Chattan Alumni

[Louise Hallman]

So I've kind of stolen this idea from Chattanites past and modified it...

What do you think of having a formal Chattan Alumni Club? Before you ask - this would be completely independent of the Union (unlike what was suggested a couple of years ago). Membership would be open to all former Chattanites - current students living in private accommodation, year abroad/out students, recent graduates, not so recent graduates alike.

Benefits would include:
Invitation to many Hall events - Freshers' Week Pub Crawls, Garden Party and Hall Ball included.
Hall Clothing - with Chattan Alumni written on them instead of the year.
Some form of say in Hall issues.
Regular updates of hall activities through an emailing list.
Access to password protected areas of the hall website.
Possibly a guest account on the Sinner for the hall messageboard.

This is not an exhaustive list, just merely the things I could think of so far.

Obviously to cover the costs of increased numbers at events, postage and packaging for Hall Clothing, etc there would have to be a fee to join. Some of the people who I have spoken to about this have said they would be willing to pay up to £25 - the cost of a ball ticket to many of the larger hall balls - for a year's membership. Whereas others have said they think £15 would be their upper limit. This would be an annual fee and could be cancelled at any time. (such as if you were to move back into hall after a few years out, or you moved far, far away and had no intention of ever coming back.)

I know that many people come back to hall events as it is, but with rising costs of events, and the amount we pay in hall subs, I personally think it's only fair for those who come back to contribute to hall funds.

So let me know what you think.



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Louise Hallman
Nominated for SSC Member Societies Grants

[Jono]

It sounds like a good idea to me. The only thing I'd object to is alumini having a say in the running of hall. If your not living here, you really shouldn't have a say in how things are run in my opinion.



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Don't mention the Nazi's!

[Louise Hallman]

It wouldn't be so much as having a say, but more like offering advice. We'd have an Alumni Rep on the committee who would be there to pass information to the committee from alumni and vice versa. They could perhaps tell us about how they organised a rent-rises protest a few years ago or such.

Another good point I just had made to me was that the alumni list could act as a careers service. For example my academic dad Nick, who used to be Senior Student is now in Japan teaching English - if you wanted to know how to go about doing that, if he were a member, you could ask the alumni rep to contact him. Or if you wanted to know what doing a PGCE was like, you could contact Cain (if he were to join) via the alumni officer. If alumni wanted to, they could be contacted directly by chattanites (current and alumni) through perhaps a password protected area of the website.

These are just ideas I'm throwing around at the moment. If anyone has any others, please post.

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Louise Hallman
Nominated for SSC Member Societies Grants

[pea]

I like this idea a lot. Makes it easier to keep in touch with people you know in older/younger years once you've left, and gives you an opportunity to make new friends in hall.

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I'm a little pea... I love the sky and the trees.

[Cain]

Quoting Louise Hallman from 13:50, 16th Mar 2006
Or if you wanted to know what doing a PGCE was like, you could contact Cain (if he were to join) via the alumni officer.

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I hold an element of surprise

[Louise Hallman]

different situations.

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Louise Hallman
Nominated for SSC Member Societies Grants

[Cain]

in what way?

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I hold an element of surprise

[Colin]

My own thoughts are that it is a nice idea to keep us in contact with hall, but I do wonder how much people would continue to want to have that link after more than a few years, when there is no one still there that we actually knew as students, and drinking with 1st years just makes us feel decrepit (and/or sleazy old men, but some things never change). I do think the idea of an alumni club is a good one, but I wouldn't expect a very large contingent of the club to chow up regularly for events once people had left St Andrews, and that the number returning would drop significantly with number of years since graduation. More likely people would show up a few years down the line for more coodinated 'alumni' events, which could be coordinated with hall events and woul be a good mix of seeing your old friends and meeting new chattanites to tell horror stories to. Maybe something like an alumni reception before the ball or some such.

I think what would work better would be a more nominal fee for membership, that would basically buy you the things that wont cost you anything - an email newsletter once in a while, access to the website etc, and then have special alumni rates for events - which would be more than residents pay as they are paying subs already, but less than any non-alumni guests would pay (of course, you wouldnt actually expect to get many non residents or non alumni at events, but it makes us old boys think we are getting a good deal when we are really helping you balance your books.) In that way I dont think we would mind paying a bit extra to support our old hall, but I dont think a large membership fee up front would appeal to people who have left town and wouldnt be back all that often. Perhaps you could offer two options, the 'pay more up front for free events' or the 'online only / overseas' (something along those lines) option for people who will pay more for specific events that they come back for but only pay a nominal (less than a fiver sort of nominal) fee to join.

I do like the idea of getting guest sinner accounts for alumni so they can keep in contact via this board, I think that will be popular with those who have left town, and it will be a good way of tempting people back for events when they read about them. And it would provide a forum for the sort of careers advice etc that you envisage between us old bastards and current students.

[Gubbins]

I think Colin's got a pretty good idea. My thoughts in summary:

* Up-front membership fee: bad. Nominal fee for newsletters, etc., and paying for other events: good.

* E-mail newsletter to alumni: good.

* Having a say in running the hall: bad. Forum to offer gratuitous advice: good.

* Future 'alumni' events: good.

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...but then again, that is only my opinion.

[KT]

I also agree with colin and gubbins.

You (by which i mean current residents) really do not want alumni actually having a say on hall committee - there are more than enough differing view points and plenty of experience already! That is why the senior and deputy senior students have to have been in hall for however long it is. Also regardless of the validity of any alumni's (inlcuding those still undergrads) opinion if they don't live in hall it is nothing to do with them.

I agree that it does not seem to be fair if you have large number's of alumni effectively crashing hall events where hall subs are being spent- e.g. the garden party etc but a few have always come back especially in pre-sesh week. I would say you need them on things like the pub crawl to help with creating an atmosphere but equally that would be mainly 2nd/3rd 4th years who have moved out ratehr than huge numbers of graduates. That said a few graduates never hurt and it is nice to meet your grand parents and great grandparents!

Larger evenets are I would have thought less of a problem - if alumin are at them they must have a ticket which means they either paid for it or have beeen given a current resident's 2nd ticket in which case the ticket has been paid for.

Your problem really is the smaller events and short of ticketing them all I'm not sure how you police something like that! and i wouldn't wnat to be the person having to deal with the ticketing either way too much work which would really be unecesary - i duppose you just have to encourage honesty among the alumni - of you go to smaller events they either have to offer a contribution to costs (perhaps a bucket/hat for donations would help) or provide their own alcohol etc...

Anyway for me i'd love an email newsletter typething, and maybe occassional reunion type things but not with an upfront fee. Would definetly prefer a nominal covering the cost fee for newsletter type stuff and then pay as you go for the rest.