Blog and Comment Editor Harriet Jean Evans takes a look at a few points of etiquette for Freshers' Week and beyond.
Tom Eagles looks back on his Freshers' Week experience.
1.Get drunk
What? I hear people cry; surely drinking is an essential part of socialising and getting to know people. And, of course, they’re right. It is very hard to get on in Freshers’ Week without drinking something (although I know a few admirable people who did so). But accepting the casual pint/shot/treble doesn’t mean you have to get plastered. In fact, getting smashed in a strange city with people you don’t know, probably isn’t the best idea at all. Not only do you risk getting lost, kicked out of places, and charged by an unsympathetic taxi driver for throwing up in his cab, but also you’ll probably remember nothing of the night the day after. Getting drunk is not the best way to make friends – there’ll be enough time for it once you’ve made them!
2.Attend every event
I was rather duped when it came to the events put on by my college and by YUSU. Not by the people putting on the events, but by my own paranoia. I was terrified that if I didn’t buy a ticket for every event going, I’d somehow miss out. So I did so.
What I realised once I got here was that practically everyone I spoke to had done the same. Nobody had really wanted to go to every event, but fear of missing out had led them to spend needless money, as it had me. So, we ditched some of the events: and those nights were some of the best in Freshers’ – we had just as much fun exploring the city of York on our own terms or spending a night in with hot chocolate and a good chat, as we did at any of the organised events. And the variation kept things more exciting.
3.Eat badly
While it’s easier to feed yourself every day with a pub lunch or a late night, post-club takeaway, it’s really not essential. In Freshers’ you could take advantage of all your free time during the day to check out Browns, which aside from selling “probably the best sandwiches in the world” is an excellent grocery shop too. And while you’ve got that time on your hands, why not attempt cooking (before your kitchen gets so disgusting you won’t want to set foot in it – trust me, it won’t take long). I used Freshers’ Week to experiment with the kinds of meals I was going to eat over the rest of the term. Admittedly, I also chopped the end off my thumb one day – but if you are going to have a culinary related accident, why not get it over and done with?
4.Go clubbing every night
As I’ve said, it’s not essential to attend every event in the week, and neither is it essential to experience York’s (fairly interesting, to say the least) clubbing scene. If you’re not a clubbing person – don’t worry about it. York supposedly has more bars than there are days of the year – go out and find them! And if you are a clubbing person, well, maybe this is the time to broaden your horizons and check out what else York has to offer.
5.Hide your homesickness
Fact: everyone is going to miss something when they move to university. Even if they’ve been on gap years, or have moved from another institution, every single one of you is going to be having doubts about something – you don’t have to pretend you’re not. Take a few hours out each day to be on your own. Maybe ring your parents, or just relax and take a break from the craziness of that first week. But whatever you do, don’t let it get you down.
6.Fit in
Okay, so you don’t want to standout completely: there’s always the fear that people will reject you. Solution? Follow the crowd and blend right in with everyone else?
No way! In fact, when you’re trying to make a new friend that’s possibly the worst thing you could do – if you act like everybody else, how are people ever going to remember who you are? So you don’t want to be thought of as the block weirdo – but neither do you want your new flatmates to keep forgetting your name. Strike a balance: don’t always agree if you don’t want to – but don’t go out of your way to alienate people.
7.Forget about your degree
Party all night, sleep all day, then realise in a panic at the end of the week that you were meant to do several things in preparation for your first seminar/lecture. It doesn’t have to be like that – an hour or so out of your day isn’t going to cost you much sleep, and it’ll be worth attending those prep meetings and introductory lectures before you forget why you’re at university.
8.Stick to one set of people
This is the time to explore! Branch out and meet as many people as possible. I know it can be daunting, but once you’ve got to know your flatmates – go and chat to somebody else. Freshers’ is the only time it’ll be so easy to meet people. It’s perfectly acceptable to go up and talk to strangers, ask peoples’ names and get to know people you wouldn’t normally approach – enjoy it!
9.Go crazy with your loan
I have a friend who spent over £300 in Freshers’ Week. Not only did he have to budget considerably for the rest of the term but I’m pretty sure he didn’t have a better time than we did. Plus a few of us thought he was a bit of a fool – not the best impression for you to be making on future friends. Remember: Freshers’ Week isn’t going to be the only time to have fun in your first term, and while the sight of so much money in your bank account can be a little intoxicating, it’s best to save some for other nights.
10.Feel a failure if it doesn’t live up to expectations
One of my memories of being a Fresher was a fellow blockmate shouting down the corridor that we were all “crap freshers”. Now, I reckon that he wasn’t having the time he thought he should have been having. We all have expectations of what the week is going to be like, and of course we can’t just throw those out the window; but what you can do is try not to let them inhibit the experience you do have. One of the best things about uni is that you never know what is going to happen next. Don’t get upset if things don’t go to plan: they rarely will.
That’s what makes it so fun!
You must log in to submit a comment.
