Union Council reverses decision on campaign against closure of Weeks Hall

Union Council met this Tuesday and voted to reverse its previous decision not to campaign against the closure of Weeks Hall.

The Union Council also voted in favour of #ICaProblem, a new student led campaign hoping to tackle the “lack of consultation, communication and transparency” in College decision making.

Council agreed to ask College to delay the closure of Weeks Hall until a future purpose was agreed upon, and until a “full, transparent consultation” over the use of the hall has taken place.

The Union Council meeting was attended by many residents of Weeks Hall, present and former, who turned up to support the paper asking for Council to reconsider their previous stance.

The discussion covered the present state of the hall, its need for refurbishment and also the benefits of campaigning against a decision that College has apparently already made.

It was announced earlier this week that the Provost Board, a College decision-making body consisting of senior members of College staff, decided to close Weeks for the next academic year.

Statements released by College stated that Provost Board has agreed to close the hall, as it requires “refurbishment work that is essential for its continued use as student accommodation”.

They also stated that the College doesn’t have definitive plans for Weeks Hall yet, although it cannot continue in its function as accommodation as it would be “difficult to refurbish [Weeks] … to bring it in line with the standards of other accommodation”.

However, students living in Weeks Hall had only praise for the condition of the hall and one resident stated that he would happily pay more to live in the Hall in its current state, due to its proximity to campus.

Parallels between the closure of Weeks and the closure of Garden Halls were also drawn, with one student explaining that it was only recently that they began to remove student furniture from Garden Hall, which has sat vacant for nearly two years since its closure in 2013.

Some students voiced concern over the College closing a hall but still having no clear plans as to what the space will be repurposed for, with Weeks residents unimpressed with the responses from College thus far.

The Union Council revote follows those made in the previous Council meeting, when students were first asked to vote to either campaign against the closure or accept the College’s decision to shut Weeks Hall.

The vote was originally repeated after initial consensus showed an equal split in opinion over the matter. The final outcome was that Union Council members decided not to oppose the closure and supported the potential transformation of the hall into childcare facilities for academics and other College staff.

Those that attended Council however were impressed with the new agreement to campaign against the closure.

Said one resident who was present at the meeting: “It was inspiring to see such a large collection of students passionately supporting something that in reality would make no difference to them, seeing as they would all either be moving out at the end of the year or had already moved out in years past.

“The result of this meeting was definitely more a point of principle than practicality, but this in itself is still an admirable victory”. Towards the end of the meeting before the voting was cast, a student asked whether reversing the Union Council decision would mean the College would now agree to keep Weeks open.

Union President Tom Wheeler responded, “I would like to say yes…”. However, during a meeting between Felix and Professor Debra Humphris, Vice Provost (Education), when we asked if College would keep Weeks open if Union Council wanted them to, she did not give an answer.

Statements on the College website did confirm that the Provost board has agreed to let Pembridge Hall remain open, a decision made in line with the wishes of Union Council. They stated that Pembridge Hall would remain open for “the next three years at least”.

The Provost Board has also commissioned a “feasibility study” to establish a future use for the north side of Princes Gardens, including Weeks hall.

However, College is yet to address how the closure of Weeks will affect the average rent price that was already agreed upon by Union Council.

At the last Union Council meeting, rent matrices were presented to the Council by College outlining average rent prices per hall, including the relatively cheaper Weeks Hall and the new student accommodation based in Acton.

Many students were under the impression that because Weeks featured in these price matrices, it would remain open for the next academic year. When Felix had previously enquired as to when Weeks was closing, College could not give an answer.

Although the matrices had different prices for different halls, the average cost of a bedroom per person, per week, remained at £166 for each variation of rent prices Council was asked to choose between.

Union Council agreed to a rent matrix that allowed the price of Woodward to drop to £120, but meant halls nearer to campus would see their rent rise as a result.

If Weeks is to close next year, the matrices Union Council voted on are therefore false, as they had included the prices of rooms in Weeks.

Humphris said earlier this week, before the Union Council meeting took place: “We’re determined to provide the very best residential experience to our students but we also have difficult decisions to make about the best use of our facilities and resources, both now and in the future.

“We haven’t always got it right in the past but we are absolutely committed to partnering with students where we can to make these decisions”.

She said that when it comes to consultation with the students it is not always possible, but was adamant that College still works closely with students, citing the opportunity students had to vote on the new rents matrices (despite these now being incorrect).

Said Humphris: “That [was] a great step forward in partnership working between the College and Union, and it’s thanks to the real leadership shown by ICU President Tom Wheeler”.