I went to Dizzee Rascal at UC on the 4th of March, my first experience of the new UC refectory. It is huge, 2000+ capacity. Unfortunately forethought was lacking for this larger capacity venue as there were still only 5 toilets (so 1000 alcohol-drinking women to share 5 toilets). The queue took me 1 hour, two of these cubicles being occupied by the unwell at this time. There were no pass-outs, and staff were unwilling to let punters into other areas of the building to find bathrooms. The outdoor smoking balcony became an unofficial urinal for men.
I don’t want to go blaming toilets for youth drug culture but this situation does encourage the use of drugs, over alcohol, at music events.
My second qualm is that the bar staff closed up shop before Dizzee was over. Punters who had just spent an hour dancing, after a night of consuming dehydrating substances, were unable to buy water because the fridges were locked. The staff I encountered had plucked out 5 bottles of water. My friend bought one for $20. The bar person refused change because the till was counted. Anyone who came after those 5 exorbitantly priced bottles were sold went without, as we were quickly ushered out of the venue, no longer the refectory’s problem.
The new refectory is a big venue, bound to hold many future music events. They happily profit off the sale of alcohol, but don’t take care of their punters henceforth. All it woulda taken is a dozen port-o-loos tucked in the corner, and the provision of free water.
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