Annual QUB Oxjam promises to be a mad one

If previous years are anything to go by


In my short time on this earth, there are two things I’ve learned about the student community and, what really gets them pumped: Number one, excessive amounts of alcohol/dancing. Number two, charitable/political activism.

Well on Monday 24th of October you have an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. At 7pm the QUB Oxfam Society is having their annual charity ‘OxJam’ gig in Bar Sub. Halloween themed, the Oxjam party promises to be a mad one, featuring great bands like Electric Octopus, Echo Raptors, Janty and the Whalers and The Fugues.

Personally, I’m most excited for student ska heads Janty and the Whalers, who you may have recently heard on Queen’s Radio. I’ve been to a few of their gigs, and if you take nothing else from this article, at least go see them. If you need some reassurance it will be a good night, here’s a picture of the last time I was at a gig of theirs.

At a Janty gig; taps aff

William Jupp, the society chairman, said: “Our OxJam has always been about providing humanitarian aid, so all of the proceeds are going to the Saving Lives 24/7 fund.”

Saving Lives 24/7 is an Oxfam fund that focuses on emergency situations that arise out of the blue, such as Hurricane Matthew in Haiti. A big problem with disaster events like Matthew, is that for countries like Haiti, we don’t hear about the damage it does, or how we can help. Media outlets in developed western countries like to tell us about everyone having to move upstate in Florida, but we learn next to nothing about how people reacted to the hurricane in Haiti.

And that is why the Saving Lives 24/7 fund is so important; William, who is a mechanical engineering student in his final year, says “it provides aid from many tragedies not only the crises caught in the eye of the media at the time. Oxfam have been providing aid to Haiti for a while and will obviously be increased in will be the wake of this recent hurricane.”

One of our friendly local Oxfam representatives

The gig is only a fiver and fancy dress is encouraged. There’s a prize for the best costume and the normal SU drinks offers apply. You can buy tickets for the gig in the SU today, or at the door on the night. I think I’ve made my case for going out this Monday. If my mixture of charitable guilt-tripping and fun-loving antics hasn’t attracted your interest, then you’re a lost cause. Or you know, just strapped for cash like every other student.