Bristol University’s Independent Student Newspaper Issue 248
•
Monday 5th March 2012
• www.epigram.org.uk
Freshers’ Week campaign success Jessica Wingrad Senior News Reporter
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decision at Senate on Monday 27th February to maintain the week long series of events. A survey of nearly 2000 students last year revealed that the plans to restructure the academic year in general were favoured, but that the shortening of Freshers’ Week was less well-liked, with 57% of those surveyed opposing it outright. After the Senate meeting, Alford commented, ‘At Senate today the paper passed with the amendment that Freshers’ would not be shortened so we think we’ve managed to negotiate the best deal for students’. A spokesman for the University of Bristol, David Alder, defended the University’s position, maintaining that the proposals were not aimed at spoiling students’ fun. He said, ‘Students need to be inducted over a much longer period than a week,
349
Number of signatures on the online petition against downsizing Freshers’ Week
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this is absolutely not to do with trying to curtail enjoyment or drinking. It’s to do with the rhythm of the academic year’. Although the motion to shorten Freshers’ Week has been abandoned at this stage, it has not been permanently quashed and the University could attempt to cut Freshers’ Week again in the future. Under the new academic structure which was accepted at Senate, exams at ‘non-standard’ times will be cut back with a view to them being eradicated. This will affect students who currently have exams in the Easter holidays, or during the second semester. The Christmas and Easter holidays will also be shortened by a week to three weeks, in order to make space for an assessment period in January, which the University hopes will ease the pressure of the summer exam period.
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The University of Bristol Senate has approved plans to completely restructure the academic year, shortening Christmas and Easter holidays to three weeks to make way for a designated ‘assessment period’ in January. The original proposal included plans to reduce Freshers’ Week from one week to three days in an effort to undermine the excessive drinking culture which the University argues it encourages. However, after strong student opposition these plans were shelved indefinitely and for the time being Freshers’ will remain five days long. A minority of students had supported the proposed shortening of Freshers’ Week because the clubbing and drinking which takes up much of the time arguably does not reflect the interests of many of students. However, this was countered by a huge backlash from the student body at large which led to the launch of a campaign to maintain the traditional full five days of Freshers’ events. Students determined to save Freshers’ Week gathered support in an online petition set up by UBU Vice-President Education Josh Alford. The petition claims that, ‘Freshers’ is not perfect and more structure and support could certainly be put in place for new students during the opening week. ‘However cutting Freshers’ Week will limit students’ opportunities, potentially hinder bonding and certainly will not stop the “irresponsible drinking culture” that the University believes many students partake in. Comments attached to the signatures argue that a three-day Freshers’ Week would hold back new students from settling into university life, as well as arguing that new students would only enforce an unofficial five-day Freshers’ Week themselves. More than three hundred students signed the petition which has now closed after the
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