SU Tuesday used to be wonderfully bad but now it’s just terrible

Take me back to F Block


When F Block closed we were all left feeling a little nervous. It had served us so well for so long, providing us with an excuse to drink VK on a Tuesday and a reason to avoid a 9am on a Wednesday. We were promised an entire new Students’ Union: one that looked habitable, but we didn’t know what to expect.

Our school disco was gone. We had lost everything. And now, with the introduction of the new SU, things just aren’t the same.

Never again will we be able to gesture at the barmaid and piss her off, or get abused over the overfilled urinals, or plead with the bouncers to just let us come in up the steps at the back.

The freshers just don’t know what they’re missing.

Happier times

When you lived on campus SU Tuesday wasn’t just a choice. It was an occupation. Each week students arrived in droves willing to shell out a pound for the highlight of the week. These were simpler times, when “so shit it’s fun” was all you’d hear at Tuesday pres. You could look forward to seeing Ahmd Emara on the tiles and ask him about his run for SU President or the new afro. Add in the terrible music and VKs and the whole thing was something special, something unique – and ultimately why we loved the Lock In.

In the full SU swing

But things have changed. Something is different. The new building is smart and modern, with doors that open and bars that you can actually get to. But now people take things seriously, posing and trying to look good having actually made an effort. The DJ was genuinely giving it a go – albeit poorly – whereas last year they would half-heartedly mix then drop Dancing in the Moonlight.

The smoking area used to be full of mingling people getting to know each other. Now it’s filled with small groups laughing at each other and giving out dodgy looks. Everything inside was clean and in the toilets there wasn’t even a whiff of “I hate Tottenham” or a gym lad pissing in the sink.

This isn’t right

It’s as if the SU have taken everything we loved and just thrown it all away. Of course, you can now get a drink in under 20 minutes but what does it matter if you’re unable to enjoy it? Besides, the bar queue was a crucial bonding experience where you learned to balance on other people and take a rest while scouting for any empty spot ahead of you.

Black and white couldn’t have made us attractive

Maybe it’s time to just give up and accept that these are the more civilised years of our lives, and keep F block as a fond memory of simpler times and fewer deadlines. Maybe we should just leave the freshers to it, let them have their fun and try to match our ways.

But then again perhaps we should never give up on our dreams, and hope that one day we can have our wonderfully bad SU back.