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the Changing Face of BBK

Birkbecks mature identity is an awkward fit for young undergraduates seeking a traditional university experience. By Kitty Shaw.
Going to university is a stressful, exciting, frightening time. But with a 40% increase in our new student body of those who are fresh from school, it may just be too much to handle for Birkbeck. ment, money and social life out, is finally reality. and find them disturbed by the hooting and hollering of a large group of partiers from a nearby university outside the window. Are young Birkbeckers expected to use the bar as a place for debate and discussion, rather than dancing? Is the extra time they have to apply for lucrative internships rather than nursing hangovers until evening lectures? This, on the one hand, has spared us the horror of having to buy onesies and make a Hawaiian outfit for yet another themed club night; on the other hand, it is leaving us without the opportunities to meet a wide variety of new people and experience everything a new life away from home burgeoning maturity has to offer. According to the Students Union help-

Birkbeck offers a range of benefits that were all aware of, having chosen it for one or many of them ourselves. For the under-21 student, this may manifest itself in different ways: the pressure of your student loan not being enough can be alleviated by finding a job more easily; commuting from another part of the country (and thus not having to leave your parents home) is easier and cheaper due to the off-peak nature of our studies; and being treated truly like an adult, expected to sort your own time manage08-09.Changing face of BBK.indd 1

But is it refreshing to be left to largely organise yourself? Just because a person chooses evening study, it does not necessarily mean they expect to lose some aspects of a more conventional educational experience. With the fee system the way it is, many younger students may turn to Birkbeck to have the opportunity to support themselves. Are we leaving these students behind?

One only has to compare the difference between the George Birkbeck bar and ULU to see the difference between how we do things and how most London universities do. Often we sit in seminars

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desk in the main building, there has been a noticeable increase of young people, not only around the campus but in their office. They assure us that they are not after help, per se, but advice. Birkbeck offers some support, with especially vivacious disability, careers and student support offices, based on the main and Stratford campuses. But is it enough?

for full-time international students, and even then in pan-university halls. It is almost impossible to make friends with somebody not on your course and you cant guarantee those you study with and befriend dont have to be back for their family in the evening or to the grindstone of a high-powered job the next day.

Having spoken to under-21s on my course and around campus, we seem to be a slightly different demographic to students at other universities. Very few of us have come straight to Birkbeck, with approximately equal numbers having taken gap years or studied unhappily at other universities first. Most of us also seem to have a fair amount of work experience, with my contemporaries including a 20-year-old in a managerial position and a radio newsreader. This seems to conform to the idea that Birkbeckers are diverse, and the new, younger students slot neatly alongside the older ones to weave an all-inclusive, unusual fabric. The unique nature of the university attracts people who know who they are and dont need to search for themselves. This doesnt mean they dont exist, and my study has been by no means scientific. Birkbeck could be intimidating for a student with little experience of the big wide world (as at least some of the people in this 40% hike must be). They have already had a harder job of finding somewhere to live, as Birkbeck usually only provides accommodation
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Its not an overstatement to say the organised activities at Birkbeck are sorely lacking. The offers run by the George bar are somewhat underpromoted, there are no special events whatsoever (unless my invites to the Freshers Ball, Halloween Nite and foam parties usually run by universities have been lost in the post) and the few societies we have are actually quite hard to find and join[Footnote] - a quick email dropped to University Challenge society, for example, was replied to by saying theyd get in touch, and they have yet to. Freshers Fair was underpublicised and there was a poor show from the societies themselves. Heaven forbid you should be sporty and at Birkbeck as there are just two sports clubs acricket and a football team compared to fourteen of political or religious affiliation. Compare this to LSE, for example, and find over 150 societies that cover the whole spectrum of social activities. This is almost three times as many as we have at Birkbeck. Where does this culture trace back to? Perhaps, since everyone at Birkbeck is so busy with their jobs, families and stud-

ies, it never occurred to anyone there might be a demand for social networking and pursuing hobbies within the student body. I am sure our students of all ages, races, genders and careers would be interested in a few more social opportunities coming their way, and it would be beneficial to the younger students in particular to mix with people from other parts of the university. After all, one of the main benefits of Birkbeck is the diversity of the student body.

Its easy to ask what it is thats stopping people going and sorting their own social life out. You could even suggest that would be the Birkbeck ethos applied to social lives we have all taken our education into our own hands and have the added pressures of work and harmonious home life, which few conventional students have. But how does one go about setting up a society, and recruiting fellow students who might be interested? I, as a 19-year-old, have found Birkbeck a true alma mater, but I cant help thinking it might be improved with a little more (opt-in) organisation of our social lives; for those who are looking for a more usual university experience or have found themselves in a wholly new life, it may be intimidating that we do not help them find their niche and we could certainly all work harder next year to make a more inclusive, accessible experience for new students of all ages.

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