Crisis queues are part of the culture, don’t get rid of them

Queues are an inherent part of club culture and British culture itself. The British queue has the power to form long-lasting friendships with those who may only share one thing in common: you're in the queue with them too.

This intense feeling resonates with the students who venture every Wednesday night to Rock City to enjoy a night filled with socialising, pulling and getting drunk in the name of Crisis. The infamous queue outside Crisis is one to respect and admire.

Waiting outside Black Cherry Lounge on Talbot Street, before a night beyond the doors of Rock City, gives students the chance to share their life stories over a plastic bottle of vodka and lemonade.

The Crisis queue is emblematic of every night out; however long your wait may be, the queue experience symbolises the true moments before a night out. The immanent prospect of pulling, of socialising with coursemates and hallmates and people you saw getting off the tram, of getting as waved as possible to celebrate hump-day.

However, the new system brought in place by Crisis may threaten the good vibes of the already incredible Crisis queue. This system will force people to move to Rescue Rooms, rather than outside Black Cherry Lounge, to queue and wait there before they get an electronic ticket beckoning them to Crisis.

The thing is no one goes to Rescue Rooms willingly. It is never a place to start a night nor end one. But with Crisis' 'Q-less' system soon to be implemented in June, diehard Crisis lovers may be destined to a second-rate night infamous for craft beer and karaoke.

I do understand and sympathise with the need to remove the infamous Crisis queue but at the same time: patience is a virtue. Waiting in line should not be seen as something tedious and boring, but rather an opportunity to socialise with fellow human beings. Instead, we'll now be glued to our phones, eagerly awaiting a text message that signals we'll be able to finally leave Rescue Rooms and finally begin the proper night inside Rock City.

The video posted by Crisis about this new system portrays a negative image about the queuing environment. Disheartened students suffering in adverse weather conditions; dejection and despair in waiting an hour before entering Rock City; getting wet, snowed on and shouted at – the video poorly suggests that the queue experience is mundane, hopeless, and cruel.

The video fails to show, that on many Wednesday nights, upbeat freshers, second years and third years depserate to escape campus life, can look forward to a promising queueing experience before an even more promising night at Crisis. Ditch the electronic tickets, keep the queue.