Life at Warwick University in the 80s and 90s

It was a glorious time of cheap beer, freezing houses, brilliant music and old clothes.

In the 80s students claimed Housing Benefit (and Income Support in holidays). We had the legendary ‘grant’ that increased until 1988 when it was frozen, never to be raised again and the HB and IS were dropped. In 1990 it was £2365 per year, although fees were fully paid for by the Government. Rent was around £120 per month. A week’s shopping was a fiver and beer was 85p a pint. One of the best-selling student books was “Grub On A Grant” (think “Staying Alive For Dummies”).

Poll tax had its brief yet nauseating tenure as a legal nuisance and while students only paid 25%, we knew it would be gone in a couple of years so no one coughed up.

An unofficial hitchhiking system existed between Leamington and Warwick Uni. You just stood by the junction of Beauchamp Avenue and Kenilworth Road without putting your thumb out and other students would stop and offer you a lift. It was considered polite to chip in a quid for the petrol if you could afford it.

From 1990 to 1993 dressing down was the thing. The uniform amongst the predominantly left wing student body was army boots plus ripped jeans and a t-shirt with your fave political cause (No Means No, Anti-Apartheid) or your fave band (Happy Mondays or The Stone Roses).

The biggest worry was warming your home. Most students lived in rented, terraced houses and couldn’t afford heating. We just wore layers of jumpers and it wasn’t uncommon for opposite sex friends to share a bed on a sleepover, without any question of a shag being considered. The lucky few got Halls of Residence which were permanently toasty even in summer. Female students were exclusively housed on the 3rd floor, apparently to deter male ne’er-do-wells.

None of us had mobile phones. House phones were set to “incoming only” and if you didn’t have one you arranged a time to be stood in the phone box down the street for your mother to call.
In 1990 most of the male student body referred to term one, week one as “FAF week” (work it out…last two words are “A Fresher”) while a 2:2 honours degree was a “Desmond” and a 3rd a “Douglas”.

Subsidised alcohol was always available along with strange offers like “free Guinness for 5 minutes” (cue much grunting and shoving at the bar). Baptism by fire for most Freshers was the Charity Pub Crawl. You had to navigate 15+ pubs and survive as you drunkenly lurched around. The first rule stipulated men must drink a pint and women could drink a half. This was changed in 1991 due to the amount of people puking, going blind or shagging in public.

The difference between then and now was that opposing opinions were not shouted down or outlawed. The expression “I disagree with what you say but I defend your right to say it” was uttered more than once by those who wanted Mandela beatified but realised a democracy meant everyone had the right to an opinion.

However, the Women’s Society was secretly applauded for wrecking any chance of a Men’s Society (although I took great delight in seeing how long it took them to tear down the spoof posters I put up for a live performance by “Warriors With Crowded Codpieces” to publicise their new album “Death Phallus”. They lasted about 20 minutes).

While most of us regarded this as a period that history would look back on and wince at, what we never expected was that this type of attitude would, 20 years later, get into mainstream politics.

“Death” cigarettes were marketed in the SU shop (coffin shaped presentation box, skull logo, slogan: “these fags will kill you”) but the Internet was years away and computers were 386s with bright orange text. You had to wait 10 minutes while they booted. Windows 3.0, we don’t miss you.

I saw the 2011 Freshers in Leamington recently and not a Doctor Marten in sight. Most students live at home and the Angry Young Persons are not ruling the NUS any longer.
If you weren’t there, you’ll never know.