Only Cool People Allowed: Castle freshers start secret society

The Bullingdon Club. The most famous, most exclusive dining-club of Oxford University.

Its pedigree stretches back to the eighteenth century and its membership is hand-picked from the most elite young men in the country and has included royalty, nobility and even the current Prime Minister.

But all this pales in comparison to a new, exclusive, invitation-only ‘society’ founded this year by freshers at Castle, Durham University’s oldest college.

The social slum of Durham

OCPA, or “Only Cool People Allowed”, was founded by three girls in Freshers’ Week.

These ballsy freshers are serious. Complete with social sec and exec, they say this society is for the handpicked “social elite”’.

Anyone else having haunting memories of playground bitchiness aged 7? Echoes of “The Ashleys” from Recess?

They also have a weird obsession with The Hunger Games.

One Castleman recalls how “one of the girls stood up at lunch the other day saying she volunteered as tribute”. Intense.

Bit weird…

The girls’ secretive activities are understood to include taking photos of other freshers and second years and sending the photos to each other to rate their attractiveness.

A Castle Freshers’ rep, who wishes to remain anonymous, told The Tab that while they’re “glad [the girls] are making friends, it’s starting to feel like something out of Mean Girls but lamer”.

And to make matters worse, the OCPA fever is spreading. Even some members of the rugby team, who originally ridiculed the group, have now decided to join.

According to sources at the college, the society has become big enough to be a welfare issue, and the JCR have stepped in.

“I think some people feel/felt intimidated by them, while others are just disappointed about the primary school mentality that transpires through such behaviour”, says a Castle second year.

Floreat Castellum, Castle’s college newspaper, was prevented on reporting on the club by college officials, reportedly for fear that the girls’ actions would reflect badly on the college.

Floreat Castellum has been prevented from reporting on OCPA

If you haven’t got your invitation yet, maybe you’re just not cool enough.