| We're very grateful that the Committee has agreed that a representative for the Students' Union |
| can present students' suggestions about the design for the proposed new Union building. |
| We appreciate that some of our ideas may not be feasible in the circumstances, |
| but we do feel that it is important that the ultimate beneficiaries of the facilities should have some say in its design. |
| If I could start by briefly explaining what steps were taken to find out student opinion |
| and how we have arrived at conclusions. |
| Firstly, a meeting was held in the current Union for our SU Committee to explain the options. |
| Then we invited all students to submit written suggestions for the design, |
| placing cards in a suggestion box. |
| These suggestions then provided the basis for the design of a questionnaire, |
| which was completed by approximately 2000 of the College students |
| over a period of three weeks. |
| Finally, the SU Committee collated the results and drew up a report. |
| If I can just hand around a copy of that report. |
| This presentation is essentially a summary and discussion of the key points of this report. |
| So, in broad terms, the consensus was as follows. |
| Firstly, regarding the crucial matter of the site, |
| we presented the three options that you have proposed. |
| One: in the city centre, near the Faculty of Education; |
| two: on the outskirts of the city, near the park, |
| and three: out of town, near the halls of residence. |
| We asked students to cite reasons for and against these sites and, |
| and there was remarkable agreement on all three. |
| Site One was unpopular because of traffic and parking problems. |
| Site Two had a number of supporters, |
| mainly because it was close to most lecture rooms. |
| And Site Three, out of town, near the halls of residence, |
| was clearly the most popular because of access from living quarters. |
| It was clear that the Union was mainly to be used after lectures. |
| It was also felt that the larger site would allow more room for a choice of facilities. |
| Our second area of interest was obviously the facilities: |
| there was minimal interest in having a library on the premises, |
| but one option seemed to be a reading room instead - more useful. |
| We would like the current table games room to be replaced with a small gym. |
| And, if possible, a small swimming pool - not, of course, Olympic-sized! |
| There was a large number of respondents in favour of a travel agent's and insurance centre. |
| We also request that there be the offices of the Student Counselling Centre, |
| moving this from the Refectory. |
| There was, however, much disagreement about whether to build a drama theatre. |
| Just over forty per cent of the respondents were in favour, |
| but a largish minority were strongly against it, |
| claiming that it is elitist and a waste of funds. |
| Essentially the jury is out on that. |
| Finally, given the number of unfortunate incidents in the current Union over the past few months, |
| a strong point was repeatedly made about security. |
| The recommendations would be at least video surveillance |
| and security personnel who would check Student Union cards on request. |
| We doubt if it would be feasible to have a check at reception of all people coming in. |
| Well, this is the summary of the views of the student population. |
| As I say, fuller details are given in our report but |
| I'm happy to take any questions if... |