The DCSA and the New Normal

When the first lockdown started in the UK in March 2020, I was still serving as the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the DCSA. I was living in the Malting House with a vibrant group of 11 other students from various parts of the world. Ten days into the lockdown I found myself with only 3 other flat mates, as the others had returned in a rush to France, Singapore, China or Mexico.

My remaining housemates - Zeynap, Daniel and Tom – and I, quickly found a balanced rhythm to our lockdown life, cooking together, coming up with a cleaning schedule (The Housekeeping Department had provided us with equipment to clean our rooms), going on walks around Cambridge and, most importantly, being there for each other during those four long and trying months. I will cherish forever these memories with them, as they were real friends to me at a very difficult time.

On top of the pandemic, my home country, Lebanon, where my family resides, was hit by a seemingly endless series of crises, among which an economic and financial collapse, the devaluation of the Lebanese Lira, the unofficial capital controls of banks and illegal restrictions on depositaries’ ability to withdraw money, as well as civil unrest and a state-sponsored counter-revolution. The disastrous explosion of the Beirut Port on August 4th that killed more than 220 and displaced more than 300,000 was the deadliest addition to this series of tragedies. Chloé Kattar is the 2020–2021 President of the Darwin College Students Association (DCSA). She shares some of the challenges and successes the DCSA have faced in the last six months, in what is surely one of the most unsettling years the student body has had to cope with. Students and Research “I will cherish forever these memories with them, as they were real friends to me at a very difficult time.” Above: Chloé Kattar, DCSA President Darwinian 12 THE Despite the madness that seemed to have taken over the world in 2020, I felt safe in Darwin College. I can say with confidence today, after spending 4 years here, I proudly call it home. The lockdown experience in Darwin and the amazing support I received from the students and College made me eager to give back even more to this amazing community. I knew that the next academic year would be like no other and I wanted to help the College family in this difficult period. I decided therefore to run for DCSA President in May 2020, and I was elected in the largest-ever DCSA elections as a total of 291 students casted their votes during the Lent Elections. This record voter turnout was made possible thanks to the support of the College: we were worried that students’ interest in college life and DCSA matters would diminish with the pandemic as they were all scattered around the world, but Dean Needham generously offered to award a bottle of champagne (or non-alcoholic equivalent) to one lucky voter if we reached 150 votes! As President, my first task was to create a new Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities (BAME) Officer since the Executive Committee of the DCSA lacked effective representation for minorities. In doing so, we were trying to apply on a local level the lessons learnt from the global momentum of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Following the first months of lockdown, the new DCSA Executive Committee, which took office in full form in June 2020, launched a survey to assess the student experience during lockdown. We were aware that many Darwinians had faced hardships and we wanted to learn about their experiences in order to improve conditions for confinement in College. The survey was divided into themes such as accommodation, communication, welfare, etc., which were designed to help both the DCSA and the College identify areas where improvements could be made.

The results were generally positive, with students expressing that they felt safe and supported in Darwin College, especially because they could remain in College accommodation (in contrast to other colleges) and since hardship funds were easily awarded to students in need. The main complaint came from non-residents, who were unable to access College buildings and grounds as a result of regulations. (For the second national lockdown, we have worked on ways to include students living in private accommodation or abroad in College life. This includes a welfare telephone campaign and Meet and Greet Zoom calls with College officers).

Most importantly, the DCSA has been key in implementing the Self-Isolation Supporter scheme. Once the pandemic broke out in the UK, the College rolled out this scheme to allow volunteers among the student cohorts to assist those in self-isolation by bringing them food and supplies. The Welfare Officers’ efforts, whether Alice, Stefanie or Akash, were utterly crucial in making this a success: they regularly paired together one isolating student with a student supporter – especially early in the new term when many new international students arrived from non-exempt countries – and acted as the contact point between students in quarantine, their supporters and the College. Their dedication was remarkable. They also helped pack the belongings of many students who had to leave in a rush when the lockdown first started.

The next big challenge was of course Freshers’ Week. Given the ever-evolving regulations of the UK government, the DCSA had to adapt and come up with two parallel events schedules. To cater for the needs of those freshers who had to isolate on arrival, we offered two Freshers’ calendars: one for in-person events and one for online events on Zoom. Depending on their situation, students could of course mix online and in-person events! This included, for instance, a virtual Darwin BakeOff, where students entered a baking competition and then sent photos of their cakes to the Darwin Kitchen which chose a couple of winners!

We also organised digital entertainment such as a Guided Conversation Tour, in which new students were partnered up with a fellow Darwinian and provided with a conversation guide. Or the famous Speedy Chat Nights, where students were put in breakout rooms for several minutes at a time to chat with other Darwinians.

Brilliantly, our virtual Darwin Quiz featured questions written by our very own University Challenge team. In short, we tried to offer virtual equivalents of the traditional events and got inventive when we couldn’t!

Our in-person events involved a lot of preparation to make sure that we were conducting freshers’ activities in a safe manner and according to governmental rules. The DCSA worked closely with the Domestic Operations and Catering Departments on a risk assessment form that was signed by all hosts of Freshers’ events. Officers and presidents of societies were advised to ensure that their events were Covid-19 secure. This was especially important for events happening in the Marquee, which the College installed in the garden during Michealmas Term to welcome new students and host such events.

The marquee could only welcome a limited number of people at once, and the DCSA prepared seating plans that applied social distancing rules to big events such as the Open Mic.

The Covid era brought yet another major change to college life: it introduced the household concept. Many of our activities, such as the Grantchester walks and Pizza Night, were offered only on a household basis. The Punt Club, for instance, issued an occupancy rule that allowed up to two different households per punt. 

This new configuration meant that students had to socialise in their respective households. So we launched the ‘Get to Know your Household’ campaign, to encourage new students to reach out to the other students in their new homes, find out who belonged to their household, create WhatsApp groups and nominate a household representative who, for instance, would pick up the pizzas for everyone from the kitchen on Pizza Night!

Looking forward, our international students may not be able to travel home because of travel restrictions at the end of this term. So, planning is now focused on the Christmas season. The key DCSA aim this year is to make students feel at home in Darwin no matter what!