Ffridd Site Construction Delayed

Seren90s Night Issue Ffridd Site construction delayed Becki Watson provision of four disabled units. With he university has raised con- the closing of the Cae Derwen halls cerns that the new residential on College Road, this will provide an site will not be ready for the overall increase in accommodation by Tnext academic year. e construction 470 places. e demand for these plac- of Ffriddoedd Site (p, has fallen be- es has meant that all spaces have been hind schedule, leading to a number of lled without di culty, even though emergency meetings between the uni- the provision of these state of the art versity and the building contractors. facilities means that the weekly rent is Mr Malcolm Swann, College Estates increased by £5, to £38 a week for self- O cer, said of the issue, ‘We are con- catered and £49.30 for catered halls. cerned at the moment about progress. Despite the importance of the new e directors of the construction com- accommodation project, it hasn’t pany are going to make proposals to been without controversy. A similar us for bringing the project back on to housing project at Lancaster Uni- schedule. At the present rate of pro- versity sparked a sit in protest in the gress they won’t be ready for the new Administration O ce against the rise academic year, which is something in accommodation fees, which basi- we’re very anxious to avoid. We have cally shut down the whole university. allocated spaces to people and some Similar concerns have been raised of those spaces aren’t available.’ How- in Bangor. Student Union President ever, Mr Swann is keen to note that Margi Newens has welcomed the ef- the College is ‘very happy’ with the fort to create more modern accommo- quality of the building so far and the dation and a wider choice for Bangor accommodation it will provide. Fur- students, citing the ‘desperate need for thermore, Mr John Clayton of the Res- more quality accommodation in Ban- idential Services has noted that there gor’, but raised concerns about the in- are ‘a number of possible contingency crease in prices, commenting, ‘It is du- plans’ in place should Ffridd Site fail to bious whether students will be able or be completed in time for the Autumn willing to pay extra for facilities which Term. I believe are designed primarily with e £8 million project is set to pro- the conference trade in mind.’ vide three new blocks named Cefn y ird year History student Ben Jones Coed, Elidir and Y Borth, creating 847 commented to Seren that, ‘ e rises in new study-bedrooms at the site, cov- prices is extremely worrying. I’ve had ering the present green eld between to move back onto campus in third Reichel and Plas Gwyn. e layout year because I couldn’t nd private of the new halls include groupings of accommodation, and it’s concerning eight self-contained bedrooms with an to think that other students may not en-suite bathroom (including washba- have this option in the future due to sin, toilet and shower), with a shared high fees.’ kitchen and living room. ere is also Main Bar robbed Student Fees Album Feature Fourth raid this year provokes End of ‘free’ degrees as unis set Review of Green Day’s ground- serious security questions to charge up to £1k breaking new album Dookie page three page ﬁ ve page thirteen Bangor University Students’ Union February 2013 English Language Issue No. 229 Newspaper FREE @SerenBangor Seren.Bangor.ac.uk FEELIN’ HOT HOT HOT 90S FASHION AROUND THE WORLD by LJ TAYLOR ANDe Renovation Game STEFAN WILSON aes Glas Sports Centre is set to undergo a refurbishment. e refurb is a part of Ban- Mgor University’s new estates strategy and will see a complete overhaul of university facilities. e plans include revamping the gym areas, making the tennis courts all-weather by placing a dome over the top, and installing a café within Maes Glas itself. All of these are contribut- ing to a plan to engage with more students. e centre, situated on Ffridd Site, has seen a rise in popularity since last year, when they slashed their member- ship prices from £243 to an extremely reasonable £90 for 9 months for students. “We are widening what we can do for students” said Richard Bennett, Direc- tor of Sport at Maes Glas. He is excited about what the plans Early artist’s impression of the dome mean for the centre, and believes the renovation will continue to allow stu- the Sports Hall. student usage while still providing a parent and child cubicles”. ment to students’ tness and perfor- dents more pathways into sport. Another improvement Mr. Bennett service for members of the general e design team are about to get on mance.” said Emyr Bath, VP Sport and e building work will be done in is particularly passionate about is the public” he said. board with the task, and work should Healthy Living. phases so as not to disrupt the day to proposed new gym layout. An important addition, although soon be beginning. e Estates Strategy is also looking day running of the gym. “ e layout as it is makes no sense. not one that immediately springs to Maes Glas’ rennovation is met posit- into renovating St Mary’s Site by 2015, Phase One involves the covering of You’ll see a distinct di erence when it’s mind, is that of a cafe. With the only vely by the Students’ Union. knocking down the Chemistry tower the current outdoor tennis courts with done” he said. food availiable at Maes Glas provided “ e redevelopment is long overdue and refurbishing Main Arts along with a ‘dome’ (right). e proposed layout will see the cur- by vending machines and the only and a er it is complete will o er more other areas. e dome will not only protect the rent reception area become the main close food outlet the student centric spaces which will aid in the improve- courts from the bad weather Bangor weights room with cardio above it. e Bar Uno, this is an addition that aims is accustomed to, but will also provide stairs between them will take the place to please past the usual level of a post- two indoor tennis and netball courts. of the bike racks that are at the front of workout mu n. Customers or AU Clubs wanting to the building now. “We don’t just want to be a cafe asso- play netball have previously strug- e work is scheduled to be complet- ciated with the sports centre. We want gled to use the tennis courts as they ed in time for the next academic year. people to come here if they fancy a cof- are o en occupied by 5-a-side football Another aspect of the renovations fee with friends, or need a bite to eat.” games. is making the sports centre more ac- said Mr Bennett. e second phase will involve build- cessible to students. Mr. Bennett feels e intended area for the cafe is the ing work beginning on the centre it- that it is important Maes Glas caters large corridor currently leading to the self. Mr Bennett told us how the new for both students and the public, but upstairs weights room. plans would provide a dedicated aero- should maintain a strong focus on the Along with these fairly major im- bics room. e popular classes at Maes student population. provements, there are touch-ups ex- Glas are currently held in the main “Maes Glas needs to look like it’s part pected throughout. hall as there is no speci ed location of the university. e students are the “ e changing rooms are being com- for them as of yet. is current setup majority of our footfall and the de- pletely upgraded, with more focus on limits access that AU Clubs can get to velopments will allow us to prioritise privacy with enclosed showers and Early designs of how the new downstairs of Maes Glas could look February, 2013 | Seren 5 CONTENTS News 6-9 Politics 10-11 Environment 12-13 LJ TAYLOR EDITOR Science 14 [email protected] Comment 16-17 You may or may not have noticed Interview 18-19 that Seren is looking a little di er- ent this issue. That’s because, with International Feature 20-21 the impending arrival of our annual Gay Marriage Feature 22-23 90s night, we have revisted our childhoods! Teach First 24 The best part about our 90s RAG 25 themed cover is that it pulls out to give you a nifty 90s Night poster for Union 26-27 your walls! Never say we don’t give you anything! Societies 28 You’ll also nd our 90s Night logo Society Girls 29 dotted around the paper signalling special blast from the past articles. Food 30-31 The 90s aside, I’d like to just tell TV 32-33 you all about how Seren went to Varsity last weekend. It was the rst Film 34-35 time we have properly covered the Games 36 event and even though Bangor lost (only just!) I was immensely proud Gadgets 37 of my team. I’ve had a lot of com- Music 38-39 pliments on our e ciency and we 51-54 had a record number of views on Fashion 40-41 our website. Well done Team Seren! I’m also proud of my team that put Books 42 this issue together with me.

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