WHAT WOULD possess a seemingly well adjusted group of people to take and develop 5,000 photographs of their campus, documenting the ebb and flow of university life over a single day? In particular, why would anybody bother to do it in UCD?

Take a bow, then, the UCD Photographic Society, whose members took the 5,000 photographs in question and displayed them in the form of a clock. For their efforts, they are among the eight societies nominated for the National Event of the Year by a college society, one of two national awards which will be presented at a reception in Cork today.

The National Society of the Year Awards, sponsored by AIB and organised by the Board of Irish College Societies, are now in their second year. In addition to the eight societies competing for the title of Event of the Year, eight societies will also compete for the overall title of Society of the Year.

The societies in competition have all won the Society of the Year Award in their own individual colleges and they are, in no particular order, TCD's Chapel Choir, UCD's Commerce and Economics Society, DCU's Business and Enterprise Society, the NCIR's Student Society for Human Resource Management, UCC's Dramatic Society, UL's Radio Society, Maynooth College's Environmental Society and UCG's Political Discussion Society.

Competing events in the Event of the Year category include a Flux conference on sustainable development (Maynooth's Environmental Society); the strangely titled Soul Week Mystery Tour by UL's Mature Students' Society; Vivienne Westwood and Jo Brand at the Phil in TCD; and UCD's 5,000 photographs.

The awards will be presented by Minister for Sport Bernard Allen in UCC.