IT MAY be awkward to mention it in these politically correct times, but the Native Americans could be a pretty rough bunch when they wanted to be. Strangers who wandered unwittingly onto tribal lands could find themselves running a gauntlet of old squaws with clubs and young children with sharp sticks, who would form a sort of, human tunnel through which the new arrival would have to run.
Assuming he survived, the visitor would be bruised, battered and significantly wiser about the realities of frontier life than he was when he arrived.
College life is not dissimilar, although in this case the initiation rites take the form of Freshers' Weeks, Society Days and the other assorted welcomes organised by your fellow students in the hope of encouraging you to join the college clubs and societies. Trinity College's Freshers' Week has perhaps the most in common with the Injun tunnel of pain, as clubs and societies form a gauntlet along the centre of Front Square through which new arrivals must pass in order to register. UCD offers even less room to manoeuvre, as clubs and societies cram the Arts Block in an effort to swell their ranks.
For the fresher arriving at their new university, RTC, DIT college or other third level institution, this can be a daunting prospect, yet these clubs and societies, along with local students' unions, offer incoming students one of the best ways to settle into college life and avoid the possibility of loneliness, isolation or simply being totally overwhelmed by the whole experience.
"It can be difficult enough to settle in at first but one of the easiest ways of settling into college life and making new acquaintances and friends is to become involved in clubs and societies," says Seamus Doran, president of the students' union in the University of Limerick. "There's no need to go looking for them. They'll come looking for you in the first few weeks."
Sadly, some students persist in viewing college as merely an extension of secondary school. Having worked so hard to gain the points required for a place in college, they view clubs and societies as somehow frivolous, a distraction from the main business of passing exams and obtaining a degree. Yet clubs, societies and students' unions are an integral part of the college experience and students who do not participate in them in some way not only miss out on a wealth of experience and enjoyment but may also make college life more difficult for themselves.
Clubs and societies provide not only a release from the stresses and strains of study and lectures but also a means of meeting people from all areas of the college in an informal atmosphere. They provide, in a sense, a safety net for students, an easy way to form a network of relationships to help you through college.
And when money is scarce, clubs and societies can be relied upon to rustle up coffee and biccies, supply free pints or simply provide a means of spending an entertaining evening in college instead of spending long fruitless hours in the library or long lonely hours at home.
Most charge a nominal fee of £1 or £2 to Join, which usually covers you for nearly all of their activities for the rest of the year. Part of the £150 charge each student pays to the college also goes towards subsidising these activities, so you are paying in a very direct way for the provision of student social and political activities and it is up to you to get your money's worth.
In addition, most employers look beyond a student's academic record when considering his or her application for a job. Social skills, involvement in extracurricular activities and a willingness to take responsibility by helping with the running of a club or society are now frequently as important as exam results when looking for a job. "You have to get involved," says Seamus Doran. "Unless you become involved in clubs and societies you can't show employers that you're a team player or even an all-round person."
The development of student radio stations based in UCC, UCG, UL/Mary Immaculate College and DCU have all added an extra-dimension to the sort of activities to which new arrivals can contribute. The Irish Times also does its bit: the RTE third-level quiz show Challenging Times is our baby and the annual Irish Times Debate is the oldest student debating competition in the country.
Students' unions, student health centres and college student services offices also provide an array of support services for students. The students' unions in TCD and UCD have co-operated for the past two years in the provision of the Niteline, a freephone service for students who may be experiencing difficulties of an emotional, educational, personal or sexual nature while at college.
Waterford RTC students' union, meanwhile, offers commercial services such as typing, stationary, entertainment and e-mail as well as non-commercial services such as welfare advice and accommodation advice. The union has also been heavily involved in the development of medical services for students, which are now available in three centres around the city at student-friendly costs.
"The students' union represents and promotes the students' interests," says John McGrath, president of the students' union in Waterford RTC. "It promotes them in every way, from the simple things like assistance with accommodation problems, through referrals to counselling or helping them if they're just stone broke one day. We represent them at governing body, at academic council and through the Union of Students in Ireland. The range is so wide."
The simplest way to get involved in local students' unions is by acting as a class representative. "Class reps are the parliament of the union," says John McGrath. "They are the ultimate decision-making body so the power actually comes from the bottom up. It's a way of controlling your environment to some extent, of controlling your destiny."
This element of destiny-control has led a number of students' unions to initiate the development of capital projects using student-approved increases in capitation. UCC is developing a new sports centre in this way, UCD is funding the refurbishment and extension of its student bar and UL is set to follow suit with a proposal for a new student centre.
Finally, unless you are a student in UCC, UL, TCD or Maynooth, you are a member not only of your own students' union but of the Union of Students in Ireland, the national students' union. For a variety of historical reasons USI remains unpopular in the universities mentioned above, but it does provide information and support to member unions in addition to running its own student club, Club USI, at its Aston Quay HQ in Dublin.
DUBLIN
Dublin City University: DCU is blessed with a particularly splendid sports centre and last year acquired land for development and for use as extra playing fields. Of its clubs and societies, media production, photography and drama remain popular.
On the social side, the college's previously, anonymous bar has undergone a facelift and is particularly busy on Thursday nights. The Slipper, right across from the Ballymun Avenue entrance to the college, also attracts students. Further afield, the Gravediggers (by the back gates of Glasnevin cemetary) is old, atmospheric and serves great Guinness.
Trinity College, Dublin: TCD's new student centre at Pearse Street comes on line this year and should give the college a new gigs venue. Currently, the university boasts the Buttery (somewhat spartan but still popular) and the Pav (lots of sporting types, nice to drink outside in the summer) as on-campus bars, although the future of the Buttery and the prospects for a bar in Pearse Street appear to be up in the air at present. Given its city centre location, students call just about anywhere they lay their drinking hats "home", but The Stag's Head off Dame Street is a hardy perennial, as are O'Neill's of Pearse Street, Kenny's and the Lincoln at Lincoln Place, and Kehoe's and The Duke off Grafton Street.
The Central Societies' Committee, the only such committee in the country to be entirely student-run and student-administered, takes care of societies in the college, including the old debating societies, the Hist, Phil and Theo. TCD Players, the science fiction society and the more recently formed jazz society are also popular.
Clubs are run by DUCAC and include rug, by, soccer and GAA as well as more exotic pursuits like shooting, diving, fencing and a range of martial arts.
University College, Dublin: With its huge, sprawling campus UCD can seem a little impersonal and overpowering to new arrivals, but both the students' union and the student bar are centrally located and the area around the Arts Block remains the focus of much student activity.
UCD has a splendidly appointed sports centre, also with its own bar, and the university continues to do well in the sporting area under the watchful eye of Dr Tony O'Neill. The soccer team is particularly well-known, especially following last season's premiership adventure. UCD is also home to an extraordinary range of societies, including old debating reliables the L&H and Law Soc and the excellent Dramsoc.
Apart from the soon-to-be-transformed student bar, the Montrose Hotel across the Stillorgan dual carriageway attracts post-event students as well as Kiely's of Donnybrook and the usual city-centre haunts.
Maynooth: Maynooth's student centre continues to provide the focus for most student activities, with special bar extensions throughout the year and a range of visiting bands.
The college also has around 60 clubs and societies, including the Youth Resources Society which last year scooped the inaugural AIB National Society of the Year Award, organised by the Board of Irish College Societies.
NCAD: The Clock on Thomas Street usually becomes familiar territory to NCAD students by the end of their first year in college, although the college is only a quick dash away from the Dame Street area, which appears to be sprouting new bars at an extraordinary rate. Most societies tend to revolve around creative talents, given the nature of the college itself.
DIT: Spread over six city centre locations, the DIT has both the advantage of considerable student numbers and the disadvantage of a somewhat fragmented identity. The main concentration of students is in the Kevin Street/Aungier Street area, so the bars on Wexford Street, including the Mean Fiddler, are easily accessible.
The introduction of semesterisation in some areas of the DIT has not had a good effect on club and society life, yet the DIT remains strong on faculty-based societies and the colleges compete against each other in their annual sports day. Kevin Street also has a swimming pool, incidentally, the only college in the city fortunate enough to be in that position.
Tallaght RTC: Tallaght is the new kid on the third-level block, but has a dedicated students' union and extended student facilities this year. Golf, soccer and rugby are popular with the sporting type while Molloy's and The Dragon are among the local hostelries providing post-sport refreshment.
CORK
University College, Cork: UCC has undergone a rapid growth in its student population in recent years and the students' union has responded with the opening of a student-centre which tends to draw groans of envy from other third-level colleges. With its bar now open for business the centre should provide an excellent focus for student activities this year.
Clubs and societies are extremely strong in UCC: their debaters do well and last year the college hosted the Irish Student Drama Association festival. If socialising, you are likely to find your peers on what is known as the "Washington Street Strip", including the obviously targeted Thirsty Scholar and Rosie O'Grady's.
Cork RTC: Faculty-based societies do particularly well in Cork RTC, among them tourism and mechanical engineering. Hurling, football, swimming and rowing are also on the agenda and the college has traditionally, produced a fine quiz team, although they tend to be bridesmaids rather than brides. The rather dramatically named Outpost is the drinker's home from home, while Gorby's has usually figured in the clubs list.
GALWAY
University College, Galway: Opened last year, UCG's £4 million student centre has a common room, health centre and new students' union offices a large, sparkling bar which will open in November. UCG remains strong on debating and quizzes, having won The Irish Times-sponsored Challenging Times quiz for the last two years.
The students' union, which promises an active year this year, is one of a number of unions around the country involved in Campuswatch, a programme designed to ensure the safety of staff and students in the college.
Galway itself has a reputation as a vibrant city, due in no small part to the contribution of the students who call it home. Of its many pubs and clubs, McSwiggin's and Taylor's tend to attract the many among the university mob.
Galway RTC: Galway RTC has around 50 clubs and societies, with marketing, drama and GAA among the most popular. It is also one of the most liberal of the RTCs, with a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights officer likely to be appointed next year and an LGB group among the proposals for this year. The King's Head, The Quays and Roisin Dubh's have all tended to be popular with the RTC crowd.
LIMERICK
University of Limerick UL's Stables bar and union complex is the centre of on-campus student activity in the university and the union last year received student approval for an increase in capitation to build a new student centre beside it.
UL also has good sports facilities and a societies scene which has grown considerably in recent years, particularly in the area of debating. Rugby has been growing in popularity and, perhaps less expectedly, cricket.
The union's ents service is extremely student friendly and its events tend to be well-organised and supplemented by bus services to and from Castletroy, where the campus is located. Student bars include that old favourite Doc's and The Lock.
Limerick RTC: The RTC is spread over a number of locations but it has an excellent students' union structure, with representatives in each location. Society events can be a little problematical if you happen to be in one of the more far-flung reaches of the RTC's empire when they are happening but the college has a good reputation in the clubs and socs area, with the college's sports council looking after a range of sports including soccer, GAA and volleyball. Mickey Martin's and Larry Murphy's have tended to be popular spots, although Doc's also gets a frequent, look-in.
OTHER AREAS
Athlone RTC: Athlone has benefited from one of the best-organised students' unions in the country in recent years and clubs and societies are diverse. They include accountancy, music, equestrian, canoeing, rugby, football, hurling and table tennis, although keep an eye out for more during Freshers' Week. Student parents have also traditionally been well-catered for by both the college and the union. Bertie's Bar, right across the road from the college, is a student favourite.
Carlow RTC: Carlow has long enjoyed a reputation as a particularly vibrant student town, although its union has suffered because of an inadequate capitation grant in recent years. This has not stopped the union from providing an excellent service to its students, including a huge range of clubs and societies including hockey, soccer and hillwalking.
