University life for 'freshers' (2019/20) - first year campus life suspended, sitting out/surviving the pandemic and staying on top of studying [Edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

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DD is doing a science degree and has never used the library so far.

I wouldn't think libraries would require a physical presence these days (except to have quiet head space) as surely everything is online????

DD said not everything is available online so would use the library a lot. She said they had set up social distancing in the library before lockdown and that there was hand sanitiser on entry etc and it was working fine.

My DD does all her studying in the library, so has found lockdown studying at home difficult.

My dd has lots of practicals and enjoys studying in the library.

DD said that her halls were quiet enough to study in, plus the library was a 20 minute walk away, which was enough to put her off (she has CFS and knee jint problems). Once she goes back the library will be a metreo ride away.

Doing a law degree and been in the library around 4-5 times I think. 99% if the reading is online so this was just 1% extra suggested reading (and even then I have been renewing sane book since October and still not read it all)

Are libraries ever really super busy though? My recollection is that they weren't/aren't. It's only a certain type of student who likes using a library.

At DD’s uni the library also used for meetings fir group projects - they can reserve a pod or side room. This should be ok too. She does use the library (humanities subject) a fair bit but it’s only ever rammed at exam time she says

Mine likes using the library to study as a change of venue from her room .
She's looking forward to her houseshare in September so fingers crossed will all go ahead .

@Querlous I'm sorry if you feel you had a negative response to the information that you shared. I found it useful. Though we may not yet know what will happen, and different institutions may take different courses of action, I find it helpful to learn what the various options might be so that I can prepare myself mentally and try and manage the expectations of my DC. I have a 1st year and a 3rd year at 2 different universities. Would you mind sharing which uni your DD is at?

@NewModelArmyMayhem18, DD says the libraries in Bristol are super busy all the time. I’m not sure if it’s a “certain type” that uses them - she is a party animal and works in a nightclub..... unless that’s the type?

Dd is an extremely sociable, popular girl who loves her course and is doing well. She also works in the library a lot so maybe you mean that "type"?

I also find it helpful to see what different universities are considering but I do wonder whether January in mid-winter and mid-flu season will be any better?
Also what are we supposed to do about the accommodation we have agreed to guarantee? Do we pay for empty rooms until our DC’s can go back and then try to get them home if they get ill? I can’t see universities or local health facilities having the means to care for them? What happens if a student is left all alone and no one finds out? Surely it’s too much of a liability for a university?
Also, contrary to one poster, my law student can’t access all the books and cases she needs for her course online so she needs the university library!

I've heard that one option being considered is face to face teaching and practical/lab work resumes at the start of term in September with the aim to get most of the practical elements required complete before a poss second lockdown in jan (peak flu season) when virtual teaching will be required again.
Again, like other options being posted here it hasn't been announced formally but it's an interesting idea for discussion
I'm finding the general conversation about what 'could' happen useful for managing DD expectations going forward into 2nd year.

baytreemum there’s nothing stopping students moving into their second year accommodation in due course. If they chose not to then that should not be at the landlord’s Cost. Unless especially remote the hospital close to uni wouldn’t necessarily be any better or worse equipped to deal with any student admissions would they? And in a shared house it will actually be easier for the friends to look out for each other. It’s not a liability for the university if a student becomes ill with anything, especially if they are not in university accommodation. If they do fall ill they will just have to self isolate within the house as best they can.

I went into the college library 3 times over university and the university library four times.
College:
Once for the introduction we all were told to do.
Once at 2am to pretend we were a ghost (we had a chain to rattle and creaked the door... and then found there was no one there except ourselves)
Once to see if a specific book was there (it wasn't)
University:
Once for the introduction
Three times after I'd finished finals when I ordered some fiction books that I'd always wanted to read from the stack and read them over three days.

But for maths you need it less than other subjects. History, for example, seemed to work in the library more often than not.

That's what I think people meant by the "type".

Yes @VanCleefArpels but neither are universities ‘liable’ for mental health issues in their students but it doesn’t look great if their students are alone or sick and abandoned with a potentially fatal disease like covid at university. Not all students are lucky enough to live in a caring sharing student house. As for local hospitals and health centres coping with a large influx of sick students, I hope you are right that they have capacity. My DD certainly didn’t have that experience when she was taken seriously ill last term.

Sorry to hear that baytree. The likelihood is that our young people won’t need hospital treatment if they do get ill with this.

@VanCleefArpels, I have one doing History and one doing Sociology so both doing that “type” of degree

SD prey that should have been @Witchend!

Sorry!

What happens if a student is left all alone and no one finds out?

Where I work I have one student who stayed on campus. I contacted them every week to make sure they were ok, had been able to get food, etc. I felt as their personal tutor I needed to do that. They’ve now gone home.

The accommodation team also have a list of which students have stayed on campus and are contacting them frequently.

The accommodation team at Lincoln do weekly checks (they actually go around) to knock on doors and see who is there, which is nice.

A student from Durham wrote a very strange letter to the Times about it being impossible to social distance form housemates in private accommodation, which rather suggested he didn't understand the term household!

A student from Durham wrote a very strange letter to the Times about it being impossible to social distance form housemates in private accommodation, which rather suggested he didn't understand the term household!

The irony of this from someone bright enough to get into Durham