Barrel of Fun
Abort, retry, fail
Students at the University of Sussex are set to fight Albion's plans for a new football stadium at Falmer after a vote consisting of just 40 people.
The students took part in a vote at the Sussex Students' Union general meeting held earlier this month.
The motion to oppose the stadium is part of a student movement to create an "Eco-Uni" - designed to make the university more proactive on green issues. It will be discussed at a student council meeting at the beginning of May.
advertisementUnion president Dan Glass said: "We are opposing the stadium firstly on environmental grounds, as Sussex is the only university in the country set in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
"We also have concerns about the increase in traffic and disruption to student life on campus. We are not against the club having a stadium but it needs to be in the right place."
He said a working group of union members met last week to discuss a strategy - including plans to hold the university to account for not "robustly objecting to the stadium."
Mr Glass admitted the union had failed to drum up enough support for the motion in the past. He said: "We've been wanting to get this off the ground for years but there hasn't really been the interest.
"Now with the Eco-Uni project people are taking a bit more notice. Students in Brighton and Hove should be able to have their say on environmental matters like this."
But some students at the university were not pleased with the decision.
Speaking to The Argus, one said: "In my opinion it is a bit rich to have the views of thousands of students represented by a small group on such an important issue.
"A lot of these students will have left Brighton long before the stadium is even finished. From what I have seen the stadium will be built between Brighton university buildings and the A23 motorway anyway, so it is not really this area of natural beauty it is made out to be."
Paul Samrah, leader of the Falmer For All campaign, said: "Notwithstanding the lack of a quorum, since neither the club nor the Falmer for All Campaign were invited to put their case, the vote can hardly be called democratic or representative.
"A kangaroo court would hold more weight. Furthermore, the union should look back in their records when a proper debate was held and representatives of both sides stated their case some years back.
"The motion in favour of the stadium, and all the benefits that it will bring to both universities such as casual jobs on their doorstep and sporting and student events at the stadium, was passed.
"These students union members should stop trying to deprive the wider community, of which many of them will only be a temporary part, a community stadium."
The Government is reconsidering the club's application to build the 22,000 seat stadium, and will make a decision on or before July 9.
http://www.theargus.co.uk/display.var.1273092.0.students_to_fight_albions_falmer_plan.php
Comments can be left on the Argus site...
The students took part in a vote at the Sussex Students' Union general meeting held earlier this month.
The motion to oppose the stadium is part of a student movement to create an "Eco-Uni" - designed to make the university more proactive on green issues. It will be discussed at a student council meeting at the beginning of May.
advertisementUnion president Dan Glass said: "We are opposing the stadium firstly on environmental grounds, as Sussex is the only university in the country set in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
"We also have concerns about the increase in traffic and disruption to student life on campus. We are not against the club having a stadium but it needs to be in the right place."
He said a working group of union members met last week to discuss a strategy - including plans to hold the university to account for not "robustly objecting to the stadium."
Mr Glass admitted the union had failed to drum up enough support for the motion in the past. He said: "We've been wanting to get this off the ground for years but there hasn't really been the interest.
"Now with the Eco-Uni project people are taking a bit more notice. Students in Brighton and Hove should be able to have their say on environmental matters like this."
But some students at the university were not pleased with the decision.
Speaking to The Argus, one said: "In my opinion it is a bit rich to have the views of thousands of students represented by a small group on such an important issue.
"A lot of these students will have left Brighton long before the stadium is even finished. From what I have seen the stadium will be built between Brighton university buildings and the A23 motorway anyway, so it is not really this area of natural beauty it is made out to be."
Paul Samrah, leader of the Falmer For All campaign, said: "Notwithstanding the lack of a quorum, since neither the club nor the Falmer for All Campaign were invited to put their case, the vote can hardly be called democratic or representative.
"A kangaroo court would hold more weight. Furthermore, the union should look back in their records when a proper debate was held and representatives of both sides stated their case some years back.
"The motion in favour of the stadium, and all the benefits that it will bring to both universities such as casual jobs on their doorstep and sporting and student events at the stadium, was passed.
"These students union members should stop trying to deprive the wider community, of which many of them will only be a temporary part, a community stadium."
The Government is reconsidering the club's application to build the 22,000 seat stadium, and will make a decision on or before July 9.
http://www.theargus.co.uk/display.var.1273092.0.students_to_fight_albions_falmer_plan.php
Comments can be left on the Argus site...
they should have thought about that sentence a bit longer