Meet Edward Cider-hands
Alcohol consumption is not central to a university education.
Have you ever met Edward Cider-hands? Edward is a hapless fresher with a very large bottle of cider gaffa-taped to each hand. Neither bottle may be removed until its contents are gone.
Thankfully, I have never met Edward in York, but encountered him at another university. He was desperately seeking someone to help him with the inevitable problems arising from drinking large quantities of cider and not having the use of one’s hands.
Unlike many universities, York is fairly tame when it comes to the drinking culture and initiation ceremonies that go hand in hand with student life. Many sports societies go out of their way to ensure freshers won’t have to humiliate themselves in order to play. But the news that a Derwent bar rep forced freshers to ‘down’ pints of milk and ginger beer in order to make them sick certainly made me queasy. And it wasn’t the noxious mixture of the drinks. It was the repellent idea that some twisted individual thought it was fun to watch people vomit, plus the sad fact that others felt pressured into demeaning themselves in front of their peers.
As a naïve fresher I once sat in my college kitchen swigging from a bottle of vodka being passed around. It was one of the lowest points of my time at York. God, I thought, is this what’s expected of me? Am I going to do this for the next three years until I learn to like it? Fortunately, I soon realised my fellow freshers weren’t enjoying it much either, and we now look back amusedly on our early student days. But some people don’t.
How many of us know people who never go out to drink and feel less accepted because of it? Or people that came out once in Freshers’ Week and never again? It is time the JCRs realise that many students have come to York to study and make good friends but fail to do the latter because of what they feel is expected of them. Freshers’ Week was alcohol-fuelled and still fun, but I propose that next year, York offers students one main-stream sober event.
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Before I arrived at York, I was under the impression that we didn’t get a fresher’s week since all the activites were in the evening. I assumed that we would have lectures in the day and then drinking things at night, in a bizarre sort of fake fresher’s week.
I think you make a valid point; all the activities were geared towards alcohol.
A friend of mine is studying at the University of Sheffield and his fresher’s timetable was packed full of activities for all kinds of people; drinkers and non-drinkers; there was organised trips to IKEA “to brighten up rooms” there was extensive attempts to involve everyone.
I don’t feel that happened here. I didn’t enjoy fresher’s week particularly; and I think my social life has suffered as a result.
Thanks for your contribution Matilda. I am sure there are many freshers who feel the same – this is an issue which I feel very strongly about.
What sort of sober fresher’s week events would you suggest? Trips to Ikea sound rather dull.