Students banned from SU club

Warwick Students’ Union (SU) has banned a total of 26 people from the Copper Rooms, the Boar can reveal.

In the last three and a half years, from 2011 to 2014, ten of the 26 people were banned from the Copper Rooms.

The SU clarified that not all of them are permanent bans.

The majority of permanent bans are due to incidents that involve serious violence or abuse to staff members or to customers.

Some are due to drug offences and a few are persistent repeat offenders of unacceptable behaviour.

The SU admitted that they did get persistent offenders who, after three or four times, are warned to stay off the premises.

The SU, however, denied having ever banned any groups or societies from the Copper Rooms.

Cosmo March, SU democracy and development officer, said: “We do not exclude any groups at all, incidents are resolved with regard to specific people involved in those incidents.

“If the incident involved a whole group of people, they may all receive the same punitive measures imposed.”

Isabelle Ng, a second-year Accounting and Finance undergraduate, responded to the figures of Copper Room bans: “Really? So few? I would have expected the SU to have banned more people. I don’t support permanent bans though.”

Joanne Sarginson, a second-yearLiterature student, also commented: “I guess I’m quite surprised. Itmakes me wonder why there has been such an increase [of recent Copper Room bans].”

Naila Waseem, a second-year Economics undergraduate, said:

“Considering that it’s majority freshers who’ve been away from home for the first time and are test-ing the boundaries, I’d expect the number to be higher.”

Bans are usually given for up to four weeks if the person understands their behaviour was not acceptable.

“For the vast majority of people,” Mr March stated, “this generally works and quite often people are embarrassed about their behaviour to ensure it does not happen again anyway.”

Longer bans are given to offences involving violence, but the SU insists this depends on the incidentand the level of violence.