Making the Most of Cardiff University Students' Union

My last article outlined some aspects of how to get involved with Student Union in order to socialise and meet like-minded people, but are you aware of what our Student Union really has to offer? Our Student Union, even prior to its recent renovations, is one of the most state of the art University Buildings in all of Europe and it's been amazing to see how many students are making full use of the building. But are you making the most of it?

The Taf & Starbucks

Starbucks and The Taf are both located on the second floor of the Students' Union. The Taf is open from 11:00 - 00:00 on the whole (Friday closes at 01:00 and Sunday closes at 23:00) broadcasts almost every sports event on demand as well as hosting offers every single day of the week, one's to look out for are The Taf Quiz every Thursday and the Carvery every Sunday. Starbucks is open earlier and if you need a top up on your caffeine whilst studying within the vicinity of the area they're not usually that busy! If you feel like you want something from either The Taf or Starbucks and don't want to risk going down/upstairs and getting caught in a queue - all items are purchasable via the CUSU app and will be delivered as soon as it's ready.

Gigs

The Student Union may host YOLO and JUICE every week but are you aware that the SU have a minimum of two gigs/week? These are usually held in Y-Plas and/or the Great Hall. If you're into your live music, artists, comedians or dj's, be sure to check out the lineup for the semester - these can be found on the advertisement boards on the stairs of the Students' Union and on the website. Last year, our Students' Union hosted the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival which was absolutely sensational and I would 100% recommend going to see at least one in your time at Cardiff!

Student Lounge

The Student Lounge has been renovated recently and really looks the part. This is located on the 3rd floor of the building and has multiple desks and tables for you to study or just relax. There are booths as well as sofas and beanbags, not to mention the table tennis table and pool table which can both be used for free. Also, for the gamers, there's a brand new E-sports lounge which is found within the Students' Lounge.

The Building Itself

Y-Plas, The Balcony, The Lodge, The Food Court are all known by most people as being open during the evenings and events. However, all these rooms are open for you to use for studying or whatever you choose. There are countless tables and I don't think I've ever seen all of them full - not even in exam season! If you feel like you don't want to work at home and don't want to be in the pin-drop silence of the ASSL, then the Students' Union is the place to go! You can work anywhere in the building andall tables are numbered if you fancied ordering anything from The Taf or Starbucks.

Shops/Stores/Exclusive Sales

On the Ground floor of our Students' Union you can find an array of various shops, ranging from clothing, Cardiff University merchandise, books and stationery (within the book store you will also find a place where you can post mail and letters). As well as shops, we also have food stores such as our Breatos, The Bagel Shop (where you can visit the owner's dogs!) and Barista. If you feel like you need a quick food shop on the way home, there is also a Co-op on the ground floor too. However, in my opinion the most important store of all is directly next to the Co-op and it's called iRepair. Here you'll be able to have all your devices checked for much less of a price than if you were to go into town, you can also get screen protectors from here and they are very efficient.