West Lancashire Freemasons, in the persons of Dave Grainger APrGM with responsibility for the University Scheme, and John Stanley the Lancaster and District Group University Liaison Officer, have arranged that West Lancashire Freemasons will have a stall at the Lancaster University Freshers Fair on Friday 7 October. Working closely with the Students Union at Lancaster University, they along with present and former students who are now members of City of Lancaster Lodge No 281, a University Scheme Lodge, will be explaining to the students attending the Fair how, should they so wish, they can become Freemasons under the University Scheme.
Tradition and continuity are two of the values which characterise the relationship between Freemasonry and universities. It was nearly 200 years ago that the first university lodge, Apollo University Lodge No 357, was founded at Oxford, with Isaac Newton University Lodge No 859 following soon afterwards at Cambridge. Since then many 1,000’s of young men have been introduced to Freemasonry through these two lodges, and they provided the inspiration for the Universities Scheme. This was set up at the beginning of 2005 with the objective: ‘To establish and/or enhance arrangements and opportunities for undergraduates and other university members to enjoy Freemasonry.’
There are now over 60 lodges pursuing a similar, yet distinct, course. Their membership consists of undergraduates, postgraduates, senior members of the university and alumni, ranging in age from 18 upwards. All under-25s benefit from the decision by Grand Lodge to halve their dues in order to make Freemasonry as accessible to as wide an audience as possible.
University students of today are the leaders of tomorrow. They are young bright men who bring an enthusiasm to everything they do. It is with this in mind that the West Lancashire Team will be talking to the students at the Fair.