It’s an unusual thing to welcome fewer club nights in a university, but I couldn’t hope for better news when the next club ‘package’ is announced.
Of course, this hasn’t been finalised yet. We’re waiting to hear exactly what Dan Walker and co have decided for us next year, but we know that there’s a strong chance that Fibbers is going to be dropped from the ‘timetable’. Nobody goes, nobody has ever gone, and nobody has any desire to go. Case in point: my dubstep-loving, rave-going housemate went in there recently. Within thirty seconds she was out the door again, with the phrase I never thought I’d hear on her lips: “let’s go to the Willow.”
Now let’s be honest, there are few things to truly celebrate about York’s nightlife, but the Willow is definitely one of them. Populated by creepy middle-aged men, fancy-dressed students and hen nights galore, what more could you desire from an evening whose musical choices are primarily influenced by the macarena and Lady Gaga?
Or not, as the case may be, but there’s something charming about the Willow that grabs so many students. And the same is true of some of the massive variety of bars (and smaller selection of clubs) that York is home to. Students go to Yates’s and have a dance, but there’s no YUSU affiliation there – and they also head to 1331 or Dusk for 2-4-1s.
It’s so easy to get dragged into YUSU’s club cycle, going to Revs on a Sunday, Salvation on a Tuesday, Tokyo on a Thursday… And we all have our preferences. Thing is, student nights are so much cheaper, and following the trend like drunken sheep can be difficult to avoid.
News that there’s a price war raging through York as students question YUSU’s authority is fantastic. That students are able to make a choice and not have to spend a fortune to do it is perfect. Whether it’s 50p drinks on a Friday at Salvo, or Mansion Thursdays, with 75p drinks, students can actually make a choice to not do what YUSU tells them to, and party their own way.
Now that doesn’t always work out amazingly. 50p drinks is a worrying prospect – you could be in hospital after drinking six or seven quid, and not really realise how much alcohol you’ve consumed. That said, it means you will never, ever, break the bank on a night out. And students need to be able to go out cheaply if they’re going to party four or five times a week. Which of course raises the problem of Revs.
Vodka Revolution is probably the fanciest of YUSU’s ‘official’ nights, though its attempt at a dancefloor is questionable at best. But drinks at Revs will destroy the bank account of any York student. I had particular enjoyment when my friend, in a frenzy of needing more money to spend on cocktails, managed to wedge her card into the receipt slot of the cash machine. See – expensive club nights cause damage. And Revs is all well and good but students don’t look for the priciest night, they look for what’s fun and what’s affordable.
Not doing what YUSU tells us to, going wherever we like and embracing the price war – rather than choking other businesses – can only be for the best. After all, what would we do without the Willow? (Answer: our degrees).
Interesting opinions here… but the short and simple answer is NO. The reason we have official club nights is for the very reason we don’t have a proper SU run club as a venue for students to mix exclusively with their peeers. If we did there would be a point in abandoning this policy but as it stands there is not.
Also it should be noted that these clubs pay significant premiums for YUSU sponsorship. Premiums which are then paid back into newspapers and other student activities like these.