TES’ midnight closing for “welfare of students”

For some students, one major concern about the Students’ Union new Temporary Event Structure (TES) has been the early closing time of midnight in the week.

According to the Union, this was brought in to be considerate towards the nearby halls. From a legal standpoint, sound levels are below the upper limit.

Communications Officer for the Students’ Union, Mike Pidgeon, emphasised it was a question of “welfare for students”. However, the majority reaction of students has not been so forgiving.

When asked, few students wanted to go out until after 10, meaning that they only had two hours until it closed. The earlier opening hours, to compensate, have done little to appease the situation, as most have to commute from off campus for events.

In particular, the general consensus from older students was that it would be easier to go out in Leamington or Coventry. However, the more studious living on campus have noted that ‘now the lectures have started it’s not so bad that it finishes early.’

From the first two major events, students have commented on the lack of personality inside the building. One 4th year cheerleader suggested that ‘The area is perhaps too big, it would be good to have more partitions.’

The Students’ Union is open to suggestions and wants to please the student populace, with Pidgeon emphasising that it was about ‘finding the right balance’.

Furthermore, the Students’ Union plans to develop the area further when Warwick Conference are using the building less in the day, bringing in more comfortable seating. The lack of levels was also noted by students.

Another common complaint was the queuing both to enter the event and purchase drinks. Whilst the bar area is in fact larger than in the previous Union building, the Boar was told that people were waiting for up to 20 minutes to half an hour to be served, even with the larger amount of beer pumps.

However, most Freshers have not been ‘Anti-TES’, having not experienced the previous Union building and looking forward to reaping the benefits of the new build.

Despite some negative feedback, on the whole students did accept that it was the best the Students’ Union could do in the situation. With a capacity of 2000, there is real prospect for big events in the future.

One student said: “All it needs is a homely touch!” The outside, however, from one Fresher’s perspective “will always look like a giant portakabin” or a “tent for garden parties and weddings. They could at least provide cake!”.

The TES is expected to be in place until the fourth week of term two. Phase one of the Union rebuild is due for completion at the start of the third term.