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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To contact uni about pissed students?

79 replies

PigOnStilts · 06/09/2013 08:46

Every year it's the same. We have nearly six months of peace, then BANG! The flyposting starts up, removal vans pull up and we're back at the start of term with noisy students waking us up shouting in the street. There are loads of families in our street, so safe to assume we were all disrupted last night.

I live in a beautiful old tenement in glasgow...and every autumn it's the same shit. Is there anything that can be done and us there any point in contacting the university?

OP posts:
Pawprint · 06/09/2013 12:18

I know what you mean. It was one part of uni life I didn't like - the selfishness of pissed students I had my moments though

Even my flat mates could be inconsiderate, I remember, having parties etc the night before an exam I was too swotty for my own good

Ev1lEdna · 06/09/2013 12:24

You are in Glasgow, there are 3 universities. Do you know which one they attend?

HuglessDouglas · 06/09/2013 13:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MmmmWhiteWine · 06/09/2013 13:55

Sorry but there's absolutely no point complaining to the University (which one, by the way...how do you know which University/College they are students of?). What do you expect them to do?? It's not uni accommodation, you don't know who the students are or even what uni they go to? The students are adults and the uni isn't responsible for their behaviour. They certainly will not email every registered student and tell them to behave on their way home. I guess it's just the price you pay for living in the West End.... They'll calm down after the excitement of first term wears off (hopefully!).

Original poster
PigOnStilts · 06/09/2013 14:22

Yeah, I'm 3 mins walk from glasgow uni, mikes away from any other college or uni. I do realise I just have to suck it up....it's just irritating...my baby went through the night for the first time last night.....and nobody lse got much sleep!

OP posts:
chrome100 · 06/09/2013 14:25

I live right next to Leeds University so all my neighbours are students and there are a lot of them about. The summer is very peaceful so it is always a big shock when they return and are noisy and messy. Althuogh it's not ideal, I do think it's part and parcel of city life. They are young people finding their feet and having a good time. It will calm down to a more manageable level soon.

I for one like living among students. They are always having fun, the place is lively and energetic. It's safe for me to walk around at all hours of the night because the streets are so busy. They bring a lot of money to the local economy, far more than the costs incurred in cleaning up their mess.

HuglessDouglas · 06/09/2013 14:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WandaDoff · 06/09/2013 14:31

This is why I don't live in Partick anymore.

littlewhitebag · 06/09/2013 14:33

My DD also lives in an old tenement in the West End of Glasgow. She and her flatmates are polite, hardworking and fairly quiet.

Oh, and they are also students at Glasgow Uni.

Please don't tar all students with the same brush.

It is freshers week and all the new students will be cutting loose and drinking a lot, which means a lot of noise. I absolutely understand this as I too live in a student town. However it does tend to calm down a bit as term goes on.

Annunziata · 06/09/2013 14:36

Glasgow uni doesn't start back for another 3 weeks- Fresher's Week is the 16th starting, no?

I think YABU, that's what you take when you live in the West End.

littlewhitebag · 06/09/2013 14:41

Annunzaita I am not sure when Freshers week is this year. My DD usually helps at it but she is out of the country right now and doesn't come back until her classes start. I think it will be week of 16th as you say as her classes start on 23rd.

I suppose the non first year students will be drifting back now especially if they have flats which they rent for the whole year.

Seaweedy · 06/09/2013 15:03

I would contact the university. I am an academic, and my institution is extremely concerned to foster good relations between students and the wider community. Complaints (with us the first port of call is the SU) are taken seriously, to the extent that the university banned Rag Week a few years ago, because of public disgust with student drunkenness etc.

BovrilonToast · 06/09/2013 15:32

I have been through this where I live and the university took it very seriously. There is a pretty much a running battle between the Uni and the town council as the council let HMOs appear unchecked for years, and now there are roads which are well over 50% HMO and are driving out local residents (who aren't students)

The contact between the right councillor - (make sure you contact all of your wards councillors) and the uni should help.

I am about to meet the new neighbours for this year, hopefully they'll considerate...

Failing that - double glazing has made an enormous difference to life Grin

PrimalLass · 06/09/2013 15:54

I know there's not much I can do...hence the thread....apart from...cut out policeman, water cannon?!

Nope, the students will just steal them Grin

Titsalinabumsquash · 06/09/2013 16:00

I feel for you, my last house was in a group of houses in a square with a big green in the middle, out of 12 houses 7 were families with young children, 2 were elderly couples and 3 were student lets.

The kids all played out together all day, it was so obviously a child populated area yet the students thought it was fine to throw huge parties on the green each night, screaming, shouting and throwing beer bottles around, shouting foul language at each other at 2/3am

It really got to me, I survived a pregnancy through it, but after them waking newborn DS up a few times I politely asked if they could keep it down and pointed out that there were many children around not just mine and we were in fact 5 minutes from town if they wanted to be loud and drunk.
They agreed but it never stopped, every intake was the same each year.
I moved in the end, it's blissfully silent at night here.

BIWI · 06/09/2013 16:03

But how do you know they are students? A massive assumption on your part!

clarinetV2 · 06/09/2013 16:24

It's worth contacting the university. They will have a student code of conduct or something like that - I've just googled 'University of Glasgow student discipline' and found theirs. Strathclyde's (I'm assuming your local uni is one of these) isn't quite so easy to find online but you could contact them for it. They will also have on their website who you should contact if you have concerns about student behaviour. It's definitely worth contacting them as they usually take community relations very seriously. I had problems with students next door one year, and the university sorted it out very quickly. Good luck!

ubik · 06/09/2013 16:29

I live in a Glasgow tenement near the uni.

I don't mind the outside noise, they calm down after a while, and I was a student once so I remember the excitement Grin

I like having the students around. I get a bit irritating when they have hustings as they plaster the area with their posters.

Except for the ones that tried to kick my storm doors in when i was alone in the flat with my children..or the ones that pissed on our buggy... or smashed up our close door leaving glass and blood for my children to run into in the morning.

But most students are lovely.

ubik · 06/09/2013 16:38

BIWI - in Glasgow you can tell who are the students.

Frankly I think the turn out of Oran Mor is worse and Ashton Lane seems to be full of hammered divorcees staggering about. Much more anoying than students.

Ev1lEdna · 06/09/2013 17:10

It must be annoying, and I suspect I know roughly where you are and they are most likely University of Glasgow, however, plenty of kids in the west end go to the Caladonian University or Strathclyde too. I imagine this will calm down since it is the first heady weeks of fun. I'm not sure the university would do a great deal since they can't really pin-point the culprits and I speak both as someone who attended the University of Glasgow and who has worked for a couple of universities. I could be wrong and I hope you do get it sorted out. It can't be easy dealing with that with a young child in the house.

Ev1lEdna · 06/09/2013 17:12

ubik I noticed that when I went to Ashton Lane recently. Grin I'm sure it wasn't like that when I lived in the West end. Perhaps my memory is hazy ... Blush

Original poster
PigOnStilts · 06/09/2013 17:27

That's true, Ashton lanes become really neddy....ok in the week, avoid at all costs on weekend..... Finnieston is the place to go these days according to my more carefree chums.

OP posts:
Original poster
PigOnStilts · 06/09/2013 17:30

I'm not some hatchet btw, I do go away every year so my neighbour upstairs can have his big birthday pardee, and we book our hols during term time always...but it's just stressful.

OP posts:
InLoveWithDavidTennant · 06/09/2013 17:44

i live in a student area as dh works at the uni here. last year was awful for us (the worst in the 3 we've been here). parties, loud music/telly/porn Hmm till 6am, shouting in the street, take away cartons and rubbish through our letter box, drink cans and bottles on our window, pissing in the street, fighting, vile language, hitting cars, breaking cars, rubbish all over the street, ball games against windows, shouting etc etc etc (live in terraced street so it echos)

someone once asked them to keep it down... and for months after was shouted at, called names, had her doors and windows kicked whenever they passed. there is no way i would ask them to keep it down after witnessing that! some of the stuff they said was vile.

i once had to call the police on the house opposite as one guy had forgotten his keys and was trying to break in. his banging and kicking went on for over an hour at 4am. police left and he continued to try and break in. didnt suceed as he was so drunk but managed to piss in the street then when his mate arrived they started on vandalising cars

aparently uni's do take complaints seriously and it can go against their final mark... though have never complained. will see what september brings... but if we have problems again i will have no issue with complaining about them

we also have families and older folk here... though there does seem to be more and more students each year. wouldnt be suprised if people have moved because of it.

its bloody awful and people shouldnt have to "just put up with it" just because they are students and its expected Angry

RevoltingPeasant · 06/09/2013 18:03

OP you might contact the local police and see if they have a community liaison officer. Some areas (York, Leeds, Newcastle IME) will often put a few extra officers out on the beat at night in late Sept/ Oct and that presence can just calm down the rowdiest.

I work at a university and agree that town/gown relations are hugely important, BUT a) you don't know for sure that they are Glasgow Uni students and b) the university can send as many emails as they like, but tutors aren't going to be standing on your road tutting at 3am.

The police might.

The other thing you could do is, contact their landlords if you know where they live and make a comment. Many LLs are sympathetic as they know complaints to the council will do them no good.