GRADUATE COMMON ROOM

It goes without saying that this year is certain to be different from anything that the GCR has experienced before. However, this won’t stop us from offering you as many benefits as we can throughout the year – being a GCR member is still certain to elevate your experience of Durham and Ustinov, and really help to you become ingrained in the wonderful community we have here.

There’s going to be a lot of useful information below. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask us! The GCR membership typically offers many benefits such as:

• A welcoming community that hosts weekly Pub Quizzes and Movie Nights, as well as open mic nights, Formals, parties, and other events throughout the year!
• FREE Induction Week Activities!
• Discounted tickets to formals, trips, and other GCR events
• The ability to purchase with a discount the gym membership!
• Facilities such as the gym, bar projector, pool tables, DVD rentals, and anything else you find in Sheraton Park!
• The ability to represent Ustinov in a Team, Club, or Society
• FREE invitation to the Summer BBQ! Our biggest event at the end of the Academic Year.
• All Welfare support and activities are funded by the levy payment
• Really, the benefits are limitless. If you aren’t already a GCR member, find out below how to become a part of this incredible community!

Of course, due to coronavirus, we have taken many of our activities online, such as Pub Quizzes and Movie Nights. We are aware that charging previous prices when we are potentially unable to offer a full schedule of events, particularly for the first Michaelmas term, seems unfair. To allow flexibility for you to engage with the GCR wherever you are and however comfortable you may feel, we have created a brand-new tiered system to give the choice over to you!

There are three tiers, which may be available depending on government advice. The underlying motivation is that even though there might not be as many events as normal, we really want you to get involved in the GCR as much as you can; we can’t wait to see you at our General Meetings (GMs), creating societies that you want to be a part of, or running for positions to shape the college experience.

To make the deal even sweeter, if you choose to get one of the earlier cheaper memberships to get a taste of the GCR, you can get significant discounts if you choose to upgrade later to the full GCR membership (Tier 3) when events are able to run as normal!

All tiers permit members to be fully-fledged members of the GCR for all purposes except for discounted event entry and access to physical facilities run by the GCR.

The three tiers are described below:

Tier 1: Digital Only Membership – £1

– This membership allows members to enjoy shared subscriptions, alongside being able to vote in GMs. This membership allows access to any and all online facilities the GCR is able to provide, such as our membership to Netflix and Disney+. Have a look at two of our favourite events: Ustinov Live online edition here or Virtual Ustinov Day here!

– This membership also gains a discount if members choose to upgrade¹ to the full membership in later terms.

Tier 2: Digital + Local Socially Distanced Event Membership – £5

– This allows all of the above benefits to members, but it is aimed at members who are able to take advantage of any physical (socially distanced) events that the GCR can run by getting discounts to these.

– Minor facilities such as the DVD library and media cabinet (games consoles) will be included here if they can be managed safely.

– This membership also gains a significant discount if members choose to upgrade¹ to the full membership in later terms.

Tier 3: In-person Event Membership²

– Prices vary depending on previous memberships:

– £35 for new members (£35 membership total)

– £30 upgrade for those already holding Tier 1 (£31 total)

– £20 upgrade for those already holding Tier 2 (£25 total)

– This tier will look like the standard GCR membership we have already, with significant discounts on the gym, formals and summer ball as well as access to the Observatory. These will likely be subject to social distancing regulations for some of the year, the GCR will be operating in accordance with University and Government guidelines.

¹ This upgrade will be a limited offer and will be published once the regulations have changed.

² Importantly, Tier 3 may or may not be available depending on government and university regulations.

Summary

This is a drastically different structure from anything that has happened before. The digital-only membership is perfect for those who are perhaps having to attend Durham from your home countries and aren’t able to be with us in person – there are still many ways that you can get involved in the GCR. Of course, if you are in Durham, but don’t feel comfortable attending small-scale socially distanced events, then you are still welcome to purchase the online-only membership. However, we hope that we will be able to hold some events and allow access to the gym in the first term – if you want to take advantage of these benefits (and more!), then the second membership will be perfect for you! If available pending government and university restrictions, then the final full in-person membership is similar to the traditional GCR membership, allowing one to experience the full benefits of being a GCR member, obtaining significant discounts to all the massive events that we can host. Of course, this might be a very confusing system – we are ready to answer any questions that you have! We look forward to building our Ustinovian community with you!

To get the memberhsip please visit the University website https://www.dur.ac.uk/conference.booking/details/?id=1580 and choose your Tier.