THE AULARIAN
Teddy Hall in lockdown St Edmund Hall students Brittany Perera (2020, Engineering) and Lily Shanagher (2018, Modern Languages) discuss their experience of the Hall during lockdown. instead we had our own household events: ‘Toga Night’, ‘Pretend it’s Christmas’, ‘Cowboys VS Aliens’ (where Emden put up a good fight in our Stetsons, while, on the same night but different building, Staircase VIII wore their antennas and green masks with pride). And with less time spent on late nights, there was more time to try new things and I found myself falling in love with sports I had never even tried – rowing, football, even kayaking! Brittany Perera (2020, Engineering) Freshers’ week: clubbing, College bar, crew dates and cramming for tomorrow morning’s tutorial. Every other year, that was pretty much the given for a good week at Oxford University. But for the Fresher Class of 2020, most of those things are pretty much foreign to us. We made the most of it, though. No, we couldn’t have bops, but
It’s weird to think that we got to know Oxford as a beautiful, but quiet, city – a place where clubs don’t exist and pubs shut early, where the idea of being inside with over 6 people is unimaginable and there’s no seating plan in the Wolfson. That being said, we’ve now become closer with our households than any year probably ever has been, being served 3-course, sit-down dinners every night, while other colleges received Tupperware to their rooms.
Lily Shanagher (2018, Modern Languages) Despite a gloomy year, I have felt lucky to be part of a college which has done its best to maintain the collegiate, friendly Teddy atmosphere we all know and love. In first term, college remained fairly open, with places like the JCR and bar marquees frequented in substitute of clubs and pubs. JCR pub quizzes, Zoom sports drinks and college competitions helped students get to know each other and find fun activities to take part in from their rooms. Hilary at times
We swam in the river in Port Meadow in February and got familiar with the many takeaways that Oxford has to offer. And no, we don’t actually know what our tutors look like from the shoulders down – thank you, Zoom – but at least we had the Library, with St Edmund himself hanging out in the graveyard on his usual perch for when you take a break from your problem sheet on a Sunday night. I’ll be honest, the pandemic hasn’t made first-year the easiest. An upside? It’ll make it all the sweeter when things really do open up again and we’ll have a newfound gratitude when we’re able to cram 10 people around a pub table and be filled with a weird excitement instead of fear when we can finally see our tutors face-to-face. For me, I have plenty more time to see what the real Oxford has to offer. I am dreaming of balls and bops and all the things that make Oxford different. So here’s to the next three years.
felt lonely and bleak but the welfare team did their best to make sure life went on as normal as possible and provided so much support for people who were struggling. The return of a warm college breakfast was unanimously welcomed. With the arrival of exams, most of my friends have been keeping their noses to the grindstone, and we have been grateful to the librarians for their efforts to keep the Library open 24/7 – something that has proved endlessly helpful for many a stressed finalist with coursework to get done!
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