Being in the suspended animation of lockdown is giving me time to reflect on my student status and the oddity of being a mature student at this time.
Student life was already very different to my memories from the University of Glasgow in the 90s… was it being at a campus-based university that was different? Being a research postgraduate? Or being a “cheese” (as we amusingly called the mature students when I was first at university)?
All these differences make student life this time round very different, but the main difference I can see is the role of the student as a product or commodity, and how this has skewed the experience for me.
While many positive changes exist in the support available for students now compared to a few years ago, the privatisation of many parts of student life feel a bit alien to me.
Accommodation
I’m luckily not in need of campus-based accommodation, and I am very grateful for that, but the costs associated with student accommodation seem really high.
I had assumed the weekly rents I see advertised in London were a “London thing”, but nope – it seems the costs of student accommodation are pretty much universally high. Although it’s much nicer accommodation than I had in university halls, the cost is eye-watering!
I’m also unsure how much the universities make from this, as many seem to be outsourced to private companies.
Food
I recall rarely eating at home in my first round of student days, despite living close to campus. Yet I don’t recall it costing a huge amount of money – certainly not the same as “normal” eating out.
I have had lunch on campus a few times and the food available is pretty bog-standard cheap pub grub, but still with a decent price tag. Although, I noted on my last trip to my first university town of Glasgow, it is a city that loves to provide a fab lunch for not much money, so my memories of two for £5 “burrito and a drink” pub lunches may be true!
Eating out on campus this time round feels like a treat rather than a quick way to fuel up and maybe socialise.
Student discounts
The excitement from many friends last summer was the impending advent of my access to student discounts.
Yep, that has changed, too.
It’s no longer enough just to flash your university card at the till. It’s all apps and loyalty schemes, and even paying to join some discount schemes. I’m not being all “bah humbug” about this, but the pressure in freshers’ week to sign up to these things was intense.
I’ve joined one free one, and just checking my latest offers’ today and I can get discounts at:
- Myprotein – a snacks and vitamin company
- LoveHoney – a sex shop
- Dominos pizza – pretty self-explanatory
- Boohoo.com – an online fashion retailer
So, really, many of life’s essentials then!
The classic “10% off technology and stationery” deals still exist, but you have to hunt for those deals, while the ones above end up as notifications on your phone, as well as emails. Truly my worth as a student feels as if it is as a consumer and I am being prepped for a life of materialistic pleasures.
But it’s not all bad − I am loving student life and my project, but this shift change in the approach to students as a commodity by so many aspects of student life leaves me feeling a little sad.
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