Whitefields students seek compensation for lack of personal revision space

Earlier this term RaW News reported on the newly planned changes to the Union Rebuild schedule. However, this week has been one of much disruption on campus as students in Whitefields have been informed of some rather last-minute changes.

At the beginning of term students had been told that Whitefields would be “a 24 hour quiet zone” and that their revision would go on undisturbed. However, last Friday, the Whitefields accommodation Officer Graham Wright informed students in person that construction works were to begin on Tuesday of this week from 9am – 5pm every day until the end of term. The work will take place from just below the Graduate Bar, past Battered, and around the Cooler, all just a few meters away from the bedrooms – or study rooms as they are referred to – of students in Whitefields.

Students have expressed anger with regards to the Union’s lack of communication and they now fear that there will not be sufficient silent space available to study in – the Library and the Learning Grid are both full more often than not with second and third years who livee off campus, and with potentially a whole hall of residence being forced to vacate their houses to revise, how will the Union provide support for those that need it?

The Union have apologised for the short notice that was given to Whitefields residents, stating that this was due to a “slight breakdown in communications and the unfortunate timing of the bank holiday”. They have also stated that although the work will take place near to Whitefields it will not involve any heavy construction work until the end of the exam period. The preparatory work will not cause any disruption to students sitting exams in Rootes and contractors have full details of exam timetables. Welfare and Equal Opportunities Officer Ed Callow has agreed to block book rooms with enough space to accommodate the front row of houses from today onwards, when the noise was thought to have escalated.
This week on Insight we invited Lev Taylor, a resident in Whitefields, and one of the students instrumental in campaigning against the building works. He suggested that perhaps the Union were not as in control of the rebuild as we would like to think…

You can listen to the interview to find out more by clicking on the link below. I started by asking Lev what he was hoping to achieve by appealing to the Union at this stage in the works:

(Link unavailable)

Hannah Smith
News Editor

: 30 May 2008 23:54 |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem