Union outlines retail site ideas
The Union is currently discussing plans to restore some of the revenue it will lose when Waterstone’s Booksellers takes over its trade in academic texts. The Union’s profile amongst its members is also under review.
Suggestions for new services to replace the trade in academic texts are varied. The Union will retain the building currently known as Bookstore, since Waterstone’s will have a new site in the library building, and most of the suggestions are concerned with what to do with the building when it ceases to sell academic texts. Piers Williams Deputy President (Finance and Services) says there will be no trade in books of any kind, academic or otherwise, since they could not compete with Waterstone’s in this field.
Ian Caldwell, Director of Estates, has been assigned to deal with the various "administrative" consequences of the recent decision to award the bookstore tender to Waterstone’s. Talking on the subject of the Union’s retail sites, he stated that the College are "not opposed to the Union trading", refuting recent reports that the Rector had declared that the Union should not be allowed to trade in a commercial sense.
The most realistic suggestions are those of expanding the store’s existing trade in college regalia and stationery, and of transferring the trade in newspapers and magazines from the newsagent across the Walkway to the store in order to allow the newsagent greater space for confectionery. More adventurous ideas include a film-developing service, as in some other universities, video rental, as used to happen at IC, a shop similar to Southside shop for the sale of a limited range of groceries, and even a cafe bar.
Mr Caldwell added that the current bookstore site could be redeveloped as "some fairly sensible activity" with the College’s blessing. On competition between the various service providers on campus, he commented "It’s good to have two people running these services... It keeps each other on their toes."
In a parallel move with the retail discussions, one of the main areas under review is Union publicity. Many people are unaware of how major a role the Union plays in the life of the College, and how many of the services on campus are run by the Union. In order to remedy this a number a proposals have been put forward for raising the Union’s profile. It has been suggested that a photo board containing photographs of the Union staff and sabbaticals with explanations of the jobs they do be put up in the Union to show people which jobs are done by whom. There may also be an introduction party for wardens in Halls of Residence so that the Union’s message gets to the first people freshers come into contact with. There may even be an Union sandwich and pizza delivery service to the different departments on campus.
The main publicity idea, however, is that all posters, letters and leaflets carry the Union logo, as well as that all Union catering and recreation services display prominent signs reminding people that they are run by the Union. Students also need to be made aware that their clubs and societies could not exist were it not for the Union. Messages to this effect will be put on all posters and advertisements issued by the clubs, and many clubs will be required to adjust their name and livery to include the ICU acronym or the phrase "..supported by Imperial College Union".
The Union also aims to convey the message to the College that they both have (in theory) the same objective; giving students as good a quality of life as possible, and therefore that they should work together a lot more than they appear at present to be doing. "I think it’s unfortunate that the College and the Union have differing views about what constitutes the good of the students," says Mr Williams, "The Union believes that we can best serve students and the college community in general by trading and thereby gaining a degree of financial autonomy from the whims of Higher Education budgets, as well as tailoring our services to suit students’ needs." Mr Willaims voiced the opinion that the College, judged by it’s actions, often shows that it does not share this view.
Whatever happens the store will have to be refurbished to allow it to pursue a different trade, resulting in it closing for a fortnight, likely to be during the Easter vacation to minimise disruption of services.
