Shona McGarry | Societies Editor
Twenty past seven saw me outside the Alexander Court Hotel watching people smoking. Inside, there wasn’t so much a scramble for tables as a slow crawl towards a suitable spot from which to tweet snaps and update everyone at home on the winners of the covetable prizes. It was like being at the Golden Globes, except that dinner was served between speedy rounds of gong-giving, rather than dished out during calm envelope-slittings. Like real celebrities, however, our society big-shots came in the form of people you probably know from their Twitter account. It’s CSC Ball time!
After everyone had headed to the bar and finished up their preliminary scout of the room, it was time to start the proceedings. The MC was Ronan Hodson, a person I should probably have heard of before the night began. After some customary digs at everyone, it was time for the first award, Best Fresher, won jointly by Adam Thakore of Players (interestingly, the award also went to another Player last year, Donal McKeating), and Elaine O’Connor of Q Soc, who later missed out to her co-winner for a place in the nationals. Best Poster then went to Film for ‘Battle Royale’. Although arguably having simpler subject types for their posters, Film Soc really have delivered the most eye-catching advertisements in the past year. Best publication was handed to Q Soc for their 30-year celebratory magazine, while Chinese Soc took home the award for Best New or Improved Society. With the awards being read out in the manner of a school principle at Prize Day, it was slightly difficult to feel any tension at all in the room. There were also, disappointingly, no speeches, no musical interludes, no offensive jokes/rants, and no personal vendettas. Just a bunch of students hanging around a hotel waiting for their basil soup to arrive. Two awards later – the Phil’s Best Online Presence gong and DU Dance’s well-deserved nod for Best Event – and it was time for more schmoozing, and – crucially – more food.
After unsurprisingly rubbery chicken (or a dodgy spiced curry, if you were an unfortunate vegetarian on the night) and an equally unsurprisingly yellow lemon curd pie, it was time to get back to business. Best Small Society went to Trinity Singers, much to the chagrin of all the other nominees, I’m sure, while Trinity FM kicked off their night with the accolade for Best Medium Society. In a what-I-call quite remarkable twist, Law Soc took home the award for Best Large Society. The Phil’s Lorcan Clarke beat out up to ten other nominees for Best Individual in a crowded field, while Q Soc were voted Society Choice Award winners. TFM added to their treasure with the award for Best Overall Society, while DU Players were chosen to represent the college at the national awards. Both parties celebrated with their usual zeal, the latter choosing to wrap coloured bits of fabric around their foreheads for dramatic effect (they are a drama society, after all).
With the awards out of the way, it was time to get on down to the dancefloor, only that a quarter of the attendees decided that heading off into the rainy night was a better option than sticking around for more stimulating conversation. While most of us clambered over to the bar, others were cornered by people they had never, ever met before, and still others braved the disco-related area, wondering if there could possibly be anything worse than hearing their dad’s favourite driving song on a dancefloor. Tragically, it was still only about half ten, and there were expectations hanging over everyone. If you didn’t win, you had to stay and pretend you didn’t care, kind of like Stephen Spielberg at the Oscars afterparty. If you did, you could either sit at your table staring down your award, or find yourself slipping into a reverie of self-reflection about being a truly sociable being. But, ultimately, the CSC awards aren’t actually about winning – they’re about being there.
It’s a night for committees, for the people who run their societies, and who are just about to make way for the next group to take over. It’s a sort of final celebration of everything they’ve done during the year to make their society more accessible, more fun, and more successful than last year. It’s a well-deserved reward for those who make Trinity just that little bit more, well, social. And if it was a bit lame, who cares. There was probably a committee party to head to afterwards, anyway. (Possibly in a secret club at an unspecified location. Where you need not one but two codes to get in, and a caged dove, and a gold key forged from the wings of angels. This committee thing. Harder than it looks.) Additionally, there was also extra bread going around, so it was sort of about that, too. Extra bread and being on committee. Or dancing to Brown Eyed Girl (surely not meant to be a floor-filler) and watching a nice bit of inter-society mingling.
To the CSC Awards. And to all the ordinary members – see, it’s not that exciting. All you’re missing is sub-par basil soup, no free wine, and a slideshow that probably has an unflattering picture of you in it. And, if you’re desperate, sure there’s always afters tickets. You could yet find yourself boogeying to Groove is in the Heart next year. And that, you’ll agree, is no bad thing.
