Statement on Constantine Welcome Committee
Executive Team Statement on Constantine College Welcome Committee
This is a statement of the Langwith Student Association’s Executive Team in response to the points raised in the article ‘Bailed Out’ (York Vision, 20 May 2014).
In our opinion, the process of setting up a body for student representation for Constantine College has been good. As early as January, the new students of Constantine voted on a structure which would include a Welcome Committee to organise Fresher’s Week and the rest of first term; before growing in to a fully-fledged JCRC by January. This was not forced on the students. It was a well-thought-through, sensible model which the Constantine Students ratified almost unanimously at a meeting in January.
We commend the University for their efforts to involve students in the setting up of Constantine. They could have taken the alternative of forgoing a student body and organising Fresher’s week themselves. Instead, they have worked with YUSU and Langwith Student Association from the outset to devise a decent structure which we believe will deliver a good fresher’s week for Constantine’s new students.
The elections for the Welcome Committee were generally well organised. The two most senior positions were contested, and the candidates ran strong campaigns. The turnout was admittedly low, but it is difficult to create an ‘elections buzz’ when the voters are spread amongst all colleges of the University. In any case, there are always instances in JCRC elections when senior positions go unfilled or uncontested. But we applaud the fact that in Constantine, 7.5% of its student body ran for election – a figure we are envious of!
As an Executive Team, we are proud of our Student Association’s independence. We have criticised the University and other bodies when we believe that criticism is necessary; but equally we will stand up for the University and Students when we believe they are being unfairly attacked.
We have been involved in this process at every stage and have been impressed with the hard work put in by University and YUSU staff; and the drive amongst the new students to make Constantine a college, not just an accommodation block. We do not believe that the university has failed to plan adequately and refute any suggestion of a ‘bail-out’ or a ‘f*** up’.
We are firmly in support of the Constantine College Welcome Committee.
The committee has now expanded to be more like a JCRC, and most positions have now been filled with volunteers. We will be working with the University and YUSU to support, not criticise, the students who have volunteered for this task. We will be meeting with them on an ongoing basis to teach them how to run bar crawls, organise STYCs, and plan fresher’s week. We intend to put college politics aside and support the Welcome Committee to give the incoming freshers a fantastic first term.
We are disappointed with the criticism which has been levelled against the University and the student volunteers. The claims made in Vision are inconsistent with what we have witnessed first-hand. We hope those who have attacked the set-up will be willing to join us and see the facts of the situation, and help out with supporting the new committee and the new college.
This is not a time for unfair and unfounded criticism. Constantine is an exciting prospect for Hes East, and we can’t wait to welcome the students to our campus. Above all, we hope that this debate can be put to one side and we can work together for benefit of the incoming students. They deserve the very best freshers week possible, and they are the ones who really matter.
