Newman College (University of Melbourne) - Undergraduate Student Life (Junior Common Room)

Undergraduate Student Life (Junior Common Room)

Newman College Students' Club

Such a structure provides a number of benefits, including giving students the autonomy to plan and run their own functions either in partnership with the administration (should the function be on college grounds) or separate to it, as well as contributing to a sense of tradition and belonging. All undergraduate members of Newman College are accepted into the Newman College Students' Club (NCSC), a self-governing incorporated organisation which runs day-to-day and special events in the college. An executive committee (the General Committee) is elected annually. The President and Treasurer are elected directly to their positions. The President then allocates various portfolios to the elected members of the General Committee. The portfolios include Vice-President, Secretary, Community Service, Culture, Functions and Male and Female Sports.

The members of the 2013 NCSC General Committee are:

• President: Dom Gasparini
• Vice-president: James Lenehan
• Treasurer: Tom Hennessy
• Secretary: Peter Catterson
• Community Service: Patrick Woods
• Culture: Will Pridmore
• Functions Head: Rebecca McElhatton
• Male Sports: Will Howard
• Female Sports: Genevieve Lawrence

The general committee-elect duly appoints members of the Students' Club to chair the following year's various sub-committees with specific responsibilities. These committees include:

• Adventures
• Assets
• Ball
• Blue Ribbon
• Daniel Mannix Memorial Lecture
• Dining Room
• Drama
• International
• Music
• The Niffirg (Student Publication)
• Orientation
• Pool Room
• Public Speaking & Debating
• School Liaisons
• Spiritual
• Sustainability
• Supporters
• The Vestra (Yearbook)

Co-curricular activities:

Apart from a reputation for academic excellence, the college places a strong emphasis on participation in co-curricular activities, with music, sport and the dramatic arts playing a large role in life at Newman. The 2011 college production was A Chorus of Disapproval by Alan Ayckbourn. Inter-collegiate soirées are held many times throughout the year, showcasing the many talents of the students, with the Very Reverend Peter L'Estrange SJ Prize, awarded at the end of the year to the best performing artist in college. The Very Reverend Michael Scott SJ Prize is the annual art competition and the college is a strong participant in all inter-college sporting endeavours, especially in football, netball, softball and tennis.

Newman students also have a strong sporting culture, having won more than half of the intercollegiate football premierships ever played. In 2011 the college won the men's hockey, football and basketball inter-collegiate premierships.

Newman students also organise "fresher" initiations for first-years, a College tradition for many years.

Daniel Mannix Memorial Lecture:

The Archbishop Daniel Mannix Memorial Lecture started in 1977 and is a highlight of both the university and college academic calendar. It was named in honour of the third Archbishop of Melbounrne, who was a driving force behind the formation of the college and for improving the opportunities of Catholic students. It has been delivered in the past by such prominent people as the Rt Hon. Malcolm Fraser, the Hon. Kim Beazley, the Hon. Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Patrick Dodson, Ita Buttrose, Sir Gustav Nossal, the Hon. Alexander Downer, Manning Clark and the Hon. Justice Alastair Nicholson. In 2011 it was delivered by Christine Nixon APM.

Formal dinners:

Formal dinners are held at 6.30 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the academic year. Attendance is not mandatory, however, all members of the college must wear an academic gown and international standard business attire. There are ample occasions during the academic year with a black tie or morning dress code, including the Students' Club, Valete and Commencement dinners. At formal dinners, traditional formalities are observed. Students enter the hall and stand in place prior to the arrival of the members of high table - the rector, members of the senior common room and other invited guests - who process in and after the bell has been sounded, grace is then said. It is considered discourteous to leave the hall before the final grace. Formal dinner are followed by students' club meetings in the coffee lounge adjacent to the dining room.