World AIDS Day Flashmob

Continuing with yesterday’s events, a group of students arranged a flashmob to mark World AIDS Day by forming a red ribbon with their bodies and holding up red pieces of paper.

I was up on top of the Queen Margaret Union, taking photos and the video below, where I was kindly let by the people at the QMU. I’ve got a few other shots from the rooftops which I’ll upload in a few days. But first, I will feature the “winner” of November’s poll for the Ugliest Building on campus with several days worth of photos, starting tomorrow. You can already see the north entrance to the building on the left hand side of the photo above.

[Poll #7: What grade would you give the year 2009?]
Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below!
© 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com

World AIDS Day

December 1st is World AIDS Day. At Glasgow University the week of November 30th to December 4th is SHAG Week (Sexual Health at Glasgow Week), which “is designed to promote safe sexual practice among students at the University of Glasgow.”

Qudos at the QMU was home to another Day of Action, promoting charity and sexual awareness. Condom fairies were also out at The Hive on Thursday and at Cheesy Pop on Friday, handing out free condoms to students.

[Poll #7: What grade would you give the year 2009?]
Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below!
© 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com

November 2009 Recap and Poll Results [GlasgowUniPhoto.com]

The winner of The Ugliest Building at Glasgow University is… the Boyd Orr Building!! Hurray!

The 1960s were not a good time for Glasgow University, architecturally speaking. The November poll asked for visitors’ opinions on the ugliest building on campus and out of the top ten ugliest buildings on campus, six (6!!!) were built in the 1960s. Running down the list below, we have the Adam Smith Building (1967), Queen Margaret Union (1969), Rankine Building (1969), University Library (1968), Stevenson Building (1961) and the Fraser Building (originally built in 1966, refurbished for 2009).  The odd ones out are the winner, the Boyd Orr Building, opened in 1972, the Round Reading Room, which predates the move of the University to Gilmorehill, the Joseph Black Building, built between 1936 and 1954 and extended in the 1960s and 1982, and finally the enigmatic Maths Building, for which I couldn’t find a year that it opened, although I know it was pretty much the same time as the Boyd Orr Building.

In other words, six of the ugliest buildings at Glasgow University, two are from the very early 1970s, and one more was extended in the 1960s. Not a very good decade I guess.

Top ten ugliest buildings below, full results of the poll here.

Below are thumbnails to all the 30 posts from the past month.

As a final note, my apologies for the non-daily posting. I’m attempting to get the blog up to date by posting everything retroactively.

The last poll for 2009 asks how you would grade the past year.

Bagpipes

In case one needs more reminders of being in Glasgow and Scotland, there aren’t many such better than bagpipes. Spotted this one a while back near the Main Building, pacing back and forth tuning his instrument, or something like that. Can one tune a bagpipe? Or is it supposed to be out of tune?

[Poll #6: What is the UGLIEST BUILDING at Glasgow University?]
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© 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com

G is for… Graffiti [ABC Sundae]

Graffiti is ubiquitous in the Western world and why would a University campus be any different. Graffiti is pretty much any writing or drawing on property and is thus literally everywhere, and it doesn’t have to be disruptive or a mere elaborate tag or pseudonym. Sometimes it’s for comedic expression, venting exam stress, or a statement.

The above is from the men’s bathroom downstairs in the Glasgow University Library, before the welcome desk. I’ll post some more photos of scribbled and painted words, messages and ‘words of wisdom’ every now and then, all under the tag ‘graffiti‘.

ABC Sundae is a fortnightly theme day, occurring every other Sunday, one letter of the alphabet at a time. Click here for more ABC Sundae.

[Poll #6: What is the UGLIEST BUILDING at Glasgow University?]
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© 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com

Flint Arrowheads

Just a step away from Glasgow University is the Kelvingrove Museum. My first Archaeology tutorial was in the Kelvingrove Museum, learning about the history of neolithic Scotland, and ending with us carefully playing with flint arrowheads from the Neolithic Age, the Iron Age and the Mesolithic Age. The first two arrowheads above are from the Iron Age, the second two from the Neolithic Age.

[Poll #6: What is the UGLIEST BUILDING at Glasgow University?]
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© 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com

Diagram of an Object

Sitting just outside the Hunterian Art Gallery, next to one of the busiest stretches of walkway on campus, is a bronze piece of art. How many students can name it?

That’s the problem with art on a University campus. Most students don’t know/care about art or statues or random bronze shapes.

The above piece of art, located on one of the most visible spots on campus, is called Diagram of an Object, 1990,  by Indian-born Dhruva Mistry.

[Poll #6: What is the UGLIEST BUILDING at Glasgow University?]
Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below!
© 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com