The End of the Bop?

Some of you at University of Exeter may never have heard of the Bop, St. Luke’s version of the Lemmy.

For those of you that have, though your memories may be slightly hazy, it is a place many students think about fondly.

Following a recent run of poor attendance at the venue, however, the future of the Bop now appears to be under threat.

Exeter Student Events, an events company that works in partnership with the University, recently released the following statement on its Facebook page:

“The Bop has existed for over three decades. It has provided a safe environment for students primarily, but not exclusively based at St. Luke’s to party at a venue on campus.

St. Luke’s Campus.

“Attendance at Bop’s in recent weeks has declined to the extent where we are currently forced to review its future existence.

“Whereas the overriding purpose of the Bop is not to derive financial gains, we need to cover running costs.

“We rely solely on door takings and this therefore means that we need good attendances at each event.

“The St. Luke’s Entertainment’s Committee has met over the last few months and considered ways of increasing attendance.

“We have maintained a low entry fee and encouraged the University to keep drinks prices to their current level.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/ex.studentevents?fref=ts.

“We now need YOUR support. The next two events on Saturday 23rd November and Saturday 7th December will be used to determine whether we can continue to sustain the event.

“It’s YOUR choice whether this event continues on campus. Support the future of the Bop by attending these events before it is too late.

In response to the statement, third year cheerleader Alicia Wedderburn-Graham expressed her dismay: “Where else in the world could you run a naked lap of your university grounds with your peers?

“The Bop has long been a retreat for both lukies, and jifs who hate the Lemmy. If it closes, a large group of people will mourn its loss.

“I urge everyone who has ever been to a bop to attend the next two so we can keep the tradition alive.”

Click on the image to visit the Facebook page for this event.

More to follow.