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Coronavirus / Page 2
A Guide To Freshers Week
Inevitably, we have to acknowledge that Freshers Week this September will look very different to previous years. With the university announcement of the COVID code, confirming 3 households in groups of 8 indoors and 15 outdoors as the limits for acceptable gatherings, some areas of university life may look a little different for a while. The university and students […]
The Importance Of The Arts During A Global Pandemic
The arts and science are equally important, yet they have always been valued against each other. How many times have we been asked “are you a more science or humanities based?”. It’s all one or the other unless you’re an all-rounder. How many people do you know who are studying both maths and english? Science is incredibly […]
Starlings in Quarantine: Daniel Muir
As lockdown is gradually lifted and we approach the start of the term, I feel there isn’t a great amount that can be said that hasn’t been covered over the course of this series of articles. For me, quarantine has been a slow, grumbling ride. The consolation that can be taken in trying to describe […]
Corona-Fuelled Despair, Everywhere I Look Around
In 2017, I had something of a mental breakdown. I could not afford to go travelling after finishing my A Levels, so it seemed like the next best thing. The term ‘breakdown’ implies something of a spectacle in the context of mental health, but in reality, mine was neither dramatic nor sudden. It was not […]
Starlings in Quarantine: Maya Zealey
Over the past week my phone has been filled with people’s lives going back to normal. It’s all freshly dyed hair, dinner and drinks, and spontaneous holidays. I scroll and see nothing but smiles, faces relieved that this period of boredom and monotony seems to be drawing to a close. Quarantine gave me no choice […]
President-ing In A Pandemic
My name is Jamie, and until the 30th of June this year I was President of the Students’ Association at the University of St Andrews. While I wouldn’t say my former job ranks anywhere near the most challenging to do during a pandemic, the experience has at least been interesting enough that I think it’s […]
Starlings in Quarantine: Niamh Yates
It has been over 4 months now since St Patrick’s Day celebrations in St Andrews were cancelled and our university closed its doors for the foreseeable future. At least… I think it’s been 4 months, as Jeremy Usborne (Robert Webb) of Peep Show explained in an old clip that popped up on my Facebook Watch […]
Theatres and Coronavirus: The Final Curtain Call for the UK’s Arts Industry
Earlier this month the government announced a £1.57bn support package aiming to “protect Britain’s world-class cultural, arts and heritage institutions” after weeks of lobbying from industry leaders. The support package from the government includes: A £1.15bn support pot for cultural organisations in England delivered through a mix of grants and loans. This will be made up […]
Starlings in Quarantine: Maddie Mccall
“Oh wait, let me grab my mask.” A simple six-word phrase none of us thought we would have engrained in our brains, but here we are. Here we are in a world that seems so uncertain, full of dull daily routines and bright phone screens at 3am. But then again, here we are in a […]
Working On The Prison Production Line
The virus has forced all organisations to create contingency plans in order to cope with the unpredictable circumstances of our time. For Junction 42, a prison ministry charity well-known for creating bright futures for ex-offenders and vulnerable people, not being physically allowed into the prisons has caused them to change their strategy. Prisoners have been […]
Starlings in Quarantine: Katie McAdam
My first year in St Andrews abridged, I’ve returned across the Forth to Edinburgh. Following the news of a looming global lockdown, the halls emptied as people rushed to make the last flights home. The corridors became silent. Without my friends, the old building intimidated me. I just wanted to go home. As I put […]
First as Farce, then as Tragedy: Monty Python as Government Policy
There is a sketch in season 1, episode 3 of Monty Python’s Flying Circus called Stolen Newsreader that I have been thinking about a lot recently. It goes something like this: John Cleese begins to read the six o’clock news in calm, even tones when suddenly several bandits burst through the door. They fire their […]
Starlings in Quarantine: Eli Thayer
I stayed up late last night. That’s been a recurring theme over these last few months. It’s an easy habit to slip into at the moment, seeing as there’s nowhere to go, nobody to see, and little to do each day. As contact with the outside world falls further into memory, other notions of regularity […]
Coronavirus and the Music Industry
The summer concert schedule doesn’t look quite like everyone expected. The warm weather usually means touring artists and major festivals with packed crowds of strangers. However, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, event organisers have been forced to cancel or postpone virtually every large social gathering centred around music. In an industry linked to live experiences and full audiences, concert […]
Starlings in Quarantine: Madeline Pennino
At the start of every new school year I worry that I am not ready for its challenges. I worry I won’t know how to accommodate a different teacher’s style, that I will be overwhelmed with work and unsure how to manage my stress. Every year I convince myself that I am ill-prepared to take […]
Why You Should Do A Year Abroad – Even If It’s Not The Best Year Ever
I always wanted to go on a year abroad. In fact, I had practically decided to go on one even before applying to university and deciding to study modern languages. Everything about a year abroad seemed perfect. Not only an opportunity to escape the piercing wind and pouring rain for a year, but also a […]
Starlings in Quarantine: Mira Mansfield
While term was ongoing and university work was still taking up most of my time, I felt untouched by the pandemic. Though I read the news and regularly listened to the increasingly unhelpful Downing Street daily briefings, there was nothing tangible in my day-to-day life to suggest anything was different. To me, this was just […]
Coronavirus: Did We Overreact?
It’s not often that you get the feeling that you are living through a historic moment – that your present reality is a defining period which will shape the world for generations to come and be etched into the national psyche along with events such as WWII. Yet it feels as if we are in […]