March 2010 Recap & Poll Results [GlasgowUniPhoto.com]
Where’d the term go? It’s almost Easter and a lot of people are jetting off home or some exotic locations for the next few weeks, before coming back just in time for several excruciating weeks of exams. It’s gonna be a pretty quiet month around campus.
Fan update: The Facebook Page for this blog now has a fantastic 117 fans, and there are 107 people following the blog on Twitter. Thank you to everyone who’s either a follower or a fan (and not forgetting about those of you who frequently check back on the site to see the new posts)! Please spread the word about this blog, and suggest the Facebook page to friends, you’ll get some imaginary internet cookies if you do. Yay!
Now, moving on, poll results. March was the month of student politics and elections. I posted a collage each from the SRC, GUU and QMU elections (missed the GUSA elections, overslept. The entire day. Oops). As for the results, pretty pleased to see that the majority of respondents do actually vote, leaving just 12% or respondents to consider student elections a waste of time. Quite interested in finding out why people think they’re a waste of time, so if anyone who said they’re a waste of time reads this, do leave a comment below and say why. Pretty please?
The poll for the month of April is asking where you lived during your first year as a student at Glasgow University, be it as an undergraduate or a postgraduate.
The reason I’m asking this question right now is because in the coming months students entering the University in September will be filling in applications for residences, trying to choose between all the possible student halls of residence. To add to this, once the weather gets a bit better, I’m heading out to photograph all the University’s different student halls around Glasgow. Well, attempting to anyway.
If you have any comments about any of the student halls, or short stories about your time at the halls, leave a comment on the bottom of the poll, found here: http://poll.fm/1sb0f, or on the coming blog posts featuring the various student halls.
Below, as usual, are all the photos from the last month:
![March 7th: N is for... Nightline [ABC Sundae]](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4422238793_c520539e00_s.jpg)
![March 21st: O is for... Open Day [ABC Sundae]](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4464440246_f4024b150f_s.jpg)
![March 29th: Mackintosh House [What Is That?]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/4161138138_14de3d8e70_s.jpg)
Davidson Building Lecture Theatre (Room 208)
Had a little bit of difficulty finding this lecture theatre. There are no signs directing you to the Davidson Building‘s main lecture theatre, Room 208. Well, none within the building at least, which is where you would first look for a lecture theatre, wouldn’t you? The lecture theatre is actually outside the building (although connected to it), and to get into the Davidson Building, you will undoubtedly walk past it.
To complicate matters even more, the Davidson Building, the Wolfson Building and the West Medical Building make up one large building, linked on the inside. There is a Room 208 in the Wolfson Building, which you can get to by entering the Davidson Building and taking the stairs down, entering the Wolfson Building without knowing you’ve done so, and walking along the hallway. To my surprise, this particular Room 208 is not a lecture theatre, but someone’s office.
I’m posting a few more photos of this corner of the University next week, and I’ll point out the location of the lecture theatre when I post one of the Davidson Building. You know, just so you won’t make the same mistake I did when looking for Room 208.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
I Want Spring Already!
If you’re in Glasgow or in the UK in general, you know this picture wasn’t taken recently. I took it last year on May 20th. Instead of the above scenery of green green grass and full trees, the branches are empty right now, the grass withered, devoid of colour. The sky is grey and dull. It’s raining. It’s windy. For the past few days BBC Weather has bee predicting a mixture of “Heavy Snow”, “Heavy Rain” and “Blizzards”. I can believe the heavy rain, but I really doubt Glasgow will see any heavy snow. Sleet, yes. Lots of sleet. It’s also so windy right now that our big umbrella got bent.
Can’t wait for Spring. The appearance of more and more spring flowers is quite promising.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Mackintosh House (What Is That?)
![Mackintosh House [What Is That?]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/4161138138_14de3d8e70.jpg)
Right, so the picture posted last Monday wasn’t the face of a four-eyed monster. If you have ever seen any of the furniture designed by Glasgow’s very own Charles Rennie Mackintosh, you would have quickly recognized the photo as a detail of one of his works.
To be more precise, the detail was of the door of the Mackintosh House on Library Hill, attached to the Hunterian Art Gallery. Anyone care to take a stab at why the door is so high off the ground? And if the vertical slit on the door is the mailbox, how do you fit anything through it?
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
A Ship?
Although Glasgow as a city has an extensive shipbuilding heritage, the above is not a throwback to this part of the city’s history. The flagpole and the North Front of the Main Building reminded me of a part of an old school ship, a galleon or something similar.
Come to think of it, there aren’t too many things on campus that can be considered a throwback, a memorial to Glasgow’s shipbuilding days. Can you think of anything around campus that speaks of this part of Glasgow’s history?
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Stair Gardens
This is one of my favourite, yet rarely visited, parts of the University, one which I’m calling Stair Gardens, as I have no idea what its real name is, if it even has a name. Why Stair Gardens? Because the building on the right is the Stair Building.
It’s one of the quietest parts of the University campus, and quite pretty when everything is green and in full bloom, and also at night. Once summer comes along and everything is green again, I’ll post a Day & Night photo of the area.
If this little path with the benches has a name, please do tell.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
More Spring Flowers and a Broken Sign
More signs of Spring getting closer and closer. This patch of grass is also quite picturesque at other times of the year as well, especially when covered in autumn leaves.
On a different note, considering the amount of money the University is currently spending on scaffolding and fixing up the buildings around campus, could a few pounds be directed towards fixing up random signs and etcetera around campus? The fence along University Avenue was recently repainted, and with the restructuring of the University coming up, a lot of money will probably be put towards new signs replacing the old Departmental signs. Let’s hope that existing signs like the one in the photo above will not be forgotten. The “V” has been missing from the above sign for as long I can remember (having only been here for almost two years, I assume it’s been missing for longer than that.)
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Sir Alexander Stone Lecture Theatre
Had my last ever Archaeology lecture today. *sniff*. It was my elective level 1 course I took in second year, my “fun” course, satisfying a childhood dream of being an archaeologist. The lectures were held in the Sit Alexander Stone Building (formerly the Modern Languages Building), in a lecture theatre which, without fail, ALWAYS smells like gas. No, seriously. I swear it’s not just me. Anyone else notice this?
Click on the photo to see larger versions of the panorama.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Kelvin Building
This part of the Kelvin Building dates from 1906, having originally being called the Natural Philosophy Building. The building was extended in the 1950s with the intention of making Glasgow’s Physics Department one of the best in the United Kingdom. (Second best University in the UK to study Physics, so I guess it worked.) I really like this photo of the Kelvin Building, makes it seem like the University is an enormously green place. Which it is. Just not between October and April.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
The Lights Don’t Reach Far Enough
The lights on top of the Adam Smith Building, although beneficial in lighting up the immediate area around the building, don’t reach far enough. The pathway and stairs between the Sir Alexander Stone Building and 14 University Gardens (the Department of Music), just next to and below where the photo was taken, is one of the darkest corners on campus. (I was going to take a photo of it and post it here, but it was too dark. Duh.) With no lights lighting up the stairs and the pathway, the area is a bit dangerous, for many reasons, including slipping when the stairs are wet, and stepping in someone’s dinner. Or worse.
Could we get a light in this corner please? Thanks.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
What Is That? A Four-eyed Monster?
Any idea what this is a photo of? The face of a four-eyed monster from a B-movie? The answer will be revealed next Monday.
What Is That? is a new occasional theme day. I’ll post a close up of something every now and then, typically on a Monday, and then exactly a week later I’ll post a photo which reveals what the first photo was of. You have a week to guess, in the comments, what the photo is of and where it’s from. Simple, no? So hop to it. What is that and where’s it from?
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
O is for… Open Day [ABC Sundae]
![O is for... Open Day [ABC Sundae]](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4464440246_f4024b150f.jpg)
Open Day, which occurs twice a year in June and September, can best be described as mayhem on campus. Some 10,000 prospective students descend upon the campus of Glasgow University to see for themselves what could possibly be their home for four years, and to figure out if this particular University is the place for them.
It would be interesting to find out just how many of the students who visit on Open Days actually end up studying at the University? Anyone reading this come for Open Day and be convinced that this was the place for you?
The next Open Days at the University of Glasgow are on Thursday June 17th and Wednesday September 1st. More information on those can be found here. There’s also an annual Applicants’ Visit Day for students who hold an offer of a place in certain faculties which will be held on Tuesday 30th March this year.
I posted four photos from last September’s Open Day on this blog, including a panorama of the East Quadrangle, a photo of Bute Hall, prospective students sitting on the Hunter Memorial, and one more, all with a little more information about Open Day. The above picture was also taken on the same day as the already posted
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
University of Glasgow from Bar Hill
Now here’s an interesting photo. I’ve said many times that the University Tower is visible from quite a few places around the city of Glasgow, but from some 15 kilometers away?
Went on another field trip with the Level 1 Archaeology course today, this time to Dunblane Cathedral, Doune Castle (where they filmed parts of Monty Python and the Holy Grail), Tappoch Borch and finally the Roman Fort at Bar Hill, located close to the town of Twechar in East Dunbartonshire, some 15 kilometers from Glasgow. The lecturer mentioned that on a clear day one could see the highrises of Glasgow from the hill fort, and, as it was a relatively clear day, I took my camera with a 20x zoom and started taking a few photos of Glasgow. Lo and behold, amongst Glasgow’s highrises was a rather distinctly familiar looking tower. If you can’t find it in the photo above, it’s directly in the middle of the shot.
Anyone know where specifically the highrises in the photo are?
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
University Senate Guest Night Dinner
Last night I had the opportunity to go to the University Senate Guest Night Dinner, having been invited by a friend of mine, the current SRC Minority Ethnic Officer. On the guest list I was listed as the Politics Society President.
The dinner took place underneath the Chapel in the Ferguson Room of One A The Square, and present were the University Senate, including the Principal, Vice Principal, the former Principal, various Professors from Glasgow University and other Universities as their guests, Deans of several Faculties, members of staff, the President of the GUU, and the representatives of several societies, myself included.
The menu for the night was as follows:
Smoked Chicken Terrine
With celeriac slaw and herb drizzle
Chilli Lime Sorbet
Parmesan-crusted Cod Loin
Served with roasted vine cherry tomatoes, saffron potatoes
and Champagne butter sauce
Traditional Apple Crumble
With clotted cream ice cream
Freshly Brewed Coffee
with University Mints
Senate Guest Night Wines
Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Chãteau Beaumont 2005
If you click on the photo above, I’ve tagged an explanation of each little photo on Flickr.
A big thank you Anthony Silkoff for inviting me along and for the opportunity!
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
QMU Annual Election, Spring 2010
After a night out for St. Patrick’s Day (or a night spent at home making flyers and posters for some), the candidates for the Queen Margaret Union Board came out to campaign outside the QMU Building. Unfortunately for them, so did the rain, but not until late in the afternoon. Nevertheless, the candidates and their minions spent all/most of the day outside in the wind, the cold, and eventually the rain, handing out sweets and cupcakes and biscuits and flyers, trying to convince people to vote for them. On the day after St. Patrick’s Day.
As always, I was there with my trusty camera, snapping away. The above collage is made up of some of the best photos I took, with emphasis on the candidates themselves this time, as opposed to several random shots like last time the QMU had an election. If you click on the photo, I’ve added notes to the photo explaining a little bit about what and who is in some of the photos.
The final results of the election can be found on the QMU website at qmu.org.uk.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
QMU Heckling in Jim’s Bar
The Queen Margaret Union held their Heckling meeting the night before the General Election (which I’ll feature tomorrow) in Jim’s Bar. That’s right, on St. Patrick’s Day.
For each board position, the candidates took to the stage, gave a short speech and were then bombarded, to varying degrees, with questions from the audience. I took a lot of photos during the event but I feel this panorama portrays the scene at Jim’s Bar the best, as opposed to a single picture of any candidate or candidates on stage.
To get a better look at the photo and see all the things you’ll otherwise miss, as with all the panoramas I feature on this blog, it’s best viewed large. Click here for the larger versions.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Graham Kerr Lecture Theatre
Had my last Sociology and Anthropology lecture of the term today in the lecture theatre in the Graham Kerr Building, and I figured at the last minute that I most likely won’t be in this particular lecture theatre again during my time at the University. After two terms of sitting in this lecture theatre, it was just as well that I took the opportunity to photograph the lecture theatre.
Come to think of it, seeing as I’m doing a single Honours in Politics, this was my last Sociology lecture of my undergraduate degree. Quite likely it was my last Sociology lecture ever.
Goodbye Marx, goodbye Weber, goodbye Durkheim, and thank you.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
The Adam Smith Building, Looking Good
I might have finally done it. I might have actually succeeded in capturing the Adam Smith Building, the “ugliest building on campus, named after the University’s most famous son”, looking good. Have I? Or am I just imagining it?
It’s also one of the first photos (or a panorama compiled of several photos) I’ve managed to take in which I captured pretty much the entire building in all its glory, and the University Tower thrown in there just for good measure. Click on the photo to gain access to the larger versions of the photo for the best effect. It’s still a very bizarrely shaped building.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
The Queen Margaret Union Building
On this day in 1968, the current Queen Margaret Union (QMU) building was inaugurated by the Principal at the time, Sir Charles Wilson, at the bend in the University Gardens.
Here’s the building presented in all its glory. The odd shape is not a part of the architectural design, but rather the result of creating the above panorama. I rather enjoy creating photos like this one of the buildings on campus, especially of the not-so-pretty ones. Wonder what building I should try next?
On a side note, concerning one of my running themes on this blog, I’m wondering if the Union buildings should be named after someone, like most buildings on campus. Most people refer to the buildings as either the QMU or the GUU, but the building itself doesn’t have an official name, like the Gregory Building (bottom left corner), or the Sir Alexander Stone Building (right side of the photo).
More “On This Day” entries can be found on Glasgow University Story website at universitystory.gla.ac.uk, maintained by the Archive Services. Information also from University Story site.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Politics Society at Holyrood
Took members of the Politics Society to Holyrood today, to see the home of the Scottish Government. The building, although primarily considered a rather ugly building by many, is actually prettier on the inside.
I have one specific comment on a part of the debates chamber design. Regarding the figures on the wall, which are meant to represent the Scottish people, is there a good reason why they closely resemble whisky bottles? You can’t really see them well in this photo. There are some of them visible in the top right corner. If you click the photo, I’ve tagged the designs in the photo on Flickr.
Oh, and I need a haircut.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
How Did That Get There?
Someone has taken the time to draw the letter ‘A’ on a window within the Hunterian Museum, just next to where I took yesterday’s photo. Why is this significant or note-worthy? Because, a) the window is above a tall and wide display, b) it’s drawn on the outside of the window, and c) it’s on the second floor.
How did that get there? That’s really quite impressive, and at the same time mind-bogglingly odd.
On second though, what’s more mind-boggling is how dirty that window is. It looks like it hasn’t been washed a single time since the building was built in the 1880s. How long has that ‘A’ been there?!?
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Hunterian All Packed Up
Remember the photo from a month back of the part of the North Front of the Main Building that was covered in scaffolding? Here’s the reason for the packaging. The Hunterian Museum has closed up, packed up and cleared out the large part of the Museum for roof renovations.
Here’s an earlier photo of the same area before every was packed away.
The reconstruction of the roof will apparently take over a year and the Hunterian Museum is set to reopen some time around April 2011.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Miller on University Gardens
Haven’t really had too many sightings of Miller during the winter months, except for the few times he’s been warming up next to the radiators in the Adam Smith Building, of which I posted a picture in December. With Spring on its way, Miller can be found outside more often.
It’s still a bit cold outside, but Miller has a solution. He’s sitting next to the vents on the side of the building where warm air is escaping from.
Had a thought the other day. Miller has his own appreciation group on Facebook, but I don’t think that’s enough. He needs a Fan Page, because he already has a bunch of fans around campus. The appreciation group has 633 members in it. Talk about a famous cat.
I’ve featured Miller a few times before, which you can find here.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations
On this day in 1776 the first edition of Adam Smith‘s most famous work, The Wealth of Nations, was published. I couldn’t find a first edition copy of The Wealth of Nations to photograph and use as the image for this entry, but I did find a statue of Adam Smith. The statue sits in the Main Building of the University, just below Randolph Hall in the southern part of the building. More on Adam Smith, arguably Glasgow University’s most famous son, here.
One of the book’s main themes is the concept of an invisible hand that “naturally guides a society through self-interest”. Tell me then, why does the index finger on the statue appear to be translucent?
More “On This Day” entries can be found on Glasgow University Story website at universitystory.gla.ac.uk, maintained by the Archive Services. Information also from University Story site.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
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