Read on Twitter
Today I contributed to a webinar for @FIEC pastors on student ministry in the midst of Covid-19. I was delighted to represent @UCCF alongside friends from @beestonfree @highfieldscdf @christchurchlp.
Here’s what I said:
Here’s what I said:
Unis have been sending out mailings to students for weeks that life there will be “pretty much as normal.” In reality, they’ve moved most formal teaching and learning online but have thought much less about other aspects of uni life.
Most unis haven’t thought less formal aspects of learning (libraries, study groups etc.). Many haven’t been particularly friendly to extra-curricular activities on campus. The message they’re giving is: stay away unless you need to come in.
The result is what I saw at the University of Leeds yesterday. It’s the middle of Freshers Week and there’s almost NO-ONE on campus.
Worst of all, unis basically force students to conduct all social activity in their own accommodation – with all the added problems of poor ventilation, peer pressure and lots of drinking in kitchens.
Students are then blamed by the mass media for being “super spreaders”, fuelling the culture wars and creating local resentment. Yet we’ve not made it easy for them to maintain any social life if they want to keep the rules.
