A Lovers Discourse: GUU Edition

Barthes’ ‘A Lover’s Discourse’ stands out as a cornerstone of semiotic fiction, and seeks to deconstruct the idea of love through fragments of philosophical thought and poetry reflecting on key motifs of ‘love’. The text unpacks what it means to love and what is hidden behind common words associated with love through discursive fiction and thought. This piece attempts to do the same with an institution at the heart of student life: the GUU.

Beer Bar:

A comforting embrace, or a harbour of last resort, Beer Bar shines as a siren’s beacon to tempt the weary student in with images of cheap beer and a rest. The title explains all, and in periods of upset and unrest, the offer of Beer Bar transcends temporal boundaries seeing students through lunch till midnight. Physical mirrors existential and the sticky floors serve to remind us of the hold memories have on us.

Creche:

When the constructions of reality begin to merge under the influence of alcohol, the hapless hive goer seeks refuge in the loving embrace of the creche. An oasis stocked with the promise of water and a quiet space to rest. But safety is a double edged sword, and rest soon turns to entrapment when the bouncers arrive.

D*** F*****:

Again, in Barthes’ own words, albeit slightly adjusted: “I thought I was suffering from not attending DF, and yet it is because I attended DF that I was suffering” An event constructed on mystique and tradition: re-embedding in its repetition and revelry.

Freshers Week:

Every institution needs a good entrance point. Freshers Week: a commencement. The beginning of a temporal and spiritual journey. For the Freshers Helper, FW is cyclical, a repeating reenactment of ritual and tradition to gradually separate soul from body under the enduring burden of freshers flu and the dissociative effect of late nights leading into early mornings.

Hive:

To requote Barthes: “as a hive goer, I suffer four times over: because I go to Hive, because I blame myself for going to Hive, because I fear my going to Hive will wound my body, because I allow myself to be subject to Hive”. We are again taken in by the illusio of Hive, the rationale of a night filled with wonder and the allure of the titular four letters on the wall. The music helps drown out the regrets and masks the damage of one too many rounds for the overdraft to handle. A Hive night seems endless, and inevitable, one of the many motifs of a student lifestyle. Hive seems massive, and all consuming. But yet…have you ever seen Hive in the day?

Jukebox:

A locus, a centre of calculation on a packed Thursday night, or a tool for amusement on a quiet, rain trodden afternoon. Barthes identifies love as an experience of waiting, of being the one who waits. Like love, the jukebox is an experience of waiting, “I am the one who waits”. Like love, the jukebox is transactional at times, generous at others (thank you to the people who leave spare credits on). After a simple swipe of the card, and an extended deliberation, we offer up our souls for judgement. “Who put on Mysterious Girl again?”

Pint of Fun:

What is a Pint of Fun? 2 x shots of vodka; 1 x vk; a splash of lemonade The promise of a good night; neon coloured intoxication; promises of tales yet untold; the call of the dancefloor; carried away on the laughter of girls on their way home Disappointment: bruises on your knees and elbow, one and a half Pints of Fun lost to the floor

Well:

What is there left to say about the well? It has a nice skylight.

Perhaps we shall never see each other again; perhaps we shall meet again but fail to recognize each other: our exposure to different seas and suns has changed us

Catherine Bouchard