to think University students without particular needs do not need an en-suite shower room?

[LindorDoubleChoc]

I'm so surprised that University Halls of Residence now offer this as an option to more or less all their students. What the hell? How many of you are indulging your offspring with this poncery and why? (exceptional needs aside of course).

When I went to Uni in the dark ages of the 1980s no one had an ensuite. Almost no one had a wash basin either. Is it a money making exercise?

New build houses are the same. Not every bedroom needs separate washing/bathing facilities. The first world's gone mad!

I started uni in 2000. Girls weren't allowed a room in halls on the ground floor for safety reasons...so all ground floor accommodation was boys only. Some flats on higher floors were mixed and some single sex. I got put in a single sex flat....as I'd come from an all girls school I was absolutely gutted 😂

I just googled and I didn't realise what times I lived in 😂

https://scottishcriticalheritage.wordpress.com/2018/09/26/sex-and-the-single-room-in-loco-parentis-at-st-andrews-1968-75/

2 of my children have their own en suite each at home. Why would they want to go to uni and share with strangers like I did when they don't even share with family at home. I got a verucca in my first year. HTH.

This is a fascinating article.
I had no idea that the concept of loco parentis was behind os many decisions!

Wow I can’t imagine be this disgruntled over an en-suite

Universities actually were loco parentis in the 1960s though as you weren't an adult until 21.

Fast forward to 2022 and Bristol University successfully argued in court that universities do not have a duty of care to students.

I mean, people don't NEED an inside toilet in their houses either, but we all tend to prefer them.

Like you, I was at university in the days of shared shower blocks and loos, and obviously it was functional, but if I'd had the chance of en suite I'd certainly have taken it. Apart from anything, queuing for a shower is a real pain if you've got to get to a morning lecture and there are three people in front of you all wanting to spend 20 minutes shaving their legs or something. Also one of the blocks in our halls had to arrange for every single student to be treated for threadworms because it was spreading like wildfire through the building, so... yeah, I'd probably want to stick with my own bathroom if I could.

Seriously?
I went to Uni mid 90’s and had
an en-suite.. my teens have en-suites at home and I wouldn’t expect them to share with strangers at Uni. 2nd year fine although I expect they will hire a cleaner! You do you though….

although I expect they will hire a cleaner!

😂😂😂😂

Oh wow.
Good old fashioned filty student houses are very much present and correct at most unis.
But second year house shares tend to be in an actual house with friends, not a corridor in halls.
And they won't have ensuites in those shared houses, most likely one bathroom per floor if they are lucky, so one bathroom between 3 or 4 of them.

I went to uni late 90's and all the dorms had ensuites and they were all mixed. I didn't live in the UK though so maybe we were just a bit ahead. I wouldn't have wanted to share a bathroom with strangers then and definitely don't want to now. Not sure that makes me poncey, just someone who likes my own space and like to keep it clean.

OP like you I had shared facilities in the 80s. The only thing I drew a line at was a room mate, which was quite common to be given a room with a stranger. We did actually have a sink/basin in our room, and I'm pretty sure a lot of the boys used them as a toilet!
Also totally normal growing up to have one bathroom, one loo, which is seen as strange now.

So yes it's progress, things are better now, but also yes we have got a bit soft 😂

To be honest there's lots of things most of us have that we don't need. I'm going to the hairdressers next week, probably spend £90 but I could just let it grow and go wild. I choose not to.

As somebody mentioned before, a big reason why Halls of Residence are built with en suites is to make them more attractive to conferences when the students are not there. This makes financial sense.

Totally agree.

But most of us aren’t cash-strapped students trying to live on around £10k and keep our future debts under control. That’s the difference in my mind. When you can afford the luxuries then no prob, but if you really can’t, why create bigger debts? Why not make savings where they can be easily made?

Perhaps it’s the case that as kids are taking on debt anyway, they decide that an extra £1-2k for an en-suite doesn’t matter.

I'm 70 so I'm talking about someone who was probably born at the start of the 20th century, maybe end of the 19th. A friend's granddad lived in a council house with an outside toilet. The council were modernising them, think it was late 60s early 70s, anyway he refused to let the workmen in, caused a huge fuss and his reason was he didn't want to live in a house where people were going to shit. He thought it was disgusting and much better to do at the top of the yard in the outside loo.

I'm with you though and I don't want to have to wander up the garden to the loo on a frosty night in January. Each to his own.

They don't always get a choice, my kids didn't have ensuites but some of their friends did but not all by choice.

Yes, I know some opt for shared bathroom and then get allocated en-suite. I know lots do t get to choose in reality.

Most places say that more opt for en-suite than exist though. Some give figures and I think it’s to encourage them to opt for shared bathrooms as they can’t accommodate all those who want en-suite in that type of accom. If they put shared bathroom as their first choice, they are more likely to get the first choice. It will usually be in a better location too. Often 2nd and 3rd years realise location counts for more than having your own bathroom.

With the safeguarding concerns of today, university's would be wary of mixed sex halls with shared bathrooms. There is still some shared bathroom accommodation at universities which tends to be cheaper but it is single sex so for some students they would feel they were not getting the full uni experience.

I think there is a difference between need and want. I don't believe that the vast majority of students need an ensuite, however I can totally understanding every student wanting one.
I was not sure about safeguarding and sharing when this was orginally raised - however, on reflection if individuals are identifying as the opposite sex and then accessing single sex washing/bathroom faculties I can see why every student might argue for an ensuite facility. It saddens my that the gender issue has such huge repercussion across all aspects of life - as due to this issue students access ensuite facilities which are more expensive which impacts on other aspects of their life.

Oh good god. Just because something was just fine decades ago, it doesn't mean improvements should never be made 🤦🏽‍♀️

Ensuites I get (although only one hall had this at my uni in the 90s!), I'm seeing loads of posts on a uni FB group of new accommodation with double beds! Now that seem indulgent! 😂

There's a private student accommodation building that's just opened near me which has a gym, karaoke room, podcast studio and a "getting ready room" complete with GHDs and mirrors. Whatever happened to having a vodka in the kitchen and borrowing your flatmates' appliances??

They're going to have a shock when they move into a shared house in second year.

They're going to have a shock when they move into a shared house in second year.