The unofficial cloakroom is the best thing about the SU

So many of us ignore the logistically well-placed cloakroom as we embark on our SU adventure.

But why? Is it the cost? Is it the queue? Is it the fact that if you lose your ticket you won’t be allowed to reunite with your magical robe that can get you from point A to point B without allowing the icy grasp of weather to scratch you?

This is where the unofficial legend of the SU cloakroom begins.

This is, of course, the upstairs sofa area in SU. Here weary souls can rest their tired bones and find respite from the battering energy of dancing to questionable music. It’s here that so many entrust their coats, left to the mercy of passing travellers and lounging bystanders.

So what leads us to do this?

The answers (yes there isn’t just one reason) are practical: firstly, there is no need to endure a gruelling line that twists and bends the laws of basic queuing.

Secondly, it’s free. One can simply pop upstairs and drop her or his whatever, wherever and whenever.

The most important reason might be the unreliability of the official cloakroom using tickets: one small, flimsy piece of paper just waiting to be picked up by the lightest breeze or hoping to slip out of the owner’s grip to be lost forever. It’s impractical, really.

We have all witnessed the terrifying ramifications that can overcome an inebriated SU goer as they are told they cannot regain their coat to walk home in. You wouldn’t wish such calamity onto even the worst of enemies.

It’s not all about the coats though: in upstairs sofa area, you can actually talk. And hear each other.

Yes, it is feasible to exchange pleasantries with fellow SU-ers and wonder out loud why we continue subjecting ourselves to this, without having to shout.

We can all agree that the unofficial cloakroom of our “beloved” Students’ Union is worth the minor risk. Not only does it provide us with a place to stash our coats for free, but when we get sick of the dancefloor, it provides a welcome break.