| SURHUL | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1994 |
| Location | Egham, London, United Kingdom |
| President | Daniel Lemberger-Cooper |
| Staff | 20 permanent staff 250 student staff |
| Mascot | COLOSSUS D. BEAR |
| Affiliated to | NUS ULU |
| Homepage | http://www.surhul.co.uk/ |
With little nearby off-campus activity, there is a great emphasis placed on The Royal Holloway Students' Union (SURHUL),[1] which "has a reputation as one of the best unions in the London area", in the words of The Independent.[2] The Students' Union provides much of the on-campus entertainment, through to organising and sponsoring the sport clubs and special-interest societies, on top of providing advice and counselling to students through the Student Advice Centre.[3] Like most Students' Unions in the United Kingdom, SURHUL is run entirely by the student body itself,[3] headed by a team of elected student officers, including four paid Sabbatical Officers who work full time, having been elected for one year.[4] In keeping with democratic practice, the elected Officers' executive power is held in check by the legislative power of General Meetings.[3] The Sabbatical Officers also have 15 unpaid volunteers (elected Executive Officers) at their assistance.[4] In order to supervise the administration and commercial activities of the Union, 20 permanent members of staff are employed.[4] More than £1 million a year accounts for the Union's turnover.[3] The Union uses the employment of 250 student staff, and also runs an accreditation scheme for the student staff and volunteers.[4] Royal Holloway's Student Union usually provides entertainment seven days a week, with a function hall which holds 1,200 people, three bars, a coffee shop and administrative offices all located within the Union's main building.[3] The Students' Union also controls three other student-run bars; Medicine, The Stumble Inn[3] and Tommy's.[5] Union events have attracted acts such as Trevor Nelson and Tim Westwood.[2] An annual Summer Ball is held at the Founder's Building at the year's end, with a survivor's breakfast for those still on their feet 6am the day after the ball begins.[3] The likes of Girls Aloud, Lemar, Jason Donovan, Alesha Dixon and Wheatus have all headlined at the Ball.[3] There are also weekly market days, at which a variety of items are sold including fresh fruit, vegetables, books, and there are also CD sales.[3]
Over 100 student societies and clubs, run by a committee of students, are put on through the Union.[4] Societies include Academic Societies like the Politics and International Relations Society (which takes part in the NMUN) or the Classical Society and recreational societies like the Comedy Society (which hosts stand up evenings throughout term time), The Institute for Impure Science (IFIS aka the Sci-fi and Fantasy society), and Anime and Manga, which won society of the year for 2004/05.[6] The oldest society on campus is the highly regarded Savoy Opera Society which was established many decades ago and still performs two to three comic operettas a year. The Union also maintains a number of successful sports club, catering to sports as diverse as rowing, ultimate and a highly successful competitive cheerleading squad, the RH Tom Cats. The 2007/08 "Sports Club of the Year" award went to the Bears Basketball Club.[7] The 2009 "Sports Club of the Year" award went to the Lacrosse Club, led by Stephen Bieniek, Amy Ferrier, Stephen Yates, Portia Higgs, Robin Harris and Stephanie Howard.
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The Royal Holloway Students' Union is responsible for broadcasting Insanity radio station, which was established in 1998.[8] Available locally on 1287MW, Insanity broadcasts during term time, between the hours of 8am and 1am, 7 days a week.[8] The station is also available worldwide through the internet.[9] Receiving a positive reaction, the station has twice won the Silver Award for Best Student Radio Station at BBC Radio 1's Student Radio Awards,[8] and has also won the Best Marketing and Promotions Award 3 times since 1999.[9]
Released up to 14 times per academic year, The Orbital is a student newspaper published fortnightly by the Students' Union, covering subjects from culture and arts to society and sport.[10] The original official Royal Holloway student publication was in the format of a newspaper called The Egham Sun, but this was replaced with the magazine edition in the early 1990s.[10]. The publication has a readership of 3,000,[8] and a print media budget of around £10,000, which is considered low compared to some other University's £50,000 budget.[11] The Orbital was named runner-up at the 2000 Guardian Student Media Awards in the category of Student Magazine of the Year.[12] The magazine was named the Best Student Magazine at the 2006 National Student Journalism Awards,[11] as well as being nominated in two other categories: Best Student Critic and Best Student Photographer.[10] Judges from the media industry said of the magazine, it is "gritty, witty, relevant and coherent, packaged with good design and strong front covers."[11]
Sports Clubs at Royal Holloway University
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Societies at Royal Holloway University
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