A warm welcome from Special Collections to new students starting this autumn!
Here are my top tips to ease you into university life (with a little help from the University Archives).
1. Don’t lose your student ID! One of the first things issued to you as a new student, use this to prove your student status and gain access into the Library (whilst there, why not visit Special Collections!). Before the adoption of electronic access cards, UOL students in the early 1950s would have been issued these dainty paper pocket sized cards (half the size of your current card!).
2. For those taking the plunge and leaving the nest for the first time, you’re probably itching to see your new abode! Possibly not as quaint as the rooms in the 1950s, but be sure to make it your own.
3. Get stocked up on freebies (not guaranteed) at the Freshers’ Fayre.
I’m not entirely sure of the purpose of the model rhino in the 1990s, but I’m sure it drew in the crowds!
4. Socialise with your new flat or course mates (blazers not required).
5. Of course teaching will come into the equation at some point! Take advantage of group work with your peers.
6. Let’s not forget deadlines! Find a suitable spot in the library to get your head down,
and stuck into your work. The Library has come a long way since its early beginnings…
7. All this hard work requires some fuel; sample food from the many eateries on campus.
Just no queue jumping!
8.Burn off your meal with a spot of exercise, or make new memories through joining a society…
9. Amidst all the excitement of starting university, be sure to keep family updated on how you’re getting on. Methods of correspondence have changed, but hopefully you’ll provide a similar answer to one given by a student to their parents in 1955:
‘Do you think you will like life when you get settled?’
‘What do you mean? I ‘settled’ as soon as I got here and I love it!’
10. And lastly, remember to take a trip into the city centre! Escape from campus and take a leisurely stroll down through New Walk to see what the big city has to offer.
Special Collections is located in the basement of the David Wilson Library, and is open to students, staff and external researchers.
For more information on consulting material see: http://www2.le.ac.uk/library/find/specialcollections or email specialcollections@le.ac.uk.
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