It should come as no surprise for Cambridge students reading this article that my discussion of the collegiate system is grounded in just how peculiar it is. The way that the university operates is filled with messy, bureaucratically complicated procedures, often justified in the name of tradition. But, I have to say, there is some allure to it. One supervisor may be organised centrally within the department, another through my DoS, and another even through my own will. As complicated as it may be, it persists and there is no escaping the fragmented organisational structure the university cherishes so proudly.

Within this system however, you find thriving student communities. It is undeniable just how much your college influences your time at university. Both social and academic spheres seem to revolve around it. Yet, there is one element of this that I feel doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves — collegiate societies. Considering their centrality to the 'Cambridge experience’, I find it surprising how little they take centre-stage in discussions of extracurricular activities.

The strong identities colleges form oftentimes take primacy over the university itself. Yet, the extracurricular world is often dominated by university-wide societies. Where there is a dearth of structure and organisation supporting these collegiate societies, I see pools of untapped potential, particularly in relation to the climate movement in Cambridge. While there are strong bases of engagement on a university-wide level, there has historically been an alarming lack of student mobilisation within colleges. Before the 2023-4 academic year, there were only 3 climate-oriented college societies: Clare, Newnham and Girton.

“CLOC issued a wake-up call”

The release of the Climate League of Oxford and Cambridge (CLOC) 2024 rankings made clear that more accountability was needed to ensure colleges remain transparent and clear in their plans to decarbonise. With some colleges receiving criticism for their lack of transparency and lacklustre efforts to decarbonise and divest, CLOC issued a wake-up call to strengthen communications faced inward towards student bodies, and outward towards the public.

It is becoming increasingly clear through the institutional make-up of Cambridge, alongside its due criticism of collegiate deficiency, that there must be a more concerted effort to strengthen bases of communication and engagement on a collegiate level. I believe this can be achieved if people come together to create and strengthen college-based climate societies. It should not come as a surprise that most people in the student body care about the planet, but it takes solid structures and engaging events to get people involved outside of a vague suggestion that they believe in climate change.

“It should not come as a surprise that most people in the student body care about the planet, but it takes solid structures and engaging events to get people involved”

In this light, there has been a strong growth in the establishment of college-based environmental societies. This has been largely thanks to the work of the Cambridge Climate Society (of which I am a member), who have set up the College Society Workshop Program. Since its inception, the number of active societies has increased at least four-fold, with student societies being set up by the day. This has begun reframing the student body towards concentrating on more localised pressure-points, so that colleges can be held to a greater account.

This has come with its challenges. When the extra-curricular activities of many are over-saturated with university-wide societies, getting numbers has proven to be harder than anticipated. Yet, with the right support to get people involved and navigate the collegiate bureaucracy, the idea that underpins these societies remains important.

A decentralised yet connected base for climate engagement can provide a network for more focussed dialogues between students and staff. But more than just issuing criticism, it can provide a safe space for those wishing to be involved in the climate movement at any level. Building a community is an integral prerequisite to making actionable change, and leveraging the strong collegiate identities lots of Cambridge students have into the climate movement could be the resource needed to enthuse a wave of student empowerment.

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