Written by Angelika Santaniello
Illustrated by Sylvain Chan
Content warning: The article briefly mentions rape culture. Reader discretion is advised.
“A Freshers’ ‘Survival Guide’’ toys with the possibility of conceiving a single university student lifestyle model. Writing this article as a third-year LLB student, I inevitably noticed the LSE campus’ vibrancy during Welcome Week, bringing a wave of nostalgia as I try to remember my first-year experience.
From seeing Felix The Beaver around campus, to hearing the all-time famous question – “What do you study?” – between slightly nervous breaths around campus, it is important to remember that there’s more to starting first-year than simple icebreakers, introductory lectures, and attending LSESU society give-it-a-go sessions.
“There’s a big assumption that you need to go out every night.”
One of the most infamous problematic misconceptions pervading an ‘LSE Freshers’ Week’ experience is that about socialising – you must go out every night. It is the only way to make friends.
On the one hand, some may deem an immersion in the London clubbing scene a new experience. For Vasavi (a second-year Politics student), the London nightlife was unexpected: “I hadn’t been clubbing before, but it was a lot of fun” and many “expect it to be something that it’s not”.
A group of first-years I spoke to during Welcome Week seemingly anticipated a question about student nightlife. Ava* was perhaps as surprised as Vasavi: “I kind of expected no nightlife” but was proven otherwise. Bella* anticipated a greater inter-collegiate experience but nonetheless enjoyed it.
However, does point to there being some truth in the assumptions that a freshers’ week experience is largely dictated by clubbing events?
Eve*, who is also in first year, “[doesn’t] really think about” it. This hints at a reality of varying degrees of enthusiasm about an emphasis on clubbing. For some, it is what they look forward to. However, this emphasis perhaps brings pressure to conform to a singular model of a night out.
Skye (a third-year LLB student) not only affirmed the “big assumption that you need to go out every night”, but believed it is seen as “the only way to make friends”. Vasavi offered an alternative perspective, describing the “internal pressure” to go clubbing despite not regretting her first-year experience.
While the group of first-years unanimously admitted to not feeling personally pressured to go out, Sam* explained that someone “was asked [to go out] multiple times even though [they were] Muslim. There was a cultural unawareness in that sense.”
Deconstructing and rejecting the assumption that one must go clubbing at least once to claim they had a ‘fresher’s experience’ would improve a sensitivity to one’s peers around them, ensuring students feels safe and comfortable socialising, and aiding in improving the inclusivity of a Freshers’ Week experience.
Moreover, a misconception about the need to go clubbing dangerously synthesises with an expectation to consume alcohol to socialise. Worryingly, this hinders a greater discussion around decentering alcohol when socialising, which leads to many students (who are sober or sober-curious) feeling discouraged to socialise if there is an expectation to consume alcohol.
So, maybe, as Skye said, “the best way to make friends is to go to events on campus”.
Starting an academic journey at LSE
However one chooses to spend their evenings, it is nonetheless important to reflect on the infamous question – “Why LSE?”.
Bella and Carrie* (also a first-year) elaborated on this. “I just picked based off of the course [which] I really like,” Bella said. Carrie noted that “the professors [..] top of their game […] I can talk to [and be taught by] these people who are super involved with [my] field of study.”
When discussing the LSE as a pathway to a future career, I encouraged the first-years to address the career-focused assumptions about LSE students – problematic connotations to a corporate lifestyle that must be deconstructed. Does a student really need a LinkedIn account to ‘fit in’ with other LSE students?
To perhaps no surprise, the group of first-years found a discussion about Linkedin to not only be off-putting, but quite humorous.
Ava provided a dual lens to the prospect of being asked about a Linkedin profile: “Sometimes people just [ask] because it’s an expectation for them. They want to be seen as an LSE student – ‘I want to be really professional’ – but I don’t know if [a Linkedin profile] is what they really wanted to see.”
Does this attitude remain consistent throughout one’s academic journey at LSE?
While Skye was equally excited about the quality of teaching, she mostly anticipated “knowing that there were going to be so many new people around me and so many international students and connecting with people from different cultures.”
However, Skye explained that “first-year was really hard [and scary] until [she] found [her] group of friends and knew what [she] was doing and was sure [she] had someone to be with all the time.”
Moreover, LSE “surpassed” Vasavi’s expectations: “I really enjoyed my first year. [It] is very much what you make of it – there are a lot of opportunities.”
“Everyone is in the same boat”: Hearing from the LSESU team
Talking to Skye, Vasavi, and the group of first-year students on an afternoon in the jubilance and livelihood of Welcome Week leads one to wonder what happens behind the scenes.
Sachin, the LSESU Activities and Communities Officer, discussed the importance of Welcome Week for first-year students, emphasising that it is a pivotal period to deconstruct “misconceptions”: “It is a chance where everyone comes together [and] is in the same boat.”
Sachin offered general advice to first-year students, exceeding an emphasis on attending all lectures and classes: “I think a lot of students at the moment feel really nervous – I completely understand.”
With this in mind, he elaborated on what he is most excited for about being the LSESU Activities and Communities Officer, stressing the importance of the new Welfare Officer project, creating a “wellbeing and inclusion lead” across all LSESU sports clubs and societies.
Linking this project to the importance of first-years taking Consent Ed sessions, Sachin explained that not only does the project serve to ensure that the LSESU team are “serious about [students’ wellbeing and] consent on the ground in the grassroots societies and sports class”. Furthermore, obtaining a “good grasp of what consent culture is” allows students to “learn a new perspective about not just how to protect yourself but also […] other people and be part of that LSE community that actually rejects rape culture and embraces consent culture”.
Providing an anecdotal perspective, Sachin furthered the importance of an immersion in the LSE community: “I never picked up a lacrosse stick before I came to LSE [but] had the best memories [with the LSESU Lacrosse Club] … It was an active club [and] I was able to do […] [a] different [type of] fitness [while meeting] new people and [socialising].”
“LSE [is] very academically challenging [so] try to find a space for something you enjoy and can get involved in […] Go beyond your course,” an LSESU spokesperson added.
Inclusion and engagement with the LSE community are at the heart of what it means to start an undergraduate degree at LSE. So, a ‘top ten tips’ for freshers’ week is realistically unnecessary. Whether it involves picking up a lacrosse stick, attending a social at a university hall, or sparking conversation with someone, students should find what propels their own definition of a ‘university experience’.
*Names have been changed to preserve anonymity.
