W3: A Welfare Perspective

It’s the topic of the moment – the new halls that Imperial College London Council has approved in W3, North Acton. Some of you may have been following the Twitter hashtag #AgainstActon, seen the info about the campaign on the Union website or read Paul Beaumont’s blog post (opposite article). I’m going to assume you know the basics, but here is my lowdown on why I think the halls in W3 will have some pretty serious consequences for the welfare of the students who get allocated these halls.

Personal safety should be a key concern. In the Imperial College new staff orientation, staff are told not to walk through an estate less than a mile away from the site of the new halls. Crucially this is an estate that students would need to walk through to get to Westfield. Medical students are also warned away from this estate when based at Hammersmith hospital – if College deems this area so unsafe, why locate 700 students there who are likely to be new to London and potentially to England? This seems like a strange mixed message to me. There are many other personal safety issues, it will take two night buses to get back from either the Union or Central London after participating in an activity or a night out. This either has the effect of putting our students at a higher level of risk late at night, or decreasing engagement with activities.

On the subject of engagement, Imperial College Union is proud of not just the sheer number of Clubs, Societies and Projects, but the level of engagement that we have with our students. We recognise that Clubs, Societies and Projects fulfil many functions for first year students, for example the overseas groups can really help a student from an international background to acclimatise to life in the UK. Many students also seek peer support through their links in clubs when they are going through a rough patch, and maybe most importantly they are fun. They help students in the high pressure environment that is Imperial College to blow off some steam! I strongly feel that the average participation and engagement of students inW3 would be significantly less than students placed in either Beit or Princes Gardens.

A hall is ... about fostering a safe space and a community that first year students can flourish in

This is just one aspect of students feeling disconnected from the Imperial College community; as the community is South Kensington centric. When moving to a new city or country, I think it is really important to feel part of a community to make that transition more manageable. Not only should we consider our students who engage with the Union through Clubs, Societies and Projects, but what about the students who rely on the income from working part time at the Union? As W3 is being marketed as cheap accommodation, it is reasonable to assume that some of the students who live there may wish to supplement their finances with some part time work. The Union provides flexible part time work in its outlets allowing students to earn extra money without interfering on their studies. Two night buses and the general distance may mean that students living in North Acton are unable to do part time work at the Union.

This year, some first year students have been placed in Paragon which is located in Brentford. Although this is not the same location, the travel time is comparable to that of North Acton. I strongly believe there have never been so many students so unhappy with the location of their halls. The College Tutors and academics in departments have mentioned that they have had vast numbers of students asking to be relocated to halls closer to College. The main reason cited was their levels of stress due to commuting times. Spending over an hour per day on public transport cuts into their relaxation time and students have commented that the wake up early-travel-lectures-travel-work-sleep routine has been difficult for them. These students have also raised concerns mentioned in the previous paragraphs. It strikes me that College Council should be learning from previous location mistakes made by Campus Services, not repeating them.

There is also the fact that these students will not only be further away from the Union, but the vast array of services provided by College. As I mentioned before, South Kensington is the main hub of undergraduate services, and as thereis no plan to move any undergraduate teaching to Imperial West, it will be for the foreseeable future. Therefore, in 2015, there will be 700 students who may not engage with South Kensington based services such as Ethos gym, the Disability Advisory Service, the Counselling Service and the Health Centre. These are all resources that should be as simple as possible for students to engage with. Even though these students will be travelling to South Kensington for lectures every day – due to time constraints and pressures from travelling, they may be less likely to use these services. It should be made as easy as possible for students to access the help they need and distance is a barrier.

The topic of wardening provision has not yet been mentioned with respect to W3. In smaller halls it is not uncommon for the warden to know the name of every student. With a team of wardens, subwardens and hall seniors, the transition of moving away from home is made much more bearable. I don’t know many people who could hold down a full time academic position and look after (and know by name) 700 undergraduates. I have a sneaking suspicion that the wardening provision will be much lower in W3, which is worrying. We know that wardens provide frontline round the clock pastoral support for students. A front desk and 24 hour security could never replace or even come close to this. A hall is not just about stopping intruders entering, it is about fostering a safe space and a community that first year students can flourish in. Can this be achieved in a hall a substantial distance away with an impersonal feel? I don’t think so.

These are my top worries about W3. I am sure you have your own, some of these things really do need answers from the members of College staff spearheading this development. As a Union our primary concern is the student experience of our members, I wish I could say the same of the decision makers behind this development.