Rant week gets students raving

Week 10 last term saw Rant Week encourage students to ‘rant’ about everything and anything they would like to see changed in the Students’ Union (SU).

This is the second year the SU have run the campaign in order to give students a chance to moan and groan about whatever annoys them most and to see something done about it. Rants are made about everything from the bus service to the library, from the local community to the SU, and anything else that affects Warwick students on a daily basis.

SU Democracy Officer Chris Luck, who originally came up with the idea, said, “we wanted to create a high-profile, gimmicky way for students to tell us what they really think. It has provided us with a lot of feedback that we otherwise might not get.”

The week was highly publicised with the SU Street Team handing out ‘rant cards’ to every kitchen on campus, and banners on the Union website and in the weekly email. Students could rant either by filling out a rant card, using the online form, or in person.

As a result of student complaints during 2010’s Rant Week, the Atrium was made more student-friendly and practical with colourful sofas and regular markets.

Luck explained, “once the rants have all been processed and collated, which will be taking place in the first week of the holiday, we will arrange meetings where necessary to resolve the issues that have been brought to our attention.

“With rants about the University or the local community, it’s a case of lobbying on behalf of the students. Occasionally, when it’s genuinely not possible for us to take any action, we will take the time to explain why it is out of our power. This is also a really important part of the feedback system.”

Last year the rants were very much SU-oriented; there were complaints about the Union computers, SU prices and the Atrium. This year, however, students seem to be focusing far more on the University itself.

Luck suggested this may be due to the fact that they are more concerned than ever with what they are getting from the University in return for their money.

Michael Farmer, a fourth-year Maths student, spoke to the _Boar_ about Rant Week, “I think it’s a really good idea as it provides students with a great opportunity to voice their opinions and it’s so easy to do.”