Digital Freshers’ Fair, Zoom socials and budget cuts: UCL Students’ Union announces plans for next academic year

UCL clubs and societies are to prioritise online events during the first term of 2020/21 academic year, as campus capacity is reduced to 25 per cent.

Photography by Mary Hinkley on UCL Imagestore

In an online conference held on Monday, UCL Students’ Union informed societies of procedural adjustments to be expected in term one, as university campus limits in-person activities in line with Covid-19 regulations. The university, which suspended face-to-face teaching in March, will continue to expect most staff and students to work and study remotely whenever possible, after it reopens doors on September 28.

According to UCL safety guidelines, the number of people on campus is to be reduced to 25 per cent of capacity in term one, following the “1 in 4 rule,” in line with which all gatherings must take place in a room four times the size of the group. For clubs and societies, this entails suspension of committee meetings and narrows the range of events which will be allowed to take place on-site.

Clubs and societies will be able to determine which events could be held in person, in accordance with the Union’s Covid-19 guidance, to be released by mid-August. “There is no society that has any preference, but the union will look at events on a case-by-case basis and will only grant permission to those events that have the correct risk assessment and can be done safely,” said Students’ Union Activities Officer Ilyas Benmouna.

The Welcome Fair, an annual event hosted for university freshers, will provide students with a first taste of the “new normal” on campus. Scheduled for September 30 and October 3, the event, which is annually attended by over 10,000 students, is to be held digitally. As physical stalls will be replaced with links to webpages and group chats of all participant societies, students will be able to browse groups, interact with society committees and tune in to a live broadcast with performances, competitions and interviews.

“The marketing and activities team are working hard to make the Digital Welcome Fair as engaging and interactive as possible! I think, due to the convenience of it being online, there will not be a problem in attendance,” assured Benmouna.

As the term progresses, most UCL activity is to take place online, with the Union encouraging hybrid events, which combine in-person and live-streamed aspects. This means that international students, whose return to London could be delayed by travel restrictions, will be able to attend not only lectures, but also the extra-curricular activities taking place at the university. Yet, as of now, it is unclear how societies will accommodate for students living in distant time zones.

Activities Zone will introduce a free Remote Membership for students that will not be able to participate in the on-site activities that do take place. It will cover access to some virtual events and could be upgraded to a full membership in the future, once students are willing and able to join a given society in person. 

When hosting online events, each society is to choose its preferred platform and to consider accessibility issues that can arise as a result of going digital. Some of the new responsibilities taken on by committee members will include drawing up captions and video transcripts for their digital content, as well as appointing online moderators to maintain pre-established behavioural expectations and user agreements in chat rooms.

For those who are in London, UCL campus will be open during the first term, albeit not entirely. The Union will grant access to most university cafes, the Bloomsbury Gym as well as the Institute Bar, yet social distancing considerations will inform the capacity of these spaces. Online ordering apps and a focus on outdoor service are among the changes to be expected in term one.

The Union will face considerable financial losses due to closure of commercial services, and by extension, clubs and societies will have to draw down on their financial reserves. An £80,000 rolling fund will replace the annual grant previously provided to clubs and societies by the Union. The fund will be allocated to societies which can prove that their planned activity cannot take place without the Union’s financial support.

Having to rely more on their non-grant accounts, societies are to consider alternative means for financing their activities, like cutting down costs, reviewing the membership pricing structure, fundraising and seeking sponsors.

 Despite the virtual setting, projections for extra-curricular activities in term one seem promising, with scope for online events ranging from live-streamed panel discussions and masterclasses to informal socials and Netflix parties. As to the future, “it’s too early to tell what term two will be like, but just like the students, everyone at the Union hopes that we can go back to normal and run in-person events to their full capacity,” Benmouna said.