Christmas on campus: The students who are a long way from home over the holidays

After a year of turmoil, university students were finally granted permission to travel home. But Qais Hussain speaks to those who never made it back

Nicholas, Sara and Jessica (Subject’s own)

Jessica Fielder won’t be at home for Christmas. The 23-year-old, who is studying management and Portuguese at Leeds University decided weeks ago that, despite students being allowed to travel in early December, she wouldn’t be making the trip back to Norfolk as she was worried about the coronavirus risk for her elderly grandmother, 82, her asthmatic mother, and her sister, who has a weak lung.

“Of course, I would love to go home, but it just doesn’t make sense,” Fielder told The Independent. “I will utterly miss them, but it is the right thing to do." She says her mother’s only wish is that she does not spend Christmas alone, so she will be celebrating the 25 December with a friend in Leeds. She will also be exchanging presents with family via post.

Fielder has decided instead to start her own tradition - she will be cooking Christmas lunch for the first time, although she is a little apprehensive. On the day itself she plans to do all the “normal things”: open presents, eat, and have a phone call with her family. Fielder is hoping to next visit her family at Easter. “My grandma should get the vaccine soon; and my mother should follow. Then and only then, will I visit my loved ones.”  

The last 12 months have been a turbulent time for students in the UK. School and colleges closed early; exam grades were predicted by algorithms and some missed out on university places as a result. This was followed by cancelled Fresher’s Weeks and lockdowns across university accommodation. 

As well as these hurdles, students have had to deal with the narrative that young people are responsible for furthering the spread of the virus. Universities minister, Michelle Donelan, said students ignoring Covid-19 guidance when socialising were behind spikes in cases. Then, as Christmas approached, to compound all the pre-existing problems, students were told that they might not be able to go home at all over the festive period.

Although the government eventually permitted students to travel in a six-day student window from 3- 9 December, many - like Fielder - had already decided they would not be making use of it, especially as infection rates started to rise, which they felt vindicated their decision.

Like Gemma*, 19, a student at the University of Hull, who made the decision not to go home well before the recent restrictions because she was scared about the risk she could pose to her father who has a heart condition. “My father has stuck to draconian rules since the beginning of the pandemic, such as not going out. If I go home, I will put him at immediate risk - and it is not fair on him.” 

If I go home, I will put him at immediate risk - and it is not fair on him

But for others, who weren’t able to use the travel window at the time, and had planned to return home under the Christmas bubble scheme on the 23 December, the situation has now changed so vastly - the new Covid strain, tier 4 and the Christmas bubble halted - that they have become unintentionally trapped, despite having always intended on going home.

One student severely affected by the recent announcements was Amna*. The 18-year-old, who studies at the University of Bradford was desperately looking forward to going home to see her parents in Luton, but due to tier 4 restrictions Amna is now trapped on campus. “I cannot express how sad I am,” she said. “I was so looking forward to seeing my parents. My plan was to go down to Luton via the train on Monday, obviously that didn’t happen due to the [changing] advice.”

Amna didn’t travel home during the “travel window” because she was working, a decision she now regrets. “If it wasn’t for my work commitments, I would have gone home, I wish I just went; now I will be forced to spend Christmas alone.” Amna is waiting to find out what her university is doing.

Others are more pleased about the restrictions as it allows them to break free of the obligation to spend Christmas with family. Unlike normal years, 2020 has given these people some breathing room. Max*, 20, will spend his holiday period at university because he wants to stay away from his relatives. “It’s not like I don’t love or want to spend time with my family,” he explains. “It’s just that I spent the first national lockdown living with my parents and I don’t think I can survive listening to my father’s crass jokes again. In fact, I would just love a bit of peace and quiet.”

Another group of students likely to be disproportionately impacted by Christmas plans, are international students. In 2018/2019 there were 485,645 international students in the UK - 20 percent of the total student population - with 342,000 of those from outside the European Union. And this year, UCAS estimated a record number of international students were recruited to UK universities. Now, hampered by travel restrictions, quarantine periods, fear of becoming ill in transit, and a myriad of other factors, many students will remain in the UK over the Christmas period.

Yixuan Yang, 23, is one of those students. Yang is from Shandong Province China and is studying a Masters in the information of science at University College London. This year was going to be Yixuan's first ever Christmas as they don’t celebrate at home, and she was really looking forward to the “famous British Christmas”, but she feels she has been robbed of this chance. 

Yang was planning to attend events like London's annual Winter Wonderland, but her festive itinerary has been cancelled, particularly as Yang says she and her friends are “petrified” about the alarming rate in which the new variant of coronavirus is spreading in London. Instead, she is planning on binge-watching all the classic seasonal films.

Sara Paciaroni is another student who won’t be returning home. Paciaroni is from Italy and is studying at Glasgow Caledonian University. Even before Nicola Sturgeon announced a travel ban for people leaving Scotland, Paciaroni had decided to spend Christmas with her boyfriend in the UK rather than going back to Europe. “My parents are obviously sad I can't go back home to Italy for Christmas, but they are very supportive of my decision.”

My parents are obviously sad I can't go back home to Italy for Christmas, but they are very supportive of my decision

Despite not going home for Christmas, Paciaroni is incredibly optimistic about her plans for the period: “I'm hoping I will get to see a couple of friends I haven't seen in weeks, obviously outside and following the rules.”

Nicholas Ng is from Hong Kong and will also be spending Christmas on campus. His halls have already organised events such as secret Santa, movie nights and socially distanced Christmas dinner – he has decorated his accommodation with Christmas decorations. He says he will miss his parents but has arranged to have a video call with them on 25 December.  

Although the number of students staying on campus is likely to be higher this year because of the extraordinary circumstances, there are some universities that always have holiday residents. For example, The University of Sheffield runs an annual vacation programme for international and domestic students remaining in the city when most people have left. It will be extended this year, working within the parameters of Covid-19 restrictions. 

The University of Sheffield told The Independent it will be a continuing an offer of wellbeing and mental health support - the student union set up a Facebook group for all those staying as well as plans for a buddy scheme - and for those in student halls, a series of daily activities including online craft activities, carol singing, quizzes, cooking events, games nights and competitions, and even a free Christmas hamper.

Whether students did choose to go home or remain on campus, this term has been uniquely difficult: surveys by ONS and the NUS found more than half of students experienced a mental health slump with high levels of reported anxiety, depression, loneliness and insomnia. And the start of a new term in January is not expected to be any easier with millions moving into Tier 4 restrictions and hospital admissions reaching their previous peak.

As the student travel window has now closed, and tier 4 has made measures more draconian across England, many students will have already made their decision but for those still sitting on the fence over Christmas Day, it’s hard to ignore how the magic of Christmas has had to give way to the reality of 2020.

*some names have been changed