gair rhydd catches up with Societies Officer Adam Curtis for news, views & a peek at Go Global 2013
VP: ÔÇÿgair rhydd recently heard the views of certain societies on their recent fall into the ÔÇÿprobationÔÇÖ list (designed for societies whose committees do not perform specified Societies Guild requirements adequately enough to maintain their affiliation.) The process was criticised by the English Literature Society, for one, as ÔÇÿunfairÔÇÖ, primarily because the new yearÔÇÖs committee is left with the repercussions of the last committeeÔÇÖs failings. What response would you give to this view?ÔÇÖ
┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á AC: ÔÇÿI would, first of all, agree ÔÇô itÔÇÖs unfair on current committees that they are essentially punished for something they had no part of. It is important to remember, however, that, if we are to maintain the high standard of societies that we are currently so proud of and for which we are admired as a University, we canÔÇÖt be light-handed with committees who donÔÇÖt put the hours in ÔÇô we need to be heavy-handed to keep the quality high. Being put on probation is intended to offer a society the potential to improve, and if they donÔÇÖt, itÔÇÖs an effective way of telling us that they donÔÇÖt have the motivation, members, or gumph to carry on. ItÔÇÖs a warning system to a society, basically.ÔÇÖ
[pullquote]’We canÔÇÖt be light-handed with committees who donÔÇÖt put the hours in'[/pullquote]VP: ÔÇÿOne committee complained that being on probation currently means they are given no funds by the Guild, making them essentially moribund and forcing the current committee to work on a completely different set of ropes to usual. Is this a fair estimation, in your view, of what probation intends to achieve?ÔÇÖ
AC: ÔÇÿNot at all ÔÇô it is much more positive than that. Societies on probation donÔÇÖt have their resources limited in any way: they can still apply for Guild funding in the normal way, and will get it if, like every other society, they can qualify what they want the money for. They can still use Union transport and storage too. It is a much more positive thing in reality, and these societies are working, I would say, on the same ropes as everyone else ÔÇô they simply have more to prove.ÔÇÖ
VP: ÔÇÿSo probation, then, is a kind of motivational tool?ÔÇÖ
AC: ÔÇÿExactly.ÔÇÖ
VP: ÔÇÿYouÔÇÖve alluded to your dissatisfaction with the current system by which societies are managed, which includes such things as the probation system. How do you want to see the system change?ÔÇÖ
AC: ÔÇÿI would like to introduce an alternative to the year-long probation period we currently have, which is impacting the societyÔÇÖs next committee, and somehow replace that with probation which comes into effect during the term of the problem committee, so they experience at least some repercussions of their own bad management. There is, of course, a fair chance that such a committee simply wouldnÔÇÖt care, but it would perhaps spur a few into action by highlighting the problem before it goes out of their hands.ÔÇÖ
VP: ÔÇÿA rigorous system of probation would definitely separate the mediocre societies from the worst, but would you be content with fewer societies if they were of a higher quality?ÔÇÖ
AC: ÔÇÿNo! I am working to see a high number of high standard societies, and definitely want the tally of societies to increase over the year, as it has been already, as we reach out to more students and encourage them to give their time to a society and to establish new ones with the support and guidance of myself and the Guild. Right now I am aiming to maintain a low rate of growth.ÔÇÖ
VP: ÔÇÿYou recently mentioned to gair rhydd that you would like to see course-based societies flourishing, but this year alone there seems to be a trend of course-based societies failing – the Economics Society having been disaffiliated and English Literature and Maths being placed on probation. Could you offer any explanation for this?ÔÇÖ
AC: ÔÇÿThat is a good point, and it is hard to say with any certainty. I think there has been an expectation amongst members of course-based societies that everyone will get along because they share a course ÔÇô obviously untrue ÔÇô and the society ends up having nothing much holding it together. A committee which doesnÔÇÖt communicate, a bad President ÔÇô anything can make a society struggle. A lack of peer support and academic focus can mean, in some cases, that members donÔÇÖt feel it holds enough value for them in return for their time and money.ÔÇÖ
VP: ÔÇÿIf you work in a hospital all day, you are unlikely to want to go home and watch a hospital drama, I suppose! NowÔǪ can our readers have a sneaky peep at your plans for Go Global this year?ÔÇÖ
AC: ÔÇÿYes! We have stats that say last year the week saw over 5,000 students attending events. So this year I want to build on that success, bringing in more international societies and keep the high quality of last year. WeÔÇÖll have a new venue for Global Village, for a start: having approached St DavidÔÇÖs Hall and the New Theatre, we have reserved the New Theatre for the date we wanted, Sunday 24th February 2013. St DavidÔÇÖs was a little too big (2000 seats) and expensive (around ┬ú1,600) for the capacity weÔÇÖre aiming to fill ÔÇô up to 1000 seats, which the New Theatre offers. For the week IÔÇÖm hoping to double the amount of publicity & marketing this year, broadening out the appeal of an event which sells itself effectively, but which I want to give that extra boost with more events in the week and more groups and societies involved. Global Village is also getting a new name, but IÔÇÖm not saying anything yetÔǪÔÇÖ
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