My flat had three disciplinary meetings in two months: what not to do in halls

They probably hate us


As residents of one of the newest halls for University of Leeds students, our flat is likely the most despised by CitySide staff. In just two months, the six of us have had more threatening emails and visits than most people do in an entire year. Unfortunately, they’re not particularly unfounded either.

The Hamster

After a weekend trip to Sheffield, one of my flatmates returned with a hamster. She declared that it would now be our flat pet, and dismissed any concerns – not that there were too many. Everything would be fine, right? I had my doubts, but we were eighteen, independent, and free from parental nagging. However, it wasn’t long before the secret was out and hopes of keeping it sank faster than the Titanic. First, we received threatening emails demanding the immediate removal of the hamster from the premises because having live animals in the building was against regulation. (Are dead ones are acceptable then?) After that came the recurrent visits from staff to see if our “little friend had gone.” The hamster was swiftly returned to its original owner, but not without staining the flat’s reputation. I doubt they’ll ever forgive us.

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The Fire Extinguisher

In case you weren’t aware, improper use of a fire extinguisher often leads to a severe punishment. One of my flatmates thought that inviting her friends around to the flat late one Monday evening was a good idea, what could go wrong? There was some noise, but it was easily forgettable. Then the screaming started. It wasn’t until the next day when the flat received an ominous email from the warden demanding our attendance to another disciplinary meeting to discuss the improper use of the fire extinguisher that the mess was revealed. Apparently, one of the friends decided that it would be a good idea to spray the extinguisher all over the kitchen and the other occupants after causing a small flame on the stove. It took hours to restore the kitchen to rights. As most of the flat were not involved in the incident, we were swiftly dismissed from the meeting while the perpetrator was left to confess to his crime.

warden

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Noise

After one too many flat parties, emails were swiftly sent regarding our disrespect of the noise policy for the building. Staff seem to frequent our flat more often than we do, bringing dire warnings due to music being played too loudly and screaming. In actuality, my flatmates had drunk a little too much wine and were showcasing renditions from High School Musical at ten pm. The duet between Troy and Gabriella will never be the same again. In truth, there have been instances where a complaint was deserved – Halloween in particular has been blanked from memory. Countless other pre drinks and celebratory gatherings have swiftly descended into raucous revelry, much to the displeasure of staff. At this point, they likely don’t even need to know which flat is causing a disturbance before rushing up to ours to deliver our sentence. One more disturbance will result in more disciplinary action – despite the warning, I doubt that anything will change.

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All in all, if you’re going to be living in halls at any time in the future don’t do, or at least don’t get caught, doing any of the above.