Outraged Bill Mo residents start petition to lift drinking ban

Angry Bill Mo residents have started an online petition after Unite banned them from drinking in the common room.

Accommodation provider Unite spent thousands of pounds on renovating the common room last summer but said the space can only be used as a “socialising area” and not for “events involving beverages”.

The common room has always been a popular place to pre before Hey Ewe or FND, with students since launching a petition to lift the ban.

The petition states: “The Loughborough student experience is all about getting everyone involved, especially in a hall environment, we want people to be able to use it like before, like the Holt and Harry French can use theirs (who are also owned by Unite).”

Bill Mo Hall Chair Emily Levy told The Tab: “I feel that since the start of the year, when our common room was shut down from any Bill Mo students, societies and clubs that the atmosphere has changed a lot.

“I have a responsibility to try and help freshers and returners have the best possible experience in Bill Mo, but without a common room it makes a massive difference.

“The common room was the place I made my best friends there because we joined together as a community – this year it’s just not the same because you only meet people in your flat or block if you are lucky.

“Why should we lose out when all the other halls can freely use their common room?”

But some students are enjoying the peace and quiet.

Bill Mo resident Sasha said: “I really like the common room, it’s actually a nice place to be now rather than the shit hole it was last year – I use it every week for table tennis and watching TV.

“There have been people who have totally ruined the nice common room just the other week and they ruin it for everyone, so I think more people get benefits from it this way than how it was last year.”

The petition has received 566 signatories and needs 434 more for the motion to be debated.