Imperial bungee jumps into RAG Week

This week saw two days of bungee jumping, one evening of fire walking, a lunchtime of pancake-tossing and just under 900 doughnuts; all in the name of Raising And Giving (RAG).

RAG Week 2015 has seemingly taken over campus, with students unable to go anywhere without the shocking pink and custard yellow RAG logo leaping out from screens, signs, buckets, banners and hoodies.

The week was organised by the RAG committee and other volunteers; over 30 students in total have come together to run the events throughout the week to raise money for three chosen charities.

On Monday and Tuesday, a large crane loomed precariously close to Queen’s Tower, for the bungee-jumping pleasure of falling enthusiasts and onlookers. Students were able to purchase a ticket for £35, and were then required to raise a further £40 in sponsorship before throwing themselves from the crane parked between Queen’s Lawn and the Sherfield Building.

Over 140 students and staff took part in the bungee jump, including some visiting from other London universities. George Butcher, a fourth year Mechanical Engineering student, told Felix afterwards how despite being a bit wary of heights, he was keen to give it a go.

“I’ve never plummeted towards the Earth before, but after trying it, would be keen to do it again. Sorry to everyone who heard me shout profanities across Queen’s Lawn as I fell!”

The RAG Week Launch also took place during Monday lunchtime, which saw the RAG Chair and also Alice Gast give speeches about RAG and plans for the week.

Alice Gast said afterwards to Felix: “It’s been wonderful to see students and staff from across the College community come together to support RAG.

“I’ve been very impressed by all those who’ve given their time and energy to raise money for good causes, particularly the RAG committee volunteers who’ve pulled together the week’s events.”

Senior College staff came together to make pancakes for students, whilst the Royal College of Science Union (RCSU) lent out their own candyfloss machine to RAG to produce yellow and pink candyfloss for students watching the bungee jump.

College staff have also been seen sporting custom made RAG hoodies around campus this week, with Vice Provost (Education) Debra Humphris sporting her bright pink number when she attended Union Council on Tuesday.

In fact, staff involvement with RAG seems to have reached an all time high this year; Professor Tom Welton, Dean of Faculty of Natural Sciences, was seen walking over hot coals for charity on Thursday evening too, raising £160 in the process.

The Firewalk, where participants walked across burning hot coals barefoot, is a new edition to RAG week, but proved popular. The coals, as the supervisor explained, was heated to around 600 degrees Fahrenheit (around 315 Celsius) – this being “twice” the temperature that skin melts at.

All participants were awarded a certificate for their efforts, and got to cross the coals twice following a brief information session. The Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Tom Welton, said, “I was amazed, it was more painful standing on the cold stone than walking across the hot coals.”

He continued, “I’d do it again – I’m glad I did it first and not last – standing in the queue and watching people do it would have.” When asked if he had any comments on RAG this year, he concluded, “RAG is fab, it’s great that it raises a lot of money, but the really important thing about it is people take the opportunity to think about other people”.

Tunnel tours under the campus and trips up the Queen’s Tower also were organised and ran by RAG. Students could explore the disused tunnels that snake underneath campus and stretch to South Kensington and beyond, or, if they prefer heights but didn’t fancy the bungee jump, could head to the top of Queen’s Tower instead.

On Thursday evening, RAG also ran their traditional Masquerade Valentines Ball, with a £4,000 bar tab. The Ball was held in Under the Bridge, a club in Fulham, which, as the name suggests, is indeed under a bridge.

Other clubs and societies have also got involved in raising money; the Science Fiction and Fantasy Society held a book sale with all proceeds being donated to RAG, the IC Dodgeball team ran a charity tournament, and many clubs also posed naked for the RAG charity calendar. Various departments have also run bake sales, with the proceeds going to RAG too.

Imperial RAG joined forces with the Royal College of Music (RCM), whose RAG Week coincided with Imperial’s. The RCM hosted a poker night, which raised several hundred pounds, and saw students from both colleges playing late into the night.

The Oxford RAG society has also teamed with Imperial RAG for the Megaraid this weekend, with students travelling up to Oxford to raise money there.

Felix spoke to Arran Sayers, the RAG Vice Chair (Operations) and the RAG Champion for CGCU, about how the team had come together and made the week possible.

“Everyone has put their heart and soul into helping out this week.

“The Week has been a great success. I'm extremely happy with all that has happened and all the money that has been raised.”

Sayers is also shaving his head at the end of the week for Alzheimer’s Society, after his grandmother sadly died due to the disease. Sayers is planning to shave his hair on Queen’s Lawn during lunchtime, although he is quite nervous about it. “I’m worried I’m going to look a bit like a bowling ball, or be at the receiving end of some Breaking Bad jokes.

“Plus I think I am going to miss my hair keeping me warm!”

Other charities RAG are donating to this year include Tiny Tickers, who endeavour to train professionals to detect heart conditions in young children, St Mungo’s Broadway who are committed to helping the homeless, and the Mines Advisory Group, who are dedicated to clearing land mines in war torn countries

Felix spoke to Ben Fernando, a third year Physicist and current RAG Chair, about the planning and preparation for the week. He said things had gone very smoothly, although the RAG launch event on the Monday was the most difficult to organise.

College President Alice Gast lending a hand to the pancake effort - Credit: Felix

“Co-ordinating things for then was pretty tough, especially as we had the bungee jump, the band playing and also the senior College staff making pancakes. We also needed plans to cover for bad weather, but luckily for both days the weather stayed relatively dry.”

Fernando also wanted to run a zip line from the top of the Central Library down onto Queen’s Lawn, but apparently the scaffolding needed to set it up was too expensive.

Felix asked Fernando if Imperial RAG would ever consider joining forces with the Imperial College School of Medicine Student Union RAG team, who had their RAG Week last week, and he said it would be unlikely. “We don’t really interact; we talk to ensure when we plan our events they don’t clash but that is about it.”

It doesn’t look like RAG will be introducing a pub crawl similar to the infamous Circle Line pub crawl any time soon either. Said Fernando, “I don’t think the pub crawl fits in with the image we want to promote, to be honest.”

Although the Week isn’t quite over yet, and there are still more events planned for later this term, the fundraising target from this week is £10,000, a figure Fernando is comfortable they will reach.

On Monday alone RAG raised around £1700 in cash donations, and have collected almost £4000 donated through their website.

The committee have already turned their attention to next year’s RAG Week plans. Fernando told us RAG is currently in talks with College over getting timetabled afternoons off so all students could take part, so watch this space!