Union launches Welfare and long-awaited Halls Surveys
Halls survey asks whether Ethos should remain free or not
The Union’s delayed survey on hall rents has launched this week. It comes after weeks of debate about the value of the halls Amenities fund, which subsidises social events and is paid into by all students in halls. The survey asks a range of questions including whether or not students think that Ethos should remain free or not.
Imperial College Union said that the survey was intended to “gauge student opinion on how they view their Halls experience and to present some options given to us by College Commercial Services on how to reduce rents.”
However, a detailed breakdown of hall rents and where the money goes has not yet been released. Despite calls from students and efforts by the Union to get such information, the College has resisted releasing a breakdown or the mechanism by which rents are calculated.
Director of Commercial Services, Jane Neary, declined to comment except to say: “All the services we provide are financially interdependent.”
From the respondents so far, over 70% of students say that they want a full breakdown of their rent on their bill.
The survey originally asked to students to rank the services that they receive in halls in order of importance, including water, electricity and heating. President Alex Kendall originally defended the question saying that they were all costs that formed part of the halls rent but later removed the question, admitting that it was “perhaps a bit stupid.”
A Welfare survey has also been launched separately which asks students a comphrehensive set of questions regarding all of Imperial’s welfare services. This ranges from the Health Centre to Personal Tutors. It also asks questions about student depression and crime on campus. Deputy President (Welfare) Charlotte Ivison said that she hoped the survey would lay the foundations for the future of Imperial’s welfare services and that it was “the most wide-ranging survey the Union has ever done.”
The Welfare survey is open until the 1st of April. The Halls survey closes on Friday.
