Union to `effectively' pull-out of ULU
Imperial College Union have announced plans to cut off clubs and societies involvement with the University of London Union, following Imperial College's withdrawal from the University of London.
Under the new arrangement, Imperial College Union will continue to pay for teams to participate in University of London Union (ULU) leagues and cups. However, the Union have decided not to pay for affiliation with ULU clubs and societies, which means Imperial students will no longer be able to join a ULU club unless they buy a temporary membership.
The new plans came about after Imperial College decided to withdraw from the University of London at the end of last year. Subsequently, ULU decided that Imperial's Union could not maintain full member status, which will restrict the representation that Imperial College receives.
Previously the Union paid £85,000 per annum for full member status, which included involvement in all sports events, clubs and societies. However it was felt that this money was not used efficiently, especially due to the reduced representation Imperial College Union now received from ULU. Speaking to Felix, Sameena Misbahuddin, President of Imperial College Union, stressed that "leagues and cups are a great" part of ULU, which is why the Union will still pay for involvement in these.
Under new plans, the Union will pay £8,000 for league and cup participation, and will reinvest £25,000 in our own clubs and societies (in contrast to the £64,000 normally paid to the University of London Union to allow students to join their clubs and societies). Ms. Misbahuddin pointed out that the figures are only approximate due to the difficulty encountered in getting hard figures from University of London and ULU.
As a result of the restructure the Union will have saved £50,000 for other activities, which it is planning to invest mainly in finding an alternate means of representation outside Imperial College Union. The popular options being investigated are rejoining the National Union of Students (which is favoured by incoming Union president John Collins) or strengthening the Aldwych group, a meeting of Union presidents across London colleges.
The lack of full membership will aaffect access to ULU club nights, with entertainments requiring entrants to have an NUS or ULU membership card.
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