diff --git a/_collections/_news/2026-10-04-freshers-and-semester-1.md b/_collections/_news/2026-10-04-freshers-and-semester-1.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c6399be4 --- /dev/null +++ b/_collections/_news/2026-10-04-freshers-and-semester-1.md @@ -0,0 +1,189 @@ +--- +layout: post +published: true +title: Fresher's & Semester 1 2026 - Welcome and What to Expect! +thumbnail: /assets/images/2026/2026-freshers-lunch.jpg +header-image: /assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-1.jpg +--- +Hello and welcome to everyone! CSS sincerely hopes you've had a great Fresher's at the university, +getting involved with lots of societies, events, and opportunities! We on committee have worked extremely +hard to make Fresher's a fantastic, unforgettable week for you, and from the pure engagement you'we've seen, +we think it's paid off! Of course, Fresher's is just the start of the plethora of things we have lined up +for this year, so read on and keep an eye out on our socials! + +## A Look Back at Fresher's Week + +Fresher's Week (and week 1) were jam-packed and we're so grateful it went so smoothly! +And of course, as is tradition, it started off with the beloved Board Games Night! As usual, we saw the +CS building fill up with people of all years come together to enjoy playing board games, meet new people, +and enjoy some free pizza (a common theme at our events, you'll soon come to notice). Whether you came out on +top as a chess champion, bankrupted all your friends in Monopoly, or successfully got enough laughs to be +the funniest in Cards Against Humanity, we loved seeing so many of you having fun and getting involved on the +first day! Even if I did lose every game I played :/ it was a lot of fun! And a big thank you to Tabletop Gaming +who ran some Blood on the Clocktower games, that proved very popular! If you enjoyed the event, keep an eye out +as in semester 2, we'll be running it again! And quickly, thinking of pizza, our own Secretary Henry has set up +the [CSS Pizza Statistics](https://cssbham.com/pizza) page so you can keep track of just how much pizza we end +up buying this year. Thanks Henry! + +Next up, we had lunch in the city centre at the wonderful Alfred Works food hall. After many years of declining +popularity, this year's new location brought in nearly double the attendees from last year! With my delicious +tacos still on my mind all this time later, I know I'm not the only one who had some thoroughly good food! +Whether you had Asian, Italian, American, or another great choice of food, we're glad the event was such a success! + +A new event for this year, the Fresher's Quiz proved extremely popular! With rounds themed around Computer Science, +the University, operating systems, and even famous Joes (I was honoured to be included), there really was something +for everyone to have a go at. And the scores were incredibly high! We were extremely impressed and proud of the +knowledge we saw! Although, to whoever thought that I, the Scrum Master, was Donald Duck... I'm not upset, +just disappointed. I joke, of course; I was actually surprised how many of you remembered me! It's been a pleasure +so far to have so many people recognise me and wave, say hi, or come for a chat; if you do see me around the CS +buidling, where I'm always working on my Ph.D., feel free to say hi and have a chat! The more excuses to not do work, +the better! Anyway, a final congratulations again to Team 0, who won the quiz, getting them CSS branded rubber ducks! + +Going into week 1, we ran our annual CS Societies Night, which was your chance to meet many Computer-related +societies and learn about what they do. A massive thank you to the fantatsic societies who attended: + +- [oSTEM](https://www.guildofstudents.com/organisation/ostem/) +- [WiSE](https://linktr.ee/wise_uob) +- [GDS](https://www.guildofstudents.com/organisation/gamesdevelopment/) +- [VGS](https://linktr.ee/uobvideogames) +- [UBRobotics](https://linktr.ee/UBRobotics) +- [AFNOM](https://afnom.net) +- [UBVR](https://www.guildofstudents.com/organisation/ubvr/) +- [IBM Z](https://www.guildofstudents.com/organisation/ibmzsociety/) +- [AlgoSoc](https://www.algosoc.uk/) +- [CyberWomen](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/cyberwomen-birmingham) + +![UBVR at Societies Night](/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-2.jpg) + +And, of course, I go to finally wear the famous TeX costume, which looked much more enjoyable than AFNOM's monkey suit! + +![CSS TeX and AFNOM Monkey](/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-3.jpg) + +Finally, our last big event was Pub Night on Friday of Week 1, which saw us pile into The Soak Bar & Grill in Selly and +enjoy some delicious curries, and have a couple drinks to celebrate finishing the first week of lectures. So many people, +new and existing students, came along and made it a fantastic night - a great way to end out an incredible Fresher's! If +you enjoyed the pub night, we will be making them a regular event, with them happening every other week (the next +happening Friday week 3), so come along and chat, relax, and enjoy a couple drinks, whether alcoholic or not! + +![Pub Night Start](/assets/images/2026/2026-fresher-pub-1.jpg) + +![Pub Night Later](/assets/images/2026/2026-fresher-pub-2.jpg) + +Throughout the week, we also had other smaller, but equally as important, events happening! Throughout the week, we had +our stall up in the CS atrium, at the Guild Societies Fair, the School of CS Fair, and the EPS Fair. We had such good +interest from you all, coming to chat, ask questions, start your TeX sticker collection, and join our socials! If you +haven't already, check out our website's [links page](https://cssbham.com/links) to join our Discord, WhatsApp, and +Instagram pages to get all the latest updates about upcoming events! We also ran the annual Scavenger Hunt around campus +for you to learn some fun facts about the place you'll study at for the next 3 (or more!) years, as well as earn a +special edition Old Joe TeX sticker to become the ultimate collector of our stickers. This year, we again saw more +interest than we've had for years, so thank you to everyone who participated! + +Amongst everything that's happened, you may have noticed that we have a modded Java Minecraft server running! All +the details you need (server address, mod list, rules, etc.) are available on the Discord Minecraft channel. Whether +you play Minecraft all the time, or you've not played for years, this is a great chance to get stuck in, master magic, +build the most efficient Create machinery, or like me, just build pretty things! We hope to see some of you in the server! + +If you've enjoyed your time in CSS so far, and want to support us - along with getting many benefits - why not get +yourself a £5 membership at [cssbham.com/join](https://cssbham.com/join). The membership lasts for the whole year, +and gets you discounts on ticketed events, saving you money! It also gives you a pretty colour on our Discord +server, a free t-shirt (soon), and the ability to vote at our upcoming EGM. Still unsure? Well, your membership +goes straight to supporting the society, so we can pay for all the pizza, get you cool merch, and run incredible +events for you and your friends to enjoy whilst at uni! + +## What's Coming Up in Semester 1? + +As usual, we have tonnes of events planned for you this semester on the run-up to Christmas, so let's tease some! + +Firstly, we have our Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in a couple weeks. The EGM is a meeting for people to run +for roles on committee, vote on the candidates, and propose constitutional amendments. This event requires attendees +to be members of the society, but it's a great chance for you to have a chance to say how CSS should be run, as well +as see some early access sneak peaks at events and, wait, tickets for events?! I wonder what event that will be! +The EGM will be in the Winifred Hackett Building on Wednesday 21st October from 1pm. If you're interested in +running or attending, keep an eye out on our socials for more information soon! + +Then, on Thursday 29th October at 7pm, we're running our Halloween Quiz; get dressed up in your halloween costume, +form a team, and enjoy more free pizza! Much like the Fresher's Quiz, we'll be running the quiz in the atrium in teams +of up to 6, and we'll have free pizza and alcohol on offer like Board Games Night. Perhaps most importantly, there +will be prizes! The winning team, and the best dressed, will all get prizes; however, we will have Halloween TeX +stickers available for all who participate in the quiz! Oh, and did I mention? We have guest rounds! A beloved +member of staff, and a beloved ex-secretary; what more could you want? + +Finally, our last big event of semester 1 is my personal favourite: the CSS Christmas Meal! Join us at the Green +Man in Harborne for delicious food, good vibes, and a celebration of semester 1. This event is ticketed, so keep +an eye out for when tickets release, to get yourself in on the fun! Of course, we highly recommend getting dressed +up in your best and ugliest Christmas jumpers (I'll be there in mine, and my Santa hat)! And it'll be your chance +to get your hands on the Christmas TeX sticker for your collection. The date and time will be revealed soon, so +keep your eyes peeled! + +Besides our big events, we have plenty more on offer! Maybe you're an arcade bar fan, and are looking for a +reason to go to NQ64? Perhaps you're looking for a new society, and a collaboration would be the perfect chance +for you to find one? Or maybe, you're looking to learn a new skill? Well, we've got it all! NQ64 evening, +workshops, collabs, sponsor events, (did someone say mini hackathon?!), and a whole lot more! We'll announce +these events as we go through the year, but if you have more event suggestions, don't hesitate to reach out and +tell us! + +Oh, and t-shirts! As you may have heard us say - and you've likely seen people wearing them - if you get the +membership for the society, you will get a free t-shirt. Now, we haven't forgotten, I promise! Issues at the start +of the year pertaining to funds (I don't know how Idris has managed the finances so well!) meant they were delayed, +however, they have been ordered and are on their way! The moment they arrive, we will be running a big collection +event in the CS building so you can come and collect the shirt, or buy a membership there and then to get one! +It even has our sponsors on the back. + +We are looking forward to seeing many of you continue to get involved in the society as we go through the year, +and we can't wait to run these events for you! + +## WhatsApp + +This year, we decided to revive the WhatsApp community to make it the proper social it deserves to be! We now announce all +publicity from Discord on the WhatsApp too, and we have added plenty of new channels for you to find coursemates, chat +about work, and learn about our events! It's still brand new, but if you're not a Discord fan, then the WhatsApp might +be the place for you! + +## Memberships + +Finally, how are we doing with memberships? + +Well, with t-shirts being delayed, we understandably haven't broken any records yet, however, we reached over 200 +members by the end of Fresher's, and we've been climbing every day! Below is the graph of Fresher's Week: + +![2026-Freshers-Graph](/assets/images/2026/2026-freshers-graph.png) + +We started off really strong with early renewals and early joiners, which was incredible to see! And yet, even without +t-shirts, we have been able to maintain a solid growth of memberships throughout the two weeks, which we're very happy +to see! + +Want a membership? Looking to make your time at university better than ever? Then [cssbham.com/join](https://cssbham.com/join) +is the place to go! + +## Sponsorships + +I would like to welcome our sponsors for this year! As always, we're excited to work with our sponsors throughout the year, so let's introduce them! + +- Capital One - Gold Sponsor +- TPP - Silver Sponsor +- Interrupt Labs - Bronze Sponsor + +We're very grateful for the support they're giving the society! If you're interested, keep an eye out for events, messages, and exciting opportunities from our sponsors! + +## Going Forward + +I just wanted to say one final thank you to you all for making 2026 Fresher's Week something I will never forget, and I +hope you all feel the same! Despite being my 3rd year on CSS committee, I've never been on committee during Fresher's, +and for my first Fresher's on committee to be as ~~President~~ Scrum Master is an honour! I've met so many incredible +people, been to all our fantastic events, and had an absolute blast. Maybe I'm exhausted, and maybe I've not done much +work on my Ph.D., but wow, it was worth it. + +So, if you're a Fresher, a student who's getting into CSS for the first time this year, or a long time supporter of the +society, I can't thank you enough for being here, participating in CSS, and having fun! + +Also, I want to extend my thanks massively to my brilliant committee; without them, Fresher's simply would not be possible, +and the future events would be pretty lackluster! So, committee, whether you've done admin work, ran events, planned events, +worked behind the scenes, chatted to students on stands and at events, liased with the school, the uni, or the sponsors, or +something else, thank you so much! I see that this committee are extremely dedicated, hard-working people who just want the +best for CSS and our members, and that fills me with lots of hope for the coming academic year! + +Many thanks, + +Joe (He/Him), your CSS Scrum Master + +And the rest of committee <3 diff --git a/assets/images/2026/2026-fresher-pub-1.jpg b/assets/images/2026/2026-fresher-pub-1.jpg new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2a2a5833 Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/2026/2026-fresher-pub-1.jpg differ diff --git a/assets/images/2026/2026-fresher-pub-2.jpg b/assets/images/2026/2026-fresher-pub-2.jpg new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ff046f23 Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/2026/2026-fresher-pub-2.jpg differ diff --git a/assets/images/2026/2026-freshers-graph.png b/assets/images/2026/2026-freshers-graph.png new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e86a233c Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/2026/2026-freshers-graph.png differ diff --git a/assets/images/2026/2026-freshers-lunch.jpg b/assets/images/2026/2026-freshers-lunch.jpg new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9f78c22f Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/2026/2026-freshers-lunch.jpg differ diff --git a/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-1.jpg b/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-1.jpg new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c38369f1 Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-1.jpg differ diff --git a/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-2.jpg b/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-2.jpg new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2044ffab Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-2.jpg differ diff --git a/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-3.jpg b/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-3.jpg new file mode 100644 index 00000000..11a62ea8 Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/2026/2026-soc-night-3.jpg differ