In a city with three Gail’s, a daily market, and one of the richest universities in the world, you could be forgiven for assuming that ordering a pint would put, at the very least, a £6-sized dent in your bank account. But £2 drinks do exist in Cambridge, and I’m not referring to a Stowford Press at Wetherspoons. Concealed behind imposing college architecture, student-run college bars are popular and welcoming spaces, attracting students from across the university with their cheap drinks, socials, and music events.

Every college hosts a student bar, but only some can boast of a bar run by their students: Murray Edwards, Newnham, Sydney, Clare and Emma, to name but a few. I spoke to students employed at a range of student-run bars and in varying positions of responsibility. The eagerness with which all students highlighted the advantages of their student-run bar was striking. There was a conclusive consensus that the low prices are the main attraction. Shruti immediately rattled off a list of cheap drinks at Robinson Bop Bar. “It’s £2.50 for a double, £1.50 for a single and £2 for a VK […] I don’t think anything costs more than £2.50.” Likewise, the cheapest pint at Emma Bar is £1.90, while a fiver will cover a cocktail at Clare Cellars.

“The cheapest pint at Emma Bar is £1.90, while a fiver will cover a cocktail at Clare Cellars”

If cheap drinks came first place in the advantages of a student-run bar, the atmosphere came a close second. ‘Laid back’ and ‘relaxed’ were descriptions that emerged repeatedly and were generally accredited to those pulling pints behind the bar, all of whom are students. With student staff on aux and not a uniform in sight, the bar becomes a friendly, informal setting to relax, socialise and forget about tomorrow’s supervision. Jamie, the bar president of Clare Cellars, explained that student workers “encourage people to use the space” because “if people have friends on shift, they will want to go and hang out with them.”

In most contexts, ‘stress-free bar work’ would be considered an oxymoron. But, the student staff that I spoke to detailed the easy-going nature of their role. Shruti described working behind the Robinson bop bar. “The staff will be dancing and having a good time […] it doesn’t feel like a job, it’s fun.” A similar sentiment was expressed by Ella, a bar manager at Emma, who described the shifts as “sociable” and “a good way to get to know people from different year groups.”

“It doesn’t feel like a job, it’s fun”

Working at Emma is, I’m sure, made even more enjoyable by the prospect of earning a little extra cash - a rare opportunity for a Cambridge University student. This loophole in the university’s general ban on students working during term time is eagerly exploited. As one student worker calculated, “one shift at £10.52 per hour could fund three formals, two nights out, or a weekly food shop.” While the limited hours mean that the income could never match that of a part-time job, students generally perceived the wages as reasonable. But securing a shift is easier said than done. At Sydney, students reported staying up until midnight to fill in the bar rota, released exactly a week in advance of a shift. Excel Spreadsheet skills come in handy as over 100 eligible workers compete for one of the 21 weekly shifts at Emma Bar. However, at Clare, the contest is reassuringly less stress-inducing. While Emma Bar gives every student the opportunity to become a staff member, Clare Cellars employs only 30 students from each year group, who receive allocated shifts from the staff manager.

Behind the scenes, student bar managers ensure that bars are sufficiently staffed, stocked, and sanitary. Duties include line cleaning, stock orders, assigning shifts, and communicating with external suppliers. At Emma, tasks are divided between three bar managers, and at other colleges, such as Newnham and Clare, responsibilities are shared among a bar committee.

“It is the student staff, rather than the low prices, that differentiate them from the local Wetherspoons”

Since colleges underwrite the bar and employ the bar managers, they do, to some extent, oversee and monitor the activities of student workers. Ella described the many regulations put in place by the college but emphasised that, on the whole, they do not actively interfere. “It’s not like they approach us about what we are doing, we just have to run all decisions by them.” “If we want to stock new drinks, throw an event or open the downstairs bar, we have to get permission.” Likewise, Jamie described the “pretty much seamless relationship” that the Clare Cellars bar committee has with the college. “We have rules that we have to comply with because of licensing and noise restrictions, but in terms of the way we run the bar, the drinks we want, the people we hire or the events we put on, we are in control.”

So, who decides which student is to be trusted with thousands of pounds of college money, complying with legal regulations, and ensuring that the Guinness tap never runs out? Colleges understandably demand some say in this matter, but again, students are often fundamental to the selection process. At Emma, the outgoing bar managers conduct interviews and present their preferences to college for approval. A similar process occurs in the selection of the bar president at Clare Cellars. However, at Robinson, college involvement appears almost non-existent. Shruti explained that “since it is the Ents officers who manage the bop bar, the bar managers are voted in by the students in the JCR elections.” Whatever the selection process, you can rest assured that student bar managers dedicate buckets of grease, sweat, and tears to their role.

Student-run bars are the centre of college communities, invaluable social spaces that offer far more than just cheap drinks. It is the student staff, rather than the low prices, that differentiate them from the local Wetherspoons. Seated behind a wooden table under the high ceilings of Emma Bar, midway through a stock order, Ella voiced the value of student involvement. “If the college bar is privately run, I don’t see the difference between going to spoons or a normal pub. It’s the atmosphere of a student-run bar that offers you something different.”