Dear gair rhydd,
Firstly, in response to comments by Rasputin relating to the Graduate Centre in the current issue, readers may be interested to know that the university did not TAKE space from the Union to create the Graduate Centre. In fact, they GAVE the staff dining room space to postgraduates (who are still students as far as we are aware), and part of the Dining Room donation also enabled the creation of the Student Development Unit. The Graduate Centre was created at the request of postgraduate students and remains important to postgraduates. It may not be busy in the evening, but that may have something to do with the Graduate Centre being above Solus, and therefore not being able to hold events on club or gig nights.
Secondly, in response to comments by a disgruntled second year in the May 12th Issue, I can’t believe one marquee at an event – not even a separate event itself – can cause such a scandal. The second year in question seems to be forgetting just how many events throughout the year are put on by the Union aimed solely at undergraduates – events such as Drink the Bar Dry, Varsity afterparty, Drinking Roulette, etc. These type of events simply don’t appeal to a large part of the postgraduate community for all sorts of reasons: their age, the distance they live from campus and the fact that many have families. Postgraduates are fee-paying students who deserve to be represented at Students’ Union events in a way that appeals to them and enables them to celebrate their own identity amongst the wider community of Cardiff University students. So disgruntled undergrads, don’t worry about us hiding out in the Postgraduate Only Marquee. While you’re still queueing for drinks, you might just be able to see us at the front of the stage showing you how it’s done.
Jacqui Platt
PhD Research Student
