One thing that I have struggled with has been my timetable. I had 9:00 am workshops this year, and the single honours modules in the same week. In my first year, I didn't have anything before 11:00, meaning I was able to get a consistent sleep cycle. Tuesday was always my busiest day, with a two hour workshop on Writing Identity in the morning, an hour break, and then a three hour workshop for Reading for Craft or Shaping Ideas, switching between them each week. This year, my single honours modules were Storycraft and Personal Projects, on the same week but different days. So, I'd switch between a week where I have hardly anything and a week where I have everything.
I joined a lot more societies this year, including Creative Writing, Nintendo, and Medieval Reenactment (which did mean I left the fencing club due to scheduling clashes). I'm still treasurer for the Game Society, and that's still going strong. I'm also the chairperson for Laser Tag, but membership has been down, and I fear we won't have enough people to fill the committee roles needed to keep the society going. Medieval Reenactment is fun, albeit expensive. Although making your own kit can be a pain. Especially when your sewing machines aren't behaving.
I'm getting more players at the Game Society, all of whom I've managed to introduce to my favourite Savage Worlds roleplaying system. In the first term I ran Deadlands Noir, an urban fantasy which combines horror, dieselpunk, and film noir. In the second term I ran Lankhmar: City of Thieves, s sword-and-sorcery based on the writing of Fritz Leiber. I was also invited to run games at a local board gaming cafe, Bean Gaming. I thought it would be a great opportunity to introduce more players to Savage Worlds. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get players and discontinued the sessions.
The second term was the toughest, especially the Word, Image, and Sound module. We had a different tutor after Christmas, who didn't explain things as well as the one we had in the first term.
And then the UCU Strike happened. All but one of my workshops were cancelled (and the one that wasn't was a 9:00 am). And when that was winding down, the university closed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The university eventually granted a blanket two-week extension to all assignments due after 30th March. They later implemented a "No-detriments" policy for those same assignments; as long as they pass, they won't be marked lower than anything already marked for that module. I don't if I've read that correctly. The last assignment I had back was the only assignment for that particular module, so wouldn't be subject to the policy. I'll find out soon enough.
But the university will still be tighter than a duck's arse when it comes to refunding tuition fees. I learned from a tutor on the picket lines that the union agreed to a move in which the university would donate pay withheld from those on strike to the Student Hardship Fund (which I may have leaked on Facebook before the university announced it). The move just screamed "half measure", and tied the money up in so much red tape that few people could actually get it.
At least when the strikes were on, the societies were still running. The university seemed to dither over closure in the week before lockdown, while the societies wrapped up. That was one of the most stressful weeks I've had. The strike was still going on, so I wasn't able to get responses from many lecturers about deadlines and extensions, all while my social life just up and vanished. I made a spur of the moment decision to go home at the end of the week, so I wasn't spending the lockdown on my own. Fortunately, my accommodation provider made allowances for this. I haven't been charged rent for the third term, even though I'd left most of my stuff behind and hadn't handed back the keys. And I was able to collect things last week.
Going home prematurely has been the most difficult thing. Summer gets lonely, and there isn't much to do back home even if there isn't a pandemic. Fortunately, I'm still taking part in roleplaying games as both a GM and a player, thanks to virtual tabletops like Fantasy Grounds and Roll20. I'm trying to arrange a virtual get-together with my classmates this week, but I don't know if it'll work out.
Only time will tell.
