There’s been a lot of discussion about the Bristol SU Living Room recently. You might have seen about it on Facebook, heard the officers chatting about it, or you might have even been to the launch event on Monday 3 December. But what is it really all about and why does it matter? Here are the answers to some of the questions you might have...
What is the Bristol SU Living Room?
The Bristol SU Living Room is a brand new space for students brought to you by Bristol SU. It is a community space at the heart of campus where you can get involved, meet like-minded people or just go and chill - you know, like you would in your own Living Room. The space is kitted out with hot water and microwaves so you can enjoy a brew or heat up your lunch well as comfy sofas where you’re welcome to kick back and relax. The Bristol SU Living Room is designed specifically to facilitate relaxation and community building, and reduce isolation. Sometimes there will be activities that you can join in with if you’d like to but it’s also a space to socialise, relax between lectures or just somewhere to go and eat lunch.
Image: Bristol SU
Why have you created a Living Room, and what is one of those anyway?
In 2017 we took part in a national piece of research about student wellbeing. In this research you told us that 1 in 4 of you are regularly stressed about isolation, and that 35% of you rarely or never feel relaxed. And frankly, we think that’s not good enough.
We often hear people say that beyond the beginning of term it can be a bit hard to get involved and meet new people, and that if you haven’t joined societies at the beginning of the year you feel like you’ve missed the boat. People also tell us that they don’t have a space on campus where they can go to decompress when they’re feeling overwhelmed. We also regularly hear that the SU feels far away, so we’re hoping this space will enable us to bring a little piece of the SU to you. Cue the Bristol SU Living Room…
Image: Bristol SU
Why is it called a Living Room?
We were inspired by some amazing work an organisation called Camerados were doing around Public Living Rooms. Public Living Rooms are intended to create a “comfortable place where anyone can come, on good days and bad, to be around people, make connections and enjoy being out of the house”. Public Living Rooms have popped up in community centres, libraries, colleges and even hospitals, and they’ve been hugely successful at bringing people together, and really harnessing that amazing power of social connection.
Image: Bristol SU
The Bristol SU Living Room is open on the 4th floor of Senate House, just across the hall from the Senate House Study Centre. You can use it Monday – Friday from 8am-10pm.
Still got questions? Come and experience the space for yourself, or drop us a line on bristolsu-livingroom@bristol.ac.uk
Featured Image: Bristol SU
