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Tight campus closures and the worsening mental health crisis are creating a “perfect storm”, student leaders warned, after tensions flared in Manchester, where the fence erected around the accommodation was brought down.
Students on other campuses are organizing rental strikes and complaining about the lack of mental health support in the context of the new coronavirus national lockdown in England, under which they have been told not to return to their family homes during the School period.
In cities like Nottingham and Lincoln, there has also been a backlash among students and staff towards universities, who insist that students and faculty travel to campuses for face-to-face teaching.
Leeds student leaders have leveled heavy-handed accusations against security guards on campuses elsewhere, including using dogs to patrol residence hallways.
The new national restrictions will go into effect in England on Thursday, after MPs vote on them, and will remain in effect until at least 2 December.
Why can I leave the house?
- For childcare or education, where it is not provided online.
- To go to work unless it can be done from home.
- Exercise outdoors with members of the household or with a person from another household.
- For all medical reasons and appointments.
- To escape injury or damage, such as domestic abuse.
- To provide care for vulnerable people or volunteer.
- To buy food and basic products.
- See people in your bubble of support.
- Children will still be able to move between homes if their parents are separated.
The government says the list is not exhaustive and that other permitted reasons for leaving home can be established later. People could face police fines for leaving their home without a legally permitted excuse.
Can you mix different homes indoors?
No, unless they are part of an “exclusive” support bubble, which allows a one-person household to meet and socialize with another household.
Parents can form a child care bubble with another household for the purpose of informal child care, when the child is 13 years old or younger.
Can different homes be mixed outdoors?
People can meet a person from another household socially and for exercise in public outdoor spaces, which do not include private gardens.
Can I attend funerals, weddings, or religious services?
Up to 30 people will be allowed to attend funerals, while stone setting and ash scattering can continue with up to 15 guests.
Weddings and civil couple ceremonies are not allowed except in “exceptional circumstances.” Places of worship must remain closed except for volunteer services, individual prayer, and other exempt activities.
Can I travel to the UK or abroad for a holiday?
Most international travel abroad will be prohibited. There is no exemption for staying away from home on vacation. This means that people cannot travel internationally or within the UK, unless it is for work, education or other legally permitted exemptions.
What businesses will they close?
Everything except essential stores and educational settings, including daycares, schools and universities, will close.
Entertainment venues will also have to close. Indoor and outdoor pubs, restaurants and entertainment facilities will need to close their doors once again.
However, takeout and delivery services will continue to be allowed, while construction and manufacturing will remain open.
Parents will still be able to access registered childcare and other childcare activities when reasonably necessary for parents to work. Some youth services may continue, such as one-on-one youth work, but most youth clubs will need to close their doors.
Public services such as jobs, courts and civil registry offices will remain open.
There are no exemptions for organized grassroots team sports. Elite sports will be allowed to continue behind closed doors as at present, including Premier League football matches.
Aaron Walawalkar
The University of Cambridge was accused of sending harsh emails warning that any student who returned home during the term for extended periods would not graduate or progress to the next year, unless they had an exemption for health reasons. While the policy predates the pandemic, the students hoped it would back down.
Ben Margolis, undergraduate president of the Cambridge Student Union, said universities had been applying the rules inconsistently, with some more lenient than others. He added that some students had left without permission, while international students were particularly angry.
Meanwhile, a day after fences meant to control the spread of the coronavirus around residences on Manchester’s Fallowfield campus were brought down, students were woken up to fire alarms and early morning evacuations.
“We all thought it was a bit suspicious,” said George Rogers, a freshman. “Fire alarms are usually on Wednesdays between 11 a.m. It was very cold “.
The university said these were scheduled fire evacuation drills, in accordance with the UK code of conduct, which were postponed from the start of the course.
On Thursday night, hundreds of students attended the protest to tear down the fences. The rally was organized by individual students together with Rent Strike Manchester, a student collective that is campaigning for a 40% rent reduction and better support for students by withholding rent payments at their residences.
Molly, an organizer and freshman economics student, said the protest had galvanized students, some of whom now plan to participate in the rent strike.
“We realized that people were more angry and frustrated than we initially thought, so there is a good sense of solidarity and people are excited to continue to take action,” he said.
Rent Strike Manchester said his WhatsApp group chat had increased by roughly 150, his Twitter account went from 300 followers to 1,200, and his Instagram page gained 1,000 followers.
Students from other universities, including Glasgow and Liverpool, plan to hold solidarity marches with Manchester next week, organized by grassroots groups under the name Students Before Profit, which is campaigning for better support.
Students at various universities are unhappy with the level of mental health support they have received, with complaints about difficult-to-access services, long waiting lists, or limited 15-minute time frames.
Amy Bicknell Brown, a student at the University of Reading, said she had trouble getting an appointment with a counselor. “I had never had any real mental health problems before Covid-19, but in the last six months I don’t think I have been that depressed, anxious, stressed and depressed,” she said.
Leila Malik, a sophomore in Manchester who created a Facebook group to collect stories from students about their experiences of anxiety and depression, said: “The workload and academic pressure are the same, if not more, than in previous years, but we cannot function normally because we are not receiving the same education. “
The National Union of Students is campaigning for fees to be reimbursed to students if they want to drop their courses. “We are seeing what can only be described as a pressure cooker atmosphere on college campuses right now,” said Larissa Kennedy, president of NUS.
More than 1 million students who had been encouraged to move across the country during the pandemic came to campus only to find that they had been “sold a lie” about the possibility of face-to-face teaching because their institutions were concerned with charging. fees and rent, he added.
A Cambridge spokesperson said: “The University of Cambridge is following UK government guidance given to all universities to keep the university and faculties open, and to ask resident students to stay here and avoid travel while the closure national is in force “.
A University of Leeds spokesperson said: “Dog patrols are a familiar sight on university property, including around residences, and are there to serve as a visible source of reassurance for staff and students.
“We are not aware of any complaints about dogs, and our students have always been reassured by their presence.”
