Residents' Club Committee - survey feedback

In last week's survey, you told us that you want Hall events to be publicised better.

At last night's meeting of the Residents' Club Committee, your elected members discussed this and resolved to:

• give more notice of events;
• make announcements at dinner in the days leading up to events; and 
• invest in a printer so they can put up posters more easily instead of relying on Facebook alone for publicity.

Results of the Residents' Club election on Tuesday 7th October 2014

Last night, Connaught Hall residents voted for their Club committee officers. 13 candidates stood for election to the five positions available. The results are shown in the table below:

All thirteen candidates made a speech at the hustings meeting in the dining hall last night. All of them did very well to address such a large audience and they all had some great ideas for the year ahead.

So I offer my congratulations not only to the five elected candidates, but also to the eight others who were not elected, but who should still be proud of their achievement for standing up and being active participants in our Hall community. There are many opportunities throughout the year to get involved in planning and organising social, sports, and community events - and I hope we will see much more of Amoli, Nick, Maud, Rosie, Lucy, Michela, Jose, and Nicole getting involved in this way.

There is more information about what the committee will be doing next at http://election.connaught-hall.org.uk. At their first meeting, they will decide who will take up which roles - President, Secretary, Treasurer, Entertainment, and Sports.

I look forward to working with this new committee towards achieving their election pledges and making this year unforgettable (for good reasons) for everyone.

       

Welcome speech delivered at dinner on Sunday 21st September

Hello everyone. I’m Adrian, your Warden.

My first task tonight is to extend you all a very warm welcome to Connaught Hall. I am so pleased that you have joined us at Connaught, and I’ve really enjoyed meeting and getting to know so many of you over the last two weekends. And I hope you feel at home here very quickly.

I read something in the newspaper last week that I thought was worth sharing:

The fundamental law of freshers week is that everyone is terrified and insecure, and it's just a game of who can hide it best. Freshers week is probably not the time you'll meet the people who you will become best friends with. To be honest, it's more about surviving and attempting to have fun in this strange and overwhelming new world you've been thrown into. But it can be the time when you sow the seeds for friendships that you'll come to depend on.

So while you’re busy feeling a bit nervous about everything but pretending you’re not, remember all the people sitting around you are thinking and pretending exactly the same thing. And let me assure of this: you will make some amazing friends at Connaught Hall this year – friendships that I hope will last a lifetime. And I really hope you will look back on this year as one of the best of your life.

Now, I want to share something very important with you. Something that I need your help with.

My goal here in Hall is for everyone to feel safe, happy, and a sense of belonging in our Hall community. That’s my mission. And I want you to share it with me. Starting tonight, help me to make Connaught Hall “home” not just for you but also for everyone else around you right now.

How can we do it? Well, it’s actually very simple.

I’m going to suggest four easy rules that you can use to make your life better this term.


Rule number one: 

Get involved in some of the exciting opportunities the next few weeks will offer you. 

Come to our events, use your Hall bar, stand for election to the Residents’ Club Committee. That’s how you can best meet people.


Rule number two:

Be yourself, but be interested in other people.

Then you will make friends with people who like you for who you really are. And you'll make those friends much more quickly by being genuinely interested in the people you meet.


Rule number three: 

Take time to relax.

Some of you will want to go out and get drunk seven nights a week every week this term. You might even feel under pressure to do that. You don't have to. It’s a myth that students spend all their time at parties. Overdoing the partying side of things will exhaust you more quickly than you might think. Take some time out for yourself, relax, go for a jog, go shopping. Not everything has to be about alcohol.

Others of us might choose to study in the library almost every waking hour. Don’t do that either – that’s just as damaging for your health as going to a party every night. Your grades won’t reflect all that extra work and you will not feel good.

So take some time out for yourself.


Rule number four:

Consider your neighbours in Hall.

In particular, try to be quiet when they want to study or sleep. I have seen from too much experience that conflict between two neighbours in Hall makes both of them really unhappy. Don’t be one of those people!

You can go one step further than just not annoying your neighbours: look out for them, too. Talk to them, listen to them, help them if you can.



So those are my four rules for staying happy. But what if you have “down” times? Well, here’s the biggest secret nobody ever told you: 

it’s OK to ask for help.

So who do you ask? There are people all around you who are ready to listen, to advise, and to help if things get tough. Here in Hall, my team of Senior Members and I help the Hall community grow together, look after you when you need a bit of support, and help you resolve conflicts with other residents. This year, my Senior Members are: Becca, Bill, Jing, Jon, and Leah.

I’m a doctor in the emergency department at University College Hospital. The senior members are all students in at least their fourth year of university study. 

You can talk to us about anything. Anything at all.

If you need some practical help with something inside the Hall, we’re really lucky at Connaught to have a fantastic hall management team who look after the building and all the facilities and services you use every day – so that’s things like catering, maintenance, security, cleaning, the laundrette, and all the really useful stuff.

Alice is our Hall Manager, Julie is her assistant, and we also have Dave working with us at the moment. They’re both based in the office behind reception and they’re very happy for you to pop in talk to them during their office hours.

You can also write to us with any ideas, suggestions, or complaints about pretty much anything in Hall at our suggestion box address. It’s well publicised in the Hall Handbook, online, and on posters in reception and in the dining hall. We really do want to hear from you. We will always reply and will always do our best to take action on your suggestions wherever possible.

Now, if you really want to get involved in the Hall, stand for election to the Residents’ Club Committee in the second week of October. All Connaught Hall residents are eligible to stand for election. The five residents who get voted in will be in charge of the bar, and will organise all this year’s parties and social, entertainment, and sporting events. They get a budget to spend and meet regularly with me and my team.

Being on the committee is a great way to get to know everyone in Hall, to influence how things run, and it’s a very good point to have on your CV. So think about getting involved and talk to me or one of the outgoing committee members about it.

Or you might want to join the Facilities Committee or the Multicultural Students’ Forum. Again, you are all eligible to join these committees and they are a very good way to get more involved in the life of the Hall.

We will post information about the Residents’ Club elections, the Facilities Committee, and the Multicultural Students’ Forum over the next week or so. So make sure you are following us on Facebook, or Twitter, or Tumblr, or whatever is your preferred social platform we're on pretty much everything.

OK, well, thank you for listening tonight. Please get in contact if you need any help, or want to make any suggestions. Remember the bar is staying open until late. I hope to see lots of you there later.

And now, in our usual Connaught tradition, let’s raise a toast:

To a very happy and successful year for all of us!

ABC party last night

Last night's ABC - "anything but clothes" - party was great. Thank you to the outgoing members of the Residents' Club Committee for their hard work in organising the event (and blowing up all those balloons!). I know Beth Hughes, David Haughan, Charlie Axelsson, and Imi Jerome helped a lot with setting up on the day, as well - so thank you all. Will Kay did a really good job as our DJ and got people on the dancefloor earlier than I've ever seen at a Connaught party before!

Thank you also to everyone who attended: this party had a super atmosphere, very friendly, and there were no serious problems all night - that's down to all of you. 

I hope you all enjoyed the party. Look out for our next events coming in October / November.

October update

Dear resident

It's been a busy few weeks in Hall and there are a few more things coming up in the next week or so. I thought it might be useful for you to have an update on everything in one place.


1. Residents' Club elections - 08/10/13 

At dinner time on Tuesday 8th October, you will be able to elect five new representatives to the Residents' Club Committee. The people you choose will organise many of the social events in Hall this year, run the bar, and spend up to £6500 of your money - so listen to what they have to say and what they are going to do for you. At the time of writing, only two residents have put themselves forward for the election. If fewer than five people stand, there will be no election and those who have nominated themselves will be appointed automatically. More of you must have ideas for how we can make this year amazing for everyone: stand for election and share your ideas; if you get enough votes, you will be able to put them into practice! Visit election.connaught-hall.org.uk for more information about the Club and the election, and to nominate yourself. My "letter to candidates" tells you exactly what's involved, and what you can expect from us in return. Or speak to me, a Senior Member, or one of the outgoing members from last year's Committee. The deadline for nominations is midday on Saturday 5 October: it's an automatic system that will close at exactly midday. 


2. "Anything but clothes" party - 04/10/13 

Friday night is our freshers' ABC party in the bar, 8pm till 2am (bar serves alcohol until 1am). You are invited to be creative with your outfit and wear absolutely anything - except clothes. Maybe some photos of previous ABC parties at Connaught will provide you with inspiration: flickr.com/photos/connaughthall/tags/anythingbutclothes. 

As you can see, it's totally fine if you want to come to the party in actual clothes: we'd rather have you there in clothes than not there in not-clothes! 

As with all our late parties, you may sign in a maximum of two guests for the duration of the event (8 till 2). 

Please try and keep the party confined to the bar and Bell room so that residents who don't want to attend the party are not disturbed. I regret that we strictly cannot allow any "after-parties" in bedrooms or corridors after 2am, and we must keep noise outside the front of the Hall to a minimum so our hotel & residential neighbours don't complain and stop us from having more parties in future. 


3. Fire drill - 04/10/13 

Weather permitting, a fire drill will be held on Friday evening.

When you hear the fire alarm: 

Evacuate the building immediately.
Close all doors and windows behind you.
Leave by the shortest route.
Do not use the lift.
Assemble on the pavement outside Passfield Hall on Endsleigh Place.

Follow the green exit signs to find your nearest escape route. Hall staff will help you. Remember it is possible that there may be a real fire alarm on the day, so for your own safety never ignore the alarm because you assume it is a drill. Your Licence Agreement obliges you to participate in fire drills. If the total evacuation time is too long, more fire drills will be held over the next few weeks – so don’t let everyone else down! 


4. Have you taken some good photos of our freshers' events? 

We love our photos at Connaught. If you have any shots you're proud of from any of our welcome events (afternoon teas, grand bar opening, welcome dinner, speed meeting, or of course from tomorrow's party), I'd be really delighted if you sent me some that I can upload at photos.connaught-hall.org.uk or at instagram.com/connaughthall. Email me one or two pictures at warden@connaught-hall.org.uk, send me a link to your photos on your own Flickr, or ask me about lending you a memory stick if you have lots to share. 


5. Join the Facilities Committee and/or Multicultural Students' Forum (McSF) 

I posted a message about how to join these committees a few days ago: democracy-feedback-and-student. 

Both committees meet three or four times a year for about an hour. If you haven't been on a committee before, it will be good experience of how meetings work. And whatever your level of previous committee experience, your input to making Connaught Hall better for everybody will be greatly valued. Please follow the instructions in my previous post and join up as soon as possible if you're interested. 


6. Room swaps

I have been asked frequently about room swaps in the last few weeks. If you are thinking about asking for a room change, please take note of the following advice from our Residents' Handbook:

Requests for room swaps are dealt with exclusively by the Reservations Office based at ULU, and will only be considered after the middle of October when everyone has moved in: email info.halls@london.ac.uk. 

We regret that the staff at Connaught Hall cannot approve requests for room swaps.

The Reservations Team are the best people to answer all your questions on this subject, including things like "are there currently any empty rooms?" or "is there anyone who hasn't moved in when they should?". I regret that the Senior Members and I do not routinely have access to the information that would allow us to give you an accurate answer to these questions.


7. Access [H]all Areas 

This private, invitation-only online social network for the intercollegiate halls of residence was new this year. It already has almost 800 members so it's a good platform for sharing ideas for sports meet-ups, outings, and clubs, especially where there may be benefits in the numbers gained from getting more than one hall involved. 

If you're not already a member, sign up with this link: uol-halls.ning.com/?xgi=3KprrvqzHofzOa - and remember to join the Connaught Hall group on the site!

Do remember to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, as well: tweets.connaught-hall.org.uk and facebook.connaught-hall.org.uk.


8. Last reminder to check the Residents' Handbook! 

Our Residents' Handbook can be found at handbook.connaught-hall.org.uk.

It is long, so we don't expect you to read every page in detail. We do very much expect you to read the sections on noise and fire safety, and strongly advise you to have an idea of the contents pages, so you can dip into those bits that interest you now, and know what information is available for you to refer back to later in the year if you're not sure about anything.

So, one last time: please take a look at our Handbook!

Democracy, feedback, and student involvement: the Facilities Committee, Multicultural Students' Forum, and Residents' Club Committee

Join the Connaught Hall Facilities Committee and/or Multicultural Students' Forum (McSF)! 

Unlike the Residents' Club Committee, there are no elections to be a representative on the Facilities Committee or McSF.


Facilities Committee

We need six student reps on the committee. Members meet with hall staff and contractors to improve the facilities and services in hall, such as catering, cleaning, maintenance, and security.

Email facilities.committee@connaught-hall.org.uk ASAP with your name and room number to join.

Visit http://www.connaught-hall.org.uk/pages/facilities/facilitiescommittee.html for more information. If more than six residents apply, we will choose six names randomly.


Multicultural Students' Forum

We need student representatives from any and all cultures, religions, countries, and backgrounds to act as advisors to the Warden, Residents' Club, and Hall Management on matters of interest to international, overseas, and ethnic minority students. Everyone is welcome (including white British "home" students): all that's needed is that you share the ideals of the McSF.

Follow this link for more information: http://www.connaught-hall.org.uk/pages/community/mcsf.html

You can join the McSF mailing list at the link above. If you are on the mailing list, you will be invited to meetings of the McSF three times a year. Our first meeting will be in October, so make sure you sign up ASAP!


Residents' Club Committee

Remember there will be elections for five Officers of the Residents' Club Committee on Tuesday 8th October. For more information, and to stand for election, visit http://www.connaught-hall.org.uk/pages/community/clubelections.html.

Nominations close at midday on Saturday 5th October.

Appointment of new officers to the Residents’ Club Committee

An important announcement has been published by the Residents' Club Committee on their page at committee.connaught-hall.org.uk.

The full text is as follows:


Appointment of new officers to the Residents’ Club Committee The President and Entertainment Officer are not planning on returning to Connaught Hall for the 2013-14 academic year. September/October is an important time for Hall social events to welcome our new residents, and for some administrative purposes, the Club must have a President or Acting president at all times. 

The Club Constitution states:

In the event, for any reason, of a post falling vacant mid-session, a by-election must be held within one calendar month of the vacancy arising, except when such vacancy arises in the third term, when the elective Committee shall have power to co-opt subject to approval at the next General Meeting.

The Committee has therefore made the following appointments with effect from 1 August 2013, until the elections in October:

President – Christopher Madden

Secretary – Rebecca Ashton

Entertainment Officer – Georgina Cherry 

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about these appointments, you may write to the Warden, in confidence, at warden@connaught-hall.org.uk. The Warden will present your comments to the Committee at their next meeting. All feedback will be anonymised before being presented to the Committee, unless you explicitly state that you would like your name to appear with your comment. Please send any feedback before 5pm on Monday 15 April.

Formal ratification of these appointments is at a General Meeting of the Residents’ Club. The Constitution says:

The opinions of Members shall be voiced in General Meetings ... Ordinary Members shall have power to require a General Meeting to be summoned at any time on reasonable notice, but only if at least twenty-five Ordinary Members or one-eighth of the Ordinary Membership, whichever is the smaller, jointly wish to do so.

There is no scheduled General Meeting before the October elections at which these appointments can formally be ratified by the membership, but if the Warden receives twenty-five or more requests for the above appointments to be reviewed, an extraordinary General Meeting can be called this term for that purpose.

We wish the new officers a very successful and productive start to the new academic year, and expect they will prove to be a friendly, welcoming face for new residents. 

11 April 2013



An further announcement has been published on the bar page at bar.connaught-hall.org.uk:

Appointment of Bar Manager & Assistant Bar Manager for 2013-14
Acting on the advice of the Residents' Club Committee, the Warden has made the following appointments for the 2013-14 academic year:

Bar Manager - Emily Burns

Assistant Bar Manager - Marion Guiraud

14 April 2013

Televisions at Connaught Hall

Several responses in the residents' survey mentioned problems with the televisions in the common rooms.

The televisions are the property of the Residents' Club and responsibility for them lies with the Residents' Club Committee. Purchases of these televisions and associated equipment are funded by your £30/year Club subscription.

Today, I spent some time to find out exactly what is wrong with each of the televisions. My findings are shown in the table below, with my recommendations to the Residents' Club Committee in red.

It is up to your elected representatives whether they wish to use Club funds for the expenditure I have suggested. Talk to them - or email them at committee@connaught-hall.org.uk - if you have any views on whether they should or should not buy new equipment.

Please also email the committee if you are aware of any other faults or problems that I might have missed when I was looking at the TVs today.

This is one of a series of posts responding to the results of the residents' survey. You can see all the posts here: http://connaughthall.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Survey%202013. 

FAQ: Can the bar be open more?

We are commonly asked if the bar can be open more / longer hours.

The opening times for the actual bar (i.e. serving drinks) are set by the Bar Manager with a view to keeping the bar financially viable. This usually means the bar is open and serving drinks for 3-3.5 hours every night during term 1, and less in terms 2 and 3. This year (2013), the bar is still open every night in term 2, but only for 2 hours, from 9pm to 11pm. The Bar Manager is always happy to consider your ideas for how the bar could be open longer hours without losing money, so get in touch at bar@connaught-hall.org.uk. Of course, there are also some legal / licensing restrictions on the hours the bar can serve alcoholic drinks.

The bar area (i.e. the room where the bar and pool table are) is not a common room. By and large, the bar area is only open when there is a member of staff serving drinks behind the bar. This year, the Duty Senior Member opens the bar area at 7pm so the area is open and unsupervised for up to 2 hours a day.

We have tried in previous years to keep the bar area open for longer as an extra common room, but problems have always arisen and forced us to return to locking the bar area except when it is supervised:

• damage to the pool table;
• break-ins and theft from behind the bar;
• vandalism of chairs and sofas in the bar area;
• noise complaints from rooms facing the garden because of people playing the piano or music in the bar after 11pm;
• use of the doors from the bar to access the garden when it is closed after 11pm, also leading to noise complaints.

Because of these problems - all of which occurred more than once over a few years - we unfortunately cannot agree to open the bar area for longer.

Congratulations to the new Committee

Many congratualtions to Kat Pierce, elected as President last night, and the other new Officers of the Committee: Chris Madden, Daisy Bartlett, Christopher Wongsosaputro, and Jaiminee Patel. They will decide who will take the roles of Secretary, Treasurer, Entertainment Officer, and Sports Officer at their first meeting.

The Residents' Club pages on the Hall website have now been updated: http://committee.connaught-hall.org.uk.

Well done also to everyone who stood as a candidate in the election. Each and every one of you spent the time to sign up and write a manifesto, and stood up to speak in front of more than 150 of your peers at last night's hustings. I enormously appreciate your interest and enthusiasm for your Hall and our community, and I truly hope that you will get fully involved in helping us to organise activities and events this year. Not being on the Committee is no bar - is not even a disadvantage - to being a big player in the Hall community. We need people like you!

Some the matters the new Committee will need to consider early this term include:

1. The common room TVs
2. A Hallowe'en party in Hall to complement the boat party?
3. Repairing or replacing the table football
4. New table tennis equipment

They will also be keen to start implementing some of their manifesto commitments, which you can still view here: http://www.connaught-hall.org.uk/documents/election/Connaught-Hall-election-manifestos.pdf.

I greatly look forward to working with the new Committee and making this year at Connaught Hall even better than any before!

Photographs of last night's election are on our Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/connaughthall/tags/election2012/.

A video of highlights from the night will be released on ConnaughtTV soon.

Finally, I should like to express and put on record my sincere thanks to the outgoing members of the Residents' Club Committee for their work over the last 12 months: Neaty Soopaul and Matthew Bovingdon-Downe (President), Chris Madden (Secretary, re-elected this year), Adam Lupták (Treasurer), Tim Phedon (Entertainment Officer), Hafez Salameh (Sports Officer). I am sure those of you who have returned to the Hall this year will continue to contribute generously to Hall life.

Why stand for election to the Residents' Club Committee?

Connaught Hall has a reputation as one of the most sociable halls of residence in London and that reputation is owed in large part to residents who are willing to give their some of their time and enthusiasm to contribute to our Hall community. One of the main ways you can contribute is by being a member of the Residents' Club Committee.

There are benefits to being a member of the Committee:

• You will meet almost everyone in the Hall and have the opportunity to earn the respect of your peers.
• A learning experience that will stand you in good stead for committee work in other organisations.
• A very good point to add to your CV and a talking point at interviews.
• A boost to your internship and job applications.
• I can write character references for Committee members. This can mean a lot more than a reference from your college tutor, since they will only see you for an hour a week or so and can only write about your academic side: I can comment on much broader aspects of your personality and suitability for a job.
• If you do a good job, I will guarantee you a room in Hall next year.
• If you do a very good job, I will try to get you your choice of room next year.

If you feel you have the necessary time and commitment to devote to a role on the Committee, please make sure you submit your written manifesto no later than midday on Sunday 14 October, using the online nominations system accessible from election.connaught-hall.org.uk.

Proposed amendments to Residents' Club Constitution September / October 2012

It is proposed to reform the voting system for officers of the Residents' Club Committee.

	Residents' Club Constitution as it is now
	Proposed amendments to section 11 (highlighted in red)

 

At present, there are five elected Officers: President, Treasurer, Secretary, Sports Officer, and Entertainment Officer. If a resident wants to be on the Committee, s/he must decide which post s/he would like and stand specifically for that role. His/her application must be proposed and seconded by two other residents. On election day, every resident has one vote in each of five separate ballots: one for each Officer. We believe this system may have contributed to declined numbers of nominations and the increasing number of uncontested posts (meaning that somebody wins by default).

 

The proposed reforms would mean that everyone who wanted to be on the Committee this year would simply stand as an "Officer". There would be no distinction in the election between President, Secretary, etc. Every resident will be allowed to vote for up to three candidates for the position of "Officer".

 

The top five candidates in this single poll will all be elected as Officers of the Club. The candidate with the greatest number of votes will automatically be President. The remaining four Officers must then decide between themselves who will take on the duties required on the Secretary, Treasurer, Entertainment, Officer, and Sports Officer.

 

Next year, a more thorough review of the Constitution may lead to the abolition of many of these separate titles all together.

 

We need your feedback. If you disagree with these proposed amendments, please email committee@connaught-hall.org.uk no later than 12 midday on Tuesday 2nd October. If objections are received from fewer than 5% of the resident community by that time, the amendments will be adopted.

 

You can visit the Residents' Club web page here: http://www.connaught-hall.org.uk/pages/community/committee.html

Newspaper subscriptions

Starting on Monday 17th October, we shall receive the following newspapers to be put out in reception for residents to read in reception (please don't take them away):

• The Times (Mon-Sat)
  
• The Guardian (Mon-Sat)
  
• The Independent (Mon-Sat)
  
• The Sun (Mon-Sat)
  
• City A.M. (Mon-Fri)
  
• The Daily Telegraph (Sat only)
  
• The Sunday Times (Sun)
  
• The Sunday Telegraph (Sun)
  
• The Observer (Sun)
  
• Independent on Sunday (Sun)

The newspapers are provided by the Residents' Club using the £30/year subscription that all residents pay. Please send any queries or suggestions to committee@connaught-hall.org.uk.

I have also asked if we can receive free deliveries of The Evening Standard, Metro, and Camden New Journal but these are not yet confirmed.

Thank you to the Committee of 2010-1

On Thursday we will elect a new Committee to manage the Connaught Hall Residents' Club.

But before we get stuck into plans for a Hallowe'en party, Christmas events, restoring the newspaper subscriptions, and everything else our new Committee will want to do, I want to stop and say a great big thank you to James "Willy" Wilson, Michelle Ansah, Tom Stewart, Zac Zurybida, and Amin Yazdi who served on the Committee last year.

Zac and Michelle, though they no longer live in Hall, came back this month to help organise the fabulous welcome party on Saturday night. Being no longer resident, they had no obligation to do so but their dedication brought them back - and we must thank them especially for this.

As sports officer last year, Amin invested in equipment that residents can borrow from reception to play tennis, football, badminton, and other sports. Thank you, Amin.

Tom was the Club Treasurer last year and was appointed Bar Manager in June. He inherited a Club with a difficult financial position so his job as Treasurer has not been an easy one; but he successfully reined-in the Club's spending and although the Club still faces financial challenges this year, it should be much easier for the new Treasurer to build up the Club's depleted reserves. Tom took an interest in all aspects of the Residents' Club last year - not just the strict Treasurer's remit of accounts and balances. He has made an excellent start as Bar Manager, as is evident from the highly successful "grand opening" night and welcome party.

James has not been a good President: he has been an outstanding President. Again, he inherited a tough job with unique pressures - both internal and external - on the Club and, indeed, on the entire social fabric of the Hall. He has led by consensus; faced every challenge with vigour and good humour; and truly been a champion of this Hall's values, spirit, and community. Despite being short of money, his Committee organised events and parties throughout the year: every one was a success.

So finally, to James and Tom: thank you!

Residents' Club finances & newspapers

In the last few years, the Residents’ Club has been hit with a number of costly repair bills for the Bar cellar as well as losses on some overseas trips and an increase in the rate of VAT. Last year (2010-1), the elected Committee worked hard to increase the Club's reserves but mid-year had to repair the cellar again, using up all the funds they had managed to save.

Consequently, the Club has very little in the bank at the start of this year (less than £1000).
It is vital that by the end of this year, the Club's reserves are at least £3000. This means most of the subscription income not already accounted for by fixed costs must be saved, and the Bar must return a profit. These will be challenges for this year's elected Residents' Club Committee.

Traditionally, the Club subscribes to a number of daily newspapers which are placed the reception lobby for residents to read. At present, the Club has insufficient cash funds available to pay these subscriptions for September and early October.

Newspapers will be re-started when the Club receives this term's instalment of £10/resident/term subscriptions from the Bursar's Office.

Bar thefts 26/03 to 03/04 - update

I have made some progress in identifying who was involved in taking around £600 worth of drink from the bar two weeks ago. However, there are still many residents who have been named as being involved but who have not yet approached me. I think part of the reason for this may be that they do not realise that the drink they took were effectively stolen. Those who have approached me so far have explained that most people who took drinks may not have known exactly what was going on, and that there was certainly no malice in their actions. For this reason I will delay making a decision on the police and disciplinary proceedings until Tuesday 19 April, allowing you time to read this and think whether you were perhaps unwittingly involved. If you were given, sold, or took any drink at all from the bar in the week between Saturday 26 March and Sunday 3 April, please contact me urgently and tell me what you had and who gave it to you (or how you got it). The bar was not officially open during that week at all, so anyone who was “working” behind the bar should not have been there and any “free drinks” they gave away were stolen from the bar. Sometimes, bottles of spirits were brought out from behind the bar so again, you may not have realised that you were receiving something that had been stolen. Please, please come forward and tell me about what happened. I do need to recover the cost of the drink that was stolen and it will be fairest to everyone if that cost is shared between everyone who took a drink. If absolutely everyone owns up, the cost could be as little as £12 each. The number of people who have come forward so far cannot repay the entire cost with the repayments capped at a maximum £30 each (as per my letter at http://notice.connaught-hall.org.uk/); and if we cannot recover this money, the bar and the Residents’ Club itself will really struggle to stay in business this year.

Bar thefts 26/03 to 03/04

In the period between Saturday 26 March and Sunday 3 April, around £600 worth of spirits, wine, beer, and soft drinks were taken from the bar without being paid for. I understand that a large number of people (perhaps 30 or more) were involved.

The bottom line is that this matter has been reported to the police but I have asked them not to pursue a full investigation until I have had an opportunity to resolve the issue internally; if we can satisfactorily deal with this within the Hall, I will ask the police to drop it completely.

So I am writing to you with an amnesty of sorts, and a proposal that I hope will resolve this matter simply and fairly.

My concerns and expectations are:

1. The bar and Residents’ Club already have a very difficult financial position this year and absolutely cannot afford to shoulder the cost of the missing stock. We must recover these costs in order for the bar to remain financially viable, to continue paying for daily newspaper deliveries, to complete the library refurbishment, and to allow some social activities to be organised in term 3.

2. This incident highlights the potential problems of leaving the bar area open 24 hours for access to the sofas, pool table, and table football; I need to be reassured that I can continue allowing the bar area to be left open when the bar itself is not staffed.

3. I cannot understand what has happened to make so many people think it was okay to effectively break into the bar and take drinks without paying for them, and I am concerned about what this means for the community dynamic in Hall.

4. I need to know this is not going to happen again, and that those involved are prepared to own up to it and take some responsibility for their potentially very damaging actions. I have a good deal of respect for people who can admit to a mistake; but I take a dim view of those who try to cover up or lie about things.

5. If at all possible, I should prefer to avoid any formal disciplinary action and/or criminal proceedings.

If you were involved in any way in the theft of drinks from the bar last week, come forward and tell me about it before 17.00 on Tuesday 19 April.

Send me an email: tell me (a) what happened, (b) when, (c) who was there, (d) what – if anything – made you think this was okay to do, and (e) what we can do to prevent it from happening again. I will arrange a time to meet with you.

If you come forward voluntarily before 19 April, I will give you these guarantees:

1. Your financial liability to the Club will be capped to a maximum of £30. The more people that come forward to share the cost, the less your liability will be, so please also encourage others who were involved to approach me.

2. If disciplinary action is necessary, the maximum penalty I will apply is a written warning (apart from charging for the missing stock as per point 1).

3. If you hold an offer of accommodation at Connaught Hall next year, I will not withdraw your offer on the basis of this incident alone.

On 15 April, I will make a decision about what to tell the police about continuing their investigation, and whether to commence disciplinary proceedings against those I know were involved but have not come forward voluntarily.

A letter similar to this was distributed, by friends of those who were involved, directly to the suspects last week – I had hoped to avoid sending such a negative letter to the whole Hall – but that was met with a very disappointing response. I hope that is because the letter did not reach all the suspects, and that by sending it to everyone, we will see a better response.

If too few people come forward, I will regrettably have to pursue the criminal and/or disciplinary routes to resolve this situation. I will seek to apply the most severe penalties available to me for anyone who was involved but fails to tell me about it before 19 April.

I must also make a decision about the future of the bar in Hall, re-opening the bar area for pool and table football, and any future social events. I hope you can reassure me that the Connaught Hall community can learn from what happened between 26 March and 3 April, and ensure a positive future for our bar.

New Sports Officer

Amin Yazdi was unopposed as a candidate in the Sports Officer by-election. He has therefore been returned as the new Sports Officer on the Residents' Club Committee.

Residents' Club election results

The results at last night's election were as follows:

President
Hannes ANSORG: 16
William STANGER: 33
James WILSON: 88

Secretary
Michelle ANSAH: 98
Hannah EDWARDS: 42

Treasurer
Daniel ENG: 33
Jacob MURPHY: 43
Thomas STEWART: 63

Entertainment Officer
Freddie ELCOCK: 51
Zac ZURYBIDA: 86

Sports Officer
Harbhajan Singh BARYAH: 78
Jamie HURLEY: 59


The turnout was 140.

Election

Yesterday, I opened nominations for the Residents' Club Committee election to be held on Friday 15 October.

If you think you can help continue Connaught Hall's tradition of being the most sociable (and, frankly, the best) hall of residence in London, I would strongly encourage you to stand for election to one of the five positions: President, Secretary, Treasurer, Entertainment, or Sports (click on the titles to see an explanation of the role and what will be expected of the post-holder this year).

I've written a letter to all potential candidates and a statement on the Club's current financial position.

Visit election.connaught-hall.org.uk for more information and to submit your nomination or to view the real-time list of candidates along with their manifestos.

Good luck if you are standing for election!