Plaid Cymru Youth would like to extend our full support and solidarity to the campaign to keep Pantycelyn Hall of Residence open as accommodation for Aberystwyth University students.
As Aberystwyth University’s Welsh Medium Hall since 1973, it’s been a natural friend of Plaid Cymru and the Welsh nationalist movement ever since- as reflected once again this March with our first ever National Youth Conference held there. The Hall has been a home for some of Plaid Cymru’s most notable figures over the decades, and is a vital resource for our Aberystwyth University Plaid Cymru Youth branch.
The risk to Pantycelyn’s future can be seen as a U-turn from the University’s commitment last year to keep the Hall open as designated Welsh language residence, with such a threat now ignoring the recommendations of the ‘Working Group on Pantycelyn’s Future’, whilst also being announced at a very inconvenient and uneasy time for many students in the middle of their exams.
Plaid Cymru share’s the view of the UMCA- Aberystwyth University’s Welsh Student Union, that Pantycelyn should continue as accommodation for students at Aberystwyth University for years to come. The Welsh community is vulnerable and it needs to be protected, not damaged.
In reaction to the threat, Gwion Dafydd, Chairman of the Plaid Cymru Youth branch at Aberystwyth University, noted-
“It was a great disappointment to hear about the University’s U-turn in regards to Pantycelyn’s future as student accommodation. It’s obvious they have completely ignored the demands of Pantycelyn’s residents, and the University’s Welsh Community- thus causing huge damage to their reputation. Its a disgrace no guarantee has been put on the future of the hall, which continues to be a cornerstone of the Welsh community, as it has been for generations. We must now strive for the University to guarantee Pantycelyn’s future, and this by listening to the yearning of its residents-who have lost all faith in an institution, which has, arguably, deceived them”.
To show your support for the campaign, we urge you to donate here, whilst you can also show your support on both Facebook and Twitter.
