This week I am handing over the reins of the blog to our Student Community Wardens who are led by Community Liaison Officer, Rory Cunningham.
As many first year students will be making housing choices for next year, it may be useful for them to know that there is a team of twelve ‘Student Community Wardens’ who support students living off campus. This team can be a really useful source of support and information when getting used to living in the community – outside our campus boundaries. Some students describe the Wardens a bit like ‘off-campus’ Student Mentors.
Student Warden Isabella Mengoni describes what the Wardens do and how they may be able to support you:
“There’s no typical day for a Student Community Warden. The help we give to students living in private rented accommodation and the wider Exeter community is diverse and always tailored around the needs of the community. With that said though, there are a few recurring themes in the kind of support and guidance which the ‘team in green’ can offer.
Firstly, the issue of bins is something that wardens are, quite literally, trying to keep a lid on. For the majority of students, this is the first time they’ve had to keep track of the bin day and devise a fair system for who takes out the bins from week to week. Typically the students we talk to have hectic, unpredictable schedules, which means that there’s not necessarily a simple routine of getting back from work every 6pm on a Tuesday and knowing the bins need to go out. One of the most practical ways for helping students keep track of their bin days is the iExeter app, which lets residents check on the bin day for their street and is really suited to students (who are typically pretty tech savvy folk).
A bit of local knowledge is also something that wardens can impart to students. Exeter sadly doesn’t take glass at the door for recycling, so just pointing out to students where their local glass recycling points are can be a big help. In fact, the warden scheme runs a glass caddying service at the end of term to clear away any mountains of glass which may have built up over term time, find out more by emailing streetwise@exeter.ac.uk.
Your Student Wardens are also around to security mark your valuables and stencil your property number onto your bin. You can book a Student Warden by emailing streetwise@exeter.ac.uk with any details that you would like them to assist you with.
Above all else though, the best bit of advice that we’ve managed to communicate to students is to take the time to briefly introduce themselves to their neighbours. This simple act can make things much easier further down the line if students need to broach the subject of a house party they’re hosting the next night. More than that, it’s always helpful to have a neighbour who knows you well enough to take your post for you when you’re out, saving you endless trips to ‘your nearest post office branch’, which just never feels quite near enough.
That’s a flavour of the advice and support the Warden scheme offers, but if you have any queries about life off-campus or the Student Warden roles generally – please contact the generic Warden Email address: streetwise@ex.ac.uk . We’re always happy to help!”
If you wish to find out further information about the Community Wardens then please visit their website. The Accommodation website also offers useful advice about your search for private housing.
Student Community Wardens