Cardiff University Students' Union

Cardiff University Students' Union ("Undeb Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Caerdydd" in Welsh) is the students' union for Cardiff University and the largest in Wales, and, like most other students' unions, aims to promote the interests of its students. It is located in Cathays, Cardiff, spanning between Senghennydd Road on the north-east side and Park Place on the south-west side.

The Union building is situated directly over the main railway going north from Cardiff to the South Wales Valleys, adjacent to the Cathays railway station. It has a shop, a restaurant, a pub and houses the studios of Xpress Radio (which is piped throughout the union), gair rhydd (Welsh: 'Free Word') student newspaper and the newly developed CUTV (Cardiff Union TV).

Facilities

The Union's in-house nightclub, Solus, holds events throughout the week. Each Monday is "Fun Factory", which is free to enter for students of Cardiff University, but up to £3 entry for students of other universities. Fridays play host to the "Access All Areas" club night, and "Come Play" is held on Saturdays. Wednesdays used to play host to the "Rubber Duck" club night, but this was abandoned following an incident there during the Spring semester in 2008. The union's pub is called "The Taf". This is usually mistakenly believed to be a reference to the River Taff, which runs through Cardiff. Actually, it is a contraction of "Tafarn", the Welsh word for "pub". Cardiff's SU often attracts bands and musicians of a high calibre, such as The Manic Street Preachers, Kaiser Chiefs, The Darkness, Beck, Motörhead and Super Furry Animals, who have all played in the Union's Great Hall. The Great Hall also serves as one of Cardiff University's exam venues during exam periods.

In addition to the Great Hall, there is a smaller, alternative function room, known since 2005 as CF10 (after the postcode in which the Union is located). CF10 is the Union's student restaurant/café, and has formerly been known as Seren Las, the Finistere and "The Dyfed". During its time as the Dyfed, it served as the focal point for what was the annual rag event: "Drink the Dyfed Dry!".

In addition to these, there is a games room with various amusement machines, as well as snooker and pool tables, a counselling service, and a postgraduate centre.

Presidents

Presidents of the Students' Union of University College, Cardiff; University of Wales, Cardiff and the current Cardiff University Students' Union include:

* Neil Kinnock 1965/66
* Bill Rammell 1982/83
* Sanjiv Vedi 1983/84
* Graeme Fairbrother 1987/88
* Simon Cox 1988/89
* Steve Young 2000/1
* Tom McGarry 2001/2
* Caroline Noyes 2002/3
* Finbarr Graham 2003/4
* Gary Rees 2004/5
* Pete Goodman 2005/6
* Joe Al-Khayat 2006/7
* Jonny Cox 2007/8
* Andy Button-Stephens 2008/9

Affiliations

*Aldwych Group

* National Union of Students [http://www.nus.org.uk]

External links

* [http://www.cardiffstudents.com/ Cardiff University Students' Union official site]