The University has isolated yet another group of students. This time it’s the postgrads living at Cratcliffe Halls in the Endcliffe Village.
They’ve been told they won’t be able to extend their 42-week contracts as the residence will be used for business conferences over the summer. So instead the students will be housed at Broad Lane Court on the City Campus.
The postgrads are petitioning the University to let them stay. They’re worried about disruption from West Street, the fact that Broad Lane Court is in a red light district, and that they will have to give up their en-suites.
When did students become so demanding?
When I lived in University accommodation, en-suites were the last thing I expected.
I was in the last batch of undergrads to live in Earnshaw Hall before it was knocked down to make room for the leather sofas and individual showers of the Endcliffe village.
I was in a shared room, living with an unsociable English Lit student who slept 18 hours a day. There was one bathroom for a corridor of 12 girls, and there wasn’t a night of my entire contract when I went undisturbed by the boys’ block next door and their thumping subwoofers.
Students’ expectations seem to increase year-on-year. I understand the annoyance of noisy neighbours, but West Street is actually three streets away from Broad Lane Court.
Being able to roll out of bed and into class would make up for the occasional rowdy passers-by.
And why is sharing a bathroom so unacceptable? Unless you live with a leper, I can’t understand the problem.
Cratcliffe is a postgrads-only residence, which begs the question of why it was chosen as a business venue when there will be plenty of vacant undergraduate residences in the vicinity.
Many of the 100-something residents are international students, who are paying extortionate fees to study at Sheffield. Summer accommodation will be granted on a first-come-first-served basis, causing extra stress for hard-working postgrads.
Why on earth businesses would want to hold conferences for esteemed clients in a student hall of residence is beyond me. There are a million and one more appealing venues to host events. Like on a yacht in the Persian Gulf.
The image of middle-aged men and women in suits swigging cans of beer in shared kitchens, or in the deserted student bar taking advantage of vodka doubles for a pound, is a little disturbing.
The University has attracted criticism from all across the student body in recent months, whether over controversial research grants, department redundancies, or threats of course cancellations.
However trifling the Cratcliffe residents’ demands may seem, the Uni must realise that, without the support of its students, all the business guests in the world won’t make a difference to its huge deficit.