It’s finally here! After a long summer of an almost empty campus, students have arrived back in Huddersfield and Freshers’ has arrived! For the last couple of weekends the Exec Officers, staff, and the brilliant student volunteers have been helping freshers’ and returning students move in to their accommodation for the new academic year. With students settling in to their new homes, we kicked off Freshers’ last week with a welcome for our new International students!

International Welcome Week kicked off with HudMovies on Wednesday night, and students came and enjoyed the classic British film, Notting Hill, up in the Students’ Union. It was then on to HudKaraoke which was held at Rhubarb, plenty of students got on stage and had a go and everyone had a great evening! Finally, the Discover Yorkshire Tour took place on Friday, where Coco and I took over 30 students on a tour of Yorkshire. It was a great way to end the week of helping international students settle in, as we visited Abbey House Museum in Leeds, Hinchliffe’s Farm, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and even got to finish the day off with a Dixon’s Ice Cream!

Today, we begin Freshers’ Festival 2014, a week full of a wide range of different events for students to enjoy before all the hard work of a new academic year starts. This year is our biggest Freshers’ yet with a range of both free and ticketed events, with something for everybody! Here’s a quick round up of the week’s events:

Monday 22

Freshers’ Fair (Part 1) /// 10:00 – 15:30

Held in the sports hall, Freshers’ Fair gives students the chance to grab loads of freebies, discounts, and gives them the opportunity to meet and find out more about our sports clubs and societies!

HudCrawl /// T-Shirt Pick Up: 18:00 – 19:00. Crawl: 19:00 – Late

The only official Freshers’ Bar Crawl! HudCrawl is back and bigger than before with more venues being added to the route. 1500 students will be joining us out in Huddersfield tonight!

Tuesday 22

Freshers’ Fair (Part 2) /// 10:00 – 15:30

Freshers’ Fair Part 2 will feature a different selection of local businesses and charities joining the sports clubs and societies in the sports hall for the day!

HudMovies /// 17:00 – 22:00

Join us in watching the film you voted for, Bad Neighbours, in the comfort of your Students’ Union. It’s free, so come along with your new flatmates and the popcorn is on us!

Wednesday 23

Campus Tea Party /// 11:00 – 15:00

Come and enjoy some free cake and coffee in the Students’ Union with our Alice in Wonderland themed event!

Bavarian Night /// 21:00 – Late

It’s the first Wednesday night of the year for our clubs and societies! We’re starting off with a Bavarian themed night at our partner bar Rhubarb.

Thursday 25

Wacky Bikes /// 10:00 – 15:30

We have a range of weird and wonderful bicycles for you to try out on the Plaza! It’s free, and just a bit of fun so don’t miss out!

HudComedy @ The Lawrence Batley Theatre /// 19:00 – 22:00

We can’t wait for our headline comedy act for this year’s Freshers’, Chris Ramsey, to entertain us for the night at the LBT! He will also be joined by some other top comedians, such as Nathan Caton.

Friday 26

HudLive /// 17:00 – 00:00

Here’s the big one! HudLive will have that festival feel to it, with students being able to enjoy the sounds of some huge acts such as DJ Fresh and Huw Stephens. Not to mention the student acts that will be playing in the second stage in the arena, The Canopy!

Saturday 27

Huddersfield Town vs Millwall /// 15:00 Kick Off

If you get down to Freshers’ Fair on Monday you may be lucky enough to get your hands on one of 200 match tickets being sold by Huddersfield Town for just £1 each! Town take on Millwall in a Championship fixture.

Come Dine with Hud /// 16:00 – 20:30

Sampling food from various more relaxed bars and restaurants in Huddersfield, this ‘grub crawl’ will showcase some of Huddersfields’ hidden gems for eating out.

Sunday 28

HudQuiz /// 19:00 – Late

Come down to Rhubarb for the final social event of Freshers’ Festival for HudQuiz. You don’t need a team to come down and there are plenty of prizes to be won!

So that’s Freshers’ Festival 14 for you! Make sure you enjoy the week and get along to as many events as possible to help you get to know your Students’ Union, settle in, and meet new people. One final word of advice from me for the week ahead would be to make sure you speak to our sports clubs and societies during Freshers’ Fair as they really can transform your time at University! As always don’t hesitate to come up and speak to myself and the other exec officers in the Students’ Union at any time! Enjoy!

Jordan Aird

Vice President Student Activities