Union letter clarifying future of Summer Ball
No strategy has been approved by Executive Committee or Union Council
Note: This letter is from the Union, the author has been selected as Alex Kendall simply for convenience.
The Summer Ball is, for many, an opportunity for a final party with friends before the summer holidays or even the job market for anyone finishing their degree and so, rightly, students want a say in how they say goodbye to their year or even their degree. The fact is that students were involved in making this decision. You elected the Deputy President (Finance and Services), the President and the Ents committee to do this job.
These 6 students, elected by the student body to put on this event (amongst other things) decided to make changes, some forced by practical necessity, the borough Council imposing restrictions changing what we can do and when, and some out of choice but it’s important to remember, these are the people that you, the student body elected to make these decisions. It’s also important to remember that you had a say in whether or not these decisions stood. When Union Council passed reports by the DPFS that stated more of college would be used, the event would start earlier and that there would be no marquee on the Queen’s Lawn students had a chance to make the changes they wanted.
Last week an article was published saying that the Union has a long term strategy to expand the Summer Ball to Hyde Park. We’d like to clarify that this is not a strategy that has been brought before the Executive Committee of the Union or to Union Council and voted upon. It is an idea and a vision for the future from the people that the student body elected to put on this event – not necessarily one shared by every student or student representative but the vision of the people students voted for. Any change of venue would need to be discussed at the Executive Committee and Council of the Union.
A Summer Ball in Hyde Park doesn’t necessarily reflect the wishes of the student body – ultimately it is not our opinion but yours that matters. This year’s Summer Ball will be a fun day for everyone who comes but if there are changes you’d like to make for next year then please come forward and make your voice heard.
