Ah, Halloweekend. Students love it, the general public hates it, and last year there were even public complaints about it to the university itself. The question remains to stand: with an overpopulation of students in Newcastle, how damaging is our nightlife scene to the public's perception of students?
It's no secret that Newcastle is well-known for it's nightlife. Celebrities often frequent our clubs, and our city is one of the top spots for Hen and Stag do's. There's music for everyone: pop, indie, grime, DnB- you name it, it's probably somewhere on a Wednesday night. There's different themes for every night of the week, and it's easy to get lost in the drinking culture that Newcastle offers. Particularly for Halloweekend, the streets are packed and the lines outside clubs are wrapped around the block. It's easy enough to dismiss Halloween as a children's event- but students will use any excuse to go out and drink. And in a city like Newcastle, can you blame them?
But over the past few years, complaints have become more and more common. Last year, students were emailed by the university itself, beseeching students to be respectful of their neighbours. Particularly for second and third years, it can be difficult to have fun without disturbing the family-next-door who all go to bed at 10pm. But the behaviour it can enourage- shouting on the street at 3am, breaking bottles and leaving litter- is more serious. It's easy enough to leave a student house looking like a mess. But would you leave your family home in the same state?
For the most part, Halloweekend is a great opportunity to go out and have some fun; but in a city that encourages you to keep going, students need to remember when to stop. In thirty years time, will you want your evening disturbed by a group of students drunkenly shouting outside your window? Me neither. Let's keep the celebrations this Halloweekend in Tup Tup, not Jesmond.