Napier students get new union bar

Plans are in place for the building of a new state of the art student union bar for Edinburgh Napier University students.

Napier students have been without a recognised social space since the failing and unprofitable old union bar in Merchiston closed down last September.

Since then, NSA has launched a successful weekly club night at Opal Lounge on the city’s George Street, however many students have deemed this to be unacceptable. The lack of a union bar was one of the biggest issues which NSA received feedback on in their recent ‘1 Thing’ campaign in which students were asked to write down one thing they liked and one they disliked about their university.

Since taking office, NSA president Tom Zanelli has campaigned for a student bar making it his remit to instil one through lobbying the university and creating a petition which garnered over 3000 signatures.

Mr Zanelli initially faced opposition from the university on the matter, he told The Journal last October that "It seems I have to prove to everyone at Napier that a union bar is needed. If it's done right, it can be successful."

However, it would appear that he has persuaded the university and says in a recent statement: “When I started less than a year ago, nobody at the university was interested in having a union bar for Edinburgh Napier students which is a joke considering it was the issue which kept coming up time and time again as the main thing which our students disliked about the university."

As well as the very important learning side to university it is equally important to enjoy the student experience.”

The new bar is likely to open in 2013 and will be located in the centre of town. Mr Zanelli has also revealed that he may look in to the possibility of having a temporary student bar until the new one is unveiled.