Catalogue description Sheffield RAG Committee, University of Sheffield

This collection comprises:

Minute books, 1978 - 1993 (X409/1).

Expenditure book, 1981 - 1989 (X409/2).

Correspondence, 1986 - 1990 (X409/3).

Scrapbooks, newspapers and newspaper cuttings, 1959 - 1996 (X409/4).

Volumes of annual sponsored RAG events, 1975 - 1992 (X409/5).

Interfaculty Society book, 1966 - 1980 (X409/6).

Photographs, 1952 - 1997 (X409/7).

'Twikker' magazine, 1977 (X409/8).

RAG day reply slips etc. and report, 1991 (X409/9).

These records were received in considerable disarray, with no apparent order. A functional approach has been taken in terms of arrangement.

The original titles assigned by the students have been retained.

Sheffield RAG Committee, University of Sheffield

Open

A former a member of the Rag Committee from 1994 - 1996.

• Charity
• Charity records
• Student organizations
• Students
• Fundraising
• Alcohol
• Alcohol consumption
• Alcohol use

At the time of writing (Jan 2018), Sheffield RAG is a working committee under the banner of the University of Sheffield Students’ Union. University RAG societies are student-run charitable fundraising organisations that are widespread in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They organise fundraising events over the academic year. All fundraising is completely student-led which means that the committee and student groups they work with, choose exactly which events they want to run, and the charities that benefit. Supported by a full time staff member, they aim to raise as much money as possible.

The term RAG stands for 'Raising and Giving', but there is some debate regarding its origins. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the origin of the word 'Rag' is from "An act of ragging; esp. an extensive display of noisy disorderly conduct, carried on in defiance of authority or discipline", and provides a citation from 1864, noting that the word was known in Oxford before this date. Early Rag collectors may have ragged passers-by until they made a donation. Alternatively it may date back to Victorian times when students took time out of their studies to collect rags to clothe the poor.

Historically, Sheffield RAG Committee's fundraising events have included sponsored activities such as bar crawls, raids, hitch-hikes, boat races, the infamous 'spiderwalk' (a 57 mile sponsored walk around the city and into the peaks), Pyjama Jump, and stunts. The committee produced an annual magazine publicising its activities called 'Twikker' (first published in 1926), renowned for its racy, controversial content (the 1950 edition famously being banned outright after offending the Lord Mayor).

The University of Sheffield's students newspaper was known as DARTS.