Societies
There are a a number of societies at St Anne's that you can get involved with:
Music
If you are anything like the current St Anne's students you will be brimming with musical talent, so no doubt you will be wondering about the St Anne's Music Society. St Anne's Music Society is student run, and offers every budding musician in college a chance to escape the essay crisis through communal musical fun. There are also loads of university-wide musical groups, but St Anne's is a good place to start!
The college choir is one of the few non-auditioning choirs in Oxford. We meet on Mondays, and sing everything from Mozart to the Beatles.
St Anne's Swing Band - only this year we formed a swing band to play at all kinds of events both inside and outside college. And we need players! Lots of brass and saxes would be very welcome; it doesn't matter if you're a bit rusty, you'll still be very welcome to come along and give it a try. We're informal, fun and friendly, and have big things planned for the near future, so get involved!
SASJO is the joint college orchestra of St Anne's and St John's. We rehearse once a week and can promise you a jaffa cake break and a trip to the bar afterwards. Our repertoire is a mixture of fun and serious pieces, from Beethoven's 1st Symphony to the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean. Contact: christopher.patrick@st-annes.ox.ac.uk
The Recital Series offers every member of college the opportunity to hear some of the finest musical talent from all over Oxford. College members are invited to take part in recitals, providing a unique platform for any promising performers. One of the recital highlights is the annual Bursary competition, which offers all performers in college the chance to win money for instrumental or singing lessons.
Arts and Lit
We've got lots of groups, and we also have regular open-mic nights - for more about musical things, see music above. In recent years we've had a Film Soc - showing films in our cinema-like lecture theatre every Sunday, including a weekly paper for each film with info on director, cast, critical reception, synopsis and a Stanner's review.
ART: On Sundays, we run a Still Life session in the bar. The Art Room is a nice space to do painting or whatever arty thing it is you want to do providing you don't paint the walls or something - at some point I am sure you will fancy a bit of a splosh about, especially before, after or during essays. In Trinity term, we run an arts week.
DRAMA: While there are loads of things you can get involved in outside college, whether you want to act, produce, direct, whatever... there is a lot that you can do inside too. We have a group of St Anne's Players, re-established a Drama Soc and put on some regular productions! We want everyone to be able to get involved in whatever way they want. There is also Drama Cuppers- a comp for you drama enthusiasts that takes place in the first term, against the other colleges.
The St Anne's Photography Society is a friendly place for those interested in photography to meet each other, go on outings, arrange exhibitions, learn to use the college darkroom and more.
Faith
St Anne's Christian Union
We'd love to welcome you to St. Anne's Christian Union. We meet every week to encourage and pray for one another, and to be resourced to live Jesus-centred lives. Primarily, we meet every Wednesday on even weeks as a college group, and then join up with other colleges for central meetings on odd weeks. There's loads of other stuff to get involved with too: prayer breakfasts, crew dates and G&D's trips feature heavily. We're a really varied bunch of people, from all years, studying different subjects and welcome everyone, whatever your beliefs may be.
Oxford JSoc
Oxford JSoc (Jewish Society) is NOT just a religious society; our aims and events are varied in their nature. JSoc organises social, educational and religious events for students of all shades of observance. With prestigious speakers, bagel brunches and of course Friday night meals, JSoc provides a unique opportunity to mix with other Jewish students. We also provide meals every night of the week at the Oxford Jewish Community Centre so eating kosher food in Oxford should never be an issue.
ISoc
The Islamic Society (ISoc) brings together people of all backgrounds, Muslim or otherwise, to learn about and celebrate Islam. We are committed to creating a tolerant and open-minded environment that stimulates discussion and encourages learning. We also try to foster a sense of community through the organisation of regular social activities. For Muslim students, we provide support and welfare to cater for their religious needs. In the coming term, there will be evening meals organised by ISoc for the duration of Ramadan, regular discussion forums on various Islamic topics, and plenty of weekly football!
HUM
HUM caters for the needs of Hindu, and Indian, students by providing a range of religious, social, and cultural events. HUM also educates Hindus and non-Hindus alike in the teachings and philosophy of Hinduism. Previous events include Holi celebrations, social dinners, interfaith sports and speaker events. This term we will be holding the annual Oxford Diwali Ball along with plenty of other social events for the freshers. For more information about the society and its upcoming events, please visit www.oxfordhum.co.uk.
Academic Societies
Many departments, such as Law, Philosophy and Maths, have their own societies whose members are the undergraduate and graduate students studying these subjects at St. Anne's. Attending academic society events is a great way to get to know other people who are just as enthusiastic about your subject as you are, and you might just learn something new as well.
LGBT
St Anne's is definitely one of the most diverse colleges in Oxford, attracting people from a wide range of backgrounds and walks of life. So there will be no surprise that St Anne's also has an LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) society. Basically there is an LGBT rep who is an undergraduate at the college who's job is to arrange entertainment for the lovely people of that society. This definitely helps within the first term of studying as arriving at a new University and not knowing if anyone else has the same sexuality as you can be pretty scary, as it is always good to have someone you can relate to. Then after getting to know the other members there are regular events throughout the year such as the popular pizza night and drinks. Of course the University also runs an LGBT society so you can join both and enjoy double the fun!
Also there is plenty of support for anyone is college having LGBT-related problems or concerns, as the LGBT rep will always be happy to give advice and guidance. That is along with all the other sources of welfare within college that are happy to help with these issues as well, so don't feel like you have no one that will understand your troubles.
Outside St Anne's
Oxford boasts a large number of societies across the university, all of which run a stall at Fresher's Fair during Fresher's week where you can sign up to anything that takes your fancy. Some you'll get really involved with and love, others you'll never go to, but still be spammed by three years later.
There's so much on offer - cultural & religious societies for each one out there, choirs / bands / organised nights for all musical tastes, comedy / improvisation groups, drama societies, academic based societies for each subject, career orientated societies, food, drink, dance, politics, charities and volunteering.. the list goes on.
To give you an idea at the huge variety: here is a random selection of examples:
Amnesty International. biochemical society. Dr Who Society. Jazz Society. geology society. Salsa society. Oxford belles. PsychOxford. Real Ale Society. Invariant Society. Investment and Finance Society. Dramatic Society. Food Soc. OUCNA 牛津大学中国学生会. Oxonian Review of Books. Oxford Alternotives. Rock music society. Spanish Society. Computer Society. Pro-Life society. Ox Fizz. AIESEC Oxford. Model United Nations. Burma Society. MedSoc. Oxford Gumboots Dance Troupe. Conservation Volunteers. Oxford Wind Band. OU Officers Training Corps. Flamenco society. Stop the war coalition. Wine society. Oxford Development Abroad. Comedy Society. Afro-Carribean Society. RAG. Student Action for Refugees. Cherwell newspaper. Oxford Imps. Travel Aid. People and PLanet. Experimental Theatre Club. The Oxford Union.
Groupspaces isn't a comprehensive list as societies change and are added annually, but it gives you some idea.