17 replies to this topic

[Libains]

FRESHERS: WHAT IS IT WORTH?


I was discussing this with somebody that I met today, and it's an interesting point that I'm a bit unsure of, and was thus wondering what people had to think about it. Simply, what does freshers REALLY entail? People say it's the chance to meet good friends, start relationships, get to know people, and get trashed for at least 95%. The BBC recently stated that Freshers friendships were quite unlikely to last, relationships were likely to crumble, and social groups become divided.

So what is the real point of Freshers?

• Getting to know the place, yes, I'd agree. You have to walk around, and find your feet, undoubtedly.
  
• Getting to know your course? Doubtful this applies to everyone - I know that my course has a pretty intensive induction week, but I also know other courses (such as Warbz's iirc) that have about 1 hour of lectures, then call it quits.
  
• Getting to know people? For the most part, the same concept above applies - you don't get to know those on your course because you're not actually in many lectures together for the first week at all.
  
• Making friendships? I wouldn't count on that either - everyone is feeling lonely and social outcast to begin with, and the people who you include as your immediate friends tend to not always be what you imagine and you'll veer off towards other groups more befitting of your personal traits instead.
  
• Starting relationships? Again, not really. Everyone hears of the whirlwind romances that kick off in the first 24 hours of Uni, and last forever. Those are very few and far between. What people don't hear of are the romances that start in the first 24 hours, and subsequentally fizzle out when you realise you don't need to be shagging somebody senseless to feel wanted.
  
• Sorting out flats, medical info, and the like? From my experience, most people don't actually do any of this until it goes wrong. So unless your flat falls to bits, or your body does, this doesn't happen either.

So, where does that leave Freshers?

Frankly, I'd conclude that Freshers is a poor excuse for a camp for the mad, insane, and generally unruly population. It consists of random drinking, sleeping, and shagging. Nothing is learnt. No bonds are sacred by any means. Nobody cares, I don't think. It's a chance to release whatever you have pent up in your system, if you have anything.

So, I was wondering what your take on this was, what friendships/relationships endured after it, and whether it serves any purpose other than to get trashed and laid, for want of a better phrase.

[DISCLAIMER] This does not mean that it's not a time to enjoy yourself, or a time to not meet people.

[Note] This is probably first in a series of ethical kinda-things that I want to explore.

Edited by AJ, 22 September 2009 - 23:25.

[Wizard]

AJ, on 23 Sep 2009, 0:22, said:

Frankly, I'd conclude that Freshers is a poor excuse for a camp for the mad, insane, and generally unruly population. It consists of random drinking, sleeping, and shagging. Nothing is learnt. No bonds are sacred by any means. Nobody cares, I don't think. It's a chance to release whatever you have pent up in your system, if you have anything.

You say this as if it's a bad thing

It's been a while since I had my freshers week, in fact, it was 10 years ago this week that I cowboy'd up, moved south, got away from my family and normal friends and literally "unleashed hell". Who cares if freshers week is just a glossy name for vomitting in front of a police man and playing STD roulette? Uni is not, and really never has been, just about the degree. It's a learning experience, part of that experience is just unleashing 18 years of pent up frustration away from anyone and everyone that would disapprove of everything you could do. It's a sort of decadent Shanghri La for teenagers. And more vodka to 'em I say. I still deeply miss walking that fine line between off my head and stomach pumpingly comatose. We gloss lots of things up in life to cover up what they are. This is no different. Better to get it out of the way in the first week, live with the consequences and learn, which is what you're there to do in the first place. As for networking, I've woken up in some bloody weird places whilst I earned my BA, and everytime there was a good friend beside, wondering how the feck we got there and holding back the chunder. If that's not a life experience I don't know what is.....

Edited by Wizard, 22 September 2009 - 23:42.

[Libains]

Wizard, on 23 Sep 2009, 0:40, said:

AJ, on 23 Sep 2009, 0:22, said:

Frankly, I'd conclude that Freshers is a poor excuse for a camp for the mad, insane, and generally unruly population. It consists of random drinking, sleeping, and shagging. Nothing is learnt. No bonds are sacred by any means. Nobody cares, I don't think. It's a chance to release whatever you have pent up in your system, if you have anything.

You say this as if it's a bad thing

It's been a while since I had my freshers week, in fact, it was 10 years ago this week that I cowboy'd up, moved south, got away from my family and normal friends and literally "unleashed hell". Who cares if freshers week is just a glossy name for vomitting in front of a police man and playing STD roulette? Uni is not, and really never has been, just about the degree. It's a learning experience, part of that experience is just unleashing 18 years of pent up frustration away from anyone and everyone that would disapprove of everything you could do. It's a sort of decadent Shanghri La for teenagers. And more vodka to 'em I say. I still deeply miss walking that fine line between off my head and stomach pumpingly comatose. We gloss lots of things up in life to cover up what they are. This is no different. Better to get it out of the way in the first week, live with the consequences and learn, which is what you're there to do in the first place. As for networking, I've woken up in some bloody weird places whilst I earned my BA, and everytime there was a good friend beside, wondering how the feck we got there and holding but the chunder. If that's not a life experience I don't know what is.....

Tbh, that wasn't so much my point, more a conclusion to the point. I know what Uni is, what it's all about, the numerous ways that it goes along. And I'm not saying not to enjoy them, as I know from my own experience, it's rather ace. However, I'm querying the main value of Freshers week - why have one at all if you can do the exact same thing for the next 30 weeks of Uni anyways? And then the next two years after that? It seems like it's singled out as an excuse on top of an excuse to get rat-arsed. Is it worth putting yourself through all of the additional burdens of friendships and relationships going tits up just to get pissed a couple of extra nights? Is there any point to it at all? You're getting trashed with people who will statsistically NOT be your mates, you'll be taking a girl home that you don't actually like OR find attractive... The logical side of my mind has problems coping with the concept tbh.

[BeefJeRKy]

I'll let you know that none of the people I met at Frosh in McGill became GOOD friends with me save for this one guy I met on a whit water rafting expedition (which was quite awesome after a toga party with plenty of booze). Everybody else who I considered a close friend, I met elsewhere mostly from just hanging out in my dorm room

[Warbz]

AJ, on 23 Sep 2009, 0:22, said:

[*]Getting to know your course? Doubtful this applies to everyone - I know that my course has a pretty intensive induction week, but I also know other courses (such as Warbz's iirc) that have about 1 hour of lectures, then call it quits.

I think you over estimated my course, I have no lectures, I have a short induction talk and registration.

EDIT: Just looked at my schedule for the week and thought maybe I should post it to clarify.

Monday 9AM to 11AM - Induction - Was out after about an hour.
Tuesday 3.30PM to 4.30PM - Registration - This actually took about 15 minutes.
Thursday 3PM to 3.30PM - Student Union Presentation

Edited by W!, 23 September 2009 - 11:31.

[Chyros]

I myself didn't need a freshers week since I do my study in the city I lived in for over 21 years so I know the city better than most of the people who were supposed to show me around, but I know very much what what it's all about and participated in a week-long event similar to it - twice, in fact.

You're partly right; only two of the people in my original subgroup are still my friends; most of my friends I picked up from other places at uni & not during those weeks. I also know some people who didn't attend and got along fine. Nonetheless, from what I've seen and heard it's a good way to learn to get around in your new home, get yourself known among your fellow freshmen (even if you don't become immediate friends or build a lasting relation, it's still good to at least get known), as well as of course have plain old fun, & .

[CodeCat]

What exactly is freshers?

[Wizard]

The week before the start of the semester where new undergrads arrive to move in, get settled, are inducted into their courses, meet people and far more famously get totally off their head for 7 days straight before their actual course begins.

[Nid]

I would comment, if I passed As levels first time round :(

[Ghostrider]

Personally I love partying and dancing with members of the opposite sex, whatever the event or cause may be. I wish we had these "freshers" over here, but the most we get are a few nights of partying before classes start (we also are only allowed to move in the day before classes start ).

[Wizard]

Ghostrider, on 23 Sep 2009, 21:20, said:

Personally I love partying and dancing with members of the opposite sex, whatever the event or cause may be. I wish we had these "freshers" over here, but the most we get are a few nights of partying before classes start (we also are only allowed to move in the day before classes start ).

Yes, but you have Spring Break, which borders on the same thing, just without Florida and the beaches.

[Warbz]

I found that Ive actually socialised more now with people from where I moved from rather than with people from where I moved to.

[Golan]

It certainly is useful to get a feel for university and the city, especially seeing that both are usually new to most students. Why people feel the need to degenerate to drunk imbeciles as soon as they enter university is a mystery to me though. Not that I object drinking on principle, but it's suspicious how many people feel that university primarily equals partying and getting drunk whenever possible.
While it's not really possible to make friends (let's be honest, at best you know name, hometown and alcohol resistance of your peers at the end of the week), it certainly helps to get integrated into your course and form some basic relations in your new home. Frankly, I never bonded much with the people from my freshers subgroup but rather with the people I met in my lectures - sitting in the back row and wisecracking with some people is so much better to find people you can relate to.

[Chyros]

Golan, on 24 Sep 2009, 10:25, said:

sitting in the back row and wisecracking with some people is so much better to find people you can relate to.

Heh, yeah, half my friend from university I got by doing just that, too .

[BeefJeRKy]

I actually met one of my better friends when I was playing Portal in chemistry class on my laptop and we ended up staying through the other poli sci class or w/e it was trying to solve all the puzzles

[Ion Cannon!]

Freshers has no point realt, its just ab excyse to get wasred 24/7 for 7 days, i'm kinda proof of it. Your looking for meaning in something with no real meaning. Its just a bit ogf fun reallt.

[Pav:3d]

Yeah live it up as ion is showing, you only get it once, unless u restart uni every year

[Nid]

Ion Cannon!, on 25 Sep 2009, 1:57, said:

Freshers has no point realt, its just ab excyse to get wasred 24/7 for 7 days, i'm kinda proof of it. Your looking for meaning in something with no real meaning. Its just a bit ogf fun reallt.

That is how a true student would have typed it.