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Hannah Scott
Student Copy Writer |
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Cafe Non-dial
Representatives of Reading University Student Union met earlier this week to discuss the fate of Café Mondial on a Wednesday Union night. The meeting follows a 5-week trial turning Café Mondial into a ‘neutral chill out lounge.’
However the trial, which was decided upon by Union Management Staff in the summer, has sparked off a massive reaction within Reading University’s student community.
Many of the students who were fans of the original Urban and RnB space, are unhappy about the loss of a DJ and the new chilled out Café Mondial.
A petition, which was created on the social networking website Facebook, received 300 names in the first 24 hours and after 5 days, over 800 people have joined the Facebook group.
Bianca Sommerfield Setien, founder of the petition and President of Societies Committee, hopes that the number of names on the petition will depict the strength of feeling surrounding the issue: "After constantly hearing people complain about the situation, I started a facebook petition to help get Cafe Mondial back into action on Wednesdays. It was clear that this would please not only those who loved the hip hop and RnB room, but also those who thought that 360 was simply getting far too crowded”
“Cleary it is an issue that concerns a large number of students, and many agree that Wednesday Union Nights are just not the same."
In response to the demand for a DJ in Café Mondial, a large sail is going to be constructed in the outside smoking area, and it is alleged that this will become the new ‘chill out’ zone.
The decision to turn Café Mondial into a chilled out area was initially made this summer in response to the introduction of the smoking ban. It was felt that a neutral setting within Café Mondial would make the larger number of people using the smoking patio more comfortable.
Sally Pearman, Reading University Student Union President, said: “No one [really] knew how students would react to the introduction of the smoking ban and by having the use of Mondial split, we could test the water and review the situation in week five.”
It has also been agreed that ISRU (International Students at Reading University) are to host a night in Café Mondial in Week 7 of term playing music ranging from RnB to Bhangra. Sally Pearman said that on future Wednesdays, “it would be good if the Mondial space was flexible enough to accommodate events like this.”
At the Services and Entertainment Forum in Week 4, Reading University students came and discussed Café Mondial and it was highlighted that the music would be reviewed in Week 5 after the trial. This review will partly consist of an on-line vote on the Reading University Student Union website. The Union hopes to obtain feedback from as many students as possible.
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