3 things that would improve the union are...

[exnihilo]

Certainly within recent memory the fund was added to - because I remember it. But my point was, and is, that the University would not have blithely slashed the grant year on year had we not been sitting on a million pounds - it's far easier to make a case for the Association's grant if you don't have that much money. By all means have some cash reserves, but when you're arguing with Court about how to pay for everything but refusing to touch your own money you can understand their point.

Significant underinvestment in recent years has yielded precisely the result that I, and other student officers, said it would. I refer you back to the three points I made in the first place and ask you to guess which one I think is most important. Certain people within the Association have lost whatever capacity they ever possessed to innovate and the result has been an over-reliance on the bar and the bop as the only real revenue streams. Major failures being catering and, more especially, travel services, but mostly a crisis of leadership that cannot see, or cannot bring themselves to act, on opportunities as they arise.

(Edit: Actually some of that may have been in the pre-edited post, and therefore was not there when you posted your reply.)

[Spike]

£1 million is not that much money nowadays

also all of the other *revenue streams* other than the bop do not go to the union. beatons, sta travel and blackwells are companies which rent out space within the association. the fact of the matter is that if there was no bop there would be no association.
i cannot comment fully but i can tell you that only on fridays and tuesdays (bop days) does the union manage to at least balance the income with the expendature.

there are many running costs that people are not generally aware of, or take for granted. for example heating and electricity is appron £10K per quarter.

no bop = no union

[exnihilo]

Who advocated killing the bop? And do you think that the other companies get the space or the concession for free? Those ARE revenue streams to the Association.

And, I can assure you I am more than well acquainted with the running costs of the Association, having been Association Treasurer for two years and serving on Exec and on University Court.

[munchingfoo]

You know those fly on the wall documentaries where a failling business opens its doors to industry experts and they turn it around?

I think the union should apply to be on one of those.

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

[munchingfoo]

spike,

I notice that twice you have said "but I cannot comment fully on that" (or words to that effect).

I was curious. Since you sound like you know some stuff, did you mean by this that:

A) You cannot comment because you do not know

OR

B) You cannot comment because you are not allowed to say?

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

[exnihilo]

Quoting munchingfoo from 12:47, 12th Oct 2006
You know those fly on the wall documentaries where a failling business opens its doors to industry experts and they turn it around?

I think the union should apply to be on one of those.

Someone should write to the Bannatyne chappy from The Dragons' Den and suggest that he a) stand for Rector and b) do just such a documentary. Him because he's the Scottish one, rather than because he's the best.

[Spike]

Quoting munchingfoo from 12:55, 12th Oct 2006
spike,

I notice that twice you have said "but I cannot comment fully on that" (or words to that effect).

I was curious. Since you sound like you know some stuff, did you mean by this that:

A) You cannot comment because you do not know

OR

B) You cannot comment because you are not allowed to say?

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

i am unsure wether or not the information is suitable for the general public so i hav decided to er on the side of caution and not risk it

[munchingfoo]

I was under the impression that the union's finances were public domain, no?

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

[harmless loony]

The Union is a recognised charity - it's finances should be public.

I think there is far too much reliance on the bop and a lot of unwillingness to innovate and explore new avenues.

For example the Asian society host bhangra and rnb nights that are extremely successful every time and always make a profit/raise a considerable amount for charity. However, the Union hasn't in the past been willing to consider anything outside of the cheesy music domain and hence it is not making the best use of resources.

In fact if I recall rightly the first asian society bhangra event that was held in Venue 1, 4 yrs back, actually drew in the biggest crowd the Union had ever had on a Saturday night!

In the last 2 yrs of my degree I barely went into the union at night because it was the same stuff week in, week out - get a bit of variety in (I'm not saying you should drop the bop completely but a bit of variation wouldn't go amiss!) - karioke, bop, hello cheeky karioke, bop, hello cheeky (and the random spin offs - pj party, school days, etc.......) it's all essentially the same.

You have 6000 students but you don't appear to even reach out to one sixth of them....

So in summary - 3 things that would make the Union better:
1. Innovation
2. Variety
3. Someone with the confidence to put some changes in place.....

[exnihilo]

The Association's finances are indeed in the public domain, as is pretty much all information about the Association.

Oh, and harmlessloony, I agree completely with your three points, but it won't happen any time soon.

[Spike]

the fact is that after the first 1000 people who come to an event it doesnt matter how popular it is, as we would be at capacity.

also if the bop is indeed as mundane as you say it is then why do we regularly have door sales of about 700+ on a regular friday night? why does the tuesday bop almost always fill the venue? why, when there was an R&B night on for £2 only 3 people were in there by 11?

if you want innovation and variety then you should pay more attention to the changes the ents crew make to the venue for every bop. i am yet to go to two identical bops and i am a DJ and ent!

also you speak about someone with confidence to make the changes...well imaging what would happen if people turned up on a friday night to find the bop was cancelled, you tell me what would happen! also graeme is doing a great job as DOES, he made one of the best freshers weeks ive been to, hes had original events and is now currently introducing a NEW saturday retro night.

what would be your ideas for nights then?

[Al]

Who said anything about cancelling the bop? And you can't really compare the bop to any other event. The bop requires no advertising. How well advertised was the R&B night? And OK, the Friday night bop is popular but that doesn't mean that the Union can't try something new AND different.

[exnihilo]

Nobody has so much as mentioned cancelling the bop, but you've now raised that spectre twice in your posts. Why?

[harmless loony]

The reason why your RnB night failed was because you held it the same night as the Asian soc Bindi night - which is a well established Bhangra and RnB and Hip Hop event. There was a top well known Bhangra/RnB DJ and a live Dhol player - and the Asian soc tickets were cheaper.

Perhaps it is worth doing some research to check out competition before setting an event or even better - collaborate with existing successful events and bring them into the Union and bring in more revenue.

I never said cancel the Bop - what I did say was bring more variety in and I used Saturday nights as a prime example - encourage established well attended events to be hosted in the union instead of other venues.........perhaps you should read the posts properly? I don't believe anyone advocated cancelling the bop - the point I am making is you keep getting the same 1000 ppl in to the union - what about the other 5000? You have 7 nights in a week - perfect opportunity to get everyone to come into the union to at least one event a week!

[Lid]

The bop is every Friday. Week in week out.

The RnB night was advertised with an email that went out on the day at 10am, and a poster outside the Association Building.

Jolly good show, chaps.

[hr]

We are not drunks, we are multi-millionaires

[Spike]

you all are very high and mighty when it comes to being outraged at something that the association does. You all have great ideas but you all are just people who nag

if you really wanted to see change then you would have contacted graeme or joined ents. Yet all that you have done is bitch at how poor the union is. take a look at yourselves and realise that it looks like your posts are writing cheques that you cannot cash

[exnihilo]

What? Are you reading what people are saying?

People have said that more variety would be a good thing - but not at the expense of the established bop.

People have said that more advertising of non-regular events could not hurt.

People have spoken of their experience and of events and activities they have been involved in which worked well.

People have spoken of the need to reach out to as many of our members as possible.

People have said that spending some money on new equipment and on improving services and facilities would be a good thing.


Your responses have been to say you don't know about the finances or won't say if you do.

That you think the bop is the be all and end all of what the Association is and does.

And now seem to be saying that not being on Ents equals not being allowed an opinion.

Amazing. And frightening. No wonder the Association's struggling.

[Tryptophan]

Quoting harmless loony from 22:25, 12th Oct 2006

Hmm...where is this then, given that it wasn't in main bar, as that is karaoke, and it wasn't in V2 as that is Rosksoc.

Exnihilo

And now seem to be saying that not being on Ents equals not being allowed an opinion.

Well if you could give some form of indication that you actually have any idea of what would be required of the crew to do most of what you want? You want to strip and re-rig both venues, every day of the week, repeatedly? ( as one off events are _never_ going to establish a pattern of regularity that would actually start to bring people in..btw the core state is a bop..so sorry, different themes of bop don't count as new ideas seeing as you think that a 'bop' is so stale and passe).

It takes approximately 30 operational hours to configure venue1 for a major event and return it to its "base" state. Even a 'small' change can take up to ten op-hours to complete. Then there is the additional wear and tear of equipment being bounced across the venue every day as well as the non-existant porters time in core structural rigging.

You can't just say "ohh, I want this, this, this and that..oh, and do some of this too" and sit back and expect it to be done. Someone has to do it all, and that _will_ come down to the ents crew/porters, none of which have enough time. If you want these things done, suggest them, but also take a think about _how_ it's going to be done using only the materials available within the building, without requiring hireing any extra staff or dragging the crew away from their real work here.

I'm all for new ideas, but please make them workable, ta.

[exnihilo]

Again, I didn't say I wanted something different every day. And I know perfectly well how much effort is involved, as I have pointed out, I was very heavily involved with the Association and have the utmost respect for the unpaid volunteers who make the committees' ideas work.

[Guest]

the bop is the only possible means of aquiring the funds to keep the association running. beatons is NOT part of the association, it is merely a company which rents the space as is blackwells.

another of our problems are the wonderful plays which always run at a loss. without the bop there would be no plays, societies, hell even no union!