After reading the Curious Oranges Blog and listening to the endless conversations in the living room I thought I may as well put in my two penn’orth about PULSAR: Lancaster University’s PREMIER Sci-Fi society.
The exec bitches about how the members don’t turn up, various absentee members say how good the society is, some people turn up and have a good time and Writers Guild pinches the barcrawl on Friday nights…
So anyway this is my blog; what about me? I had no intention of joining PULSAR this term, I hope everyone has read this, absolutely no intention. In fact I said so quite a bit to anyone who’d listen: ‘I’m not joinning PULSAR unless Giggles gets voted in as president’ why did I say this? Was she putting some sort of ‘women of Athens’ hold over me? Hardly. I am a teacher training student this term. I don’t have time to do what I essentially can do in my living room; watch sci-fi with friends, have endless arguements over which parts of Dune they screwed up, debate what I would do if I lived on the planet Zog and breathed carbon monoxide.
I have always been part of a minority in PULSAR, by this I mean someone who enjoys the sci-fi that I read perhaps a little more than that which I watch (as someone who used to be a Trekkie I don’t dislike the visual stuff by anymeans…even the real sci-fi rather than Star Trek!) I mean somebody who likes to imagine what would be the consequences of going to the stars. I’m more of an Arthur C Clark woman admittedly than Asimov, and quite frankly prefer H.G. Wells to the two of them but never the less I am a minority in PULSAR and one which the society, as long as I have been a member has never professed to cater for. I found people I could talk to about sci-fi, book sci-fi by joining in my first year and really need never have gone back. However I did enjoy watching the shows with friends (even if until my third year no one seemed to notice I was a member! Anyone got the T-shirt with the full name on it? š ) and so I kept coming back.
I began to really love the barcrawls last year. I was never a regular attendee really (apart form at Hallowe’en) until last years exec got their hands on them. However I certainly was last year and would be this year if it was for the teacher training killing me.
All in all I thought that joining for the barcrawls was fairly pointless, especially since The Guild go on them. However perhaps I thought that joining next year, should Giggles be voted in as President, might be worthwhile since she was full of new ideas like trips and conventions and sci-fi discussions. Much more something I’d try to make time for. Which brings me to the reason I did join this term. I joined because I wanted to go on the Lord of The Rings Trip. I was very bad, I took unprofessional sort of time off school and went. I had a lot of fun.
Here is a satisfied member: I joined for the trips and the barcrawls, the barcrawls at the beginning of term I enjoed, since having any amount of deadlines I can’t comment on the latest; the trip I thought was fabulous and I know that everyone who went would agree with me. I have got out of PULSAR exactly what I paid for.
However members arent turning up…it’s a good job Ben Miskell isn’t in this society… I know I have a Miskell fan who regularly reads this, suffice it to say I think that the man is underhand and deliberately uses cowardly political tactics to get his way.
Well my mention of Mr. Miskell will have alerted some readers to the fact that I am compareing PULSAR to the ill-fated UniQ. Not that the society is dieing on its arse and the exec are about to get a vote of no confidence but rather I believe that this is a communication issue. Improve your communications; make PULSARIANS enthused about the society and then members will turn up. Your communications are adequate; at least PULSAR knows that you are doing something (which is more than UniQ members did) but do they get off their arses and do something about it? No apparently not. So change the communications. I’m a believer in posters, most people tell me that they don’t work, but at least they raise wider campus knowledge about the society. I am not criticising any member of a very good exec because frankly I am satisified by the society but you’re telling me that nothing is hapening? Well then communicate: what can you change about the emails, how can you make mebers respond? Theres your problem in my view.
You may well turn round to me and say ‘but how would you know? You never turn up’ thats true, but I turn up for what I joined for and I’ve been a more regular member of Pulsar than some who’ve thrown their opinions into the ring. So my constructive criticism out of the way. What else do I think? Don’t get so down-hearted execcies. You are running this society for the members, you’re unhappy that members don’t seem to care, well don’t forget that you are members too; if you’re that pissed off then run the society for you for a bit and kick back and enjoy yourselves. You haven’t been bullied into resigning by a lying scoundrel!
Random venting, not particularly addressed to Mish, but to anyone interested in this little mushroom cloud of a discussion.
They think the Writers’ Guild is stealing it? To quote Withnail, "What fucker said that?!"
I’m there as a member of Pulsar as much as I am a member of the Guild (or LURPS, come to that). Dean is a Pulsarian, as is Claire, and so are George and Tess (at a guess, but very unsure about the latter). Occasionally, Abby comes along – last Friday we had Jennifer as well.
Speaking of communication problems with the members (and I think Occasionally Erring From Correctness Mike reads this site, so I’d just like to point out I’m not trying to get at him), one of the major problems with Pulsar communication has to be the emails.
I don’t mind the arsing about, the joking, and all that. The spelling, punctuation and lapses in grammar, however, make them look utterly unprofessional. (But not as bad as the unreadable Theatre Group ones…)
In short, I’m not enthused by them. And neither, I suspect, would an absentee member be.
(On the subject of absentee members, I am actually a regular attendee of Pulsar, coming to at least 50% of all Pulsar gatherings – the bar crawl, which is just as important, if not more so, than the screenings. The only reason I haven’t been to any screenings this term is because when there has been something that piques my interest, something has prevented me from coming. The rest of the time, it’s "Whoopee, an episode of X-Files/Buffy/Angel that I’ve seen before, followed by a film that I’ve either seen before or aren’t interested in seeing."
Why on earth should I, as a member who chose to join the society of my own free will, paying for the privilege, be made to feel bad for not turning up to ~every single screening~? Show things I want to watch, every single week, and I’ll (try) to be there. Show things I don’t want to watch, and no, I won’t.
And on a final note, I doubt there’s anyone in the current Pulsarian crowd who would pull a Miskell on us.
For a start, there’s nothing really to replace Pulsar – no LUSU position (allegedly held by Miskell’s boyfriend at the time…) overlapping with Pulsar’s field of interest, so there won’t be any support among the membership for dissolution.
Also, I suspect members of the respective societies would get more worked up about the need for a functioning LGBT society than they would for a functioning science fiction society.
Not that we should get complacent though. What happened to UniQ was atrocious, and the fact that this guy’s intending to run for President again (despite his… heh heh… slaughtering the last time he ran) worries me. I know there’s going to be at least one other reliable candidate to oppose him, but if he ever got in, I can see LUSU going right down the pan, because University House won’t put up with the kind of tactics he used against UniQ, and can swat the entire union down as a result.
(However, this should not be taken as negative campaigning against Mr Miskell in any way. I am merely stating an opinion based on facts that are, within portions of the university, public knowledge.)
And for those nosy people outside of Lancs, what did happen to UniQ (phrased in a way that won’t get you lynched by your elections group, of course)??
I don’t know where this Buffy Angel obsession came from. In our whole time in office we have shown 2 nights of buffy, and one of Angel which turned into the Cube anyway. (thats 3 out of thirty)
Sigh. I am not angry who the people who turn up sporadically. That’s fine; Being there 0nce in a while. I’m angry at the people who never turn up at all and then have the audacity to tell me that everything is okay – A very specific audience indeed.
For the hundreth time – what we have shown this term was voted for by the membership. If you don’t turn up, how can we know what you want.
But allow me to clarify. I am SAD that such low numbers are turning up. I am ANGRY at the hypocrites who go on endless about things being well, running on old memories of a time passed, when they haven’t been near Pulsar all year.
Yes, Giggles is full of brilliant ideas, but ‘trips and conventions and sci-fi discussions’ are not it.
I have arranged trips as have Giggles and Puppy and they have been very poorly attended.
I have arranged conventions, to which no-one wanted to go – they could have met Mr garak for gods sake, but no, no-one wanted to go.
We have a definite forum for discussion of all matters sci-fi. Its why we retire to a JCR after each showing. However, since neither you or Archangel have been all term, I can understand your not knowing. And indeed, as Kate pointed out on my Diary, the friday night brcrawl is often a forum for SF discussion.
the fact that this guy’s intending to run for President again (despite his… heh heh… slaughtering the last time he ran) worries me. I know there’s going to be at least one other reliable candidate to oppose him, but if he ever got in, I can see LUSU going right down the pan, because University House won’t put up with the kind of tactics he used against UniQ, and can swat the entire union down as a result
*tries to think of a politically correct response*
*fails*
I learned my lesson on wading into discussions I feel too deeply about during the recent ‘Pulsar Wars’ on blogs. I can’t say much that’s nice/neutral – hence I say nothing. Archangel, if you want my response to this, bang on my door sometime. Thoughts like these weren’t meant for blogland…
Fletch, read the last sentence of my blog…thats what happened to UniQ.
As I suspect I am the supposed Miskell fan, I ought to say something. Now, I’m in no way going to defend everything Ben does, partly because I don’t know exactly what happened in the year prior to me starting at Lancaster; and partly because I’ve had enough arguments with Ben over the extent to which the ends justify the means. The only thing I can really say that if any of you think Warren Nettleford is doing a better job, then you have far less sense of have been paying far less attention than I thought. Ben has his faults, but he does believe in the ends he wants to achieve. The business with UniQ, whether or not you think the means were out of order, was aimed at achieving a functionning LGBT liberation campaign; and that goal has been achieved – the recent Queer Liberation Week stands as testament to that.
Jo: Ends never justify excessive means.
Them means were excessive.
Further to which…
The only thing I can really say that if any of you think Warren Nettleford is doing a better job, then you have far less sense of have been paying far less attention than I thought.
Yes. Because both of them are currently LUSU president doing directly comparable jobs.
Or, y’know, NOT.
Miskell is responsible for two flamestorm arguments that I am aware of, and you know I mostly ignore the politics. On that score alone Nettleford wins. LUSU are facilitators for students, not a group designed to agitate them at every opportunity. (In theory, granted.)
The only thing I can really say that if any of you think Warren Nettleford is doing a better job, then you have far less sense of have been paying far less attention than I thought.
Disagree.
And you can’t accuse me of not paying attention. And last time I checked my common sense was functioning just fine thankyou.
Warren appears to be doing a good enough job as far as I can see. Ok he’s not perfect, but nobody is in politics. I think he’s earned my vote, and that’s from watching how he handles things behind the scenes. He appears to have his head screwed on just fine.
Now maybe his policies don’t agree with Miskell’s and that might be colouring your view as to how well he’s doing (ie he’s not doing what you think should be done), but from what I can see he’s doing ok.
Ah- I see more now… think I’ll shut up and dive for cover…
I presume you haven’t heard about him congratulating Jarvis on a job well done at a city council meeting, and then going to an open meeting in Graduate and condemning Jarvis for the mess they’ve made of it. Or about the document written by one of his buddies that he’s attempting to pass off as official GSA policy in a claim to the university for compensation. You may be correct in saying I have a coloured view, but I came into this year prepared to work with Warren if he did the right thing, but this guy had to be pushed into getting coaches down to London for the national demo. Like it or not, politics are important in a union president. We currently have one who supports PFI, abstained on our anti-fees policy and has in the past made openly homophobic remarks.
I came into this year prepared to work with Warren if he did the right thing
The right thing in whose opinion? I refer you back to my previous comments about you possibly having a coloured view of Warren’s working practices.
1) The Jarvis thing. I did say nobody’s perfect, and that is something of a big fuckup, but I didn’t know about that when I wrote the entry.
2)The GSA document. First I’ve heard about that too. Is there any evidence of this or are you just quoting hearsay?
3) The coaches. Insofar as I remember, we didn’t have enough people to fill the buses we did have. Once people found out that they couldn’t wander off to go shopping, a lot of them lost interest. And when he was told how the tickets were selling, Warren did book another bus, and IIRC had to go scouting for another company in order to do so. What’s your problem with this?
Like it or not, politics are important in a union president.
Well duh…
We currently have one who supports PFI
PFIs?
*Archangel tells Erfalaswen that is stands for ‘Private Finance Initiative’*
Hmmm, private finance initiatives. So long as it’s kept under control, I don’t see a problem with this. After all, the money has to come from somewhere, and I’d prefer it to come from PFIs (while kept under control) than spiralling tuition fees, which lead to increased student debts.
abstained on our anti-fees policy
Like it or not, that is a legitimate vote and it is his right to make that vote.
and has in the past made openly homophobic remarks.
Not in my presence. Did he make the remarks in front of you? Do you have any proof? Because if that’s the case official complaints should be made and I for one would support you.
I’m not implying that I agree with everything Warren’s done, but from what I have seen, he’s hardly the Antichrist…
If you want the lowdown on the alleged GSA document, talk to Chris Cotton, the GSA president, who has some rather choice things to say about how Warren has behaved. Suffice to say that he confirmed he was using this dubiously sourced document during union council on Thursday, a document which has had no approval from the GSA executive or membership. The information as regards the first point has also come via Chris.
The problem with PFI is that it never works properly, it always gives a worse deal for the user, because the whole concept is designed to maximise profitability for the private company involved, rather than provide good public services. This is why the Jarvis deal has involved handing over all the old housing stock to Jarvis, and why the cleaning of all communal areas in residences is going to be cut by 80%. Read Captive State by George Monbiot if you’d like someone to explain all the problems better than I can.
The third coach was only ordered because myself and Ben went in (independently of each other) and persauded him that this was an issue worth pushing the boat out on.
I freely admit that any one of these issues would be forgivable, and had it been only one I wouldn’t be that bothered, but there is a pattern of failures here, and those living in grad college at the moment particularly are rather less than happy.
Dubiously sourced documents? Heh, it’s not like Ben would ever use one of those, is it?
*COUGH*UniQ Emergency Meeting Petition That Members Couldn’t Remember Signing*COUGH*
In my experience, Ben wouldn’t. As I’ve already said, I’ve heard conflicting arguments over what happened two years ago and I’m not going to try and argue about something I don’t know. Suffice to say there have been several times in the last year when a few extra signatures would have come in handy, but there has never been any suggestion of falsifying them.
The third coach was only ordered because myself and Ben went in (independently of each other) and persauded him that this was an issue worth pushing the boat out on.
Yes, I agree that you had to tell him to do so. But my point is, he did it. He didn’t refuse. He didn’t disagree and refuse to listen to you (based upon what you’ve said). He took your advice. He acted on it. And lo, we had an extra coach.
It sounds on this point as if you are criticising him for taking you advice. And I don’t see how you can criticise him for that. Seems a little daft.
From the point of view of him needing the advice – sometimes people do. It’s how they respond to it when it is given as opposed to whether they need it or not that is the issue.
For my part, if I succeeded in getting elected, I’d hope advice would always be available. I’d also hope that if I wasn’t doing something to somebody’s satisfaction, that people like your good self would be around that they’d and have the guts to come see me and tell me what they thought.
I take your point about him actually listening, on that occasion, but the point is that he shouldn’t have needed persuading on something so fundamental, something that the union has such clear policy about.