Let me transport you back to your time at university, those days that burnt bright and fused fast – the days that were yours for the taking. A simpler time; when you forged transient friendships in the bathroom stalls of sticky-floored nightclubs, when you styled questionable haircuts with unforgivable outfits, when you danced off the hours lost working in the library – a slave to the desk and then to the dancefloor. It’s fair to say that university is a cluster of experiences; some you regret, some you don’t, some you’ll share with your children and some you won’t…
So what happens when the fag-stained, wine-soaked carpet is pulled from underneath your feet? What happens when your reality is less about the cluster of experiences and more about the reliability of your wireless router? While Covid-19 had taken a toll on everybody’s mental wellbeing, students have been reporting high levels of anxiety, stress and loneliness. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 57% of participating students stated a deterioration in their mental health and wellbeing since the start of the autumn term. In light of these statistics, what is it exactly that students are finding hardest and what is being done to support them?
