Cardiff University Students’ Union (CUSU) has banned students from wearing blue shirts and chinos to Wednesday club nights following a violent incident on 4 October.
The outfit is associated with sport societies, and The Guardian reported that Cardiff residents say it has become an unofficial uniform for male students involved in athletic union societies.
The ban was announced in an email sent by the CUSU to athletic union members, and seen by the BBC and The Cardiff Tab.
The email cited “reckless, dangerous and incredibly irresponsible behaviour” by a group of male students as the reason for the ban.
According to the CUSU’s email, the behaviour occurred in the queue for entrance to the club. It added that “The current clothing restrictions are temporary, not aimed at a specific group and in direct response to a specific recent incident.
“Having implemented the policy over the past Wednesday night, we saw a marked improvement in behaviour in the queue.”
Wednesday is a popular club night for university students across the UK.
In Edinburgh, Why Not’s “LOVE Wednesday” club night holds an exclusive partnership with Queen Margaret University, the Edinburgh University Sports Union, and Edinburgh Napier University, encompassing over 50 sports teams and societies.
The Student spoke to a former Why Not employee about the conduct of sports societies on Wednesday nights.
“They do get very, very drunk, more than [non-sport groups]. [There is] a lot of drinking and a lot of encouraging people to drink.”
“Sometimes you get [sport societies] coming in and they’re like, ‘we’ve got this [drinking] challenge’. . . you get people who will buy four or five pints and will be knocking them back consistently very quickly while everyone’s cheering them on or doing a lot of shots.”
The individual did not recall seeing sports societies wearing blue shirts and chinos during their employment at Why Not.
On the conduct of rugby societies, they commented “[they] are pretty much the nicest people you’re going to meet on a night out, at least when it comes to staff. They’re very respectful.
“They never leave anyone [behind when they are very drunk].”
Why Not have been contacted for comment by The Student.
A former player at an Edinburgh University rugby society told The Student that:
“We have a ‘uniform’ as a club,” that is worn to matches and socials, not specifying what the outfit was.
On the purpose of wearing the ‘uniform’, he stated that it, “generates a sense of community within the club.”
He added:
“Historically, rugby clubs get a bad reputation, but everyone within the club is working hard to try and change that narrative . . . Socials have always been incredibly inclusive, very firmly standing with the SU movement to end initiations, and this is made very clear to Freshers when they join.”
“Undeb Myfyrwyr Caerdydd Student Union” by Cwmcafit is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.