Molly KING, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Night-time economy (NTE) spaces, nightclubs, bars etc. are among the first leisure experiences many UK students have at university in what is known colloquially as 'Freshers Week'. This experiential consumption becomes part of student leisure throughout their university career. Whilst other studies have begun to unpack student engagement with the NTE (see Smith, 2014; Gant and Terry, 2017), no formal research investigates the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on this engagement.
Generally, involvement in the NTE, for young people, is seen as both a 'rite of passage' to adulthood, and a key element to identity formation. Utilising spatial theory, the relevance of NTE venues in creating both collective and individual student identities is assessed. The research also highlights the involvement of 'going out' in what is regularly referred to by students and institutions alike as ‘the student experience’, framed as a commodity or a goal to be achieved. Without access to night-time leisure venues, in lockdowns and tiered systems, can students still get this ‘experience’ or develop their identities?
This student-NTE relationship is particularly relevant in the context of the pandemic; While student NTE venues have long been seen as risky, transgressive spaces, they are now scrutinised more closely, and were closed for the foreseeable future under governmental regulations. Students and young people are deemed less ‘at risk’ of contracting the disease yet are often blamed by British media for its spread and can therefore be seen as ‘risky subjects’.
This oral presentation combines conceptual work with initial empirical data from an AHRC-funded PhD project on student experiences of the NTE at a pre-92 UK University. The paper discusses student engagement with the NTE, examining aspects such as space, governance and the concept of ‘the student experience’, ultimately asking how COVID-19 has, does, and will impact UK student leisure experiences by affecting access to NTE spaces.
Mots clés : COVID-19|Identity formation|Student experience|Nightclubs|Night-time Economy
A103152MK