Dr Reynolds: Hello Dr Saunders. I just want to tell you about the suggestions that Lawrence and Sangita made during our discussion and see what you think.
Dr Saunders: Thanks, yes. Please do.
Dr Reynolds: First of all, regarding the music, they think that it might be a good idea to have a good local band who can replace the main act if it has to let us down at the last minute, which is what happened this year. The band could be scheduled for later in the week on the understanding that they might have to play on an earlier night.We could also have one evening with a student band.
Dr Saunders: Well, it sounds good in theory to plan a rearrangement, but I think it would be too complicated to arrange. We would depend too much on all the bands being able to play on any of the nights. I think it's simpler just to give the audience a refund if it happens again. But I'm happy to have one evening supporting local bands and student bands, as that's the main point of the festival - to encourage people to take part.
Dr Reynolds: The next thing is the crafts. They felt that a fashion show would be a good way of expanding the clothes exhibition, and that perhaps we should reduce or even get rid of the glass and pottery exhibition.
Dr Saunders: Well, first of all, I think that the fashion show is a good idea as it can help the international students to get involved in more activities and develop their ideas with clothes. But I'm not keen to get rid of the glass and pottery exhibitions completely, as it's important for the university to be seen to encourage all forms of art and not just the most popular ones, so we should keep that for the time being.
Dr Reynolds: OK ... now ... regarding theatre and poetry, they felt that it would be good for students to write and perform their own plays and poetry, as well as those by famous playwrights and poets.
Dr Saunders: That sounds like an excellent idea! It'd help a lot to raise standards in writing and performance. I'd love to see that taking place.
Dr Reynolds: Also on that topic, there was a feeling that works in other languages should be encouraged.
Dr Saunders: Most certainly. That would help the international students feel far more at home and valued as part of the university.
Dr Reynolds: There was one other event we discussed, and that was photography. It was felt that we should have both digital and non-digital exhibits.
Dr Saunders: I don't think we could manage that, at least not yet. High-quality tablets and screens would be too expensive, especially with the number we'd have to buy, so it's not an option for next year because of the high cost.
Dr Reynolds: OK ... as for the accommodation and the catering, they felt that we could use the holiday park that's being built nearby, and we should encourage students to take a greater part in cooking and helping with the catering.
Dr Saunders: Well, first, I know for a fact that the new holiday park is not likely to be completed by festival time next year as they've run into trouble with the building, but we could certainly think about it in the future. I do like the idea of the students having a greater role in the catering and cooking, as it will clearly be helpful for their all-round development.
Dr Reynolds: OK. The next thing is the professional organisers. They felt that the standard was quite low and that the volunteers didn't experience good leadership from them. They think it would be better to ask former students to work as organisers, as they'd be more familiar with the university and more committed, too.
Dr Saunders: I appreciate that, but unfortunately that wouldn't work. It'd be too much trouble trying to find them and get them employed. However, I think we should review the organisers that we used this year and have a much better selection system in place for the next festival.
Dr Reynolds: Now the last two points are about security and finance. As far as security goes, they think we should do more to encourage the students to take it seriously.
Dr Saunders: I agree. If we can encourage students to be more aware of security, not just during the festival, it'd really help to increase trust among all our students because they'll be looking out for each other.
Dr Reynolds: As for finance, they thought that, first, we could encourage students to help raise money throughout the year, and, secondly, we could encourage businesses to sponsor the events and advertise more, though it needs to be handled with care.
Dr Saunders: Well, regarding sponsorship and advertising, the committee is already looking at the possibilities as it will encourage more interest in the activities that we do and also help our reputation generally. Unfortunately, I don't think asking the students to raise more money during the year is a good idea as we already have a programme in place for that, and if the students are involved any more, they'll spend less time on their studies and I don't want anything to disrupt those. |
