather tough position overall in the cup at 10-50 in Knox's favour. With both Big and Small Choir (traditionally strong events for Knox), Dance and Shakespeare to come we will do very well indeed to defend the Cup from here!
On Tuesday we held our annual ex residents gathering at The Gardens Tavern. These nights are aimed at alumni still studying in Dunedin (referred to as exies) and are extremely popular, attracting several hundred people. It's reassuring to see a good turn out at events like this and ex residents supporting at our Selwyn/Knox events indicating there is still a lot of interest in the College from those remaining in Dunedin. The Committee is interested in organising other exie events so any suggestions on what could be successful would be welcomed!
Otago University Students' Association (OUSA) elections are coming up between the 11th and 14th of August and two ex residents are running for positions. Lloyd Burr is running for General Rep, and Ed Darlow for President. Both are exeptionally affable men who have, and will continue to contribute unselfishly to the College and I'm sure the Selwyn Community will be getting right behind their campaigns. I personally offer both candidates my full support and wish them the best of luck.
Keep an eye out for updates on the Volleyball, Cross Country, ANZAC concert and a wrap up of the 2008 Selwyn Ballet.
Tom
Labels: College Life, Sports and Cultural