Nottingham Trent Students Union’s decision to cancel events on the City and Clifton campus but not on Brackenhurst is simply irresponsible and dangerous, says Matt Lee, second-year Journalism student at NTU.
The city, and several nearby boroughs, are set to enter Tier 3 as of 00.01am on Thursday, but NTSU have chosen not to cast a blanket of postponement on events across all three of their campuses – instead, opting only to act upon events on the City and Clifton campuses.
At a time when we are being told that households are told not to mix indoors, and pubs and bars are instructed to close, it is simply irrational that events on Brackenhurst campus can continue.
It is clear that the main issue does lie within the regions of Nottingham City, Rushcliffe, Broxtowe and Gedling – cases per 100,000 people in these areas all sit well above the national average of 212.5.
Yet it seems almost forgotten that there are students who live within those regions yet have to commute to Brackenhurst campus, in the Newark and Sherwood area, to continue their studies – which are permitted to carry on in both tiers two and three.
It’s an even more baffling stance to approach social events given Nottingham city’s rate has decreased at a startling rate – from nearly 900 at one stage, to 439.8 as of the week ending October 24. Areas in northern Nottinghamshire, meanwhile, have risen higher and higher as the days go by – with Newark & Sherwood now at 198.5. This is still below the national average, at 219.5 at the time of publication, but a blanket approach from NTSU is what is required.
Students who live and study in Brackenhurst continue to be at risk of catching the disease if they work in the city centre; equally, those living in the city centre but studying at Brackenhurst are at risk of migrating the disease across. To choose not to do a blanket postponement of events on all campuses seems simply illogical and is putting people’s lives at risk.
What is even worse is the thought of students, many of whom will be desperate for a night out, piling onto the buses in order to get back home. Or, even worse, they will all crawl back to various homes and student accommodation and host after-parties.
The last few weeks has seen Nottingham fill many of the headlines on most of the regional, national and international media outlets. Articles such as “Nottingham party students fined £40,000” and “Nottingham students cause carnage of the streets after 10pm curfew as Covid spike leaves city on brink of lockdown” have barely improved the reputation of students in the area.
It means the actions of those going above and beyond to help others struggling in lockdown, such as a number of students who set up a community action group in Lenton, have been overshadowed by those so blatantly breaking the rules.
The rise in cases can, mostly, be put down to the combination of thousands of students returning to both Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham, as well as the ignorance of a minority of these students in not following the local restrictions.
The importance of following these rules is clearly not being adopted by some students and, as a result, it is ridiculous that NTSU has decided to continue events in Brackenhurst.
By Matt Lee
Feature image: Faith Pring