Another Year, The Same Old Union?

By Events Editor 2 years ago

From whole-building events to jazz on Thursday evenings, the Union is a fixture in the social lives of every St Andrews student. Christy Forshaw writes an opinion piece on what Union nights out are looking like in the new academic year.

Like old male golfers or hungry seagulls, the Union – and the notorious 601 – is a constant that you can always count on in St Andrews. No matter where your night takes you, it will always be there to beckon you in, should you so wish. Because of this, however, the Union is an ever-evolving location that seems to be always implementing new events. To this end, how does the Union space and Union events hold up this semester compared to semesters past? Have there been improvements? In what ways is it better or worse?   

First of all, a shoutout must be made to whomever plays the music in Main Bar on quiet nights and afternoons, as their taste is impeccable. Up there with life’s greatest mysteries, it will never cease to bemuse me that the music in the afternoon in the Union will often be enjoyable but then, come club night, the music descends to indiscernible beats. As I say, I think this is fated to remain an unsolved mystery. Moving past this, I’ve noticed this year that the Union on Sundays and most weeknights has been a nice, mellow, and popular space to do some light work and have a casual drink with friends (although this may also be a sign that I’m no longer a fresher, as I prefer a calmer night to a chaotic one). Particularly considering the big heating dilemma many households will face this year, and the unavoidable fact that after a while the library can no longer be romanticized as a study space, I’ve found myself turning more and more to Main Bar as a social space for this purpose. It seems to me that Main Bar, with its ambient music and lighting as well as hot drink options, is making a conscious effort to be a hybrid social and study space. 

 

Source: Student Union St Andrews

On the events side of the Union, I would say the it does seem to be making a more of a conscious effort this year to throw events that students want to attend. Many of the fan favourites still remain, such as Jazz Night and Karaoke, but the Bops seem to have more exciting themes and it feels to me that more people are excited for Sinners and weekend nights at the Union than in the past. It is also worth noting that the new ticket purchasing software is generally easy to use and it feels like the long queues to collect tickets for events have subsided, without this being a consequence of less enthusiasm. 

I must also pay homage to the best night of the week – Jazz Night – which is still very much going strong. It has moved back into 601 and the new musicians have been hitting all the right notes, bringing a large crowd of dancers every Thursday. They do seem to be playing more crowd-pleasers (I’m thinking ‘Valerie’ and ‘Just The Two of Us’) towards the start of the evening, meaning people are dancing earlier than on previous occasions. In my opinion, this is nothing but a welcome improvement to a Union night that I love for its conviviality and laid back vibe. It is always fun to look around on Jazz Night and see all the different levels of formality in terms of outfit choice and levels of intoxication. In short, it’s an event that works no matter what kind of night you are trying to have.

 

Source: Gabrielle Hill-Smith

Nevertheless, particularly with Halloween coming up, the big controversy with Union events remains the prices. The consensus seems to be that, even if there is a special attraction one night, ultimately the Union is still just the Union and so ten pound price tags are difficult to justify. An example of this would be the Rewinds Night which, for a hefty tenner on a Wednesday, was poorly attended. The whole concept of the Union is that it is meant to provide cheaper nightlife for students and, therefore, the Union’s whole ethos becomes undermined when events at the Rule and the Vic are cheaper. It then becomes a vicious circle in which higher priced events are not worth the money because they are poorly attended and thus have no atmosphere. It really does speak volumes that jazz, a great Union night and free before ten thirty, is one of the most well-attended. 

Overall, despite its flaws, the Union we knew and love is going strong and remains a fun and reliable place for a night out.  

Comments

comments

Tags: , , , , , ,

62 thoughts on “Another Year, The Same Old Union?”

  1. Having read this I believed it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this content together. I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile.

    Reply

  2. What an insightful and thoroughly-researched article! The author’s attention to detail and aptitude to present complex ideas in a digestible manner is truly praiseworthy. I’m totally captivated by the depth of knowledge showcased in this piece. Thank you, author, for sharing your expertise with us. This article has been a real game-changer!

    Reply

  5. I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Excellent work!

    Reply

  7. Very great post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to mention that I’ve truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I am hoping you write once more very soon!

    Reply

  8. Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!

    Reply

  15. I have been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or blog posts on this kind of house . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this web site. Studying this info So i’m glad to express that I’ve an incredibly good uncanny feeling I found out just what I needed. I most undoubtedly will make certain to do not put out of your mind this site and provides it a look regularly.

    Reply

  17. I do consider all the concepts you’ve presented in your post. They’re very convincing and can definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are very brief for starters. May you please extend them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.

    Reply

  19. I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. many thanks

    Reply

  25. Its like you learn my thoughts! You seem to grasp a lot about this, like you wrote the e book in it or something. I feel that you could do with a few to drive the message home a little bit, however other than that, that is excellent blog. An excellent read. I will definitely be back.

    Reply

  34. PBN sites
    We will build a system of self-owned blog network sites!

    Merits of our private blog network:

    We execute everything SO THAT GOOGLE does not understand THAT this is A privately-owned blog network!!!

    1- We acquire domains from different registrars

    2- The primary site is hosted on a VPS server (VPS is fast hosting)

    3- Additional sites are on distinct hostings

    4- We allocate a distinct Google ID to each site with verification in Google Search Console.

    5- We develop websites on WP, we do not use plugins with assisted by which malware penetrate and through which pages on your websites are generated.

    6- We refrain from reiterate templates and employ only individual text and pictures

    We do not work with website design; the client, if desired, can then edit the websites to suit his wishes

    Reply

  38. Many thanks for this article. I will also like to mention that it can become hard if you are in school and just starting out to initiate a long credit history. There are many individuals who are simply just trying to pull through and have an extended or beneficial credit history are often a difficult element to have.

    Reply

  42. After looking over a few of the articles on your web page, I seriously like your way of writing a blog. I book marked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my web site as well and tell me what you think.

    Reply

  44. Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your blog and in accession capital to assert that I get actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Anyway I?ll be subscribing to your feeds and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.

    Reply

  46. Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed! Very useful info particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such info much. I was looking for this certain info for a very long time. Thank you and best of luck.

    Reply

  51. A person necessarily assist to make significantly posts I would state. This is the first time I frequented your website page and so far? I surprised with the research you made to create this particular post extraordinary. Excellent task!

    Reply

  55. After I originally commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the same comment. Is there an easy method you can remove me from that service? Many thanks.

    Reply

  56. I have noticed that over the course of building a relationship with real estate proprietors, you’ll be able to get them to understand that, in every real estate exchange, a percentage is paid. In the long run, FSBO sellers don’t “save” the fee. Rather, they try to earn the commission by simply doing a strong agent’s work. In completing this task, they devote their money and time to complete, as best they are able to, the responsibilities of an broker. Those jobs include uncovering the home by means of marketing, showing the home to buyers, making a sense of buyer urgency in order to prompt an offer, making arrangement for home inspections, handling qualification assessments with the financial institution, supervising fixes, and aiding the closing.

    Reply

  57. Thanks for your write-up. One other thing is that if you are promoting your property by yourself, one of the concerns you need to be aware about upfront is just how to deal with home inspection accounts. As a FSBO retailer, the key towards successfully moving your property along with saving money on real estate agent commissions is awareness. The more you are aware of, the smoother your property sales effort are going to be. One area when this is particularly important is assessments.

    Reply

  59. Oh my goodness! an incredible article dude. Thank you Nonetheless I am experiencing issue with ur rss . Don?t know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anyone getting identical rss problem? Anyone who knows kindly respond. Thnkx

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

THE STAND