No University campus would be complete without communal spaces and a steady supply of caffeine: student cafés offer both.They are an essential space to catch up with your course mates, collaborate on group projects, and take some well needed respite from the impending essay deadlines.
Earlier this year, the closure of Ground, previously located in the Chrystal Macmillan Building, sparked widespread frustration and backlash, highlighting just how important café spaces are to the student community, particularly in the face of ongoing budget cuts.
Affordable pricing is crucial to ensuring that these areas are well utilised and accessible to students. A latte in the Library Café, The Exchange, or 40 George Square costs £3.00. Whilst a daily coffee at these spots can still seriously eat away at your student loan, this is considerably less than other favourites like Black Medicine (£3.90) or Kilimanjaro (a staggering £4.25).
However, inconsistent pricing across University Cafés means that if you opt for the swish interior of the Futures Institute, a latte at Canopy will set you back £3.70. Hiking up prices at certain locations feels less like a University committed to meeting students’ needs and more like a money grabbing ploy. Most students aren’t looking for luxury; they want a quick and cheap caffeine hit before returning to their mounting pile of work. As one student put it, “If you wanted an aesthetic coffee shop, you wouldn’t be going to a uni café.”
Upon visiting the King’s buildings, a humanities student’s outer space, I was met by more uneven pricing. Whilst the cafés are plentiful, there seems to be a kind of STEM tax, with a regular latte fetching the price of £3.25 in both Tempo and the KB café. This pricing discrepancy was confusing given that the venues were functional yet modest, paling in comparison with Canopy and 40 George Square. At the KB cafe, a sign instructed me to “follow the aroma of freshly brewed coffee” which I was unfortunately unable to do as it had closed by 3pm. I can only commend the STEM students persevering through their degrees with cafes that are shut by mid-afternoon.
Standardising the pricing across all University cafes would create greater equality between campuses, meaning that all students would be able to enjoy these communal spaces. It would also demonstrate a willingness to listen to student priorities over profit-seeking. To make its cafes truly accessible, the University should introduce a lower-priced filter coffee. After all, most students care far more about price and convenience than the quality of their latte art.
Image by Mark Chan for The Student
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Not All University Cafés Were Created Equal
No University campus would be complete without communal spaces and a steady supply of caffeine: student cafés offer both.They are an essential space to catch up with your course mates, collaborate on group projects, and take some well needed respite from the impending essay deadlines.
Earlier this year, the closure of Ground, previously located in the Chrystal Macmillan Building, sparked widespread frustration and backlash, highlighting just how important café spaces are to the student community, particularly in the face of ongoing budget cuts.
Affordable pricing is crucial to ensuring that these areas are well utilised and accessible to students. A latte in the Library Café, The Exchange, or 40 George Square costs £3.00. Whilst a daily coffee at these spots can still seriously eat away at your student loan, this is considerably less than other favourites like Black Medicine (£3.90) or Kilimanjaro (a staggering £4.25).
However, inconsistent pricing across University Cafés means that if you opt for the swish interior of the Futures Institute, a latte at Canopy will set you back £3.70. Hiking up prices at certain locations feels less like a University committed to meeting students’ needs and more like a money grabbing ploy. Most students aren’t looking for luxury; they want a quick and cheap caffeine hit before returning to their mounting pile of work. As one student put it, “If you wanted an aesthetic coffee shop, you wouldn’t be going to a uni café.”
Upon visiting the King’s buildings, a humanities student’s outer space, I was met by more uneven pricing. Whilst the cafés are plentiful, there seems to be a kind of STEM tax, with a regular latte fetching the price of £3.25 in both Tempo and the KB café. This pricing discrepancy was confusing given that the venues were functional yet modest, paling in comparison with Canopy and 40 George Square. At the KB cafe, a sign instructed me to “follow the aroma of freshly brewed coffee” which I was unfortunately unable to do as it had closed by 3pm. I can only commend the STEM students persevering through their degrees with cafes that are shut by mid-afternoon.
Standardising the pricing across all University cafes would create greater equality between campuses, meaning that all students would be able to enjoy these communal spaces. It would also demonstrate a willingness to listen to student priorities over profit-seeking. To make its cafes truly accessible, the University should introduce a lower-priced filter coffee. After all, most students care far more about price and convenience than the quality of their latte art.
Image by Mark Chan for The Student
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