St. George's: A Fresher's Perspective [ARCHIVE]

Estd. 1751 - The second oldest medical school in the UK

“Oh, where’s that then?” a response this reporter, and many others from our esteemed university, have been met with when asked where it is they study. 
This, sometimes vexatious, reaction along with “what? Like the hospital?” evokes this reporter into questioning why it is so few have heard of St. George’s and what it is we students can do about our unknown status.


So why has no one heard of the mighty George’s? Amongst other things, the niche courses offered by the university immediately segregate the attention of those who do not with to pursue a medically orientated career. In addition, our small student body of around 4000 and our rather modest campus size - located in the strangest corner of the greatest city in the world - causes St. George’s physical contribution to the map to be little more than a pinprick. These attributes could be considered a drawback when attempting to compete with other universities, and can sometimes cause us to repine when we see larger universities attracting big musical acts during their freshers weeks; and in summer one cannot help but choke on the humid, syrupy air of the hospital and dream of feeling a balmy breeze whilst lounging in the shade of an oak on a patch of greenery within the squeaky, aseptic halls of our learning environment.


However, these somewhat unorthodox and unconventional variations on a university have caused the students of St. George’s no discomfort, nay, the opposite as St. George’s has been voted “London's best student experience for two years in a row in the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey”. These quirks in our size are described on the SGUL website to lend a “genuine community feel”, and who could disagree? At my first “meet&greet” freshers event I was told by a benign and eager 4th year that within a couple of years I would know “pretty much everyone”, this I cautiously took on board; especially considering that this very same 4th year told me that Circles was no more than “a casual drink with team-mates after training”. However, as the weeks into IFP progressed, and as I began to realise that I had been misled by several older members of the university, it dawned on me that I did know, or at least recognise, the more active students of St. George’s.


At our university, mixing between year groups has never been simpler. Of course, like all universities, sport is a major factor when it comes to integrating with others, and in a wonderfully welcoming nature, the publicity and openness of Circles allows those who may be interested in the sport but lack the proficiency to play to get involved too. In addition, there are several clubs and societies one can get involved in, including a wide range of faith-related societies and the strangely elusive Chess Club to which I joined at the Freshers Fair, but still have yet to hear from. To dissipate any clique-iness that could arise through holding an allegiance to a club or sport, another interesting George’s quirk comes into play. This one being families, a random (usually) dispersal of freshers amongst age old dynasties allows for new bonds to form between siblings and their parents as they get to know members of the family inside and outside of family-led events. This can, however, lead to nepotism in other aspects of university life, namely at Circles where there may be a lax in the dishing out of fines and even in the clinical cubicles where the medics among us learn to be fair and equal doctors (especially when an overseeing grandparent decides to go easy on you).

A St. George's Family, WW8 2013 - Photo courtesy of Daniel Truman

The lack of artisans, thespians and literary enthusiasts has left a depressingly large hole in our university life; with very few of us showing ebullience with regards to fiction and causing our heavily-scientific library to pale in comparison to those universities with a greater breadth of subjects. Such an evident deficit in artistic variation amongst George’s students has led this reporter to consider whether the uni-faceted tastes in music and fashion at our university is due to a lack of diversity in student interests. Despite this lack of artistic input, we have still managed to display our artistic brilliance through the events put on by members of The Tooting Show and The Revue Society; I myself, have been to see all of their productions and highly recommend them to the students of St. George’s. Not only is there great enjoyment to be had in seeing your effort coming into fruition, but the social aspects of involvement in these productions is also said to be equally gratifying, this was noticeable in the subdued and glum looks of the members of Revue on the closing of The Producers, speaking to a performer this reporter was told: “I miss it… the play [The Producers] becomes your life and I’m so glad I got involved”.

Revue's Christmas Show 2013 Cast - Photo courtesy of Alvin Man

Despite our smaller size, longer study/working hours and limited resources we at St. George’s have still managed to match-up to and compete with universities of a much larger size. This exhibits the perseverance, intelligence and make-do attitude that has allowed us to do so well. And how well we have done! Coming first in the cheerleading competition we entered, and both men’s football and Rugby teams made it to the UH cup finals; not to mention our win at Face Off 2013, displaying our characteristic ingenuity and innovation with our theme of technology not deterred in the slightest by our competition including universities with a dramaturgic background.

St. George's winning dance team at Face Off 2013

However, I believe that these triumphs are due to the actions of few within our already diminutive university. Over the years many have commented on the slowly decreasing involvement of freshers within university life, causing poor turn outs at SU events and decaying the sizes of various clubs and sports teams, leaving diamonds firmly buried in the rough. The reason for this absence of advocacy? Laziness, says this reporter. The “I can’t be bothered” attitude of today’s undergraduates is distressing to see and although advertisement of different activities has never been higher due to the use of social networking sites, it seems that we cannot muster ourselves to attend a disco, turn up to training or attend an audition. We may all have our excuses for our poor showing, ‘lack of time’ and ‘too much work’ being the favourites, but it is always the same faces cropping up at events whilst others shirk away from the idea of mingling with their peers. Nothing should hold anyone back from actively getting involved in university life; ask current members of a society or sports team if they regret their signing-up. The regret will only lie with those who end their university career having accomplished only a degree and cannot convey the true meaning of St. George’s university when faced with the question: “Oh, where’s that then?”

Written by: Roop Gill on 15/05/2013

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