Students protest about lectures

Getting straight down to lectures is not on say students

Students are staging a protest because new undergraduates have to go to lectures within a few days of arriving at university.

More than 1,000 students at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have signed a petition complaining that newcomers no longer have a week or so to settle in before getting down to the serious business of studying.

The petition has attracted more signatures than one opposing any war with Iraq, which attracted just 200.

In the 1970s and 1980s, UEA had a reputation for being a centre of mass protests against the Vietnam war and apartheid.

Drinking

The first week at university, traditionally known as freshers' week, is usually devoted to inductions on the university and courses, signing up for various societies and, for some, a lot of partying.

Student leaders at UEA say this protest is not about fighting for the right to party.

Communications officer for the National Union of Students (NUS) at the university in Norwich, Ned Glasier said: "It is not about students wanting more time to go drinking.

"People coming to university need time to settle in before getting down to studying.

"A lot of people have left home for the first time, they are 18, they might not have cooked for themselves before or lived on their own.

Students take their studies very seriously and want to get down to their work

University spokeswoman

"They need to build a network of social contacts that will help them."

University officials have been surprised at the strength of feeling among students and say they will listen to their views and possibly review procedures.

But they say the changes were partly brought in because research with previous years suggested many students wanted to start their courses more quickly.

A university spokeswoman said: "Some said that they would prefer to get started on their classes earlier.

"If this early period is not structured, it gives more time to sit around and get homesick.

"Also, students now take their studies very seriously and want to get down to their work quickly."

The university says it has never had a whole week devoted to settling in.

This year it moved from students arriving in the middle of the week, to arriving at the weekend.

Many students who arrived at the weekend are beginning lectures on 25 September, although some are only having course inductions.

Student leaders say there is a lot of anti-war feeling on the campus and that the 200-strong petition does not reflect the strength of feeling.

NUS official Ned Glasier said: "The anti-war petition people were just out for a couple of hours on Monday, whereas the freshers week people were out for longer over Monday and Tuesday, so it's not surprising they got so many more signatures."