After hundreds of positive cases were confirmed at UK universities, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has refused to rule out the possibility of students having to stay at university over the Christmas break.
This comes after 120 cases have been registered at Glasgow University, and 127 at Manchester Metropolitan University, resulting in thousands of students being forced to self isolate.
With the majority of lectures and seminars now being held online, pubs and bars having a 10pm curfew, and freshers being rescheduled, do Nottingham Trent students wish they’d stayed at home?
Psychology and Criminology student Jace Allen, 20, said she is happy to be back at university as she has three younger siblings, and would find it difficult to do online learning for her third year from her family home.
“I’d be pretty annoyed if I couldn’t go home for Christmas though, but I do have a lot of extended family in Nottingham, so I wouldn’t be totally alone.
“However I don’t think they could enforce making students stay in their rented houses, it would be impossible”, she added.
An international first year student who wished to remain anonymous said he isn’t bothered about curfews on pubs, but was disappointed that he couldn’t enjoy a proper Freshers’ Fair.
“As a foreign student I would rather stay close to uni rather than being at home.
“I’m prepared to stay here over Christmas if I have to, as if I went home I would have to self-isolate anyway, and then again when I come back to Nottingham.
“It would save me money by not travelling, too.”
As an Arts and Humanities student, he said that he feels his mental wellbeing would depend on how well online classes are delivered, and he tries not to care too much about the situation.
Thousands of students are feeling let down by universities and the government, as talk of in-person teaching grew at the start of September, only for students to come to university, pay for their accommodation and be told the majority of teaching is online, with no reduced fees.
Third year Politics and International Relations student Emma Usher, 20, said that she still has to go into university three times a week, so she doesn’t really feel the impact of online learning. However, she worries about the possibility of staying in Nottingham over Christmas.
She said: “Christmas is the time to recharge and see my family and the effect it will on mental health due to being away from home for so long is not something I want.”
Despite going back home in March after lockdown was announced, Emma and her housemates had to continue paying full rent for their shared house, with only one of them spending any time there over summer.
“I understand it was part of the deal for keeping the house for our last year, but between March and July no-one was there, and six of us were paying full rent for it.
“I can’t pay my rent with my student loan, my mum had to pay £864 for August to October.
“I’m lucky that she is able to do that for me, but I feel bad for students who aren’t in that position. I feel ripped off.”
Lana Bester, 21, who is studying first year Communication, Society and Global Studies after changing course last year, said whilst she was at home over lockdown, her mental health improved massively, after being around her family so much.
However, since coming back to university it’s taken a turn for the worse.
“I’ve been back for a week now, and I’ve had six panic attacks.
“I live in a shared house with friends from last year, but I’ve wanted to go home every day. If I didn’t have to pay for my accommodation I’d go home in the blink of an eye and study remotely.”
She added: “I’ve been contacted before about support for my mental health, but I’m not sure what’s been put in place in terms of support for Covid-related issues now.”
In a Twitter poll, 64.3 per cent of NTU students who responded said they were glad to be back in Nottingham, but when it comes to online learning, 60 per cent said they’d rather be at home.
When asked in a survey about how they would feel about staying in Nottingham for Christmas, one student said that they would feel okay as long as they could still socialise with friends, whilst another said they doubt the policy could be easily enforced and adhered to.
By Tia Sanders
Featured image: Olimpia Zagnat (modified)
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