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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 27, No. 8. 1964.

Dining Room Dubious

Dining Room Dubious

Dear Sir.

In my opinion, the proposed inclusion of both a higher-priced dining-room and a private diningroom in the Student Union Building is not in the best interests of the student body. I believe that the facilities that will be most used by students are the ones that should be incorporated in the additions and alterations to the SUB.

The room formed by opening the doors between the present Common Rooms is already becoming inadequate for social functions. The expedient of selling tickets for a dance in advance has been tried. However, in five years the student roll will have doubled. Either at least one very large room must be provided in the extensions, or the numbers attending social functions will have to be severely limited, or once more Victoria will have to hold functions such as capping and orientation balls off the campus.

The plans for the extensions to the SUB have not yet been released for examination by students. Therefore, although I have seen two different sets of plans, I cannot reveal the size of the largest room suitable for social functions. But it is evident from the figures published in Salient last year concerning the size of the proposed facilities to be incorporated in the Union that it will be almost impossible to incorporate a large Common Room suitable for social functions in the SUB unless either the proposed coffee room for sandwich lunchers (area 2500 sq ft) or the combination of private and higher-priced dining-rooms (combined area 1600 sq it) are deleted from the plans.

The present small coffee shop is exceedingly well patronised. As the student roll grows, a large coffee shop will be needed.

It is very difficult to determine how many students would use the higher-priced dining-room, especially as no one has said how high the prices will be. Certainly a great many students buy Mr. Levenbach's higher-priced options in the present cafeteria. However, this gives no guide as to whether students will be prepared to pay extra for tablecloths and semi waiter service in a new swept-up establishment.

It could be argued that in the future, with the rapid growth of the student roll, that further eating facilities will be required and that the higher-priced and private dining-rooms will help to meet this growth In demand. In the plans for the future development of the university it is made quite clear that further eating facilities will be made available on the campus at a future date. I think that higher-priced and private dining-rooms are not the right sort of additions we should make to eating facilities.

If the higher-priced and private dining-rooms and coffee shop are all installed in the SUB then the equivalent of two floors of the building will be under the control of Mr. Levenbach. In general, I cannot see why the students should agree to such a large proportion of the union being eating facilities, especially as no good reasons for the provision of the higher-priced and private diningrooms have ever been released to students.

—I remain,

David Flude.