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“Antisocial behaviour.” “Parties of the worst extremes.” “A continuous festival of noise.” These are just a handful of the descriptions used to characterise neighbourhoods near Bristol University. And who’s being blamed for the change? Students.
As a student at the university, I recently moved to one of these areas, Redland. Immediately we found ourselves in the middle of a familiar story of finger-pointing between students and local residents. I now realise that this town vs gown blame culture unfairly targets students, who are convenient scapegoats for understandably frustrated voices.
We are considered the main reason for the transformation of residential areas into lively student hubs of antisocial behaviour. But other factors need to be recognised too, such as universities’ rapid expansion and the resultant housing price hikes.
At Bristol, student numbers have increased by 17% in the last five years, which is unsurprising considering it is one of the UK’s most popular university choices. As well as promising academic success, the city was celebrated as being the best place to live in Britain in 2017. From the majestic suspension bridge in Clifton to the graffiti masterpieces of Stokes Croft, its diverse culture is undeniably attractive.
This popularity is something to be celebrated, but it has also sent rent prices throughout the city rocketing. The university is struggling to cope with demand: this year students have been housed across the border in Newport, with others in Somerset – a 40-minute drive from their studies.
Once students enter their second year and seek private housing, they are strongly guided by estate agents. We are directed, en masse, into the same affordable properties and neighbourhoods that our predecessors occupied, and so the community grows.
This shift in the residential demographic is highly sensitive. Students do appreciate this, a fact conveniently misrepresented by the local voices quoted in newspapers. Take my example: last week I hosted welcome drinks for new members of the university sports club before leaving at 9.30pm to relocate to the city centre. I awoke to find a picture of members leaving my house in multiple news articles online, claiming that students “pre-load” on booze before leaving for clubs at midnight. In my case it was untrue, but it’s also the reality that our maintenance loans typically don’t stretch far enough to cover the price of alcohol in pubs and bars.
This slew of accusations will get us nowhere. It only poisons the atmosphere between residents and students rather than helping us find compromise. There’s even vindictive talk of some residents clubbing together to plan a party during exam season as revenge. While some students may be inconsiderate, others want to build better relations with neighbours and integrate into the community. Many local residents want the same thing, but in extreme cases our efforts are met with threats of petty parties, constant police reports and pictures of us in critical articles. It seems the stereotype of students as entitled and rowdy is decided long before anyone actually meets us, despite this image only accurately describing a minority.
Instead of deciding which student house to point the finger at each night, should we not be going to the universities and council for a solution? Should they not be taking responsibility for the areas that students are encouraged to live in?
There is no obvious solution to these questions. However, we need to focus our attention towards minimising this conflict. It’s time to urge universities and the council to provide affordable housing in other areas, rather than punishing all students for the behaviour of a few.
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