12 | STEPS 2023 The nine colleges are, on one hand, a steady fixture of life at Lancaster and have been, in some cases for almost 60 years. Whenever you graduated, there will be an element of college life that you can reminisce over with fellow alumni. Yet, on the other hand, they are a constantly evolving reflection of student life today. We hear how colleges are making changes to keep up with the times while continuing to celebrate their history. Refreshing changes If you’ve visited campus recently, you might have spotted some bright new college spaces. Grizedale’s common room has been transformed thanks to Fine Art students Charley Burt and Lauren Ferguson who have painted a mural which pays homage to the college’s namesake forest. In November 2022, Pendle bands gained a space to practise and perform. Staff and students have donated musical equipment and the room is proving to be a hit in drawing bands to Pendle Live, the college’s monthly live music event. Furness is now no longer the University’s smallest college. Sixty new student rooms in seven flats now occupy space above the college facilities. With between 7 and 11 students in each, the flats are bigger than the older Furness accommodation with a spacious kitchen, dining and lounge area. And, having updated its common and music rooms, Cartmel now has to refurbish its dining area and invest in a new cinema room. Coping with the cost of living Everyone’s feeling the pinch right now, students included, and all nine colleges and the University are finding ways to help them with the cost of living. From Fylde to Graduate College, there are pop-up events in college bars, cafés and restaurants where students can grab a free hot meal. There is also particular help for students in financial difficulty, including a new fund to support students that need it and community cupboards offering free food and hygiene products – an initiative that started in Furness and has now been adopted by all colleges. Celebrating your memories With several big birthdays on the horizon, college teams are keen to receive your stories and photos of university life. Elder twin colleges, Bowland and Lonsdale will be 60 next year and the college teams are seeking your images from any decade. Grizedale, on the other hand, will turn 50 in 2025 and former Principal, Andrew Okey, would like to receive alumni stories, particularly if you were on the JCR Executive during Keeping up with the colleges Fylde well-being event with alpacas Furness celebrations The newly-refurbished Pendle music room
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