Brasenose is a warm, welcoming community, and undisputedly the happiest college in Oxford. However, the Oxford lifestyle can be stressful and intense at times. It wouldn’t be sustainable if we didn’t take the time to relax and enjoy ourselves. Therefore, at least 2-3 times a term, the Entz committee run bops, which are essentially fancy dress parties for the college. They form a crucial part of college life, and they’re a lot of fun too!
The night begins with everyone meeting down the college bar in their costumes. The fancy dress themes are incredibly varied and they usually produce some spectacular results. A personal highlight was the Rubik’s Cube bop, where everybody had to begin the night wearing six pieces of clothing, each with a different colour of the Rubik’s cube, and then exchange items throughout the night in order to finish in one colour. For other themes, such as the Emojis bop we had this January, people often collaborate with their costumes, pooling their creativity in order to win the fancy dress prize of a bottle of wine! The bar has a calm, social atmosphere. With jelly shots, room for seats and tables, and reasonably priced drinks, it’s the perfect place to start the bop, but it’s certainly not the place to end it.
After a few hours down the bar, we head out of college to a club called Plush. Since we rent Plush for the night, the club is filled exclusively with people from Brasenose. The clubbing scene in Oxford is brilliant, and it provides a fantastic opportunity to meet people from other colleges. However, on bop nights, Plush serves an entirely different purpose. It’s a unique opportunity to come together and celebrate the vibrant community in which we live.
The music is entirely student run and many of the DJs had never even considered the prospect of mixing music before they came to Brasenose! Plush runs from 10.30PM-2.30AM, and as a result that usually means two experienced DJs have an hour set each, and four other DJs get half hour sets. We advertise the set list in advance and every DJ brings a unique style from classic hip hop, to reliable cheese. Literally anybody can get involved, the college owns a controller, so students with no experience whatsoever can request it for practice and get working on their own set. As a result, we often see new DJs every bop, and hence no two bops are ever the same.
If mixing tracks isn’t really your thing, then there’s no need to worry. On the dance floor you’ll find finalists, freshers and everything in between, all having a great time (if your legs get tired, there’s a relaxed seating area too). Bops are a defining feature of college life and they really help to make the unbeatable university experience that Brasenose offers, that bit better.
By Oliver Hoy (Second Year Economics and Management student)