DougSoc

From Yorkipedia

The current DougSoc logo

DougSoc (officially The University of York Douglas Adams Society) is perhaps best summed up by its two slogans - 'Excitement, Adventure and Really Wild Things' and 'Now with a hint of mint'. It is not a Douglas Adams appreciation society; indeed, there are some members who would have no idea what is meant by 'Hitchhiker's Guide'. Rather, it is a society formed in the spirit of the late Mr Adams, and is inspired by his style of work, rather than his works themselves.

The society and its members pride themselves on being slightly off the wall, in the sense that most of the activities undertaken during an event wouldn't look out of place in a lunatic asylum, and that most committee positions are entirely pointless. The words 'crazy', 'wacky', 'zany', 'random' and 'wandom' are forbidden on pain of pain, and too many gratuitous Douglas Adams references can result in a person's removal from the society.

[edit] Events and meetings

The society meets once every week (although sometimes twice); the evening typically begins with a drink or two in Vanbrugh bar before moving elsewhere for the main part of the evening, in which many strange things are likely to happen. Regular events include:

Science Night in which a scientific experiment is performed (recently this involved finding the best method of murdering white chocolate mice)
Childhood Regression in much the style of a toddler's birthday party, complete with party poppers, pass the parcel and musical chairs
Inflatable Death, the first event of the year, involving a great deal of violence carried out through the medium of inflatable toys such as bananas, sharks, and on one occasion a Ribena-sponsored Shrek donkey (brought along by the current Chair)
Braquiz Bracrawl, a typo that was thought to work better than the correct version, involving questions set by each and every member of the society
SpecOps, an annual water pistol fight taking place on Siward's Howe (the grassy area near Computer Science)
The Ultimate Final Battle Between Good and Evil, about to take place for the tenth time; currently Evil leads by five victories to four. This is a fancy dress evening in which victory should be secured by, among other things, not laughing, telling jokes and dressing appropriately
Public Awareness in which signposts and warning signs are placed around campus in appropriate places; these have included 'Ignore this sign, by order' and '►►KEEP LEFT►►'
Ritual Humiliation, where members go bowling or Laserquesting and mock each other for being ridiculously appalling

[edit] The Committee

The society's committee is almost, but not entirely, unlike every other society's. There is a chair, a secretary and a treasurer (sort of), as well as other positions. In full, the committee includes:

A Chairb***. S/he will run the society as s/he sees fit, and may occasionally do what the other committee members decide would be best. Currently held by a ChairBugrit, the suffix must be unique (previous ones have included -earStare, -limey and -urning) and is generally chosen by whoever can shout the loudest on election night (every Shrove Tuesday).
A Secres***. S/he will follow the chair's leadership, and back the chair up without question in times of disagreement. On no account may the Chairb*** and the Secres*** have the same name or suffix.
An Embezzler-in-Chief. This person would be called a treasurer in other societies, but DougSoc prefers to tell it how it is.
A ToastMaster General. This member should propose a toast at the start of all committee meetings to whatever s/he deems appropriate.
A Sandwich Rep, who is responsible for maintaining (but not necessarily updating) the website, and ensuring it retains its woefully ancient appearance. S/he will also make sandwiches for every committee meeting, and for the end of year Pic-A-Nic
A Shape Rep, whose duty it is to choose a shape for each term appropriately, and ensure that the planet does not get taken over by robots.
A Postage and Packaging Rep, who is responsible for promoting the society to others; this is generally achieved by ordering society T-shirts once a year.
A non-Monkey, who should maintain the society's collection of books, CDs and DVDs, and keep a record of who has borrowed them. On no account should they be referred to as a m*nkey.
Up to two Sacrificial First Years, who must remind the committee what it feels like to be young.

There are also several honorary positions, including:

The Shoutsperson. This post is held by the great Mr Brian Blessed, who accepted the post after being unanimously elected by the society.
The Deity, who shall make him/herself known at the appropriate time
The Demi-God, who is the entity known to many as Mr Gary Brannan, who was awarded this post for doing great things for the society and generally being wonderful.
Great-Uncle Bulgaria, who is the only honorary member with a duty to sit at committee meetings. The post is generally held by the previous chair, until such time as they feel they can let the power go.