What freshers week looks like in the time of Covid

Four disco balls hang in the empty Lemon Grove bar at the University of Exeter. It is usually packed in Freshers’ week, with up to 800 students drinking and dancing away before term starts. This year, it is empty, save for handymen putting up safety signs with the new capacity limits: less than 100.

On the surface, Freshers’ week here simply consists of a virtual fair where societies hold Zoom presentations, socialising happens within assigned bubbles and free face masks and thermometers are handed out in lieu of beer bottle openers and wristbands.

But things are different behind closed doors in student halls and houses, where several illegal parties have already been held, as new students look to recreate the nightclub experience themselves.

The university has been very careful about safety policies on its campus. Students must wear face masks and follow a one-way route through the main building. Every other desk is cordoned off in the library to allow for social distancing.

In the office for student paper Exeposé sits editor Kamila Bell and deputy editor Pete Syme, who both wear face masks. University rules dictate that the windows of the office have to be kept propped open at all times to allow for adequate ventilation. I ask if this policy will continue into the winter. “I don’t know”, says Bell, sounding resigned.

The paper, like all societies at Exeter, has been banned from holding any social events in real life this term; not even ones which abide by the rule of six. Instead, they have tried to attract first years with Zoom workshops in Freshers’ week. They have been somewhat successful, attracting dozens of people at a time. But there is one major flaw: “You can’t make friends on Zoom”, says Syme.

The rule of six has exemptions for organised sports. Matches and training are allowed - even in contact sports where social distancing is impossible - but the pints afterwards have been cancelled.

Katy Dalglish, 21, says that freshers have been rushing to sessions at the lacrosse club, even if they have no particular interest in the sport. “They said they’re just desperate to meet people”, she explains. Banners advertising the club have blacked-out sections, covering the logos of nightclubs in the city that they used to have affiliations with before this year.

“Pushing it out of sight is idiotic”, Lewis Spragg, a 20-year-old law student who is also on the lacrosse team, says of the establishment’s cancellation of most events, which he believes has led to an uptick in clandestine parties. Dalglish agrees: “I think if [social gatherings] were in organised groups then it could be safer”.

University halls have been subdivided into household units, with students expected to socialise within them, or by abiding by the rule of six if they want to socialise informally outside of those groups. But students tell me that little notice is being taken of the signs on the doors inside halls, and that they are mixing freely with each other.

There have been several parties already in halls, where hundreds of students mingle together. Wardens employed by the university have been sent to disperse the groups, often with little effect.

One group of international students tells me how they had even hosted parties within their 14-day quarantine period upon arriving in the country. “Someone snitched on one of our parties”, complains an 18-year-old student from Southeast Asia, who asked to remain anonymous. He says the police were called after university wardens were unable to break up the group. They were given a warning, but no-one was fined.

He sits on the cathedral green with four friends that he met while self-isolating after his arrival in the UK. I ask if they have been to any of the online Freshers events and they laugh. “All we’ve done is alcohol, alcohol, alcohol”, says another male international student.

Even socialising within the rules is difficult as a student. Many live in large house shares, sometimes of up to a dozen people, so inviting just one person over would mean they are breaking the rule of six.

Fresher Mia Honeghan-Bates, 19, says the lack of private space in halls makes it look like there are illegal gatherings even when there aren’t. This week, she adds, police were called to break up a so-called party in the communal outdoor area at her halls. When they arrived, they found all the students chatting in groups no bigger than six. “What’s the point of groups of six anyway, when the groups mingle with each other?” she says.

It would be difficult for students to go out in the evening, too - and sex remains off-limits, according to warnings from health minister Lord Bethell earlier this month, further limiting their fun. Most of the local nightclubs are still shuttered, bar a few which have had to drastically alter their operations. The dance floor at Fever has been taken over by tables for six, which must be booked in advance. “Get ready to boogie in your seat”, reads the website.

With students pushed away from societies and with no nightclubs to go to, many are hanging out in large groups in public areas - often to the irritation of the locals. Exmouth beach, which is half an hour away on the train, has been crowded every day this week with students in large groups. One student describes the number of half-cut 20-somethings on the beach as “like Love Island.”

The locals don’t see it in such a light-hearted way. One anonymous local told the DevonLive news website that they saw groups of up to 15 students socialising on the beach in Freshers’ week. The individual says that the students “sniggered” when asked if they were all one household.

These partying students are living a Jekyll and Hyde double-life. While they may have no regard for the rules at all during the night, in the day time, they are bound by very strict rules set by the university.

Syme describes how students are not just being discouraged from meeting in large groups socially, but for educational purposes, too. His lectures are currently all online, and are often pre-recorded videos where you can’t ask questions.

Seminars (smaller classes where the teacher leads a conversation with the group) were meant to still be going ahead in person. But his teacher is holding even those via Zoom, afraid of the safety implications of coming onto campus. He wonders whether it’s even possible to discuss James Joyce’s Ulysses through a webcam.

A university spokesperson says: “Students are required and expected to adhere to Government laws and guidelines on Covid-19. The University is, and remains, in regular contact with all students and staff to relay the latest Government information, and remind them of the necessity to follow these rules fully. The University, police and local authorities are sharing information and coordinating their response based on any reports received.”

Apparently classes will gradually return to campus throughout the year. In January, competitive sports matches with other universities will resume. But until then, campus will be quiet - at least in plain sight. Which, Syme says, “all seems a bit much”.

The new cans and can’ts of university life

Can’t

• Hold parties

• Go to nightclubs

• Partake in clubs and societies other than sports

• Go to lectures

• Freshers fairs

• Shut windows in the main building

• Take off face masks in the university

Can

• Go to sports matches and training (but not the pub afterwards)

• Watch videos of lectures at home

• Study in the library - but only if a desk has been pre-booked

• Socialise with people in their household