This week, the students on KMTV's Year In Television course are taking a look at societies. The team discuss what it means to be a part of a society whilst at university
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00:00Hello and welcome to 10th Student 101, live here on KMTV. I'm Isaac Best of Bainbridge
00:24and this is the show for students, by students. Each week we'll be exploring different facets
00:29of student life across Kent with a range of topics and segments. This week we're talking
00:33about societies. Societies can be a big part of student life and there are so many to pick
00:39from. Many choose to take part for a variety of reasons and we've sent some of us out to
00:45talk to other students about their experiences and what they think about societies.
00:50I think everyone should join a society, it helps a lot with finding people that have
00:53similar interests, so you already have somewhat of an icebreaker, so it's a lot easier to
00:58build somewhat of a community from, that's why I enjoy taking part in societies.
01:03Well it's positively impacted my university experience because it just allows me, it's
01:08a good distraction from the studies that I have to do.
01:12I've made so many friends, I now live with two of the people I joined call forward last
01:16year and it's just, it's made me more confident, it's made me actually go out places, it's
01:22made my university life a whole lot better.
01:26I think every society is going to be a collection of like-minded individuals, well like-minded
01:33enough that you can act as like a safe space I guess, so it's a good place to decompress
01:39without isolating in your room.
01:42I don't see much peer pressure, I think people understand your values and people understand
01:46like certain traditions you hold. For me, for myself, I'm Muslim so I can't drink or
01:53anything like that so I think they understand it very well and they do try to involve me
01:58in any societies, any sort of socials they can, so I think it's really good in terms
02:02of being able to think ahead and trying to get everyone included.
02:06It's a very big part of university culture and I think a lot of people do join university
02:12also to be part of societies and I think it's such a big facet of university life.
02:19And societies and clubs can be a big part of people's time at university. There are
02:23lots of options to choose from and this can be quite overwhelming. Well earlier this week
02:28someone you might recognise went down to speak to Kent Student Union to find out more about
02:32societies and get a bit more information on what it means to join one.
02:37We live in a society, but for some just one society isn't quite enough. From the musical
02:42theatre to the barbecue societies, we're going to look at exactly what one of those
02:47is and how joining one could actually help you.
02:50We've got some really well-run societies. I went to an event today run by Netball, but
02:56there were so many different societies there, probably about 200 people in the room and
03:01I was just like, wow, this is community. So it's nice to see that side of the societies.
03:07You can get involved in absolutely anything when you're at university. If you can't find
03:13a society that you think you'll enjoy, then you can create your own. There are so many
03:18opportunities that societies get, like leadership or going away to other universities or skills
03:28in general, so skills for life after university. I also mentioned that you come to university
03:35for a degree, yes, but you also come for an experience and that is what societies bring
03:39to the University of Kent, but universities in general. Societies are essentially just
03:46a safe space for people. You don't have to join one, you can join all 250 if you want,
03:50if you have time. But, yes, societies are definitely what made my university experience
03:57and I hope that's what they do for other students as well.
04:00It doesn't just help you during your university career. We spoke to a graduate from UTC to
04:05find out how his time on the committee of the Drama Society actually helped him beyond
04:10graduation.
04:11I was in T24 for three years, I was on a committee for two of those. I was secretary for one
04:17year and I was the digital media officer for another, so I can after all be social media
04:23accounts and stuff. I work in a conveyancing office and a lot of that is forwarding emails
04:28and handling the admin stuff and reaching out to clients and things like that, so a
04:35lot of transferable stuff, funnily enough, which I'd never have predicted that I'd carried on.
04:40I think I'd 100% recommend anyone to get involved with a committee. It's a really good
04:45opportunity to learn, it's a good opportunity to get communication skills. A lot of my job
04:49interview for my current position was focused around T24, funnily enough. It was focused
04:53around those elements of my education, the people skills, the organisational skills.
04:58So, now you've looked at societies, what they are and how they can benefit you even beyond
05:03university, maybe it's time to check them out. Have a look at what your university has
05:07on offer for you.
05:09Well, I don't know who that was, but that's some top-notch journalism. Hopefully, that
05:13was some helpful information for some of you watching at home. But now, let's take a break,
05:17take a breath and join Kate for today's Buddles Book Club.
05:26Well, hi Kate.
05:27Hiya.
05:28What book have you brought in for us today?
05:29Well, so I've just got the one book to talk about today and I'm very excited because it's
05:33one of my favourites and we can't have an episode dedicated to societies without mentioning
05:37the OG, The Secret History, by Donna Tartt.
05:40Great. That's quite a popular choice, isn't it?
05:43Sure.
05:44So, why don't you tell us a bit about what it's a book about?
05:46So, it's going to be really tricky to summarise quickly actually, but basically we follow
05:51Richard as he begins university in Vermont and he rapidly becomes really entangled in
05:57an elite society of classic students, at which point the only thing I can really say is everything
06:03starts going downhill very, very quickly. And I'm such a huge fan of this book and not
06:07only is the writing absolutely incredible, but the way the characters and the narrative
06:11are constructed makes you notice new aspects with every read.
06:14And I fear that it might be a bit obvious, but why is this book your choice this week?
06:19Well, aside from the main focus being on societies, I picked The Secret History for this week
06:25based on its brilliant depiction of both finding and losing yourself in a university setting
06:30and it completely transports you to the forests of Vermont and adds a complete sense of claustrophobia.
06:36Following the Greek class, the things slowly deteriorate really showcases the different
06:41responses to truly losing track of what you believe in and your morals, especially with
06:45the influences of peer pressure and money politics.
06:53Next up, let's hear what our resident student Sam has to say about societies.
07:00Hello, my name is Sam Says. This is the part of the show where I talk to you about student
07:07experiences to use my experiences to give you some advice that will help you.
07:12This week we're going to be talking about clubs and societies. Now this can be a massive
07:17part of your university experience. Joining a club society can help you make friends for
07:22life. So this week I'm going to give you some advice on how to engage with them and be a
07:26part of them and even find one for yourself that suits you as a person. Let's get into it.
07:31The first thing I'm going to talk about is how to join a club or society. When you first
07:34start the university year, they have something called the Freshers' Fair. This is where they
07:37have loads of schools set up for you to go and meet and talk to the people that run the
07:40different societies. There are so many different types of societies, such as sports and creative
07:45and pretty much anything you can think of. You may be thinking, what happens if I miss
07:49out on Freshers' Fair? How do I join a society or club then? University websites will have
07:54dedicated pages towards all of the different societies and clubs. This way you can go on
07:58there, scroll through, find the ones you want to go to and see where you can go to join
08:02them. This is an easy way to do this, even if you don't want to go to society fair and
08:06find it a bit overwhelming, like I did in my first year.
08:09A final tip I'd give you in joining a society is make sure to stay engaged. Go to events
08:13every week, keep up with the newsletters or even just staying active on the group chat
08:17is such a helpful thing.
08:18Last week in this week's episode of Sam Says, I've been talking about societies and clubs.
08:23These can be such a huge part of your university experience and joining them can help you make
08:27friends for life.
08:28Thank you for watching and see you next time.
08:36And now I'm joined by Etelie Reynolds, Vice President of the UKC Handball Society.
08:40Hi Etelie.
08:41Hello.
08:42So, obvious question, what made you initially decide to get involved with the society?
08:47When I moved to university I was moving to a completely new town. I didn't know anyone
08:51and I knew that societies were a fantastic opportunity to kind of meet new people.
08:56I played handball previously, so I joined the society and it was probably the best decision
09:01I ever made. I met loads of new people, people from countries like, you know, North Macedonia,
09:07Lithuania, Germany. So, yeah, it's just really helped me come out of my shell and make loads
09:12of new friends.
09:13Lovely. And, well, Vice President, impressive position.
09:16What made you decide to get involved in committee as well?
09:19Well, it all started when I was in my second year. I became Treasurer for the society and
09:24I just wanted to, you know, learn a few new skills. I'd never done anything like that
09:28before. So, yeah, it was just an opportunity to try something new. And then from that I
09:33became Vice President this year and that's just been so much fun. All the organisation,
09:38organising trips to Bucks and stuff. Yeah, it's just been a lot of fun.
09:42Nice. And, well, have you noticed that people in the society treat you maybe a bit different
09:46since you've become a committee member?
09:48No, and that's something that's really nice. We're all just, we're quite a small club.
09:53So, everybody is kind of friends with one another and I didn't notice anything different
09:58when I got my role as Vice President. It was really nice.
10:01Oh, it's lovely. And, well, it has maybe stressed that it comes with committee, invariably it
10:06does, to be fair. Have you noticed that has had an impact on kind of your wider uni life,
10:11affected your studies?
10:12Not really. Being in a committee is partly about being in a team. We delegate jobs to
10:17each other and it never gets too stressful. If somebody's a little bit stressed, they
10:22can always say and we'll help them out. For example, we're currently organising to travel
10:26up to Nottingham for the Bucks finals, which we're really excited about. But that has come
10:31with a lot of planning. We've got to book accommodation, transport, but we've kind of
10:35all given ourselves a little job and it's made it not that stressful. We're all kind
10:39of very chill, helping each other out. And, yeah, it's working very well so far.
10:45Brilliant. Nice. And, well, fun one. What do you think is your, let's say, favourite
10:51memory within the society?
10:53Oh, there's been so many. But when I was in my first year, we went on a little trip to
10:58Spain, which actually ended in a midnight swim at the beach. And we were just laughing
11:04and having fun. And I've got to say, and getting to the Bucks finals this year, the second
11:10round of Bucks, we won both of our games as well. And that was really fun.
11:13Nice. It sounds like a really great society to be part of.
11:15It is a lot.
11:16You must all be very close.
11:17Yeah. Yeah. It's so much fun.
11:18Thanks for coming in.
11:19No worries.
11:20Well, you've been watching Kent Student 101 live here on KMTV. There's more news made
11:26for you just throughout the evening. And don't forget, you can always keep up to date on
11:33our website, kmtv.co.uk. Have a good night.
11:43Bye.