University Social Life

Naturally the primary purpose of your time at university is to study and learn but there is no escaping the fact the social scene is brilliant and it would be rude not to get involved. It is many years since I was at university myself and I always tell any students who care to listen that it is important to strike a balance between work and play. If they knew what my social life was like during my time in further education they might feel that I had no balance at all. I liked to party just a little bit too much!



Life in Halls

In my first year I lodged in a hall of residence and found myself in a block with 31 other students who all seemed to be complete lunatics. My life quickly descended into a constant cycle of pranks and parties and there was absolutely no peace. Our particular block quickly garnered a reputation for high jinx and before long the other blocks were out to get us. As was the hall warden whose job it was to keep us all in order. The open warfare with the neighbouring blocks only added to the madness and it seemed like every day there was something utterly ridiculous going on.

Getting Wet

There were several extraordinary episodes during that first year. We had a water fight which was so dramatic that we flooded the entire building and tripped the fire alarm which was unfortunately linked directly to the emergency services. By the time they arrived the water was at least a foot deep in the corridors and I saw someone’s speakers floating down the ground floor hallway! It took some time to recover from the £6000 fine we incurred for that one and the warden was not amused.

The Party

He was even less amused a few days later when we had a massive party in the first floor kitchen. This room has been a bit of a no go area for some time due to the on-going battle with next door. They were in the habit of climbing up ladders and throwing bad eggs through the window. We retaliated with a cocktail of eggs, wet tea bags, baked beans and yoghurt which had been fermented on the hot water pipes until it was rotten. There seemed to be something of a truce for a while and so we decided to go ahead with the party.

Usually our epic social events had themes but on this occasion we simply went for the unimaginative but effective of plan of just drinking too much and playing music too loud. The party was going extremely well when the warden decided to crash the event to put a stop to proceedings. He informed us that if we weren’t all in bed within 30 minutes we would be fined yet again. One of my fellow students then had a brilliant idea which we acted on. We all rushed to get our beds and set them up in the kitchen. We changed into our nightwear and turned the event into a pyjama party. When the warden returned we were all sitting in bed with drinks in hand having a great time! There wasn’t much he could do about that.

More Water

The final straw for the hapless warden came during the summer term and I swear that it was an accident! Some of the lads were teasing my friend from beneath her window. Their comments were mostly about her ample chest and she had grown tired of the joke. I went to her aid and asked them to leave but they just shouted louder. I decided to take drastic action by filling a dustbin with water and hurling it out of the window. Sadly whilst I was filling the bin the warden had chased the boys away and was standing in their place only to have several gallons of very cold water poured over him. Another fine ensued and the warden never spoke to me again.

University was certainly fun and miraculously I even managed to complete an appropriate amount of study (after I left the hall of residence) and to get my degree. This was a minor miracle under the circumstances.

Sally Stacey is a keen writer who divides her time between writing an running her business. Her social life is now a little less dramatic!