Hey everyone, it's Benji your community officer here back with another update. I hope everyone's settling in and getting back into the swing of things and are not getting too bogged down with illnesses (happens to the best of us half the team fell last week).

Ever since coming into this role I have been going through my manifesto and fulfilling as many pledges as I can. This week I am super excited to announce the introduction of low-sensory hours in commercial outlets here at the University!

What are low sensory hours?

Low sensory hours are specific hours where ambient noise (music, stacking of shelves, till registers) are kept to minimum and lights are dimmed in order to decrease the stimulation.

Why the need?

Many students may experience sensory differences, including sensory sensitivity or overload when there are many sensory factors in the environment. This is why low sensory is an amazing way of making the campus more accessible and inclusive.

Where can they be found?

Lime tree (end closest to Bus stop) - 15:00 to 17:00 on Monday to Friday during term time.

The Market - 19:00 to 20:00, Monday to Friday, and 12:00 to 13:00 on Sunday during term time. 

Fresh - 20:00 to 21:00, Monday to Friday, 11:00 to 12:00 on Saturday, 10:00 to 11:00 on Sunday during term time.

It is great to see the University be open to these inclusive suggestions and I will further push throughout the year for low sensory hours in shops to include midday times however this is an amazing step in the right direction. I would also like to encourage all students to respect these times and not cause unnecessary noise during these hours out of respect for your fellow students. This is still a work in progress so please any feedback or comments would be greatly appreciated and can be sent to SUCommunity@bath.ac.uk.

Lots of love,

Benji x