Do's and don'ts for first year students?

Ruskie4Rent

Yeah this is a cool thread apart from it depressing me even more about not having accomodation for the year.

pretty*monster

rainbow kirby wrote:

Don't join up for everything you see in Fresher's Week.

I have to disagree with that, the societies I got most involed with were the ones I just joined for the sake of it, because I still had change in my pocket.
It's only two euro and as a fresher you really don't know what clubs and societies you're going to click with.
I was bitterly dissapointed with many of the societies I joined and plesantly surprised by others.

If you don't live on campus make friends with someone who does, so you'll always have a place to crash.

If you don't have a car make freinds with someone who does, because a set of wheels is unbelievably handy.

Go to your tutorials and do the reading for them, this will usally be enough to make your tutor love you and if you're a boarderline pass/fail in the exams you're going to want a tutor who's going to argue for you.

Get to know your lecturers, go drinking with them.

Do all of your essays.

DON'T expect to love(or even like) ucd from day one but DO expect to love it eventually

pretty*monster

LovelyHurling wrote:

10. Give up cigs, if you smoke - you'll be the richer for it. Health? No forget that, it just means you can buy more pints of Fosters- wohooo yeah!!

Terrible advice, I made so many friends and spent many a lovely, though cold, afternoon outside the arts block with a 20 pack.

And as for don't...

LovelyHurling wrote:

8. Walk alone at night, girls

Hah, as if we all have a choice :rolleyes:

Clive

pretty*monster wrote:

Hah, as if we all have a choice :rolleyes:

This is another DO.
DO make an effort get to know all the little things that it takes most people years to cop on to.

If you´re not comfortable walking across campus at night, ring services and ask for someone to walk with you (or more likely they´ll just give you a lift). Services are there 24 hours a day. They might grumble, but they´ll do it.

Dave!

Is there much crime on campus at night or somethin? I would imagine it's fairly safe...!

Clive

There have been a few rapes over the years, and plenty of scraps.

irlrobins

there have not been "a few rapes"!

Thats jsut rumours. Campus is very safe. More so than walking down city centre.

Same as anywhere u just need to keep your wits about you. i.e. if u start slagging off a bunch of guys when drunk then its obvious someone is going to knock some sense into you!

No need to be scared!

Dave!

No I'm not scared or anything, I just never imagined there was any crime there, as it appears really safe, and I mean, it's a college campus, so I thought there'd be security guards all over the place too -- was just curious to know why some are apprehensive walking through there alone!

irlrobins

well i can understand some girls being wary of walking alone thru campus after dark.

But as somone said ring services (716 7999) and they'll provide an escort. Or if u get off the bus at the main gates, go up to the reception office and ask.

There are security patrols and CCTV around campus. I feel safer on campus than I do walking in the city centre at night.

LovelyHurling

DaveMcG wrote:

I mean, it's a college campus, so I thought there'd be security guards all over the place

No they're called services, but they're fat

Clive

irlrobins wrote:

there have not been "a few rapes"!

Thats jsut rumours. Campus is very safe. More so than walking down city centre.

Same as anywhere u just need to keep your wits about you. i.e. if u start slagging off a bunch of guys when drunk then its obvious someone is going to knock some sense into you!

No need to be scared!

Bull. I personally know of one girl who was raped on Res. Most rapes go unreported to the guards and anyone who thinks that there has never been someone raped on such a large, poorly lit campus, with numerous wooded areas, and numerous drunken people late at night are absolutely fooling themselves.

Just because it´s UCD doesn´t make it any safer than the rest of the city and common sense applies.

upmeath

has anybody any idea...
1. when the college tells us we've been accepted (i got cao's acceptance slip this morning, wed aug31)
2. when freshers are due in, is it different for every course, if so, anybody got any idea when architecture students are due in?
3. what happens to young students when they turn 18? ill be 18 in mid october so is my card gonna be changed then or will i still be going round in 5th year with my dob printed on the card so everyone can still slag me then?
4. when scholarship recipients get their cash/cheque?

and is it really unadvisable to score people in your class?

Red Alert

your DOB will be on your card for the entire year but then the next year it won't and you'll be like everybody else.

... and no scoring people in your own faculty or own class isn't always a bad thing

Ruskie4Rent

Apparantly UCD will send out info packs to all first years before Friday and all will be clear then.

Kate_17

This is a little OT but I'm curious about it. Is it true that you shouldn't walk at night on your own ANYWHERE at night in Dublin? Even on O' Connell Street/Bridge, Westmoreland, Grafton Streets? Like, is there much of a garda presence? Also, when you say don't walk around campus at night on your own, do you mean in the early hours of the morning? Even for short distances, like from bus terminus to residences?

upmeath

kate, you a fellow bogger?
dublin isn't all too dangerous, although i've had some very strange guys approach me with strange stories looking to scab a few quid or an ipod in the past year or so... ucd is outside the city centre, all areas of the city are fairly safe until night, but i've had ****ers try mug me in middle abbey street and the north quays near o'connell bridge in broad daylight on a saturday afternoon twice this year.
grafton street, harcourt street, temple bar, westmoreland street are all very safe 24/7 in my opinion, if someone shouts profanities at you or tries to intimidate you or attract attention, the best possible way of dealing with it is to keep your head down and up the pace. im a 17 year old country guy, ive never felt really intimidated in dublin but im a little more cautious on o'connell street, parnell street and abbey street because ive heard tales over the years and ive experience myself.
i cant tell you anything about ucd though and what its like at night, ive only been there at open days!

irlrobins

upmeath is spot on his opinion on city centre. (I'm a dub).

UCD is grand at night. You prob only ever have drunk students to deal with, and u'll prob be one of them! :-P Stick to lit areas. If in doubt ring services. Or if in Res one of the RAs.

Kate_17

Me is a bogger certainly. Have plenty of experience of Dublin, but mostly during the daytime. Was on streets on my own one night, only thing happened was some guy came up to me outside GPO and started asking me questions about myself. Something like that is trivial though compared to some of the stuff you hear, like people being killed or raped.

LovelyHurling

Personally I think of UCD as being as safe as a playground. Think about it, its slap bang down the middle of Mercedes Valley - and we can be comforted by the fact that drunks and ne'er do wells cannot afford the no. 10 because of the rising bus charges (nice one dublin bus, I knew you had our interests at heart, haw haw). That said I think lovely girls are never safe anywhere anytime and always need my gallant protection and knightly chivalry.

But seriously, girls walking alone on campus are easy targets for weirdos.
Especially the oompa loompas they glow.

Mr.Nice Guy

I would advise against walking around the city on your own. I myself don't like doing it. The same goes for the Campus as well.

If I'm not mistaken, the homeless man who hangs around the restaurant in UCD once saved a girl who was almost raped by some guy. I think the homeless man gets free meals now from the restaurant for his actions.

I'm sure someone on here knows the details better than I do.

LovelyHurling

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

If I'm not mistaken, the homeless man who hangs around the restaurant in UCD once saved a girl who was almost raped by some guy. I think the homeless man gets free meals now from the restaurant for his actions.

I know the guy you're talking about, but are you sure he's homeless? Because I've seen him a few times going home (...er?) at night on the number 10 and he always has a schoolbag with him. I figured he was maybe an arts student or something, you know how scruffy those dudes are. I reckon he's just trying to fit in.

Janey Mac I hope he doesnt drop in here to often to see us nattering.

Jonny Arson

A reliable source of mine from the SU did say to me once that they believe there has been many unreported assaults on females on the campus over years so don't walk through any unlit areas at night around the campus

LovelyHurling wrote:

I know the guy you're talking about, but are you sure he's homeless? Because I've seen him a few times going home (...er?) at night on the number 10 and he always has a schoolbag with him. I figured he was maybe an arts student or something, you know how scruffy those dudes are. I reckon he's just trying to fit in.

Janey Mac I hope he doesnt drop in here to often to see us nattering.

Ah that would be Seb then!

rainbow kirby

Coming from Dublin 24, I feel safer walking around UCD than I do waiting for my bus home from work... It's just a matter of being sensible. Be aware of your surroundings, and don't do anything stupid. Also, if you feel you need it... the SU usually runs a self-defence class at some stage during the year and there's plenty of martial arts clubs in the college.

Dave!

^
Yeah I'm the same... I've only been on campus a few times, but once or twice it was dark when I was going home, and the only thing that was concerning me was what bus to get(my girlfriend and I ended up on the wrong bus, grrg), whereas if I'm getting the bus around Tallaght, I feel more uneasy, even though I know the place well and have lived here for years. Maybe that's why, actually... lol

Funkstard

How much of a trek will it be for me to get from Killiney to the Architecture building every day?

I'm imagining a lift to the 46A, then walking over from the main entrance. Trek. A car would be great but that would mean a: I couldn't go for the odd pint after class, and b: well, I couldn't drink is a biggie.

Maybe I'll just a chauffeur

irlrobins

main gate to richview.... thats some trek alright!

Blush_01

Ouch... good luck with that one!

irlrobins - the comment you made about rape on campus kind of scares me. It's way too easy to become overconfident or complacent about your surroundings, and the last thing people need to hear is that they needen't be just as wary on campus as everywhere else. That guy who died near the library last year was apparently seen by services (albeit too late for them to help him) but left there because they thought he was a drunk. (Emphasis on the apparently.) Services, while being friendly at reception if you just chat to them can be as pig-ignorant and unhelpful as bedamned if it suits them. And they're reluctant to listen when people try to explain things to them. On the other hand, they can also be really nice when you need help with transporting things and the like.

Either way, I wouldn't feel overly confident on campus just because it's in Belfield. Nor would I like to be in a situation where I had to rely on the help of services to "rescue" me.

Lordy

Hmm ... most of what I was going to post has already been said but lets see ...

Do try and talk to and make friends with everyone - dont get suckered into the clicke thing.
Do joins clubs and societies - clubs especially are great for socialising.
Dont let said clubs take over your life
Dont be worried walking round campus - its perfectly safe as long as you have even a tiny bit of wits about you ...
Do definitely go to your tutorials and practicals, even if you dont quite make the 9 o'clock lectures.
Do accept that Science people are far superior to other facilities.

As far as all the worrying about how safe UCD is, its grand. Far safer than town at night. In any case, theres 8 martial arts clubs in UCD, if you're interested in learning how to defend yourself (the Tae Kwon Do club won Club of the Year the last two years in a row actually).

irlrobins

Blush_01 wrote:

That guy who died near the library last year was apparently seen by services (albeit too late for them to help him) but left there because they thought he was a drunk.

Actually he was spotted by someone who works in the library and they left him. It was services who called the emergency services etc....

But take your point on getting over complacent.

Blush_01

Ooh, another tip for first years - beware of panic cling. Just because you hang out with someone else who knows nobody for the first few days of college does not mean that they have to be your soulmate for the rest of college. If you have enough in common to be friends, then all well and good, but if you make friends with people and find that you're just not good for eachother, don't feel like you're their one and only and they'll die without you. Make independent friends too, loyalty is all well and good, but if it's misplaced, you'll end up with a big sack of on-your-own if you don't have the guts to ease up on the intensity that the panic of being on your own can sometimes bring, and vice versa.

The voice of experience.