In May, Aberystwyth University Council will decide its fate. This has been a long journey in which many of you have been involved and will have recalled an active campaign led by UMCA in efforts to reverse the University’s decision to close the hall last year.
Neuadd Pantycelyn is the home from home for many students at Aberystwyth University and generations of alumni have fond memories of staying in one of Wales’ oldest and unique university accommodation. In May, Aberystwyth University Council will decide its fate. This has been a long journey in which many of you have been involved and will have recalled an active campaign led by UMCA in efforts to reverse the University’s decision to close the hall last year.
Pantycelyn needs your continued support. This is more than just a building or a hall of residence and it is much more than just a campaign that applies solely to Welsh medium students. The education sector is challenging and highly competitive. Welsh Universities must stand out from the crowd, both within the Universities here in Wales and the United Kingdom.
Neuadd Pantycelyn, a building that has housed thousands of students since it opened in 1951, is a crucial part of the Welsh Universities fabric. For many students they chose to stay in Wales and not cross the border for the very existence of Pantycelyn. Universities in Wales must keep their uniqueness or we face creating a sector in Wales where all Universities blur into one. What makes us at Aberystwyth distinctive? Pantycelyn alone will not attract a cohort of students but can the University afford to lose even one potential student to our competitors across Wales?
The possibilities for the future of Neuadd Pantycelyn are endless and all students at Aberystwyth could benefit from its developments. One suggestion is to transform the Neuadd into a Welsh Language centre that will enable the University to magnify its Welsh language services and concentrate its strategic objectives through community and university partnerships. This proposed suggestion also recommends the Neuadd to continue to offer catered accommodation. Pantycelyn, a portal of Welshness and creator of Welsh minds, is of national importance. Pantycelyn has fostered politicians, singers, activists, doctors, teachers, civil servants and actors to name but a few careers. Pantycelyn’s community is something that should be replicated across all halls of residence – a challenge we should embrace with attention given to keeping halls’ individuality. Whether you want to learn the language or culture – Pantycelyn’s existence will enhance that experience.
Aberystwyth University Students’ Union prides itself in being a bilingual organization and values all opportunities to showcase this to all students. We understand that Pantycelyn offers more than just a language but is also a catalyst for developing an academic and social Welsh context.
When a decision is made to lose an accommodation – it must be asked whether or not it will have a strategic impact on the University and in turn, ask whether or not it also has an impact on the sector. I am confident that such a decision for Pantycelyn would be unjust and unsustainable and I would encourage University Council members to support its future. I also strongly encourage non-Welsh language students to continue their support and ask; would they allow Rosser, Penbryn or Cwrt Mawr to be treated in this way?
We started this journey with a lack of consultation with students and now they sit on the Working Group that will present a recommendation to the University. A precedent will be set in this decision, and for the future of the Welsh language and those who speak it, I strongly urge you to support Pantycelyn.