By Sam Clements

Nowadays, I wouldn’t usually let something like Valentines Day occupy my thoughts for too long. But as a single man, I found myself reflecting on the times when I had been in the thick of Valentines preparations.

I never bought into it when I had a girlfriend, but I did make a satisfactory effort each year. I’m not a tight fisted, unromantic git, I just don’t like being told the specific date I have to act especially romantically, organise an evening which has some kind of magical expectation and pay four times what it would have been the previous weekend. Ok, I might be a bit of a miserable git at that. I just never wanted to be sucker for all this consumerism bull, but it’s inevitably unavoidable when you have a girlfriend. Dam.

You would have thought all the men in the world have been programmed to walk into town, grab the biggest teddy money can buy, a card, some flowers and book a table at a restaurant, and all because they want to? Possibly. But more so, if they didn’t, their girl would have their bollocks in a blender.

I say this because I was in Clinton Cards today, and I smirked at the men in the gigantic queue. They all looked glazed over, all too in love to focus their sight…or maybe it’s the harrowing Valentines experience that does it.

To say it’s a relief to be single at this present time is an understatement, so what is a singleton supposed to do on such a day? Go speed dating? Go out and get drunk with your mates? Or stay in and simultaneously masturbate and cry perhaps? If you really don’t care about the whole affair, then it will fly by without you noticing.

The truth of it is, despite everything I hate about the 14^th of February, despite the hassle, the cost, and the possible resentment; at least all those men are bearing all the grief to please someone else. By the easily endeared, that could be perceived as romantic in itself.

By Sam Clements

Lets be honest, Adrian and myself have neglected Bedroom Banter since it was first broadcast. To say sorry, we have a Christmas special Podcast coming very soon.Until then, here’s a short clip behind the scenes. You might find it entertaining.

By Andy Weekes

When asking a group of undergraduates the purpose of the Student Union, the answer can sometimes be vague. The place on campus they socialise in? The home to the university’s societies? The literal meaning of the Union of Students is sometimes hidden, and what the staff there actually does, to some, may be a mystery.

The fun and cavorting façade of the election campaigns are a deep contrast to the frantic and rigorous elements to the job of Student Union President.
Recently appointed Lincoln Student Union President, Chris Charnley, explains the hugely demanding role.

“I have to be a lot of people at once. I have to be a board of governor, I have to be a trustee, I have to be president; but at the end of the day is all comes down to what benefits the students”.

The Student Union aims to protect the interests of students and get the best out of the university. It represents students at all levels of decision-making within the university, and is involved in making big choices for the university’s future.

“A minimum of three officers are out every day at working lunch. Basically we set up for an hour and talk to students. Find out what your issues are, and take that back to the meeting.”

The span of responsibilities that come with the role of SU president is vast. Not only does the president represent students amongst university staff, but also is a liaison between students and the university, and a media representative of the Union itself.

As well as lobbying the university officials, the SU is also responsible for social and extra curricular events, including gigs and student nights at the Union, and trips and social activities.

“It’s not all about studying at university, it’s about meeting new people and trying new things and really putting yourself out there. So by the time you’ve finished, you’ve gone through all these opportunities, and you’re the best graduate you can possibly be.”

The Student Union is there to support students en masse and as individuals. Be it financial, personal or if you have an issue with the university itself, the Student Union is a reliable port of call.

By Sam Clements

Over the upcoming weeks, I will be joining my good friend Adrian Burgess, on the podcast production of Bedroom Banter. Topical discussion, chit chat and of course some good old banter, with hopefully some strange twists – produced right from our Lincolnshire student house. Watch this space for updates and our first ever podcast!

By Sam Clements

I’m quite frankly bored with the topic of binge drinking. It has dominated the news in the recent past and it’s been easy to become blasé towards the matter. Although it has helped create TV shows like “Brighton Beach Patrol” making some highly entertaining TV by filming drunken revelers..

So anyway, if I hear the two words binge and drinking next to each other on the news, I may pull my own teeth out. But for the entirety of this post; you and I will excuse its use.

Freshers’ week is behind us now. It was fun, but I will admit I’m slightly relieved. Non-stop drinking for eight days takes it out of you! Freshers’ week is an introduction to the upcoming semester, but as we are grating away at our livers throughout the term, there’s something I’m more concerned about.

Apart from the chance of enhancing a night out’s shits and giggles, intoxicating yourself with enormous amounts of alcohol has no benefits whatsoever. I don’t care about that; I’m not really bothered about liver disease either.

What does concern me is that alcohol is a depressant, and that’s easy to forget (so are most things) when you’re having a great time being drunk. All to often you see girls hysterically crying and the boys fighting each other for no real apparent reason, so it’s evident that alcohol provokes these negative feelings.
Ever woken up from a heavy night feeling ill ? But also sluggish, mopey, and a bit sorry for yourself? Well you might not have felt like that just because of the physical effects of alcohol, but the depressant effect the drug has on your brain. And my brain is something I’m protective about.

I too have been sucked into the culture of binge drinking, and almost feel that I can’t get out of it. Especially in the university environment.

We are a generation of extremists. If it’s not alcohol abuse, it’s food abuse or drugs, or religious and political extremism.
Are we all looking for a way to destroy ourselves and each other? Or do I just have the beer blues from last night..

By Tadolo

Campus really can be another world. I can find myself not leaving the boundaries of the area for several days. It’s a place that in some ways feels lawless – par the quite comical security guards (they have a Laurel and Hardy quality about them). It would be hard to find somewhere else that you can hear everyday noise and bustle at four o’clock in the morning. Maybe Vegas. Lincoln isn’t anything like Las Vegas.

There is something very homely about living in student accommodation. Everyone is young, up for a laugh, and pretty clueless towards real life. All living in close quarters, it’s a lot like having another family.

But family problems, long distance relationships and homesickness can just be a few things that can cause strain on someone’s uni life. University friends have little relevance to problems back home, so it can make it harder to confide in them.

Issues like this can burst the campus bubble, and you can suddenly feel very far away, and quite lonely. The distance can become more apparent and you can feel out of touch from the problem’s source.

I know people whose parent’s marriages have broken down after they have left for university. Maybe it’s because they have been waiting for their children to secure their futures before they deal with their marital problems. Something like that is upsetting enough, so being far away can make someone feel even more helpless towards the situation.

I think the distance can also be a healer for some. By all means I’m not the product of a perfect family; but I can always tell when someone comes from a dysfunctional one. The way in which they talk about their family, or not at all for that matter. Some have been desperate to get away from theirs, they find the experience of moving away from home much more liberating than others.

University is certainly an eye opener. Not everyone is from a straight-laced, middle class family. I feel like I’ve known my uni friends for a very long time, but really its only been six months. My friends have had lives before they came to university, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that. I’ve had to remind myself recently that just because there isn’t necessarily anything wrong in plain view, some people have baggage from beyond the campus walls.

By psd

Coming to university has been the first time I’ve moved away from the comforts of home. Domesticating myself has possibly been as much as an educational experience as my course. Before last September, I could cook some noodles and keep myself clean, but apart from that, I can shamelessly say my mum did the rest.

I’ve come to realise that money doesn’t go as far as I thought it did. My primary outgoings used to consist of alcohol, and all I really knew about the money in my wallet, was how many pints it could get me. Now on top of that, there are the costly wonders of the domestic world and you can’t have it all, especially being student. For instance, a few nights of overdoing the social alcohol intoxication may force cut backs on the essentials. I may even have to buy the cheap toilet paper, you know, that’s thinner than tracing paper.

Who would think that just the cost of living was so much? I thought if I didn’t want to spend any money, it was a simple case of not going out drinking – as if that was my only outgoing. Unfortunately, there are lots of necessities that seem to cost comparatively a lot to what I first thought. At home the items are just there ,and I didn’t consider before that my parents had to buy them on a regular basis. Washing up liquid, bleach, toilet paper, cling film. Plus all those personal necessities that I managed to swindle off my mum – Deodorant, face wash, shower gel, and hair wax. Corr, if I knew these items were that much, I might have even felt a bit bad for getting them for free!

Despite these things being necessities, I always cringe when I pay for them. Even knowing that without them, I would be an unpresentable, disgusting bio-hazard, who’s living conditions would be of equal measure.

By now, I don’t miss the well-stocked fridge of quality food, and the washed and ironed clothes waiting for me on my nicely made bed. Neither does it surprise me when I look at the formidable DR next to my bank balance statement. I guess it’s a nice way of saying minus. It’s quite funny how as you spend money, the number goes up when you’re in your overdraft, and goes down when you’re not, if only it worked the other way around.

I thought I would be able to avoid to the whole domestic learning curve completely. Making a swift transition from the catering of mother to that of wife, but university has ruined it all. I’m glad though; I’m as independent as they come.

Ralph Dagza

Your university years are the best of your life. I’ve been told that so many times, and now I can see why. Student culture involves squandering the student loan on socialising, drinking, and all round good times. Oh, and there’s also some studying to be done.

Wherever there is lots of alcohol, a mix of the sexes and a freedom of behavior that was probably unacceptable at home, there is bound to be quite a bit of frolicking at university.

So how acceptable is casual sex? The sixties are long gone, so where does that leave the sexual revolution that happened all those decades ago?
The 21st century has seen many changes in society. Sex is everywhere, in movies, on television and in adverts. Sex sells, and we buy into it; and society is certainly less prudish about the topic.

Today’s world is far from the writings of Pride and Prejudice. In fact nowadays, a few drinks and a donner kebab may display enough chivalry to seal the deal – If you get my drift.

I don’t want to stereotype the genders, but the biggest difference seems to be between men and women. It’s true, Men are from Mars, and women are from Venus. The differences in the gender form are as different as the way in which men and women’s brains work. Within the roles of reproducing – women are naturally maternal, and men..well men are programmed to do their part too. I think this plays a strong part in recreational sex too.

Stereotypically, men take more pride in the “notches on their bedpost” and women seem to be far more publicly reserved with their sex life. Women who are sexually outright and domineering tend to take on a slight masculine persona.

These generalisations paint a different picture to what the 60’s were all about. So even though society has adapted and accepted the sexual nature of humans (and turned it into a well used marketing tool) there is still stigma attached to men, and more so women, who sleep around.
Not only it is about seeming careless about who you sleep with; but now that there is such a high awareness towards sexually transmitted diseases, it is easy to make the link between someone who is promiscuous, and someone who is..dirty, I guess.

In many areas of society, people may wish to give the perception of being sophisticated and reputable. Sex has a very close link to what makes us human, and a mammal. Having a casual sex life can pull away from the perception we want to give.

I think it all comes down to the individual’s attitude toward the topic. To some, their sex life may be very important and something that has close associations with how they want to be perceived. Others may not see a relation between sex and morality, and it may not be a big deal at all. In my eyes, it would be a mistake to immediately judge someone wholly on their sexual activity.

By Vaguely Artistic

Being a student, life is pretty sweet. Minimal responsibility, heaps of freedom, 5% off at Somerfield. In fact you’ll find that we are the subjects of envy from many different people. Despite this, students love to whine and moan. No money, too much work, hangovers and especially about the fire alarms.

In the student accommodation and on campus there are weekly fire alarm tests. Despite the lecturer’s sighs and the annoyance of students who are still sleeping between 10 and 12 on a Wednesday morning, each test only lasts roughly 5 seconds. As well as this, there are the occasions where the fire alarm is actually set off, either due to some kind of stupidity or a genuine fire hazard.

They say there is no smoke without fire. But if your flat mate manages to incinerate their pepperoni pizza in the oven, it’s not likely to be blazing with flames, just very black and crispy. The annoyance is that the smoke detectors can be set off by practically anything; from deodorant to water, they seem to be simply detectors, never mind the “smoke” that precedes it. In a period of one week, my court of flats had two fire alerts. You know, standing outside in the cold, fire engine, and the surrounding flats staring at you from their windows. One was caused by a cooking accident and the other…well the other was at 5 AM, and was the result of someone giving in to that deep urge to smash the fire button, for no reason at all…but just to do it. Even though the consequences are of no surprise.

Despite the tests being a small inconvenience for students and the false alarms an annoyance and a waste of the fire services time, it proves that the system works. I would happily accept all the times a fire alarm has ever caused me irritation, to be safe in the knowledge that if there were ever a serious fire, people would be evacuated and the fire services would be on their way. I just hope after all the times there have been false alarms, that Lincoln fire service won’t become complacent with any call-out to the student campus.