Why do we always end up in Sugar at the weekend?

I feel as though I should begin by saying that I don’t hate Sugar, but it is somewhat baffling that it’s where students spend the majority of their nights out at the weekend… On the three days a week it’s open it seems to bring in big crowds consistently but why is this?

Every night in sugar tends to blend into one fairly unimpressive memory. The queue is often fairly large as the door staff think it’s a great idea to only use one entrance despite having three and once you’re inside the music is virtually the same, depending on which night you go, meaning you pretty much know what to expect.

Plus when it’s busy getting a drink can take the piss and the prices aren’t exactly cheap. Most nights in Sugar are underwhelming, leaving you thinking pres were the best part of the night – yet somehow we all seem to end up there.

A pretty standard queue…

One of the main reasons is due to the lack of different places to go. Although Lancaster doesn’t have a particularly large number of clubs there really should be some alternatives.

Elements was one of Sugar’s main competitors for nights out at the weekend but with its closure last summer went one of the last viable options for us students. It seems unlikely to reopen soon as Sugar has a monopoly on the weekend trade so I imagine people are going to be apprehensive about trying to compete.

Things like LUEDMS or Bass Race offer something different but aren’t every week and only appeal to a number of students.

Places like Hustle and Glow rooms are great on their respective nights in the week but students rarely go on the weekends because of the locals – you end up feeling as though you stick out. There is a somewhat frosty relationship with the locals of Lancaster for some reason even though the students are virtually the life of the town.

If you go to Hustle or Glow Rooms you will probably end up being stared down by some guy trying to start a fight to impress the girl he’s trying to pull despite only having four teeth. Places like Mojo offer something else but it is unknown how long it will last – there have already been about four different clubs there since I started uni and they all have been a bit shit.

Hardly a look of joy and exuberance

Due to the lack of alternative nights then most students tend to get into a routine of going to Sugar because at least you’re pretty much guaranteed you will run into somebody you know and can have a conversation you’ll never remember the next day.

It makes sense that it is busy on Wednesdays as it is owned by LUSU and it is the night for socials – most people are usually too drunk to care what its like, especially if you’ve visited Bentleys before.

But on Fridays and Saturdays you just kind of always end up there. “Fuck it, lets just go Sugar” tends to be the deciding factor in these cases. Even though Sugar are trying to mix up their nights a bit by bringing in new DJs and having different themes, all the nights still tend to blend into one and until some other places open or students start going somewhere else its probably going to stay that way.

At least they don’t have DJ Jay Matthews on Friday nights anymore. That’s something I guess.