What will Warwick look like 50 years in the future?

In 2073 our ancestors will be celebrating the 100-year anniversary of The Boar, the Earth will be about 2 degrees warmer, and North West will be 60. Needless to say, times are uncertain. A comforting thought would be, what will not change at Warwick until then? 

The unwittingly cringy (at best) and inappropriate (at worst) tradition of Skool Dayz will survive the war in Ukraine and probably the impending war over Taiwan too, returning to Warwick every term to terrorise innocent bus drivers and Leamington residents alike. The Boar has raised concerns over Skool Dayz in the past, but as long as tickets keep selling out the show must go on. I hope my grandchildren will know better than to be part of it though.  

Legend states that getting a 1:00am Vialli’s was the eleventh commandment. The road outside Parish Church past 3:00am on a Friday is paved with hundreds of orange takeout boxes overflowing the bins into the streets. So set in stone are our preferences that no amount of exterior change will prompt Mr. Vialli to switch up his menu or ‘80s diner cosplaying design. Students as far back as seven years ago boasted its benefits, and may they do so for decades to come! 

Now for a few quickfire ones: Rootes will still set the party scene, Disco Dave VI will keep playing Baywatch at midnight, Smack bouncers will still firmly believe they have been put on this Earth by God himself to protect Smack, the Stagecoach will still be off schedule and Warwick will still be in the Top 10. 

Alexandra Luca

A clean, green, and modern campus. The once fresh and brand-new FAB building is now the grandfather of Warwick architecture and not quite at the forefront of technology, but still confuses staff and students as much as it ever did. The Arts Centre remains a great hub of cultural activity, producing excellent and wide-ranging plays, shows and art exhibits. Students, less debt-burdened and more gleeful, continue to make great use of the Piazza. Food prices, both at Rootes and the range of vendors, are more affordable. Pret remains intact, but Greggs have muscled in on the campus action with great success. The annual Eurovision viewing remains a staple of the academic calendar, though the United Kingdom remains as unsuccessful as ever. Students have also witnessed the coronation of another King on the Big Screen, as well as countless sporting and state events. Everyone utilises the AI-powered student support machines dotted around campus. Crucially, bus timetables are now much easier to understand, though can remain a little unreliable. An entirely electric fleet, they make little more than a squeak as they glide along local roads.  

Thomas Bartley

When I picture what I would want to see changed after another 50 years at the University of Warwick, and within Higher Education broadly, I think of all the efforts and hard work put in by the teams of people devoted to widening participation and social mobility throughout the University. Teams of staff, students, volunteers and professionals hold events, counsel students, innovate programs, all with the desire of introducing young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to top universities – access to which many often deem entirely unattainable.   

Often campuses such as Warwick can be overrun with the mocking of regional accents, or conversations about internships arranged via closed networks. The hidden curriculum, a prominent social class theory amongst sociologists, currently acts as a barrier to success for students seeking a degree. The classism currently experienced through our education system is evidently impactful upon the later-life destinations and prospects of thousands of young people across the country. My vision is that this gap will, hopefully, be drawn to a close within the next 50 years, and the need for current social mobility programs will dwindle to a self-sustaining level due to a lack of requirement for them. 

Emily Neville