It has been two years since Boris Johnson said the words: ‘From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction. You must stay at home.‘
When the Prime Minister said ‘I urge you at this moment of national emergency to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives’ we all thought it would only last for two weeks. Everyone went home and zoom lessons started.
Never would we have guessed that two years on, we would still be dealing with the consequences of COVID-19. While the country is no longer in lockdown (thankfully!) many people are still dealing with the impacts of the disease.
The impact on our livelihoods is bigger than we realise. People all around the world are grieving for their lost family, people are dealing with the loss of their jobs and many are dealing with mental health issues brought on by the pandemic.
While I am lucky enough that I’m not grieving for a loved one, the pandemic has still impacted me and other students in ways that some might not understand. Let’s go down memory lane to see what life was like two years ago.
The impact of COVID on students
I remember testing zoom in history class. We all took it as a big joke. It was an opportunity to make fun of our teachers who weren’t very good at technology and speak about something other than our upcoming A-levels and our mock exams. It was all fun and games until we were saying goodbye in the middle of March. We all made a big deal out of it but, deep down, we hoped it would only last two weeks. Surprise, surprise, it didn’t. Our schools closed and A-levels and GCSEs were cancelled.
Some of us could enjoy the lockdown; the sun was shining, the weather was beautiful. By the time summer came around we were all still stuck at home. And then came the dreaded move to university. After the disaster that was A-level grades, we were supposed to love this move to university. But for some of us it was not an amazing new chapter in our lives.
New arrivals did not have a real freshers week. Soon after our move to university, Johnson introduced the rule of six. There were COVID outbreaks in university halls. Students in catered halls dreaded catching it because it meant quarantining in your room and surviving on whatever food catering services would bring you, and it was rarely pleasant.
Apart from an outbreak in the halls, no first year students experienced the real university life. No in person lectures, for some of it was pre-recorded lectures, no socials: nothing. And then on top of that, Johnson announced a second lockdown. As if it wasn’t enough.
I was lucky enough to go home and stay there, but many did not have that advantage. I don’t know how it worked at other universities, but for students of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham (at least in first year), all our lectures were pre recorded. Not just online or live. Pre recorded. And we only had one hour of contact time with a tutor every other week.
COVID and students today
Thankfully we can lead normal student lives now. The government announced a living with COVID plan and it was time. In person lectures, socials and more. Many of us have also been able to go on year or semester abroad. Let’s hope it stays that way.
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