Lenton locals target students for ‘stirring up trouble’

During the short burst of sunshine this weekend, many of us took to the park for a relaxing walk and sit in the good weather. Most students headed to Lenton Recreation Ground, as it is closest to home for most of us.

Lenton, as we all are aware, has a mass student population given its proximity to the University and its cheap(ish) rent prices. There are, however, still a number of Nottingham locals living in the area, and the divide has been clear for some time.

Some Lenton locals were angered by this, writing to the Facebook page ‘Lenton Drives and Neighbourhoods Residents Association’, a group that is meant to be a community page for all residents, to openly slate students. One post read “Braindead selfish students on Lenton rec” and included a photograph and video of students sitting (in small groups) on the grass.

However, official government guidelines state that you are allowed to visit public parks “with the people you live with”, or “with your support bubble”, so the students are within their right to be there.

One ‘Nottsfessional’ member tried to join the community Facebook group, however, was not admitted by the admin. They sent an explanatory message, stating they were having to “decline any more students wishing to join the group”, irrespective of whether they were residents of Lenton. Apparently, students were “intent on stirring up trouble”, and that the group was “initially set up to build bridges between the different groups in our community”.

This isn’t the only time that locals have been complaining about students on social media recently. One tweet on the Lenton DNRA’s twitter page argued that students were ‘destroying’ the park with their football boots. They then called for the University to ‘pay for repairs’, despite the fact that there was no indication that they were students at the University.

This prompted an email from the University of Nottingham delivered to all ‘Off-Campus students’, stating that there had been a ‘Misuse of Lenton Recreation Ground’.  The email advised students to instead, exercise in the field on Jubilee Campus, and called for students to be considerate to residents.

These posts have since been deleted by the pages’ moderators, however they reflect the rampant attitudes towards students, regardless of whether or not they were actually doing anything wrong.