30,887 discussions, 145 guides
Coventry University
30,887 discussions, 145 guides
Coventry University
Coventry University
Priory Street
Coventry
CV1 5FB
Tel: +44 (0)24 7688 7688
rao.cor@coventry.ac.uk
1970
Source FM
This radio station is a pretty good example of how to get things going on. Having previously broadcast under a temporary one month FM licence, the station now has independent management and will broadcast on a 'narrowcast' in the SU buildings and also under a 1 month FM licence. They operate from their own studios in the basement of the Priory Street SU. Listeners can expect to hear chat, music and specialist shows as well as university news and events, there are also regular competitions.
Source
In a magazine format, rather than the usual bottom-wiping student rag. Apart from that though, it's your standard compilation of news/media/sports/features. The Source team are always looking for new members and there is a lot to do, from writing and editoral to page design, advertising and research. The magazine is monthly and free.
May 2006 will see the opening of Coventry University's £5million purpose built student centre.
David Yelland - "The Sun" editor
John Ketley - weatherman
Alison Snowdon - animator
+ many design engineers.
There are two sites operated by the SU. One at priory Street and one at Cox Street.
At Priory Street you will find most of the administrative offices and on the ground floor The Elephant & Castle bar. It's quite quiet during the day as people drop in for a swift one between lectures or shoot pool. It has a weekly quiz but that's about it for activities. Normally in the evenings this is a good place to warm up for an evening on the large as drink is cheap. Food is provided in Basement Jakks, a coffee house with light snacks and a relaxed atmosphere. You can't get a big meal there though.
At Cox Street things get a little more interesting: The Students' Union Cox Street is where all the uni's clubs and societies are based. The whole place is called Fifty Four and is divided up into several different venues. The bars inside are as follows:
Scene 54 - the place to go if solitude, space and time out is what you're looking for. During the day this quiet area is used by students to relax, grab something to eat or do some work in a quiet space. By night, Scene 54 is transformed into the chill out zone, playing the coolest sounds and home to the bar with the smallest queue in the venue, make sure you check it out! Bar 54 is a reasonably sized space and hoasts Boozy Bingo on a Tuesday, Wednesday WarmUp with DJ's and alchohol promotions and quiz and pool competitions on a Thursday. Studio 54 is open three nights per week for you to shake it down and rid your self of all your Uni stresses. With an enourmous dance floor and a stage, two very popular nights are Trollied (pound a pint on Mondays) and Flirt (serious cheese on Friday).
All functions are held in Fifty Four.
Monday - Trollied- £ a pint Tuesday - Boozy Bingo Wednesday - Wednesday WarmUp- different DJ's theres sure to be some cheese. Thursday - Quiz and pool Friday - Flirt- pure cheese Saturday - Tangled
Cheese and dance rule the roost so be prepared. Those wanting something different will need to follow the societies and local area routes and find like minded people themselves which, to be fair, shouldn't be tough.
The main annual event is the Summer Ball which was held this year at the country retreat of Coombe Abbey, and featured performances from the Honeyz and a funfair. There aren't really any other major events, but CUSU are planning a Christmas Ball for the new academic year.
All mainstream clubs are strong here, with Rugby, Hockey, Football, Netball and of course Rugby League weighing in the heaviest. There are over 60 clubs and societies with Martial Arts featuring strongly, but if you fancy something a little less physical there plenty of other stuff on offer.
Rugby 1sts & 2nds - won their leagues. Women's Rugby League - National finalists in only their 3rd year in existence. Men's Rugby League Teams - very strong this year as well.
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Priory Hall and Quadrant Hall - Both pretty much the same with Quadrant being just off campus. Accommodation here is pretty average and in massive ugly tower blocks but still fairly pricey for what it is. Catered halls with 10 meals per week, food is 'Western European' in style and by all accounts is passable.
Caradoc Halls - The lower end of the spectrum, another tower block, it isn't so appealing especially since the local area is less than welcoming for students and there's also a bus ride to campus. There are security patrols. Self-catered.
Singer Hall - Self-catering, and located on a mini-campus within the main campus. It looks nice and attracts lots of first years but corridor based catered halls are always more sociable.
Raglan - SC, privately owned, ghetto local area and very ugly.
Apollo House - SC, ugly but pretty popular with the residents, good pubs and fast food in the vicinity.
Sherbourne House - has attractive single bedrooms in a self-catering, ensuite, privately-owned and purpose-built student residence. It's within a few minutes walk of the city and the University. The building is split into flats for between four and seven. Mixed.
University managed houses - These are privately owned houses that the uni manages for the landlords. All bills are your responsibility but the uni's influence does protect you from some nastiness.
Coventry has been rebuilt in a variety of imaginative styles since it was flattened by our EU brother, Germany, in just one day's bombing during the war. Germany's efficient engineering lives on in Coventry today, but in the more permanent form of BMW Group British headquarters, together with Rolls Royce and Jaguar, which is why so many alumni are to be found designing the super-cars of the future here. Riding through the streets on a horse naked, though, will probably go down as well with the locals now, as it did with Leofric when Lady Godiva did it in days of old. Some areas are no-go and it is probably recommended that you stick to the Uni and SU bars until you aclimatise to the street wisdom of the area. Shopping, however, is very good and close to the main campus. New sports, leisure and cinema complexes are being built in the area also.
Parking at Singer Hall is more than adequate, but anywhere else you'll be struggling to avoid clamping and parking tickets.
There are five cashpoint machines in the SU (Lloyds TSB), and a Midland machine in the library. Banking choices shouldn't be too much of an issue here since the town will have all main branches and you won't necesarily want to change your bank account.
Disabled facilities are being improved as new developments are completed, there is a Disabilities Office with a team of four that can help with any enquiries that you might have. Just telephone: 02476 838029.
There is a Union shop in the main SU building which sells confectionary, stationery, cigarettes etc..A branch of STA Travel is onsite for budding travelers. The well known sandwich franchise Subway provides reasonably priced food. There is a hairdressers (Mop Shop) and a Cyber Cafe that has coffees and snacks. What you can't find on site you'll probably get five minutes away in the town centre anyway.
The bookshop in the Lanchester Library provides all the recommended texts.
The sports fields (about six of them), with golf course and tennis courts, are located about 10 minutes drive away at Westward Heath. January 2004 saw the opening of the University's state of the art £4 million sports centre, with fitness suite, 2 sports halls and dance studio. Theres no excuse not to go as membership is free for all those staying in University owned accommodation and seriously cheap for other students.
The University is a city centre campus, and everywhere is pretty accessible within 10 mins walk (apart from the playing fields, that are half an hour's drive away). However there is a free safety bus to take students to their door after Union events, which is probably just as well since some of the areas are less than friendly to students!
Um not really, being slap bang in the middle of Coventry means that the colours of red and grey, and not green, are the order of the day. Nearest pitches (about 6 of them) are out of town, at Westward Heath.
The New Library a combination of the three original libraries, has improved on the former problems of availability and the scatteredness of the various collections. The library has 350,000 books, 1,200 study spaces and 450 computer work stations. The Library also offers a cafe, bookshop and stationary/print shop.
Computer centres are generally open between 8.30am and 9.00pm. The 11 open access rooms house 388 PCs, although there are approximately 1500 more PCs spread around the various departments. Access is adequate but 24 hour opening ought to be in the pipeline.
The University has a team of seven counsellors, male female and one that can use sign language. Between the University and the Union there is: a Chaplaincy, a Nightline, an Alcohol Advisory Service, a Creche and a Health Centre. The Union also runs the Junction a kind of personal development centre, (to make a well rounded person of you if you feel too much of a boffin) and has control of the University Access Fund - for students in financial trouble - which is unusually trusting as far as Universities go!
