TIA WARD

“Whereas Downing's student facilities have been improved recently,
I feel that college has not addressed some of the personal needs of
the students.” - Downing, Alternative Prospectus

I suspect that for many, as it does for me, this quotation really sums up how they feel about College. There is no doubt that student rooms improve year on year, we have a great library, on-site tennis courts, gym and squash courts; we are not hard done by. But on the other hand, it doesn’t come without its price. In their plans for the West Range, College are sending a clear message; we are second best to the conference guests.

In Michaelmas term 2006, work is scheduled to start on the very tired 1960’s kitchens. The kitchens will be modernised with a new lift being installed to enable disabled access to the upper levels. Ambitious plans indeed, and I have no doubt that the lives of the Catering department will be made much easier once it is completed. However, the contentious issue here is that College are choosing to do the majority of this work in term-time, rather than in the Long Vacation. In doing so, College hopes to retain the majority of its conference trade, which helps pay for the work to be done. This said, the work is scheduled to last 8 months (so, as anyone living on Lensfield Road will know, it is more likely to drag on for a minimum of 2 years) and will therefore inevitably affect students and conference guests, regardless of when College choose to start.

The students have responded predictably; “Bloody typical of College! Why do they always try to screw over the students?!” The answer is simple; College cannot afford not to. Yes, it’s unfair and yes, it does send the dangerous message that we are not as important as conference guests, but we do not generate the simple, bank-manager-pleasing sums that they can. Even the new, doubled top-up fees “will not come close to reducing the deficit” (Alison Richard, Vice Chancellor). The reality is that Downing relies on its conference trade to even stay afloat, incredible given the obscene KFC that we pay, on top of tuition fees and rather high room rents. Compared to other universities and even other colleges, we get a raw deal. It seems horrifically unfair that students should end up paying more for the same degree at a different college, but blame the system, not College.

Even with this in mind, though, it seems to me that College are rather missing something. Downing College exists as an institution for Higher Education, and not as a make-shift Travelodge. There should lie somewhere a need to acknowledge responsibility for our education, rather than always putting the conference guests first. I can name countless other examples of this, and I’m sure we all can. Yet without the conference guests, Downing could not afford to provide us with an education at all. It seems that, on this one at least, College are in a lose-lose situation.

The students recognise, and even understand, that College have got their hands tied by financial pressures. College assure me that the majority of the disruption caused by the temporary kitchens will affect the fellows, and not the students, though I fail to see how the standard of meals and formal hall can not go down under these circumstances; sausages cooked over the flame of a Bunsen burner is a new low, even for slops. There doesn’t seem to be sufficient compensation from College that we are being inconvenienced by the conference guests. Take the building work example on Lensfield; we were offered £10 for the disruption it has caused. To be honest, it’s more of an insult than an olive branch. If College were to offer a reasonable reduction in KFC I doubt many students would object.

I would just quickly like to thank Dr. Susan Lintott, and the JCR forum users for their input into this article.