Students and staff have raised concerns that the University of Wollongong campus will restrict building and carpark access to facilitate arrangements for the Yours and Owls festival on the weekend of the 14th of October.
The UOW library is expected to be partially closed off during the event, and staff and students wanting to access library facilities will need to show their university identification to gain access to the campus library.
UOW student Paige Jenkins said she is disappointed in the timing of Yours & Owls as students approach their final assignments and exams.
“It is very inconvenient as my exams commence in three weeks and I was hoping to get an early start on studying as the format of my exams has changed,” Miss Jenkins said.
“Not everyone has the opportunity to study at home and will have to make alternative arrangements over the weekend and going into next week.”
Setup is currently under way, and disruptions have already been noticeable to those who have visited campus this week. Heavy machinery, stages, and equipment have been engaged, along with an excess of construction staff ahead of the two day event which is expected to attract a crowd of 25,000 per day.
The University of Wollongong outlined the planned disruptions in a statement to students, saying that access and parking may be limited, and late classes on Friday 13 October may be affected, however this forward planning has not dampened the negative response from some students.
Frequent library visitor Luke Bradbery, outlined how the festival would impact him over the weekend.
“I’m unable to study at home due to wifi issues, so I’ll have to study in the library,” Mr Bradbery said.
“Because I’m a student I just hope the library is not noisy.”
Students are not the only ones anxious about interferences on campus over the weekend.
UOW Pulse Retail Operations Manager, Margaret Blackney said the closures would also affect Pulse outlets’ usual trading.
“UniActive won’t be open and places like Praha Café will be unable to trade. People will also probably have to catch the bus in even if they do want to access UOW facilities because there will be nowhere to park,” Mrs Blackney said.
UOW is encouraging students and staff to plan ahead and allow for delays before, during and after the festival.
