The 2012 Bruce Hall Players have been working hard on the Hall’s annual production.  This year, The Book of Everything by Richard Tulloch will be performed at the ANU Arts Centre from 30 August – 1 September.  Tickets are available from the Bruce Hall Front Office during business hours.

Bruce Hall students nominated their favourite members of the ANU’s academic staff to join them for dinner on 8 August 2012.  Some 35 members of staff from a wide range of disciplines shared good food, wine and conversation with students of all ages and at various stages of their university study. The Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students), Professor Elizabeth Deane, also joined us for the occasion and presented Academic Awards to students who had achieved outstanding results in semester 1 2012.

Bruce Hall welcomed about 35 new students from around Australia and the world at the beginning of semester 2.  New and returning students celebrated the start of the new semester with a range of activities including soccer matches, Sh’Bam fitness class, the Bruce Hall Art Show and a games night.

Bruce Hall’s Social Justice Committee organised a group of 21 students to live on just $2 a day during the period 7-11 May to help raise awareness of extreme poverty.

The group gave up their delicious Bruce Hall meals and lived on small rations which they cooked together in South Kitchen.

Bruce Hall donated the money the students had already paid for their catering during the 5 days taking the total the team raised to over.

Their fundraising efforts will assist with developing education programs in Papua New Guinea and you can still donate by going to Live Below the Line – Bruce Hall .

The Live Below the Line Banner, pictured hanging in Union Court, was painted by Bruce Hall Resident, Daniel DeValentin

The Asia Pacific Learning Community, co-ordinated by Bruce Hall resident Jessica Avalon, hosted a fascinating forum at Bruce Hall recently.

The forum, Myanmar: Change, Hopes and Challenges, featured newly elected MPs from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party, Sandar Min and Phyo Zeya Thaw who gave an insider’s account of the amazing things that have been happening in Myanmar.  They were joined by long-time Burma advocate and ALP parliamentarian The Hon Janelle Saffin MP and Burma experts Dr Jane Ferguson and Dr Nicholas Farrelly from the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.

You can still watch the speeches that were given at the forum by going to APLC Myanmar Forum speeches

On 28 April 2012, alumni and current students from residences across the ANU came together at Bruce Hall to celebrate 50 years of that unique ANU endurance event – Inward Bound.

In 1962, about 45 intrepid adventurers set off from the still brand new undergraduate residence Bruce Hall and, eventually, found their way back.  Over the years, thousands of ANU students (and a few staff) have pitted themselves against the elements, the land and each other to compete in this extraordinary event.

The celebration dinner was a wonderful opportunity to alumni to reconnect and to share their stories as well as for current ANU students to understand more about the history of the event in which they participated this year.

Bruce Hall resident Ben Greenwood, together with Fenner Hall’s Sarah Buckerfield, took out first place at the gruelling 2012 Australian Rogaining Championships, securing themselves a place at this year’s World Championships in the Czech Republic.

Rogaining is a sport of long distance cross country navigation where teams of two to five people have a defined time period to navigate between checkpoints across a variety of off-track terrain.

During the Australian Championships in May, Ben, Sarah and other participants had just 24 hours to tackle a course spanning several hundred square kilometres of South Australia using only a map and compass.  You can see why Ben was a member of Bruce Hall’s Division 1 team in Inward Bound 2012!

On 28 April 2012, all ANU alumni who have participated in Inward Bound – as runners and organisers – are invited to join us for a 50^th Anniversary Celebration Dinner in the W P Packard Dining Hall at Bruce Hall.  If you ran in IB, or were involved in the organisation of this great event, please join us for what should be a great night of food, fellowship and great memories.  Get together the others who ran in your division with you and join alumni from all of ANU’s Halls and Colleges.

Dinner is $70.00 for a standard registration and $40.00 for current ANU students.  Places are going fast so please register and pay by clicking on the relevant button on the top right hand corner of the Bruce Hall home page.

Bruce Hall students and staff joined the World’s Greatest Shave to raise funds to support the Leukeamia Foundation and its efforts to help people with blood cancer and to fund vital research.  Nearly 20 people shaved their heads and raised well over $5000 for a great cause.  You can still support the Bruce Hall team’s efforts by going to World’s Greatest Shave – Bruce Hall