Union forced to clarify future of Summer Ball

The Union has been forced to clarify that no plans for the future of the Summer Ball have been set in stone after several Deputy Presidents raised concerns following last week’s Felix article. Union President Alex Kendall said that the statement given to Felix regarding plans for the future of the Ball gave the “wrong impression” that the decisions had already been made and emphasied that student input would be sought and included in future decisions.

In a letter printed this week in Felix the Union admit that the “idea and vision” of moving the Ball to Hyde Park may not “necessarily reflect the wishes of the student body” and reassures that no decision would be taken without properly engaging the student body: “Any change of venue would need to be discussed at […] the Council of the Union.”

The statement originally sent to Felix last week, from a senior Union official and approved by the Union President, laid out plans to expand the Summer Ball into “a larger student ball for London” co-ordinated by the Union. The clarification was forced after three Deputy Presidents (Education, Welfare, and Clubs & Societies) and two members of the Union Executive Committee raised concerns that the statement made to Felix suggested that concrete plans had been put in place when they had in fact not.

Deputy President (Clubs & Societies) Heather Jones said, “I felt it necessary to clarify to the student body that the Summer Ball is decided by students and that no long-term decisions had been approved.”

Alex Kendall said that Felix had not misrepresented the statement and that the Union is still of the opinion that a bigger Summer Ball would be better, explaining that the way to have more high-profile live acts without increasing the cost is to expand the Ball. However, he conceded that it had been made to seem that a concrete decision had already been taken. In the letter the Union admit “this is not a strategy that has been brought before the Executive Committee of the Union or to Union Council and voted upon.”

The letter says that “ultimately it is not [the Union’s] opinion, but yours that matters” and urges students to “come forward and make your voice heard.”

The original statement also said that the Union had an “expression of interest” from UCL on collaborating on the Ball next year. However, Matthew Burgess, Sabbatical Officer for Finances and Services at UCL Union, told Felix “a collaboration would only happen if it were on UCL campus” and emphasised the importance of “a UCL event on UCL campus.” UCL has previously staged its Summer Ball off campus but moved it back due to overwhelming negative feedback from its students. In response to Imperial’s offer of collaborating in a future Summer Ball, Burgess said, “We feel it’s a nice idea but wouldn’t move the event off our campus.”

A senior Union official told Felix that the expression of interest came from a “senior staff member” at UCLU and that not having UCLU, one of the largest Student Unions in London, on board would have a “significant impact” on future plans for the Summer Ball.

The spokesperson said that the Union will “consult heavily with Imperial students next year to determine the steer for next year’s event” and emphasised that the Union would “first and foremost” plan a Ball that fulfilled the wishes of Imperial students above “a wider audience.” However, the spokesperson also said that plans for a London-wide student Ball would be would need to be in place before the start of the new term. It is believed therefore that feedback from this year’s event will play a crucial role in determining the future of the Summer Ball.

The Summer Ball will be held on Saturday 18th June. Tickets are £45 until midnight on Friday 17th June and then £50 on the door. Tickets can be bought from thesummerball2011.com.