University College London Union
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University College London Union, founded in 1893, has a credible claim to be England's oldest students' union. It was formed with the following objectives: "the promotion of social intercourse and of the means of recreation, physical and mental, of the students of University College, and the financial successes of students' clubs". UCL Union was the first of its kind as it was formed for both athletics clubs and social activities alike.
Since its formation, the Union has taken on responsibility for many aspects of student life. Events for example were seen as a key element hence the establishment of an Ents Committee. The student magazine Pi (then known as the Gazette) was formed a few years later and the Somers Town sports venue was also acquired.
UCL Union is affiliated to the National Union of Students and the National Postgraduate Committee.
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[edit] UCL Union Today
Student Development is at the heart of the work the Union does today. UCL Union runs over 140 clubs and societies for its members. It runs commercial services including ten bars, cafés and two shops, a fitness centre. UCL students, through the Union has nine weeks free access to put on student shows and events in the UCL-owned professionally run Bloomsbury Theatre.
The Union's sports clubs have access to several different venues including Astor College Gym, Bloomsbury Fitness, the Somers Town Sports Centre and the 100 acre Shenley Sports grounds, which Watford Football Club rent for training purposes.
UCLU provides support to students through Workstation and the Rights & Advice Centre, and has a highly active Voluntary Services Unit, providing volunteering opportunities for over 250 students a year.
As well as magazine "Pi", the Union's media output includes the radio station Rare FM, the Film and TV Society (recently formed from a merger of the Film Society and Bloomsbury Television), the "alternative" magazine The Cheese Grater and a number of other smaller publications.
[edit] UCL Union Events
UCL Union has, in the past, hosted regular events with cheap drinks and music to cater for a broad range of tastes. Famous amongst London students who have attended the Union bars are: "99s" on Monday nights, "Postgrad Nite" on Tuesdays, "Sports Nite" on Wednesdays, notorious for drunken sports player antics, Cocktails on Thursdays and Fives fortnightly on Saturdays (where drinks were even cheaper than usual).
When the Union updated its entertainments license for its (primary) Gordon St site in 2005, the capacity of the site was halved due to fire safety concerns. Due to increasing student financial concerns the most popular nights were dropped by the Union because they were unprofitable and conflicted with government legislation regarding drinks promotions and binge drinking. Now the Gordon St building is significantly quieter (except for Thursdays, when the Phineas bar on the third floor is full for the weekly Brain Squeezer Pub Quiz) and no longer finds itself the hub of student drinking that it once was. The full-time Union Sabbatical Officers and Union administration are based in the Gordon St building - Club & Society administration, together with student welfare services and student volunteering are based in the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre building.
The Union also holds an annual Cultural Carnival, supported by the Mayor of London, consisting of a number of events on the theme of cultural diversity.
[edit] Current Union Sabbatical Officers
| Position | Office | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Education & Welfare Officer | 2006-2007 | post vacant1 |
| Finance & Administration Officer | 2006-2007 | post vacant2 |
| Medical Students' & Sites Officer | 2006-2007 | Eleanor Fletcher |
| Media & Communications Officer | 2006-2007 | Nick Barnard |
| Clubs, Societies & Student Development Officer | 2006-2007 | Robbie Swale |
| Services & Events Officer | 2006-2007 | Zoe Davies |
1 Post Vacant after the resignation of Ed Bray 2 Post Vacant after the resignation of Mark Littler
[edit] Past Union Sabbatical Officers
| Year of office | E&W Officer | F&A Officer | MS&S Officer | M&C Officer | CSSD Officer | S&E Officer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-2006 | Mary-Beth Young | Lucy Gould | Luke Yahanpath | Alan Gardner | Natasha Davis | Ben Williamson |
| 2004-2005 | David Renton | Victoria Green | Vishali Thakrar | Alex Walsh | Liz Oglesby | Steven Healer |
| 2003-2004 | Alex Coles | Sinan Rabee | Amy Hansen | Andreas von Maltzahn | Alex Lal | Alastair Boyle |
| 2002-2003 | Nigel Harris | Ben McMechan | Rob Farag | Pete Huggins | Frank Penter | Angi Bholé |
| 2001-2002 | Ursula Brown | Simon Luscombe | Dan Gibbons | Celia Parkyn | Sarah Chapman | Rachel Stone |
| 2000-2001 | Dan Ozarow | Rob Fear | Brian Hogan | Laura Emson | Felicity Espley | Nick Lovatt |
