ANOTHER BLOW has been dealt to the already isolated Goodricke College after it emerged that it will not be keeping its porters in the College Nucleus after the current academic year.
“The plan is that the porters will move to the Hub building – that’s always been the plan,” said Sue Johnston, Head of Campus Services.
The news has been met with dismay by students, especially considering the lack of facilities already present on the new campus.
“The porters have been invaluable for freshers as we’ve moved into the new building,” said a resident of the college.
“It’s difficult enough to get used to a new environment, let alone without the massive level of help provided by our porters.”
Dan Walker, Goodricke’s JCRC Chair, shares their view. “Personally I don’t approve,” he said, speaking exclusively to Vision.
“I think it would be much better if they stayed in the residential area. They have a room fit for purpose and I can’t see why they can’t stay in Goodricke.”
If moved to The Hub building, porters would be expected to maintain the entire Hes East site – including three academic buildings, the Hub and Goodricke itself.
For this reason, Walker admits that “the big one for me coming up this term is the portering,”
The revelations about Hes East come in the same week that drastic changes to the portering service on the main campus come into effect.
Derwent and Vanbrugh lodges will only open Monday-Friday 8.30am-6.30pm, with a 24/7 lodge at Langwith serving all three central colleges overnight and at weekends.
Hes East’s obvious need for other facilities besides porters, including a student bar, a dining hall and a cash machine, is also being frequently discussed.
“We are continuing to push for a cash machine,” said Jane Clarbour, the college Provost, who sees the above facilities as essential.
“I would be very supportive of something like the Courtyard on Hes East, but bigger.”
However both she and the college Chair are not setting their sights too high.
“A bar here would be fantastic,” added Walker. “But at the end of the day, it’s about asking the Uni for something realistic.”
In the light of YUSU only just saving Derwent’s bar this term, it has been proved that University bars are hard to maintain.
university hierachy as an ultimate plan to get rid of the 24 hr portering system across the whole campus,, this was aired some years ago when Vanbrugh lost the 24 hr system… the uni will keep trying to cut the current portering role and although ken batten as been the scape goat for the past cuts the truth is he tried to keep staff and in fact its the likes of Sue Johnston who pushed for the cuts but as tried to be underhanded and keep her nose clean.
the ultimate plan will be to replace porters with lower paid reception staff and to have a small pool of staff to carry out the muscle work.
The same will happen to security services where there will be a central core of staff responsible for main roles and then a lower paid group of staff possibly contract staff to complete the basic patrols..