Post 35 – 25/06/23 – The Summer Ball – Part 2 | And Don’t Forget The Joker
You may recall, I submitted a complaint as per our reporting procedure. I received a couple of emails in reply, one was from Max Ross, Chief Operations Officer, RHUL Students’ Union….
Along with an apology, Max gave an explanation as to why the event had impacted the community more greatly than previous years. He commented that this year’s event was set up differently due to some last minute issues identified within the heritage areas of the campus. The main stage had to be re-positioned to the South Quad and this in turn had an impact on the acoustics: notably they egressed the site in the direction of Bakeham Lane. (Simon’s Walk). As a second comment, he also explained that the noise travelled further due to the clear night. (He didn’t disclose as to whether the volume knob was turned higher than previous years but to be fair I didn’t ask.)
Max continued by offering a copy of the headlines of an acoustic report pertaining to the event of which we are now in receipt. (We may have to come back to this – it does make for an interesting read.)
But are we being unreasonable in complaining about an event that only takes place once a year? We live in a university town after all. Well if it was just one event a year, we think there would be an argument there. But the reality is it is not. As mentioned, we also have the Fresher’s Ball that has a similar impact – and Weekly Student Union events throughout the year and the associated ASB that occurs as a consequence. Wednesday nights are feared by many local residents. That is the reality. This event is just the pinnacle of Student Union events that impact the community negatively throughout the academic year.
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So are there any possible solutions to reduce the impact of this event on the community if it were to take place again next year? Some ideas to explore…
- Another Location On-Site?
It has been put forward by Cllr. Andrea Berardi to some of RHUL’s team that these types of events should be relocated to another site on campus, further away from the residential housing. He suggested that perhaps the sports complex at the bottom of Prune Hill might be a better alternative.
The idea was not very well received though with this being the underlying concern, “Students pay a lot of money for participating in the Summer Ball so you want to situate it in the best, most aesthetically pleasing location, within and around the Founder’s Building”
The tickets were a lot of money: £75 this year if you did not capitalise on the early bird discount. But you did get a free welcome drink and a survivor’s breakfast roll for that price along with the pleasant backdrop; music of course was included along with access to a fairground. Details of the event can be found here:
https://www.su.rhul.ac.uk/summerball/2023/faq/
- Another Location Off-Site?
RHUL holds some of its other social events off-site. This year for example, their Colours Ball, an event to celebrate the achievements of the sports clubs, was held at the Hilton Hotel, Heathrow.
Indeed, my Leavers’ Ball was held at Newcastle racecourse: a venue that was set away from residential housing miles away from campus.
Perhaps Windsor racecourse might be a good alternative venue? It also hosts events like this. But then perhaps it is not salubrious enough? Or the new Fairmont Hotel? It has a large Ballroom: perhaps RHUL might entertain hosting the event there – salubrious enough for sure but perhaps not big enough?
- Earlier Finish?
I am pretty sure we were done by 00:00 or perhaps 01:00 at my Ball – it definitely didn’t finish at 06:00. But I think a 01:00 finish or 02:00 may not cut it: the Student Union currently regularly has events until 02:00 most Wednesdays.
And an early finish may not be befitting for an event that only happens annually and where its purpose is to celebrate another exciting and diverse academic year.
And we also know the consequences these earlier finishes have on parts of the community – after parties.
- Lemmy’s Approach?
Or perhaps RHUL could take a leaf out of Lemmy of Motorhead’s book. At one his band’s concert, Port Vale Football ground, he paid for the local residents to go to Blackpool in order for them not to be disturbed – but I don’t think RHUL is as cool as that.
I thought I would apologise for this gag now. It was also included in the first draft that was posted on the Facebook Group, Englefield Green Chat. And I know it was lost on at least one so I thought I would explain it here. (You know who you are TS. Wink Emoji.
As you may know, Lemmy was a notorious Hellraiser. The joke trying to be made was that even he was more responsible and considerate than RHUL is today. I will try to refrain from gags in the future.
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So this is where we think we are today:
- We have an organisation that is interested in revenue.
- We have an organisation that wants to build on its reputation of providing a strong student experience.
- We have a Summer Ball that now has a well established format – the first one in this format took place about 10 years ago. (But since when, btw, has it made it into the Egham & Englefield Green recurring calendar forevermore?)
So understanding this, what incentive does RHUL have to scale back this event in the future? Why reduce the ticket price? Why would you relocate to a less aesthetically pleasing location? Why reduce your profits by paying a third party for a venue?
And why would you when your Student Union has a philosophy of wanting to make events bigger and better, and also thinks it knows how to throw one hell of a party: why would you have it any other way?
https://www.su.rhul.ac.uk/news/article/surhul/Get-Ready-for-Society-Awards-and-Colours-Ball-2023/
Well I suppose the reason is Corporate Social Responsibility. This event significantly impacts hundreds of local residents each year. And of course it would: it involves 1000s of guests, alcohol, loud music and a 06:00 finish. It takes place in an open air venue nestled between two large residential areas.
We have heard that some are so impacted by this event in the past that they now book a weekend away to escape. But what if you can’t? Well I suppose you would just have to suck it up. Perhaps hosting this event in its current format is not that responsible after all?
And this philosophy is not unique to the Student Union and its events. We believe that revenue and marketing student experience is the cornerstone of RHUL’s strategy today. It underpins all its decisions: and local residents will play second fiddle to that. Corporate Social Responsibility appears very much absent at RHUL.
We look forward to meeting Tracy next week to express this view. The hope is that as she and Julie are both relatively new in post, they may not support the previous management’s position here. We’ll have to wait to see.
Best wishes,
We Need To Talk About Royal Holloway