A round up of everything that happened in Warwick during 2016

“Bring on 2017”, “2016 was a curse”, “it’s been a year from hell” everyone cries, but was it really that bad? Was there anything positive birthed this year? 2016 was a worldwide, farcical, malignant charade. But maybe we can find some solace in the news events from the safety of the Warwick bubble. Besides, no end of the year would be the same without a summary of Warwick events.

Armed police stormed the Engineering building after ‘hoax massacre’ message was flagged on Twitter

So, we started off the year with some mild, but fleeting panic, when the university flagged a ‘hoax message’ that insinuated an imminent massacre. A comment on Circleboard was posted to Twitter by a ‘concerned citizen’.

Armed police stormed the Engineering building and conducted questionnaires with students regarding the post. However, they were satisfied that there was no serious threat and no further action was taken against the students concerned. The police released a statement that read:

“We are informed that on speaking to the individual concerned that the police were satisfied that the individual had absolutely no knowledge of the matter they were looking into.”

The Daily Mail painted a very colourful picture of Warwick Uni students following this

Following an article by The Tab about riding the Uniexpress sober, the Mail Online picked the story up and applied their own spin, disparagingly criticising the behaviours of Warwick students, painting them as debauched, drunk hooligans. Lydia’s story was a humorous take on interviewing students about their Uniexpress experiences, as a sober person, without slanderous intent. The Tab then penned an articulate response to the Daily Mail, highlighting their misplaced, sensationalised manipulation.

Kasbah got topical

There was a lot of controversial news surrounding everyone’s beloved Mecca this year. Firstly, there was the condom scandal, whereby Kasbah handed out thousands of potentially unsafe condoms to freshers. City health officials advised that the condoms were unsafe and “could fail if used”, however Kasbah proposed that they were a novelty item and “not recommended for use”.

Then there was the consent row with Kisscam-gate, where Kasbah urged clubbers to ‘neck on’ with bystanders, to be in with the chance of winning a free drink. Undeterred by negative feedback, Kasbah responded by saying that students has “become the moral police and put their own twisted negative depraved interpretation” on the matter.

Most interestingly though, was when Kasbah was reportedly threatened with legal action by Donald Trump. Trump’s legal team apparently sent a threatening letter to Kasbah, warning against the misuse of the Trump image. If you were perchance living under a rock last year, catch up with the Trump legal battle.

Killer Clowns haunted Coventry

The wave of 2016’s ‘Killer Clowns’ haunted Warwick uni, by reportedly chasing a student onto campus. They were also spotted in Coventry carrying ‘knives and hammers’, according to a Facebook article. Hopefully, this lame and intimidating craze won’t return in 2017.

The Oculus building was launched

Warwick launched its Teaching and Learning Building, which according The University of Warwick was “constructed in a key position on central campus. There are two large, state-of-the-art, tiered lecture theatres, 12 other top quality, flexible teaching spaces, study areas and a café.” The stylish building has been received well by both students and staff, and it’s clear to see why.

Warwick’s most eligible bachelor was announced

Hundreds of people voted for second year Management student Nikola Likov to be the most eligible bachelor. He won with 24 per cent of the vote. In his humble acceptance speech, Nikola said that: “The best part of the experience was feeling the amazing support of so many friends and relatives at Warwick and even back home.”

The Warwick Women’s Rowing naked calendar was released

The gals bared all for their naked calendar this year with the aim to boost body positivity in young women. The calendar proceeds also went towards Macmillian Cancer Support.

Warwick Jailbreak winners made it to Oman

Alicia Tordjman and Elliott Cervantes, triumphed the Jailbreak fundraiser, by reaching Muscat, Oman, after travelling through France and then Turkey. This worthy cause raised both money and awareness for Breast Cancer Now. 104 teams were given 36 hours to plead money, through whatever means, to see who could travel furthest across the globe, ultimately raising over £25,000.

Warwick Goose came and went

Despite Warwick Goose entertaining over 3,000 friends, the lovable duck’s account was removed from Facebook. As if we hadn’t experienced enough bereavement in 2016. Never fear though, as you can admire Warwick G’s celebrity from afar in this Facebook page. Although, it’s not as intimate as the online friendship we once shared. However if your life is lacking a new campus friend, then a trolley was also lovingly anthropomorphised by Facebook, who was also welcomed open-armed, by Warwick students, you can add Warwick Trolley here.

The Warwick Naked Rowers 2017 calendar was released

The boys were back stripping off and raising awareness for homophobia in sport in their latest calendar. It’s safe to say this year’s calendar did not disappoint.

They were then banned from YouTube, but they also hit all the national papers 

The Warwick Rowers annual naked calendar promo video was banned from YouTube as it was considered to be “unsuitable for young people”. The boys were also referred to as “pornographers”, despite them raising funds for charities and awareness around homophobic ignorance in sports. However, they have since gone international, again raising awareness in popular news publications, including The Times. Row on boys!

Stagecoach caused furore with replacement bus pass fee

Stagecoach announced that they may now charge up to £301 for a replacement bus pass, where it was previously only £25. Stagecoach stated that this was a preventative measure taken due to suspected ‘abuse’ of the replacement passes. A petition was launched to challenge this decision, which currently has 924 signatures for its 1000 goal.

Banksy graffiti’d in Leamington

We all speculated over whether some graffiti resembling Banksy’s was genuine or not. Despite it having the Banksy signature underneath, many questioned how easy this would be to replicate. Whether the picture of George Osbourne is a Banksy original, or not, this still caused quite a stir and was an interesting talking point for Warwickshire. 

Warwick was appointed its first ever female chancellor

Hurrah for female advancements! The Rt Hon. Baroness Ashton of Upholland GCMG PC (more affectionately known as Catherine Ashton) was appointed as chancellor by The Senate and Council of the University of Warwick, succeeding Sir Richard Lambert.

So there we are, 2016 in the Warwick bubble was certainly eventful, but far less malignant and soul-shattering than the worldwide news of this year. Here’s to 2017!