The SU spent £700 on Varsity banners, here’s what they could have bought instead

There were definitely more effective ways to spend that money..

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Last week, we revealed that the SU Varsity banners cost over £700 to make, and we can’t even use them next year. At this point, we questioned whether the money could have been spent in better ways. One student said;

“The money could be better spent elsewhere. There are societies who would like this money, but wouldn’t the sport societies prefer this money to be spent on equipment?”

Now, in the wake of how the Varsity events unfolded  with fights, flares, violence and rioting bringing a halt to events, we decided to investigate what the SU could have bought for £700 instead that may have led to a more organised event.

 Crowd-Control Barriers – 116

One of the reason for things getting out of control was the limited amount of barriers used on the day. For £700 the SU could have purchased 116 2.3m by 1.1m barriers. That could have covered 266 metres of space, and provided better crowd control.

Heras Fencing – 58

The SU could have used £700 to purchase 58 Heras Fencing panels. Each panel is 3.45m x 2m in size, and could have covered 200m worth of space, which could have prevented a pitch invasion.

Full Riot Gear Suit – 2

No one would have caused any trouble if we had security around in one of these suits.

Bodyguards – 8

The SU could have hired 8 bodyguards for 6 hours. They might have been able to disperse the crowd effectively.

Fire Extinguishers – 27

The SU could have purchased 27 9kg powder extinguishers for the price of their banners. This would have been able to solve the problem of fans burning banners.

Slopebites – 285

To be honest, the SU should have just gone to East Slope Bar for happy hour, bought 285 pints of slopebite, and waited for everything to blow over.
 The Sussex Students’ Union has been approached for comment