19 things you’ll only relate to if you were a Covid fresher at Exeter

Whilst for most of us the tumultuous times of Covid and all the weird troubles it brought with it are distant memories of the past, for final year students memories of online lectures and groups of six still linger in the back of their minds. The last three years have gone by so fast, it’s easy to forget quite how odd the first year of our uni was. If you can relate to these 19 things, I’m so sorry for your plagued uni experience:

1. Booking a time slot to move into halls

God forbid you got within 10 metres of the people you were going to be living with for the next year.

2. Only being allowed to move in with one person

Which was widely ignored.

3.  Getting masks and a thermometer instead of a Freshers’ Fair

And the masks were all in Exeter colours, duh.

4. Estate Patrol circling Lafrowda like piranhas

Genuinely stopping people off doing their midnight washing where they were off to and with how many people.

5. The Lafrowda moshpits

DIY TP smoking area.

6. People hiding under beds, cupboards, bathrooms to escape Estate Patrol searches

And having to go and get your ID sometimes to prove you really did live in that flat.

7. Only ever playing drinking games in kitchens

Never have I ever wanted to play Psych less in my life.

8. Wearing masks to get parcels and do washing

From the Freshers’ welcome pack no less.

9. Police on Exmouth beach patrolling trying to break people up into groups of 30

Like teachers on a school trip.

10. Literally everyone being in isolation before Reading Week

Pretty sure we all had Covid in the same week.

11. Booking into pubs and clubs

Or queuing for at least half an hour to get into Spoons.

12. Going into clubs and sitting down at tables

Genuinely thought Unit 1 always had those trestle tables inside for over a year.

13. And not being allowed to stand up under any circumstance

The bouncers were on the look out for anyone upright.

14. Not going to campus, like, ever

Couldn’t you what or where Queens was.

15. Breakout rooms

The terror.

16. That time someone jumped off a Lafrowda balcony

Mental x.

17. Students getting fined

Really hope they got a refund…

18. Awkward blind friend dates with people from online seminars

Good training for the horrors of online dating tbf.

19. Going into isolation with people you had known for about a week

Intense bonding if ever I’ve seen it.

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