Tab petition: Allow us access through the back gate

Nobody likes the back gate, but at least we’ve been able to climb over the fence previously. Now new plans mean students living in Egham will have no choice but to take a longer route home late at night.

Sign our petition to give students access to campus at all times.

Recent news of a new super fence taking the place of the previous chain fence has prompted the Tab to take action.

Student safety needs to come first – it’s as simple as that. If you force vulnerable students to take a longer route home via Egham Hill that isn’t protected by campus security then they will be in more danger.

We propose a key-card system to allow students to get home safely through the gate. If this is unsuitable another method needs to be found which keeps students protected.

Between Monday and Friday, many students stay at the library to study past 11.15pm – when the gate closes – meaning those living in Egham cannot access their normal route home if they study late.

Although there are services such as the SSHH bus to take students home after the SU, these services (despite their best efforts) can lead to large queues, and a fair portion of students would choose to walk home rather than wait in the cold for a bus that can be a 20 minute wait. We think more SSHH buses should be run throughout the week to take students home.

This new fence is being implemented to minimise the impact the back gate has on residents, but surely if we have to take another route home we are going to be just as noisy for other residents elsewhere? We don’t want to bother residents by being loud late at night, but we also want to protect ourselves.

Students don’t climb the back gate for fun: they climb it because they have to keep themselves safe.