Today is World Population Day, which is an annual event to raise awareness of global population issues. Bournemouth University has a growing population and is now home to around 18,000 students. Much of this population is split into smaller sub-populations (totally not sure if that’s a word I just invented… but lets go with it haha), such as those in sports or societies.

Population 1: Faculties

Firstly, I identify with my faculties at university. If you aren’t aware, BU has four faculties:

• Faculty of Media and Communication
• Faculty of Management
• Faculty of Science and Technology
• Faculty of Health and Social Science

My course, BSc Marketing, is quite unique. I actually sit in both the Faculty of Media and Communication AND Faculty of Management… I think we are the only course to be split. To me, a faculty gives you the identity of being with other like-minded courses. You might share classes together and you will definitely spend a lot of time in the same buildings.

Population 2: Clubs and Societies

As I mentioned before, another strong part of my university identity is the SUBU societies I am part of. Joining a club or society gives you a whole new social circle outside of your housemates and course mates, so it is a great way to meet new people in the BU population! I am part of the climbing club and snowriders (snowsports) society, and these people have almost become my family over my time at BU. The cool thing about societies is that they can be as immersive as you want – most of them are pay-as-you-go so you can drop in every few weeks or attend a few times a week if you like. In my second year of uni I was even lucky enough to be elected Vice President of the Climbing Club. Getting to know what it is like behind the scenes and the sheer amount of hard work it takes to run one of these clubs just makes me even more proud to be part of these sub-populations of BU. Personally, I think if you haven’t taken the time to join at least one club or society throughout your time at uni you aren’t making the most of your experience. Bournemouth is home to over 100 clubs and societies, so there are lots to try.

Population 3: Sports

Lastly, lots of students like to get involved with varsity sports which are part of SportBU. You can usually spot these people as they strut around in their full TeamBU Kit. When you are part of a varsity sport you spend several days a week with your team mates training, socialising and partying that you have this beautiful bond. As you are such a strong member of these sub-populations there can be rivalry between the teams, but that’s all part of the fun. The ultimate event of the year for sports teams is the annual Varsity against Southampton Solent. Everyone comes together for one day to battle it out, and even people who aren’t part of the ‘varsity’ crowd come to watch and cheer on.

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As the excitement draws to a close, we'd like to say a massive Congratulations to TeamBU who officially won Varsity 2019 against @MySolentSport. The final score came in at 18 – 6 to BU! A Massive well done to all athletes that took part. Read the full Huddle newsletter here: http://ow.ly/UnmM30oGIeE

A post shared by TeamBU (@teambusport) on May 15, 2019 at 3:22am PDT

I’m sure there are even more sub-populations within Bournemouth Uni, but I just wanted to share my experience at BU over the past 4 years. I’ve had SO MUCH fun being part of all of this, and I really think it has made my university experience special and unique and given me an identity. I will definitely miss all of this now I am graduating, but I get to keep the friends I’ve made throughout the way and who knows – maybe I’ll come back next year to relive the fun. Catch me on the Christmas ski trip!