City’s new student hub opening on Goswell Road will be called ‘CityBar’, the Student Union revealed yesterday on its Facebook page.

The name was chosen in a survey among ten alternatives put forward by students: Yoyos, 24 Carrot, Element, Hideout, Blazing Saddlers, CityBar, Carrots, Wishtree, Saddlers 2.0 and Puzzles. Proposals for the new name could be sent by the 17th October via email or at the polling station situated in the main corridor. 

Reactions are conflicting. Some students say to be happy with the result, as they find CityBar “much better than Saddlers”. However, not everyone has welcomed the new name with warmth.

Postgraduate City student Ashna Hurynag tweeted: 

City’s media outlets had their say too. The Square’s writer Lukas Mikelionis defined it a “Wetherspoonian non-name”. In his recent article, he also added: “What do you call a feeling that is a mix of shame for others’ mistakes, blatant tackiness, self-loathing for being part of the tribe, and a genuine disdain towards the prospects of civilisation? (…) From now on, when one wants to describe the aforementioned terrible feeling, we can use the new, hot-off-the-idiocy, inconceivable-even-to-Shakespeare word – CityBar.”

The student bar, previously called Saddlers, was part of the university’s Campus redevelopment project and has been closed since last April. It was initially announced that the new venue would have been inaugurated in October, just in time for Halloween.

CityBar will officially re-open on the 10th November. Meanwhile, Sodexo, the company in charge of food services and facilities at City, will run a student focus group on Wednesday 5th November from 1 pm until 2.30 pm in AG11 (College Building). It will be an occasion for students to discuss what events and activities they would like to see in the new venue and to get some free biscuits.

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