All the ways to spot a Lincoln Uni first year student

Towers is packed full, group chats are being spammed and hooligans roam the street covered in foam and glitter which can only mean the first years have well and truly arrived. As we grow and change through university, it becomes more obvious who the first years are, usually because they still have the will to live (and are yet to learn the haunting term “overdraft”). They have a lightness to them as they take in the buzz of moving to a new city and enjoy spending the entire month with fun, alcohol and more fun. There are a few quirks and traits that allows us older students to be able to spot a first year from a mile-off and are simply a right of passage for all students to go through.

Here is the ultimate checklist for spotting a first year:

Giant backpacks

Mum’s favourite phrase whilst buying your uni bits? Just in case… So now you are attending your first lecture with 15 pens, a rubber and a mathematic calculator (even though you’ve taken Philosophy) “just in case”. Now to fit the entirety of WHSmith you’ve had to buy the bulkiest backpack possible. Unfortunately to the third years who are on their very last pen this is a straight giveaway that you’re a new student. It’s giving year seven with PE and food tech on the same day…

Slowly the eighteen notebooks you purchased for each module seem unnecessary when you realise everything is online anyways. Yet, they do look cute all lined up for an insta story, that convinces all of your followers that you are studying and not just using the library as a place to eat your meal deal at lunch.

Night out attire

The Lincoln dress code is mostly baggy jeans, your housemates top and trainers, but this takes a while to translate to first years. There will always be those wearing an Oh Polly dress and stilettos, which will inevitably be ruined on the sticky Home floor. It takes a second to settle into a more casual look that you honestly could have worn to your lecture and of course it’s not for everybody. Most have given up by the end of uni and will start going out in hoodies whenever they can (maximum fun, minimum effort always wins).

Fancy dress

Whilst on the topic of clothes it is crucial to mention the different types of fancy dress that will be dotted all over campus. If you’re walking around Lincoln past 8pm on a Wednesday be prepared for a couple jump scares as the first years sport the most ridiculous outfits for their socials. There will truly be anything from cowgirls to pimps. It is always a treat to see the first year football players pressured into trying drag for the first time. My personal favourite was seeing a Lincoln football player dressed as JoJo Siwa.

Uni of Lincoln merch

You’ve dragged yourself to the first 9am of the year after dancing all night at the SU. Of course the easiest and most comfortable option is the oversized Uni of Lincoln jumper you received with your acceptance letter. This however can quickly become a habit, meaning you will often see first years shamelessly sporting the Lincoln merch without realising that these jumpers are sacred and are to only be worn during the worst of hangovers. The sea of grey merch jumpers makes the first years appear to be in a school uniform of sorts, which is great for uni marketing but damaging for the ego and cool-girl in the city mentality.

Wearing a lanyard

This happens every year without fail. The dreaded lanyard. Resisting the urge to slowly remove the lanyard and pop in into a first years bag is overbearing each year. Of course, it is understandable that the safest place for new house keys is quite simply around your neck but after the first move-in day please take it off. Showing up to lectures with Lincoln Courts drip is not the quickest way to make friends and will earn a few giggles from the second years as they mock their flatmate who waited a month to take theirs off.

Splashing the cash

New loan has just come in which is the perfect excuse for a big shopping spree. First years can often be found spending all of their new cash in Towers as they order enough mozzarella sticks and curly fries for the entire flat. The third years will inevitably look upon this enviously as they scrape together just enough coins to buy a chocolate bar from the vending machine.

Navigating Minerva

Fully convinced that Minerva building is simply a labyrinth doomed to trap all students in the education system forever. This September it is guaranteed to see many lost students, walking in circles and continuously checking their phones, timetable and the confusing Minerva signs. If you’re an older student it would be the perfect time to lend a hand and guide them to the lecture halls, anything to help ease those first day nerves.

Stolen trolley

For some reason in first year their is nothing quite as funny as stealing a trolley. It is a right of passage and has to be proven by having a full photoshoot in said trolley. It will end up crowding the flat and residing in the corner along with other inevitable stolen goods (road signs and cones). It is a bonding moment for any flat to be plummeted down the halls during pres, but be sure that you won’t get your deposit back when you body slam into the walls leaving a human-sized dent.

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