hi,  
me and my mates are in our second year, and we thin the union is just getting worse and worse every year, the prices are slowly raising, and everybody is noticing this, the slow movement of entering the building for a night out , the bouncers seem to hold people back for ages creating stupid ques which stop everbody from wanting to go for a night out. Compared to other unis we get some rubbish acts that are really old and unknown, the beatfreaks and radio 1 djs have been excellent. adding to that co2 is looking and feeling better but lux is just crap, it looks like a massive warehouse and is just one big mosh pit, walking to the toilet is a task , and everybody seems to be bashing each other.lol. hope it helps but doubt there will be a change.

I cannot tell you how dissapointed I am with the union, and it's really put me off the Uni as a whole 
 
I feel cheated as the opening hours have not allowed us to get access to use the facility for our club. 
 
All the union seems to be used for is the night club... and as a tee-totaller, im not interested in that at all. 
 
The only good thing the union is for is the cash machines, and even those aren't always full of money. 
 
Please sort it out.

Having been at the university from 2003, i have slowly seen the union change.  
I would like to show my concern over the opening hours as i was shocked to hear what was happening. The union is not just a place students go for a night out, it is also used for studying or simply, a place to chat and catch-up with friends, along with many other things. Most importantly these activities can take place in a safe and welcoming environment, which the union provides! Unlike anywhere else in portsmouth! The university must be recognise that by shortening the opening ours the university is taking this away from its students. This is just one reason the old opening hours must be put back in place as soon as possible! 
For example, if a group of students want to watch football on a thursday night, they are now forced to go to an alternative venue, and cannot completely relax as these other venue's are full of locals. All this because of the building shuting at 9pm.  
Some students may work in the library until 11pm or even later, by shuting the union before the library they now have nowhere safe to wait for a taxi or lift home. 
As i understand it, the union are no-longer in charge of drinks prices and other such things. Although i strongly agree that they have gone up the past 2 years, which is unacceptable! 
I feel that by putting pressure on the university we can truely make a difference and put an end to these wrong-doings. At the end of the day we are the students and the university are more likely to make changes if they actually see students taking the matter into their own hands, and showing an interest. 
I am sure the sabbatical team and various other people are working extremely hard to give us the best university experience, but lets help ourselves out and show an interest, changing the university for the better. 
If you truely care about YOUR university, the union council is where to put your point of view across, not only to do with opening hours but anything concerning the university and its students. I have been attending these meetings for along time now and have seen them truely make a difference and enable the university to progress!

Snakebite should be included in Flat Rate Friday and also The Ramp! 
 
KEEP THE UNION ALIVE!

No one has really mentioned WHY the union is shutting down early!!! i can  
see the times have changed but NO REASON given for the change. is it the cost of keeping it open? is it just for the fun of it? is it that Mr Union president needs to go to sleep early? why why why!!! How do you expect anyone to put forward a reasonal argument when we dont even know why it is shutting down early in the first place???!!!! The union executives really need to brush up on their "effective" communication skills!!

Hi Guys, 
 
Listening to my team mates I get more than enough sleep as it is! Let me try and make things clearer (deep breath..) 
 
The Students' Union building is owned by the University, but it contains two different organisations.  
 
1). University of Portsmouth Students' Union (UPSU) who are the sabbatical team and their supporting membership services who are driven by charitable objectives.  
 
2). University of Portsmouth Enterprise Limited (UPEL) who are a University subsidiary company. They are in charge of the bars, entertainments, and catering.  
 
The reduced opening hours has come about by the University setting very strict financial targets upon UPEL. UPEL have reacted to the tight budget by cutting hours to cut costs – which from a purely commercial perspective would make sense.  
 
However, it is our argument that the Students’ Union building should be open all day, everyday and that any financial loss that would incur would be significantly be outweighed by the benefit to the student experience. Nothing ‘adds value’ to your time here than a healthy Students’ Union.  
 
So please let’s keep this thread focused on the message.  
 
Why and when would you like to see the building open?

Every day and all day!! 
 
we got 1 of the best buildings in the country and we can't use it properly. 
lux is the biggest club in portsmouth and still they dont have any massive acts or dj's!! 
well i dunno how thinks work and how they organize all the nights etc but im surely think that the manager shud get kicked out cos he/she doesnt have a clue of how a club shud work!

The Student Union is an essential part of a University experience. It should be a showcase and embassador for the University as a whole and I cannot see how the University management can justify the reduction of funding. In my opinion, the Union SHOULD be run at a loss and should be heavily subsidised by the University. You cannot (and should not) expect to wait for more students to use the union before increasing opening hours and providing more funding, these should be made to encourage people to use the facility and not the other way round. 
 
 
lack of live acts, the ridiculous opening times and the ever-increasing prices

im in my second year and already ive noticed the steady decline of our union,ive been to loadsa different uni\'s to visit my mates and we have one of the best buildings by far but you dont utilise it properly...bearing in mind that its made for the students the bouncers treat us like we\'ve done something wrong,they are always moody and take sooo long letting us all in the front door that by the time we get in there no ones in the mood anymore 
 
This comment was edited by AlexH on 2006-12-03

Hey I'm in my third year and I have noticed that each time I come back the union has got alot worse and this is due to several reasons: 
 
1) There's just not enough publicity about special events, u cannot expect students to check the website, wot happened to flyers?? 
 
2) Saturday nights??? Sum sat nights its closed, sometimes its open! Y? Its a sat night! Its the only night that the union has no competition from other student nights! Me and my friends went for a big sat night out expecting to go clubbing at the union and CO2 and Lux were closed!!  
 
3) What happened to comedy night? That used to be a weekly night out for a big group of us and every time we went the place was really busy, so busy it had to be moved to the club upstairs!  
 
I think the union should be run at a loss if needs be, its supposed to be a service for students FIRST, then a profit making company!

I was thinking of coming to portsmouth next year. The decision to change the opening hours of the SU has made me change my mind, as the union is a big part of uni life.

I too was thinking of coming to portsmouth next year but have instead opted for Southampton as their union stays open past 9.

I recently graduated from Portsmouth University, but had noticed especially coming into my final year the move to an empty warehouse look at the Union nightclub had really put me off going there in the evenings, and this applied to many of my friends also. During the day there is nothing going on at the Union anyway, and if there was I was clearly unaware of this fact. I am neither here or there as to whether it stays open later, even though I have a lifetime membership card, I consider this card a waste of my money. On the subsiding issue, the University is benefiting from more people going to university than ever and with top up fees the University could easily afford to subsidise. In an ideal world the Union would generate enough money itself, but a lack of big name acts and daytime activities means it is unlikely to ever do so. If the university wishes to advertise the union as a reason to come to Pompey Uni then serious changes need to be made. I have been to numerous other Unions visiting friends and they have all outshined Portsmouth's in friendliness, value for money and entertainment. Portsmouth has plenty of student friendly pubs and clubs, and have had some of my best nights at local pubs with local people, so it really is up to the Union to encourage people back. For those of you who find the Union unevenful also, beware your Graduation Ball is likely to be held there, and things arent much better.

I'm in my third year at uni here and I must say that since the first year the union has very rapidly and dramatically fallen downhill. 
 
Firstly, I do appreciate that this is my taste in music but it makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever why the Hip-Hop/R'n'B nights (Which was on a Saturday 2 years ago) have been scrapped. The only time for students to enjoy that genre of music now is on a Weds night when CO2 is packed with people. Why not add some variation to the union rather than having cheese, cheese, cheese, week after week with the same songs playing in LUX week in week out. 
 
As well as this, what is the story behind the constantly breaking sound system in there...?! Week after week the sound cuts out because the equipment 'can't handle the sounds' in CO2 yet in LUX there never appears to be this problem. What’s the deal? 
 
The thing is that some very simple ideas to improve the union haven't even been looked at yet (And if they have then they've been done very badly because I haven't heard of them.) 
 
Instead of doing surveys on the website which lets be honest, only a very small percentage of the student population will ever look at yet alone be bothered to do, why don't you ask people to fill out a questionnaire or ask them for feedback on a Weds night when most people are out? With next week being the last week before Christmas I would've thought that this would be a great time to do so as it will most definitely be busy. 
 
Another thing that really needs sorting is the union menu. Why does the union feel that they shouldn’t have to put the price of things in the menu cards so that you can calculate the price of your meal before you order? The only reason that I can think that they have done this is so that next year when they again put the prices up that they won’t have to re-print the menu cards again. 
 
I do feel sorry for the second and first years that are around now as all they seem to be hearing is the whines and moans of us ‘veterans’ going on about the way things used to be but it’s a very sad fact to say that that is the case. I struggle to remember a day in my first year when the union was actually dead during the day like it always is now, or when there were so few people out even on some Wednesday nights. 
 
I’m a firm believer in the old saying; if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it, which I definitely feel was the case in my first year. Since the redevelopment of the union and LUX in particular since then it just feels like you guys don’t care anymore. The problem now is that the whole thing is well and truly smashed and the clean up operation is going to be a very long and expensive one.

I am a third year product design student returning from a years work experience. I couldn’t wait to get back into the student lifestyle and enjoy my finial to the max. However I have been extremely disappointed with the students union!! After visiting friends at uni last year I began to notice a slow deterioration of the union. Starting with the ridiculous decision to turn Lux into a School Hall rather than keeping the quirky levels format. This format had built such a large reputation with students across the country as being a really cool place to come to, because it was so different to other unions. The only reason I can think of for this change is to increase capacity of the union and what’s the point in doing that if its opening hours are decreased. Second point is drinks prices have gone up. Why would people go and spend more money at the union, when they can go somewhere else cheaper! It’s supposed to be a students union for goodness sake!! My last comment is where have all the promotion nights and special nights gone. There’s nothing anymore, no school night or traffic light night, nothing! No promotion leaflets, posters, banners on the union itself. Come on its easy to promote good nights. My solution is go back to the good old days. Fill the union and allow the prices to drop a bit and have a bit of variation on fri and sat night and compete with other bars and clubs.

Give complete control of the Union to a select group of current students (from 1st, 2nd and final years). Give them a set (realistic) budget and open guidelines and let them bring the union back to a successful, fun and appealing venue that it once was.

Hi Im a third year pharmacy student my first was the best year so far at this university!! since then the union has seriously gone down hill!!! Lux is horrible and theres always cheese music playing!! whay cant the music be varied!! I miss the different levels, now you cant tell where the dance floor is from people queing up at the bar!!! 
 
The food and drinks used to be affordable and now its not!!! 
 
Im a pharmacy student which means during the exam time Im in the library till late where am I go to get something to eat in the evening thats cheap if the union is closed early!! 
 
Promotion nights are crap compare to my 1st year I used to live in the union now I cant stand it!! I just about make it on wednesday nights but again cheese is always playing!!!!  
 
I feel sorry for the first years this is supposed to be the best time of their university life and the union should be appart of it!!  
 
J

i'm a first year student and one of the main reasons i decided to come to portsmouth was because i'd heard such good things about the social life and student union! 
since i'v been here, i'v maybe been to the union 3 times, and every time we end up leaving and going somewhere else! the bars are packed, the clubs are jammed and queueing is just ridculous! 
the descision to make the opening hours shorter is a stupid one, but if nothing is done about the actual management of the union, even if the hours are returned, it wont make a difference. 
saturdays should always be open, thers no competition from anywher else! most first years i no simply choose to stay in on a saturday tho rather than go to the union and spend silly amounts of money on drinks! 
more should be made of purple wednesday as well, its definately the best nite i'v had at the union, but people not in a sports team know nothing about it! advertising needs to be sorted out. 
i would love to spend more time at the union, but a serious overhaul is needed! 
cat