2012-13 meeting 2 reports

Queen Margaret Union Board of Management

Queen Margaret UnionReports to the Board of Management

Meeting 2: 08/10/2012

General Manager Not SubmittedPresident SubmittedHonorary Secretary SubmittedHonorary Assistant Secretary SubmittedCampaigns & Charities SubmittedCurrent Student Representatives SubmittedEvents SubmittedPublications SubmittedSocial Submitted

1. General Manager’s Report-

2. President's Report2.1 OverviewA mixed couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone who has put the work in: many of our Social events' attendance has been really positive, and this is a great way to start a term. We still have a lot of work to do in order to get a constant stream of foot traffic in the building, and some areas in particular. The amount of club and society interaction in the last few weeks has been heartening, and I'm hopeful for plenty of affiliations on Monday. Many thanks to everyone who has volunteered to cover Porters' Box.

2.2 University FinanceI will be meeting with University and consultant representatives tomorrow morning. From this meeting, I hope to obtain a far greater understanding of what it is the University are looking for from this review, and the conditions we must reach to get our money back. I'll also be using this opportunity to push home the fact that the Union is a unique entity compared to standard commercial models, a concept that some members of the Sub-Committee find it quite hard to grasp. We have received offers of support from several groups on campus and areas within the University. This is taking up a frustrating amount of my time, and I apologise if it feels like a couple of things are being left by the wayside.

2.3 MembershipThis seems to be going well – we reached my own relative target of over 1500 by the end of the month. Thanks to all CSRs who have used the opportunity of peak bar and catering times to distribute leaflets. Please continue to do so, and emphasise that people need to re-join. You should all have joined up now. If you have not, do so first thing Monday. I may check cards at the meeting.The first newsletter fell through, as the platform company were not happy using email addresses over 12 months old, which makes it so much more important for us to get new members signed up, so that we may contact them. The first email to the new members will go out this week.

2.4 Freshers' WeekL. Hinton and the relevant parties are preparing Freshers' Week overviews for the meeting on Monday. I would appreciate if people could keep the discussion focussed on constructive recommendations for the years ahead, and keep the point-scoring and blame-heaping to a minimum.

2.5 SportWe have been seeing a fair amount of people in bars for sporting events of late, and anecdotal evidence suggests that Champions is being cemented in student minds as the campus sports bar, which is very promising. I'd like to thank A. Compton (again) for his contribution to the weekly sporting calendar, as this lets me advertise the events that people will come in to see.

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2.6 Board AreasS. McFarland did a sterling job with the Board Flat last week – please keep it maintained and not leave it as a dumping space for your things. I will try and get this area developed up to the standard where the back half can be used as a workspace – a couple of computers need repaired/upgraded for this to happen, so any parts would be warmly received.The Convenors' Office is a mess, and I will soon start donating convenors to charity shops unless this is fixed. Seriously, this is a workspace, not a dump. Don't eat here, don't drink here, don't sit and chat here. Work here, or go to elsewhere. Let's not perpetuate this 'hidden on the third floor' stereotype.

2.7 ElectionThis is soon, hopefully to be called on Monday. Please encourage anyone thinking about running – I have a good feeling about the level of contest for some of the seats. It's a time of change, but it'd be great if we could continue working as a group right up to the day.

2.8 Inter-board debateThanks to the Board Members who came to this to support myself and M. Bruce. It was fun, and we performed well. A marked improvement on last year's train wreck.

2.9 CommitteesCommittee attendance is E. Murphy's area, but a short note to say it looks bad if Board Members turn up to committees and do not respect the chair. It is so much more constructive and attractive to work as a team on committees – as members of the Board, we need to set an example. If you have grievances, approach them constructively – the Board Meeting is a perfect forum. Day-to-day, myself and the executive are always around for advice and support.

2.10 CSR meetingsI think I've met the majority of CSRs about their various projects, and I hope to see fruit from this as early as this week. Please pop in at any time if you have questions, ideas and suggestions. If anyone has ideas regarding committee logos, I'd love to hear them.

3. Honorary Secretary3.1 Freshers’ Week3.1.1 HelpersThe system of coordinators working between the executive and team leaders was not utilised as originally planned. Co-ordinators were to be in a position that they could spot any issues and have the authority to deal with them. Unfortunately some team leaders did not appreciate their co-ordinator as in a position to remark on flaws in teams and speak to those involved.

3am licences are great for patrons, but awful news for helpers - they are shattered for the few days following it. During the weekends, much less helpers are needed. I liked having the flexibility in the rota to make changes in reaction to reports from halls but I would recommend in future lie-ins being scheduled from the beginning of the week. People were already tired.

This year, food and perks were missed from the budget. When helpers are often asked to volunteer for 14 or 16 hour days, several days in a row, this is not fair. I would highly recommend this is budgeted for next year.

The Pubs and Tech teams tended to be brilliant when PRing but in future they should be included in the training if they are going to be on the PR rota, the same as other helpers.

I think the Tech Team became an absolute asset to the whole Freshers’ Week organisation. It was great to have this dedicated team that really wanted to learn and be involved. They were fab and I would highly recommend the inclusion of such a team in future years.

There were a few incidents with individual helpers but on the whole everyone put in a lot of effort and I am endlessly grateful for everyone’s help.

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3.1.2 PRI was happy with the unified look of our PR this year. It was easily recognisable as a QM event from first glance. Helpers did very well at circulating this PR.

In future I would recommend producing PR for individual social events.

3.2 Clubs and SocietiesAffiliated Clubs and Society details are now up on the website and more will be added after this meeting.

If any of you are in Clubs or Societies please do remind them to affiliate.

3.3 Life Membership I have compiled all the information that I could find for life members in to one spread sheet. We have email addresses for around 90 of them but I am not confident that many of the email addresses provided are currently in use. We have the names for 327 and I have passed these on to the Convenor of CSRs to look in to finding contacts for them.

We now have a Life Membership facebook page. I have uploaded some old pictures of the QM and hope to promote this on the University of Glasgow Alumni social network sites. I will also ask them if they would be happy to send out an email to their numerous contacts.

We now have a Queen Margaret Union business page on LinkedIn. This allows LinkedIn users to ‘tag’ the union as a past place of work. This is a great place to start pooling the contacts we have in past board members and staff members.

At our last meeting we discussed free life membership and concluded we would like to offer free life membership for anyone who meets the standard requirements and graduated before 2007. This is not something that would be advertised on the website but would be a good pull when talking to people via email. Chris Hall has contacts going surprisingly far back and he will be starting a chain of information sharing.

Hopefully by the beginning of November we will have ways of access to many more life members and I would like to send a small issu newsletter out to the contacts that we have found. This would include a small piece from the president explaining the current way the union works and what we offer and a spread of photographs and text demonstrating the changes that have taken place over the years. I am very open to suggestions of anything else that may be included. LMC meet Wednesday 6.30.

3.4 DisciplineOne issue on the 21st of September in which 2 individuals were found filming in the building without consent. They did not co-operate when asked to leave and provide details. They did not leave any details so this could not be taken any further. But we know the individuals concerned so please be on the lookout for any one filming without consent.

4. Honorary Assistant Secretary4.1 Constitution, Bye-Laws and Policy03/10 8 Board Members (C. Fraser, C. Hall, L. Hinton, K. Irvine, R. Male, S. McFarland, E.

Murphy, T. Kelly)

In the last fortnight, I managed to hold one CBP committee. It was very productive, with strong arguments made in favour and against changes proposed.

I would like to have these meetings on an ongoing basis to look at all aspects of the fluid documents of the Union. My rough working schedule has a gap, and I am open to any areas people feel they would like to look at first.

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When I find myself with an afternoon, I plan to enact the passed-at-some-point motion of a reformat and standardisation of the documents, to have nice indents and one numbering method.

Circulated with the papers for this meeting is a lengthy recommendation from the committee on changes to be made. I hope to use a similar format to this in future, as well as the committee format itself and the online group, to speed up discussion and debate in the board meeting.

4.2 Board AreasI would like to take this formal opportunity to remind all board members that the Board Flat/Lounge/Office, Convenors' Office, Executive Office, Board Kitchen, and Board Room are all to be kept tidy, free from clutter as best as possible, and especially dishes and glasses. These areas will be shut down if the mess reaches unreasonable levels.

Duty Board have the responsibility to ensure these areas are clear - it is not necessarily their job to do it. Please tidy up after yourselves. There have been a few incidents this week all along the corridor, and I am guilty of it myself.

4.3 ElectionThere's an election coming up.

Eight (8) CSR seats, one (1) FSM seat.

I will be working on all the relevant papers in the next week to minimise any last minute rushes. I would appreciate any ideas for PR material, as well as design skills to make the PR.

Equally, mention it to everyone. Figuratively, plant those seeds of intrigue everywhere. It would make my November if this election was wholly contested, and it would be nice to see such a level of interest in the Union.

4.4 OnlineBy this board meeting, I will have found my way onto issuu, and updated the fluid documents and minutes links to be as accurate as they can be.

I hope everyone noticed my "meeting summary" go up on Facebook. Manifesto pledge held up so far. I have made a very crude graphic to accompany the next post, so that Facebook's Edgerank pays it more attention.

4.5 ThanksThanks for such a pleasant fortnight. It's good to be back into the routine, and I hope everyone has found classes as thoroughly enjoyable as I have.

5. Campaigns & Charities24/09 14 Board Members (R. Callaghan, H. Brand, L. Porterfield, M. Bruce, R. Male, J. Reid, P.

Kelly, E. Murphy, E. Zhdanov, J. Ansell, A. Compton, A. McAllister, T. Kelly, E. Munro) & 18 Ordinary Members

01/10 8 Board Members (R. Callaghan, H. Brand, M. Bruce, R. Male, E. Murphy, A. Compton, J. Ansell, C. Fraser, A. McAllister) & 19 Ordinary Members

5.1 Free CondomsWith the help of H. Brand a poster for use outside of the building has been designed and all that is needed is a committee logo to be used on all the posters for the rest of the year. Getting a poster out soon is important as we have noticed a lull in traffic. This is quite possibly as our “regulars” (those who know about the service) have already stocked up so I would like to get publicity of the service for those who are currently unaware.

5.2. Fundraising 5.2.1 Charity of the Semester

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The new charity of the semester has been chosen and is Mary’s Meals Glasgow (charity number: SC022140). While they are not as localised as recent charities we’ve had Mary’s Meals does have a presence on campus and I shall be meeting with the current head of the Glasgow Uni group to discuss what fundraising events and opportunities that we collaborate on.

5.2.2 GlowsticksIn regards to sourcing a cheaper supply of glowsticks I have been looking online & have found sites that give discounts for fundraisers but am still waiting to hear from a contact from VK; from whom I may be able to get free packets, thus reducing any expenditure.

5.2.3 Swap ShopAs some of you may have been aware there were plans for C&C to run a swap shop for kitchen ware/household items (with items being taken from it by donation rather than priced). As after Freshers’ Week a lot of our committee were run down or tired this did not go ahead as I felt it would not have been that much of success. Instead this event will be launched nearer Christmas with the theme being presents instead of household objects. The idea is to run a couple throughout the year so as to set it up as an activity that C&C do if my successor wishes to do a kitchenware one next year.

5.2.4 Red Ribbon BallAs a small note on this the compere has been booked and will be sending me a list of acts that will be free on the date (Tuesday the 27th of November). I will also organise a small excursion with some committee members to see if they would be appropriate. We have also had offers of performances from members which I am very pleased with as it would be a great way to get people involved.

5.3 CampaignsThis year I hope to maintain the QM’s presence at marches & demos that highlight issues that our members may face or could affect them in some way. To try get more committee members, and hopefully ordinary members, on board with joining me in this I plan to hold sign making workshops a few days beforehand so people can have more personalised placards etc. to take with them. I will be looking to R. Male and her soon to be set up arts ‘n’ crafts group to help me with this & hopefully create a new fabric banner to join our “Cool as Duck” banner.

5.4 Freshers’ WeekAn edited version of last meeting’s Freshers’ Week report as I felt it would be pointless to ask people to re-read the same passages again, I will happily elaborate on any point.

5.4.1 Free CondomsAs mentioned last week the failure of the Condom Suit we borrowed off Pasante was quite a disappointment as it would have been a good PR tool. Regardless of the suit not working this year I would recommend trying to get another one next year; I may also look into contacting them again to try get a working one for SHAG or Health week. I should have an idea of how many condoms were given out by the Board Meeting as they will be getting tallied up after the reports are handed in.

Our volunteers were outstanding this year & we have retained quite a few of our Freshers’ Helpers as committee members. Thursday & Friday were quiet days for the service but overall I am happy with the amount of condoms given out.

5.4.2 Fundraising On my second counting of the fundraising money from the week I found that the total was nearer £480 than the £500 originally counted but I will have the official figure when I get the receipt back from the General Office. The mistake came from my miscounting the money on the night, this was due to being quite tired and worn out by the end of the week.Once again I was very impressed with the help the committee gained from the Helpers and have once again retained a few of them for the committee.

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6.1 Life MembershipMyself and the committee have been working on life membership since before the summer with Lauren. We have previously tried to research names of old Board Members using the pictures in the Board Room as reference, but this proved to be hard to coordinate and received a poor response from the committee. We are now all working through a database of known life members to find means of contacting them online, eg Facebook and Twitter profiles. I have assigned a certain number of contacts to each CSR and will hopefully be able to compile another database with these new contact details by Friday.

6.2 Committee Cheese and Wine EveningI have ensured that there will be a Board of Management stall at the event on Tuesday with volunteers from the committee to chat to people about elections and how to get involved. If any other members of the Board would also like to help with this, that’d be lovely so just let me know.

6.3 Issues with MeetingsSince announcing at our last meeting that the regular meetings of the CSR committee will take place in the Board Room at 5pm on Thursdays, there has been issues on both occasions with other meetings clashing with this. On one occasion the room was being used by another committee for the entire time in which our meeting had been scheduled, resulting in the CSR committee being held in one of the bars downstairs. This was not nearly the ideal situation to hold this meeting and it ended up being a waste of time for everyone involved, and for that I would like to give a formal apology to the CSRs who had turned up for that meeting.

7. Events25/9 – 10 Board Members (P Kelly, S McFarland, J Reid, E Zhdanov, A Compton, R Male, C Fraser, J Ansell, R Callaghan, C Sutcliffe) & 17 Ordinary Members

2/10 – 12 Board Members (P Kelly, S McFarland, J Reid, C Sutcliffe, K Irvine, A Black, H Brand, R Male, M Bruce, E Furmston-Evans, J Ansell, R Callaghan) & 15 Ordinary Members

7.1 Freshers’ Week7.1.1 Welcome Ceilidh & Cheesy PopThis was a good start to the week. The ceilidh before hand was a great success, particularly with international students and most stayed for the rest of the night. Qudos was busy from 9.30pm, which never happens.

7.1.2 White T-ShirtAgain, this was a very busy successful night. The new queuing system was tested and worked very well. The 800 t-shirts purchased sold out very quickly and for future FWs, enough t-shirts should be bought for the building capacity.

7.1.3 School DiscoThis event was expected to have a dip, considering it followed two successful 3am-license nights and this was the case. The Bubblehouse inflatables were good for reducing the room size so the building looked busy.

7.1.4 JackwobwobwobThe first disappointing night. We were hopeful that Drumline & Bass & Drum & Smithbass would take off over the summer more than they did. In the end, the acts were not a big enough pull to reach the numbers we hoped for that night. However, there was a lot of positive feedback and freshers who came really enjoyed the acts. A big lesson learned from the week was that freshers are less concerned with actual talent in acts in FW than we’d like.

7.1.5 FFAFGig was well attended and seemed well enjoyed. The problem of the night was Qudos having to clear out after the gig and with no reason to stay in the building numbers plummeted. In future FWs if we are to have a gig then we have to have a DJ on immediately after to keep people in Qudos.

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7.1.6 Headphone DiscoThe most successful night of FW. Numbers remained high from very early on and maintained for the rest of the night. The two music channels started distinct but ended up merging to a lot of cheese at the end of the night, though this seemed popular and there were no complaints. An event I hope to run again in semester 2 due to it’s overwhelming success.

7.1.7 Freshers’ BallAn interesting night, while numbers started well, we found a surprising number of people leaving early, particularly after the ceilidh finished. The drinks reception in lacuna was very popular and was a good way to spread people around the building. The ceilidh and casino tables were constantly packed out. The ska band was very enjoyable although were not particularly a pull of the event. A visible line-up of everything going on would have been very helpful for freshers and may have had the ska band busier. The Tech Team were wonderful that night.

7.1.8 Beach CheesyAlan Bates was a success just as previous years, with extra chairs being needed for Qudos. His set ran over which left for a stressful changeover to Cheesy and some extra helpers were needed. A few issues with this night. We weren’t able to use a large piece of the Bubblehouse decorations due to equipment being needed elsewhere in the building. Georgie Okell did not have a high enough profile to be a significant pull for the event. Maybe Gaga’s set overran and though it started well, people became tired of it after so long. Otherwise a good event and was more successful than previous years’ Friday (with the exception of Paint Party).

7.1.9 Total RequestThis event exceeded expectations and was successful for a Saturday, particularly considering how little exposure there was for it. The interactive element was popular, people enjoy seeing themselves on a big screen and it’s something the committee is keen to integrate into regular Cheesy.

7.1.10 Tech TeamTeam Tech were a wonderful addition to FW, they were reliable, eager to help and were sober for more nights than nearly every other team. Many of them have applied for QM Tech Team for the rest of the semester, which I’m delighted with. I’d like to the thank Ed Evans particularly for training up the team and being more tech savvy and badass than I.

7.2 Cheesy PopCheesy is off to a flying start and I’m very happy about the numbers. Dancing on the stage has been popular, starting at 1am when we don’t require as many stewards on the door and I’d like to continue this until we start to see a significant fall in numbers, likely around exam season. DJ Toast has created visuals for the screen, including music videos to play along with songs, which has received very positive feedback. We have a twitter hashtag #qmcheesy which, if we can integrate requests into the screen, may serve as a good request system, once it is advertised. There are still feelings from the committee that the music still isn’t ‘cheesy’ enough and I will talk to Toast about this.

7.3 Laser RaveLaser Rave was a fairly successful night. The building took a long time to fill up with many people arriving very late, which resulted in Qudos looking fairly empty until after 12am but the bars being busy. The lasers went down well though the music was felt to be too cheesy when there was potential to play more suitable genres and a change from what is played every Friday.

7.4 PandamoniumWe have an Indie/Rock clubnight on Oct 16th. With pandas. We had space for a clubnight on this night and the committee decided we should try an indie/rock night as it was thought this would best appeal to our membership. This will be DJ’d by Ed on the Qudos stage following unplugged which hopefully will finish with a band. If the night is well received this is an event which could

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be repeated on a monthly basis and (depending on bookings) could be good to run on Thursdays with the closing of HIVE. I’d like the whole board to really get behind this event and push it as much as possible all this week so it’ll be cracking!

7.5 HalloweenPosters for the event have been designed and we have two different designs that will be used, as the original wasn’t able to provide information regarding costume prize etc. The committee will be setting up a photo booth in the coffee bar and be responsible for choosing the best costumes on the night. Horror films will be playing on the screens in Jims/Champs and Social are organising Halloween games on the stage in place of BWNPQ.

7.6 QM Tech TeamToday is the deadline for QM Tech Team application hand-ins. We ran out of applications on Friday at reception so I’m hopeful many will come back by this meeting. My target for members is 12 and I’m very confident we’ll have at least that number of applications. I will be meeting the team this week and will arrange training sessions with the Events Manager over the next couple of weeks.

8. Publications26/09 11 Board Members (T. Kelly, A. McAllister, E. Munro, A. Compton, R. Male, J. Ansell, E.

Zhdanov, L. Porterfield, A. Black, E. Murphy, R. Callaghan) & 23 Ordinary Members03/10 8 Board Members (T. Kelly, A. McAllister, R. Male, E. Zhdanov, A. Black, S. McFarland, H.

Brand, J. Reid) & 14 Ordinary Members

8.1 Freshers’ WeekThree publications were run in Freshers’ Week. Below I will break down what occurred with each individually. This section is lengthy as I wish to communicate as much information about these publications as possible.

8.1.1 HandbookThe handbook was begun very early in the summer, a first draft of the template was completed within the first week of the project (but it should be noted it looked quite different from the eventual design). We requested quotes from a number of printers, some of whom had done work for us in the past. A quote was presented to me which seemed very reasonable from Cocoa Creative who at the time were printing flyers for our events. The handbook budget was passed based on this quote. As the summer progressed I went through a number of iterations of the template, attempted to sell advertising (which to begin with did not go well) and the handbook continued to change until it got to the point where the content and design that became the handbook as it is now took shape. It was at this time (although I admit I could have done this about 3 days earlier) I handed out the piece to be written (all short non time consuming pieces) once these were coming in and we had the adverting for the QMU we began to edit the Handbook together. In a process in which I received a lot of help from Andy and Colum we put together the handbook in time to send a copy to Cocoa Creative in what they had quoted me as enough time to have it returned for the Thursday prior to Freshers Week. The handbook cost 1000 pounds and contained 1050 pounds worth of advertising.

8.1.2 WallplannerThe wallplanner was begun slightly later in the summer, but also quite early. The calendar planner side was completed in July. However the other side was not complete until later when our line-up was confirmed. I sought help from our Events Manager while looking for a printer. I was recommended a couple to try before the Events Manager procured a quote for me from Cocoa Creative which she emailed to me. This was a good quote so we passed a budget based on this quote. The wallplanner cost 327 pounds plus vat and has 480 pounds worth of advertising on it.

8.1.3 Printing Complications and Delay for the Wallplanner and Handbook.I contacted Cocoa Creative to let them know I would be sending them a copy of the handbook design for print, the operator of the business indicated to me that if I had contacted him again after confirming the print but before sending the copy he could have ordered the paper early

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and had it back by Tuesday instead of Thursday. I feel this is worth mentioning because it was one factor. I would like to point out that this does not seem to be a standard practice and he had not indicated this to me at any time prior to that phone conversation.

We received an email back from him the following day which was slight disconcerting in that it indicated he believed there was an issue with the bleed. This email seemed confused. We made alterations and returned it to him. He would continue to email me to ask questions which seemed odd and to display a certain lack of understanding. He informed me following this that it would definitely be Friday rather than Thursday.

Following this period the operator also indicated he would not be able to deliver on the Wallplanner until Tuesday which was disappointing as he had received this in the time scale indicated appropriate in the quote.

Friday came about and I discovered that the Handbooks were not being delivered. I had received an email the night before informing me that he would not dispatch them until he was paid up front. This is something he only asked for on that day.

The General Manager arranged this payment and spoke to the operator of Cocoa Creative on the phone with myself and Colum Fraser present. At this time he was told the Handbook was not complete and would be with us on Monday.

On Monday the handbooks did not arrive. Following this incident my lieutenant called Cocoa Creative to ask why. The operator told him it was arriving tomorrow morning after an overnight train (I believe they said from Birmingham).

I spoke with the Honorary Secretary and we agreed it would be a good idea for her to phone the business. When she did, she was told the handbooks had been finished for days and would be arriving from Portsmouth by courier and that the agreed day had never been Monday.

The following day I received a call in the morning from Cocoa Creative informing me the courier had gone to Portsmouth but had been unable to collect the handbook because they were not complete. He explained to me that he was sorry that I was likely to construe this as making him seem like a liar and promised me expressly that it would the next day at 9am. I asked about the Wallplanner being delayed later that day at which point it was indicated to me it was being delivered at the same time as the Handbook.

I came to the Union at 8.40 am with Ryan McFarlane who was doing distribution work to await the Handbooks. The Handbooks arrived a couple of hours later and were of good quality. The wallplanners did not arrive.

I called Cocoa Creative and informed the operator that the wallplanner had not arrived. At this point he told me that he had been told they would arrive and that he was also concerned but when I asked what he had found out he indicated to me it was not his top priority. An attempt to contact the operator again later in the day was met with no response.

The wallplanner arrived the next day and was of decent quality.

8.1.4 Daily qmunicatesThe daily qmunicates were printed by the Woodlands branch of Mail Boxes Etc. this year as the Byres Road branch had a number of prints planned for that time. The cost remained the same despite this change.

This year our process seemed very efficient and we were able to get a large amount of work done in advance.

On a couple of days the Woodlands branch failed to meet our 11 am agreed print time. They said this was because of the set up was arranged with the Byres road team which caused confusion.

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8.1.5 DistributionThis year I decided to take someone onto my team whose main responsibility was ensuring the magazines, handbooks and wallplanners were distributed. This team member performed very well and I was very pleased by his and other helpers work in getting the publications distributed. We managed to distributed 1700 handbooks within the first 2 days and have almost run out of them now. The wallplanner was not as well distributed likely due to how late in the week it arrived. But the aforementioned team member was able to arrange it that the Murano reception would hand them out to each student who spoke to them and put them up inside buildings. A large number were also collected from reception. The magazine’s distribution was superb and with the exception of a minor Wednesday slump which I believe caused by people believing it was not a daily publication, we distributed them all very effectively.

8.2 Search for a printerThere have been some unfortunate developments since I last reported on this. A printer who was the closest quote we had to Cocoa Creative’s quote (on which the budget was passed) no longer sees it as financially viable to pursue our contract. This was the printer who I was most likely to use up to that point as they had told me on the first of October when I had planned to make a final decision to go with them. The most feasible quote I now have is with Forward Graphics, but it is a significant increase on the previous quote. This will not affect our move to colour (as the increase in price to colour does not match our increased advertising revenue from colour). However, it will almost certainly affect a move to four additional pages and lead to me requesting a smaller number of issues.

8.3 Current Issue: Issue 98The current issue is being worked on now. Our new system of editing things as they come in instead of at the editing weekend so they can go online would appear to be making this work significantly easier, because editing weekend can then be spent mostly formatting. I hope to have the current issue out very soon but I cannot give a firm date at this time.

8.4 Online Content8.4.1 Online Content this WeekMy Online Editor has been placing more content online this week including original ‘made for online’ content. We have been receiving positive feedback on this content.

8.4.2 Online Content as it arrives TrialWe are trialling putting every article but Features and the occasional exception up on the Wordpress site prior to also putting it in the magazine. I was initially sceptical of this idea but as of yet the repercussions have only been positive. We will see how this effects the reception of the magazine.

8.4.3 Potential Domain name switchWe have looked into changing our domain name to make the site seem more professional I am not well versed in this area but committee members wish us to change it and have the knowledge to help me do this. While I had concerns over the cost of this, committee members assured me it could be small if done right and volunteered to donate towards it. I will not be asking at the committee for people to make donations.

8.5 TrainingI feel as though I failed to clarify effectively last meeting that in my training point the primary focus of the three month training report was not to initiate new training but to record the experience and training we already provide. E.g. We gave 40 young writers the opportunity to be published in a magazine this semester. We have 9 editors training in x, y or z. I feel quantifying the amount of experience we give people can lead to us portraying our impact on campus more effectively. New training was also part of the plan but not the primary focus.

9. Social

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9.1 Sederunts9.1.1 27th September10 board members (J. Ansell, J. Reid, E. Zhdanov, M. Bruce, B. McBride, S. McFarland, C. Sutcliffe, H. Brand, P. Kelly, E. Murphy, R. Male, T. Kelly), 18 ordinary members

9.1.2 4th October10 board members (J. Ansell, J. Reid, E. Zhdanov, M. Bruce, B. McBride, P. Kelly, , R. Male, T. Kelly, Hinton. L, Porterfield. L.A), 13 ordinary members (S. Strausz, J. Nelson, N. McLarnon, M-A. Thompson, D. Helen, Johnson. A, Clarke. L, Allcott. K, Stewart. L, Ashforth. H, MacInnes. C, Stevenson. K, Campbell. J)

9.2 Unplugged9.2.1 24th SeptemberThis Unplugged had to begin early due to the Laser Rave being on. The event was a bit quieter than I had hoped for, owing mainly to the early start. However from around 9 the event had heated up and we ended up with a final total of 59 folk in the bar. The event itself ran very well. I am happy with the work Cat and Nick are putting in with new songs being performed by themselves and added to the chord book every week and the atmosphere is a very warm and welcoming one. As such the event is getting good numbers of sign-ups, with 11 being had at this event.

9.2.2 1st OctoberThis was the first unplugged to run under the new arrangement of the event “running” from 8 but the actual unplugged element of the event starting at 9. From 8 until around half 9 the event was quite quiet, with around 30 people in the bar. After this time, with people finding Dutch courage from the bar and more people arriving the event had gotten up to full steam and by 10 there were 74 people in the bar. There were 13 sign ups plus an actual band! They were called the Tennents and their lead singer blasted out a few absolute belters! A great night and how I want all future Unplugged’s to run!

9.3 Big Wednesday Night Pub Quiz9.3.1 26th SeptemberThe quiz this week ran very well. The hosts have managed to get the rounds done at a good pace, with breaks being smaller and well timed. The rounds themselves were well written and fun, as were the games. There were 76 people and 17 teams participating, this is encouraging and I hope to build upon these numbers. The winners however, despite being told not to, ended up drinking some of their Becks in the bar and as such had them confiscated. From now on the winner’s crates will be left behind porter’s box for them to pick up when leaving the building. The rest of the event however ran smoothly and was set up, run, and closed down effectively.

9.3.2 3rd OctoberThe quiz this week saw the triumphant return of myself at the helm of hosting with C. Sutcliffe for one week only due to C. Long being unavailable. The event itself ran well, with good rounds and a nice bit of banter with the crowd. This event pulled in 98 people in 15 teams. This is a fantastic turnout and something I aim to keep throughout the year.

9.4 Comedy9.4.1 27th SeptemberDespite various issues with acts dropping out, September comedy went extremely well, with 84 tickets sold. Set-up went smoothly, with two members of the FW tech team helping with sound throughout the night and bar staff supplying electric tea lights for tables which vastly improved the atmosphere – an idea which will definitely be used for future gigs. The crowd was extremely receptive, especially towards the headliner (Liam Withnail) who commented on the QMU's 'unique' qualities (cinnamon and pigeons). One major issue, in spite of final numbers, was the lack of PR, for which I can only apologise and will be rectified for the upcoming comedy night

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on October 11th. Furthermore, a big thank you to duty board on the night (Katie and Laura-Anne) who were extremely helpful in setting up and bringing further chairs. For future events, a small team from the social committee will be asked to volunteer for small tasks such as manning doors for ticket collection. Ultimately, a successful night, with all the acts complimenting the venue, atmosphere and crowd. Also, two of the acts expressed interest in running a future night as a springboard for a new form of comedy night, and I am currently in discussion with them as to how it would work.

9.5 PCP9.5.1 28th SeptemberPCP this week ran to its usual high standards with fun rounds that everyone seemed to enjoy. The event continues to pull in a consistent crowd, with 13 teams and 54 people, but it is of the same people. Whilst regulars are encouraging I want more people to come and sample the joy of PCP, a harder PR force is needed me thinks.

9.5.2 5th OctoberThis week saw another good PCP, the highlight being Paul’s excellent music round; there were 49 people in 15 teams. Next week however will be the first of the PC&… series and will feature a musical instrument other than a piano. I have managed to secure the services of Nick from Unplugged to help out with one of his more unusual instruments and it should prove to be all the fun.9.7 Karaoke9.7.1 28th SeptemberMyself and Jo ran the Karaoke this week and it went very well. All the participants had a lot of fun and we even continued the event on until around 1:30 due to the number of people who still wanted to sing. A good night.

9.7.2 5th OctoberNot a whole lot to report. Kenny and Becky run a very good Karaoke night. It ran well and people had fun. Good work as always.

9.8 Freshers' Week9.8.1 ComedyThe First event of the Social Freshers’ week calendar. The event itself started half an hour late as numbers were not that great in the bar, around 20 freshers, supplemented by about 20 helpers (the acts were perfectly happy to wait). I am glad I made the decision to wait though as by the time the event started there were around 60 freshers in the bar, not a great number but one that I was happy enough with. The actual event itself ran very well once it got going, with every act, bar one, being really funny and engaging well with the crowd, with a big shout out going to the never disappointing compare Liam Withnail and Elanor Morten! Overall a good event that I feel would have seen increased numbers had physical pr been made for the event (a theme which will follow in much of my report.)

9.8.2 Really Useful Pub QuizA great start the freshers’ week proper! This event had over 130 people and 28 teams playing. The hosts were fantastic, as was the dj-ing, marking etc. Participants seemed to really be enjoying themselves and the “welcome to uni” prizes really seemed to go down well. The only disappointment of the quiz was the readiness of the GUSA for the event. Despite meeting with The GUSA President a few weeks before the event and deciding that GUSA would provide a sports round and a inter-round game, the GUSA team that came to the event were totally unaware of what was going on at the event and resulted in them having to come up with a round and game in the other bar whilst the quiz was going on. The round itself was actually rather good, but I was just annoyed at the lack of preparedness by GUSA.

9.8.3 UnpluggedThis event was a mixed bag....it certainly caused the biggest headache for me in terms of preparing the event, with almost every act having to be replaced at some point or other. The

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event started quietly with around 25 folk in the bar. I feel that this was maybe due to most freshers’ being either still in bed or on campus firstly to attend the freshers’ fair. The latter point may have been the most accurate. As the day went on more and more people showed up and by an hour into the event there were around 50 people in the bar, reaching the top numbers of about 70 around half way through. The bands themselves were happy to play and on the whole everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Once again an event that I feel would have benefitted from some physical PR being made.

9.8.4 BingoA finer display of bingo calling has never been seen! Once again Calum and Sean put on a fine display as hosts. The event started fairly subdued however, with only around 40 people in the bar. This was I feel due to the competition of the Speed mating upstairs, which I will address in my next point. Once the Speed mating was finished and all the folk there was taken down to jims, there were well over 100 people in the bar all enjoying a cracking game of bingo, with the prizes and banter being enjoyed all round. The negatives from this event were a) the competition with the speed mating upstairs; in the future I don’t think the two events should be competing and instead run one after the other as point b) was that the time taken to bring everyone down from Lacuna and all the extra tables/chairs needed etc resulted in a long wait between the first and second games of bingo.

9.8.5 Speed MatingA very successful event. Over 100 people attended this and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The games were all designed to encourage new people to get to know one another and those taking part did so with great enthusiasm, and almost all of the participants stayed to take part in the bingo (even a girl from Kelvin hair who I wrongly accused of being a Bamboo PR girl......)

9.8.6 Big Wednesday Night Pub QuizThe highlight of the Social Week I felt. Despite only having half the prize fund of last year, nearly 440 people attended this quiz. The quiz itself started 40 minutes late due to a mix up in start times with what helpers thought it was, and what it really was. However, due to the rigorous timetable I had made for the event, a round and some breaks were able to be cut and by the end we came in only 5 minutes after schedule. The event itself ran smoothly with well regimented breaks, well written rounds, and a great help from the on campus fwelper teams who ensured that the rounds were collected promptly and given to the marking team, ensuring the quiz didn’t dawdle and could keep moving. The end rollover game seemed to be enjoyed by all, as were the prizes. However due to a mix-up by the quiz hosts, the team that lost the rollover received no prize. I was able though to offer them a crate though which they were more than happy with.

9.8.7 Day of GamesThe only disaster of the week. I won’t beat around the bush. There were 6 people at the event. The most important thing though I still maintain is that all the 6 lads who took part in the event enjoyed themselves immensely!!! The event was all set up to run very well, GUSA were helping out with the event and were very helpful and brought some very fun games for the event, but in the end people just didn’t show. I don’t quite know how to account for the lack of people, my suggestions would be the horrible weather that day and the lateness in the week of the event, with many freshers’ recovering from their 8th day of late nights and boozing and probably weren’t up for a day of games and running about. However on the bright side, after a year of not managing to do so I was finally able to give away the 7-in-1 games table, and that in itself is an accomplishment for me!

9.8.8 Pop Culture and an OrchestraThe last event of the week, and it was nice to go out on a high! The usual high standard of Paul and Bateman at the helm of the quiz proved to be as successful as ever, as did the specialist music round of the Kelvin Ensemble. There were over 60 people at the quiz in 16 teams and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The prizes were also of note, with a majority being prizes that had been wonderfully donated by our own Fwelpers’ (a special mention must go to the shiny Jesus.) On the whole then a good event and a great way to have ended the week.

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9.8.9 Final ThoughtsI feel that on the whole the social events of Freshers’ Week were a success. My main gripe though was the lack of physical pr for each of the events as I feel this really would have benefitted several of the less well attended events. The other thing I have to complain about is the lack of sponsorship I managed to obtain for any event. I suppose I could blame the economic times in which we find ourselves but I feel I should have done better and for that I apologise. Luckily however, I managed to come in under budget, which came in handy as it allowed me to sign out several crates that I had not accounted for during the week.

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2012-13 meeting 2 reports

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