Anjit updated the Committee that Freshers’ had been an overwhelming success, despite the large intake from the University, and asked the Committee for any feedback.
Harriet said that she felt that there could have been more support from the Fresher Reps about promoting non-alcoholic events.
Shruti praised the City Gateway JCR Committee for their work, but also said that despite lots of improvements, she had witnessed some JCR members promoting heavy drinking and pressurising people to drink alcohol.
Rebecca said the Bunfight was much better than in the past with the different queues. Anjit asked the Committee whether they thought ‘the Bunfight’ was the best name for the event, and whether international students would understand what it meant. Shruti said that it’s sometimes nice to have something to explain as a talking point for new students. Mike said it might be a good idea to have a Tap Choose Change about whether people know what bunfight means.
Shruti said that some of the events over Freshers’, particularly the Freshers’ ball and the Global Meet were excellent.
Mike said that Postgraduate Meet and Mingle struggled a bit in the first two weeks due to not being prepared for the large numbers of postgraduate students attending, which resulted in long queues. Mike added that there could have been more events aimed at postgrads. Anjit asked the Committee whether they thought it was a good idea to have events for specific groups. Caitlin said that in the LGBT+ Society, they hold events aimed for a specific group, but don’t restrict who can actually attend, which seems to work well. Mike said that Freshers’ generally for postgrads is not very good and events targeted at postgraduate students would be useful because the first few weeks are crucial for engaging postgrads. Mike also said that he had received feedback from postgrads that a postgraduate guide would be helpful.