Quiet halls for students who want a first-class night’s sleep
UNIVERSITIES are offering party-free student halls to meet the increasing demand among undergraduates for a decent night’s sleep.
Some students are said to be opting out of the traditional fresher experience in favour of ‘quiet’ halls of residence, and alcohol-free flats.
The University of Manchester now has a dedicated block of rooms where noise levels are kept to a minimum.
The ‘quiet area’ is made up of 28 rooms at Manchester Gardens, near Victoria Park, and will be available from September.
Noise is kept to a minimum by grouping like-minded students who have requested to live in party-free zones.
University bosses say the area isn’t strictly alcohol-free, but drinking is ‘significantly’ reduced.
Paul Burns, accommodation office manager at Manchester University, said: “Nowhere can be guaranteed 100pc alcohol free but the consequence of grouping people together who want a quiet hall is that parties don’t occur, people go elsewhere, and alcohol consumption is significantly reduced, if it occurs at all.”
He added: “The most common factor among the many different types who want quiet accommodation is their attitude to study and their desire to take their university course seriously from the beginning.
“However, those types of students can be found everywhere as most young people tend to take university very seriously.
“It is not so much that people want to avoid alcohol as much as they want to avoid the after-effects that occur when people consume too much.
“Additionally, we have students who want to avoid alcohol for reasons rooted in general health, culture, fitness or religion.”
Meanwhile, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) has scrapped quiet halls.
A spokesman said: “We did offer specifically-designated ‘quiet flats’ but no longer do so as it was difficult to measure and manage expectations around the definition of ‘quiet’.
“However, all students living in Manchester Metropolitan accommodation agree to keep noise levels at a minimum between the hours of 11pm and 8am.
“We also offer students the opportunity to live in alcohol-free flats.”
A University of Salford spokesman said: “We are aware that this is an important issue for a growing number of students and we are currently in discussions with our partners about including quiet blocks in the plans for the next phase of residential halls, due to be constructed on our Peel Park campus over the next few years.”