Halloween is just around the corner. As you plan your celebrations, here’s some pointers on how to avoid being a ‘scary’ neighbour this spooky season.
Respecting your community
Whether you are new student staying in halls, or you’ve now ventured out to live in the local area, you have a responsibility to help us to maintain positive relationships with our neighbours and the wider community.
Cities are home to diverse communities of people. This brings with it many benefits and the vast majority of our student community place a great deal of value on being able to experience this aspect of university life.
It is important that we respect and protect this. Anti-social behaviour – whether it be noise, litter or inappropriate behaviour – can cause major issues for local residents, which in turn impact on your overall experience as a student here.
It’s great being with friends but please remember that houses or flats with multiple occupants can easily cause disturbance to neighbours, especially if you are planning a celebration at home for the evening, or are gathering with friends before or after going out for the evening.
Consider that you may have families with young children nearby, an elderly couple or people trying to work from home. Noise disturbance or anti-social behaviour can lead to a great deal of stress for those around you, so please try to think of others.
- Keep music, the TV volume and any other noise at a reasonable level at all times. If you like loud music, use headphones. Professional sound systems are definitely not suitable for use in a student home.
- How late is reasonable? Most people agree that 11pm is a suitable time to make sure you reduce noise levels are low so you are not disturbing the sleep of those around you.
- Be aware of your surroundings when walking through neighbourhoods at night. Loud voices can easily carry and cause disturbance to those around you.
- Keep your property clean and don’t dump rubbish. Make sure you know when your bin collection day is so you can do your bit to keep your neighbourhood clean and tidy.
- If you have a car, please park considerately. Bear in mind your neighbours, particularly those who required disabled access to the vehicles and designated parking spaces, as well as emergency services vehicles who need quick and unobstructed access to our streets.
Conduct and discipline
- Remember that as a student you need to adhere to our Policy on Student Conduct and Discipline.
- If you’re not familiar with the policy, make sure you take a look and read the document, as it outlines how we expect you to behave both on and off campus as a student at the University. It is important that you pay particular attention to Appendix I, which highlights what we consider to be non-academic misconduct.
Your safety matters too
As well as being a good community member, it’s important to consider your own safety too. The nights are getting darker so bear these tips in mind as you celebrate at this time of year:
- Be aware of your surroundings. Street crime is often opportunistic, so making yourself less of a target by being aware of your surroundings. This will go a long way to keeping you safe.
- Travel safely. Try to stick to routes and forms of transport that others are using. If you do walk home alone, stick to main roads. If possible, travel with a friend. If you use taxis, only use those that are licensed.
- Go against the flow. When you’re walking on the pavement it’s a good idea to face oncoming traffic, as it will make it far more difficult for anyone to approach you without you noticing.
- Protect your valuables. Try to keep your phone out of sight, and be vigilant if you do have to use your phone outside.
- Attract help if you need it. If you feel threatened, make as much noise as possible to identify yourself in order to warn off the individual and to attract help from others.
- Drink responsibly on nights out. Alcohol and drugs will reduce your reaction times and inhibitions. You are far more vulnerable when you are drunk, especially if you are on your own. Eat before you go out, and try to alternate alcoholic drinks with soft drinks.