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SMAD. An Organ of Student Opinion. 1934. Volume 5. Number 1.

Men's Common Room Notes

Men's Common Room Notes

The commencement of a new session will bring back many old faces to the Common Room, and some new ones. The old students will be renewing friendships, and need no official welcome—to the freshmen the Committee extend a warm welcome, and express the hope that they will make full use of the Common Room.

It is perhaps apropros at this time to mention briefly the function of a Men's Common Room. Most obviously it is a place for relaxation between the monotony of lectures. A few regard it as a place for working off superfluous energy by indulging in horse-play. Such action is at best thoughtless, in that it displays lack of consideration for others' convenience and for the students' common property—which, rightly or wrongly, is not made of reinforced concrete or steel. There are also those who regard the Common Room as a lumber room. With such a conception we have nothing in common.

We regard it as being meant for something better than any of these. It is par excellence the place for making new acquaintanceships—some of which will ripen into friendships which will endure long after exams, and the wisdom of our learned and venerable professoriate have passed into the limbo of forgotten things. It is the place for the exchange of ideas and opinions on things that matter—and, of course, if you like, for things that do not matter. And whatever it else may be or should be, it will, we anticipate, be the place for bridge. Some day when we have a new Student Union Building there will be a separate card room. Until then the Common Room must fill the gap.

Lack of finance has proved a bar in obtaining much from the powers that be to add to the comfort of the Common Room. Some small improvements have been made, but so far the Committee's requests for other larger Improvements have met with no success.

Towards the end of last session a small Bridge Tournament on the knock-out principle was held as an experiment. Messrs Duncan and Coyle proved the winners after an interesting series of matches. Considering the nearness of examinations, it was very successful, and acordingly it is proposed to hold a further Tournament this term.