Chaos, Calamity, and Community
Reading through past reports for the first semester of bygone cohorts, it seems one word sticks out: chaos. Chaos is an interesting word, because by all accounts I wouldn’t describe the Burgmann cohort as a chaotic bunch. When Brenda first sat down with me for a meeting at the start of her term as Principal, she asked me how I would categorise the Burgmann cohort. I could see in the worried look on her face that war flashbacks were passing through her head; of the terrors and calamity of past college events; the chaos of living at a college of 370ish young adults dawning on her once again.
In response, I did what every BRA President since 1971 has done and quelled her worries. I have learnt in my time with Brenda that her Texas-born pragmatism means that the bullshit detector is well-versed in college presidents like myself, with our overly large egos and used car salesman tactics dressed in legalistic speak. So, in response to that Texas pragmatism – I told her what I honestly thought.
I told her that Burgmann, despite its chaos, was run by a set of overly sensible school prefects and captains, but that the school prefects and captains that came to Burgmann believed that they were more fun and adventurous, more outgoing and ‘fun’ than their counterparts who went to Melbourne and Sydney. To prove themselves, Burgmann students know how to have a good time, but that good time is constrained by the usual anxieties of students, the apprehension at breaking the rules, the caution of a student still reeling at the demerit their Year 8 maths teacher gave them.
And so, at Burgmann, chaos ensues, but it rarely rears its ugly end. Whilst I would love to put it down to baseless stereotypes, the true reason is Burgmann’s unique structure, one which guides students to form a genuine sense of ownership over the community they are a part of. As Brenda has noticed over the past six months, there is rarely a decision that doesn’t attract the attention, criticism or applause of some subset of the student body. I pointed out to Brenda that the reasons for this are well documented. Students at Burgmann have considerable ownership over the college’s decisions: unlike any other college in the country, a third of the College’s governing Council- which sits above the Principal- are residents.
And so, in brief – whilst chaos and calamity are inherent features of living in a place like Burgmann, much of it is constrained by an incredibly able and willing student body. One that is engaged, one that cares, and one that yearns for involvement and belonging more than anything else. With that, find below my non-exhaustive run-down of the calamity (my new favourite word if you couldn’t tell) of Semester One.
N-Week and O-Week
N-Week, which takes place before O-Week, is the chance to welcome in our new residents for 2026. This year, our 42 student leaders sacrificed a hot, overcast summers day in Canberra to move in our 118 new first year residents. Many suitcases, fans, boxes and bar fridges were lugged up the Homer, Barassi and Link stairs, as is tradition, as parents marvelled/gawked at the Tardis and students discovered the joys of the hard yakka unairconditioned halls of Burgmann College in forty-degree Canberra heat.
For leaders and returnees alike, much time was spent explaining the nuances of laundry detergent, the intricacies of the vacuum collection bag, and how you would go about ironing a shirt for commencement.
It never fails to amuse all us leaders (in a happy way) to see the first years discover the little pieces of joy in life at Burgmann. The after-class beer at Badger on a summery Tuesday evening looking over the willows of Sullivans Creek, the amusing performances at the O-Week talent show under the back lawn trees adorned in fairy lights, usually the outcome of a late-night dare. Or sometimes it’s the small things, like the hours spent lounging in the hammocks, laughing at funny stories that, at the time, seem like old tales (the reality usually is that they occurred a week prior).
Welcoming in the first years is a bit sombre for the third-year leadership team. It’s a reminder that those times are behind us, but there’s a melancholy attached to it, seeing that the very same things that were exciting and fun a mere two years ago, have not lost their charm or beauty, but merely their passenger in us frail and ageing twenty-one-year-olds.
I’m sure in hindsight the feeling is rather similar returning to college as an alum, seeing the way that things subtly change in small intervals, but how the bigger picture stays the same.
In the end, college is a still the same place, a place of new experiences, new boundaries, and perhaps a touch of collective misadventure. N-Week and O-Week were testaments to that, especially to the point of misadventure.
Events of Semester 1
As is the Burgmann way, there are just too many people wanting to put on parties, events and activities, and much too little time in a semester.
Commencement Dinner
The semester kicked off with the annual commencement dinner, held at the Arboretum. There, we celebrated the many achievements of our ressies, including Sybilla Delaney, college medal recipient, as well as the important achievements of our college staff. Amelia Zaraftis and Nerrida Higgins celebrated their ten-year anniversaries with the College. Their contribution, even if often behind the scenes, was well celebrated. We heard from our new Principal, Dr Brenda Holt, as our annual speaker, in a fitting welcome to the college community and an opportunity for students to hear of her extensive experience in, and passion for, residential colleges.
VP Nights
The Vice Presidents, Caity Harbottle and Gretel O’Brien, spent many hours putting together a birthday party themed night in O-Week, where everyone was assigned a childhood hero or villain pair, their partner a mystery until the night. I personally enjoyed dressing up as Mike Wozawski out of Monsters Inc, but also enjoyed the face painting, birthday cake, jumping castle and many chats had on the Back Lawn.
St Patrick’s Day Mixer
Later in the term, we had our annual St Patrick’s Day Mixer with our (fittingly) catholic cousins across the lane at John XXIII College. This included a joint dinner, where half of each college swapped for an ice-breaking dinner. The Johns students returned marvelling at how good Burg food was, with thick schnitzels and chips, and Burg students marvelled at how good Johns food was, with thin schnitzels and gnocchi. After our dinner, we all joined in the Burg Common Room and the Courtyard, where both the John and Burg bands performed. Despite picking the only rainy day in February, where our parade was quite literally rained on, we remained buoyed by the excitement of O-Week! Both John and Burg ressies danced the night away under the pouring rain.
Family Weekend
Term two was marked by Family Weekend, the annual shindig in which we welcome people’s parents to Canberra. Many parents spend the weekend reliving their college days, sometimes with a trip to Mooseheads (not for the faint hearted, but by third year even the most unwilling of parents, such as my own, came around). The Friday night was an art show in the Common Room, accompanied by a much nicer selection of wines than Le Chat is used to and a fire pit on the Back Lawn. The Saturday included lawn bowls at the RUC, before the big event of the weekend, the Gala Ball which occurred at the National Museum of Australia at the shore of Lake Burley Griffin. Thankfully, our warnings paid off and no parents attempted to climb the dinosaur skeleton which forms the centrepiece of the foyer, and the BNO band coming off a second placing the week prior, were able to squeeze two more songs in at the end, memorably capping the night off with ABBA’s Fernando.
Burg Day
Burg Day this year was phenomenal, largely thanks to the hard work and creativity of Charlotte Grant. The groundskeepers were not too happy with what they came back to, as a foam machine had essentially turned Back Lawn into a mud rave complete with mud wrestling on the dance floor. Maddy Teychene returned as Saint Beryl (our College Patron Saint) to bless us against our ‘sins’; and the brick race didn’t have a clear winner, but this year was accompanied by coloured chalk throwing (hard to wash…).
In between the big-ticket items, first semester had the usual bar nights, sports and arts events mixed in throughout (including a competitive Homer v Barassi game of Ultimate Frisbee that Barassi comfortably took the win in), and spots of unofficial floor pub golfs, board game nights, and picnics in Yarralumla or at Black Mountain Peninsula.
Big Night Out
The aforementioned-Big Night Out (interhall battle of the bands), was a roaring success. Our band came in second place to a team of all stars at Griffin Hall, with Hazel Burgess knocking everyone’s socks off with her rendition of Skyfall. Props go to Killian Greenan, Arts Representative and IAC President, for the hours put into organising an increasingly tough event.
Looking to the Future
Of course, beyond the ‘student stuff’, as BRA President, I have been brought along for a big picture vision for the college. Under Brenda’s leadership, the college has already gone through immense (and beneficial) change. The addition of both an Academic Dean and Wellbeing Coordinator has already reaped many benefits, not least in having two more student facing roles in the college’s management. Congratulations to both Monika Popovski and Neeve Byrne on surviving their first semester at Burgmann.
Importantly, as part of the Board, we have looked towards what the College wants to be in ten (and fifty) years’ time. Someone embedded in our College social culture might struggle to say that Burgmann is ‘a product of high quality’ – because on the surface, this seems to contradict our egalitarian social values, possibly hamstringing us with Tall Poppy Syndrome. The reality is, however, that Burgmann’s product is the best on offer out of any college in the country. Our student leadership structure is second to none, our grounds are beautiful, and we have the privilege of being at one of Australia’s most prestigious universities, if not the most prestigious. Brenda has worked incredibly hard alongside the Senior Staff Team to put together a strategic plan befitting of a college of our calibre. That plan lays out the need for a well overdue restructure of the College’s financial strategy and governance structures. It also allows us to reconsider – what is it that Burgmann exists for?
I invite and encourage you all to consider that question. In a time where the college needs to seriously think about how it can continue to exist for another 55 years, it is the support of our alumni and broader community that will shape, build and transform the limits and boundaries of that vision. Whilst some of us might be used to institutions with boundless resources and first-class facilities, the reality is that Burgmann is both under-resourced and financially limited.
In short – I believe that the steps we have taken in the first six months of this year are baby steps towards the right vision. I’m optimistic about the college’s future, but that optimism relies on the community to tug it along.
I’m looking forward to the many challenges that await in Semester Two and to update you on that in another six months’ time. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing many of you at the 55th Anniversary Back-to-Burg Weekend on 19 - 20 September, to meet Brenda and hear more about our plan for the college’s future.
Sincerely,
Euan Maclean
