welcome to the ultimate channel for students my name is Francesca and my aim
is to help you have the best fresh start at University that's right I just wanted
to do a little introduction like this just to just put a bit of context
because I've realised that my channel has been ever so slightly misunderstood I
feel that I really want to make a few things clear just so that things are
nice and settled check out this video if you want to understand why I'm saying
this so basically what I'm trying to say here is that people have assumed that
since have been extremely positive about my experience in Exeter because I
did have the time of my life people just assumed that I was paid to do YouTube
channel for Exeter University and it's very funny because I was just you
know just dismissed so yeah so I've never done a partnership with Exeter and the uni has
never been very supportive of what I do I've never had the management contacting
me or saying "hey do you need help with this do you need a budget or do you
need an extra hand and editing" so it's basically just me and every single
initiative I took on this channel especially this one coming talking about
like diversity in Exeter came from me so this video is not current so it hasn't been
shooted after the incident has come out it's been shooted before so please
bear that in mind when it comes to context and yeah let me know
if you have any more questions I'm here to help you guys this is the purpose of
my channel I've started because I do want you guys to be to feel like you
have someone that cares so I'm here for you if you ever have questions or
anything and yeah guys enjoy the video! I'm Nicole I studied biochemistry
I'm in first year I come from London though
I'm Agatha I'm have Gandhian I have Spanish I study medical sciences and
next year I'm transferring to marketing and management
how do you guys feel about Exeter University generally
pretty space great education but like there are other things well in my case I
like the University I would like this university if it was like in another
city so that would be perfect the University in itself is amazing but
not the city best.
Whats the best and worst thing about exeter?
Well Iwould say that one of the worst things is that
there is not much to do in Exeter every time I want to do something I end up
going like not even shopping because the shopping is not really good
I end up going to restaurants and spending money or like cinema because
you can't really do anything else or going out to the clubs there's nothing
else you can really do yeah I'd agree yeah like the main thing to do here
student which is normal is to go out to the clubs but like yeah but the clubbing
is not really good clubs are not good there's no the music is the same every
single week since freshers week so you just have to be positive and ignore that
and try to forget the week before because every week is going to be
exactly the same so just try to make like new friends so at least you can
feel like it's a different like yeah yeah I'll say yeah like the main pastime
is to go out and get drunk if you don't drink then that's like the big problem
for you and the music like come from London I didn't really go out in London
that much mum I don't drink okay just in case
really got much in London but like in London you know the music would be
better there but this is coming from like my perspective and the club's when
it closed at 2:00 or like 3:00 on a like on a late like a special night best
thing about that's our best thing about extra time oh let me think it's all
because I don't know I meant some great friends oh yeah the people you meet here
they're actually like sisters and yeah the best thing about Exeter they're my
friends and
well like I applied to like only campus universities because I wanted to have
that like that campus environment so I like the campus but I don't live on
campus so like it's a love/hate thing like I like the fact that like uni is
quite a bubble but sometimes it's a bit much by like most of the time
well be honest because sometimes im a bit harsh and I said what is this
channel is about authenticity
the first time I came to
the university I entered in the forum and I actually said I'm in the wrong
place because I didn't see the diversity I was very I was very mad at the
information the university had given that was so diverse so bla bla bla and I
didn't see the diversity and and well I still kind of don't see it like when
they say it's diverse like I think the unit University is diverse in the fact
that like the lots of international students and I think that's a good thing
like obviously like your international students stuff like that but like and
there's loads of people that I like from Europe or whatever a lot of people from
Asia that international students but like diversity terms of ethnicity you're
not gonna find it here you're not gonna find it like it's not it was all
something you're gonna find I didn't realized like I can't like obviously I'm
coming from London I come from xxx if anyone knows
that southeast London it's very diverse I knew like when I was coming here it
was gonna be a bit less but I thought yeah I did it no it's a bit like
it's a little bit like get out i wont lie I mean one
time I think the time when it really first hit me you said when you first
came was campus one time I was sitting in cuz I think my chemistry I have loves
and you can fit about like 200 people in this lab and I sat down and I looked
left and right and up and down like the rows of rows and literally I couldn't
see another another Asian person mixed-race person I literally only saw
like white people and I was just like
when I entered it to one of my lectures I think was like in the second week
because that's when you actually start lectures and I saw this girl she was
entry and she was late
I mean and I'll say like I think I know every black person in first year I know
of you know the name of or have seen probably every black person the second
year and maybe like but I have to say like I don't know I've been seeing a lot
more black people recently I don't know if it's because like January's started
and like most students are coming in yeah ever like exams like so they have
like some people that get lectures but I would say it's not yeah but like yeah
there's nothing really I wish they would've presented us a very
diverse University because Mike Harmon from Spain I needed more diversity
because commented in other countries honestly like coming to different world
because everything is different even it doesn't sound like it's gonna be like
that right socially different so I wanted to have like more diversity so I
wouldn't like feel alone in my like exacting and the first two weeks I was
crying a lot and I wanted to leave the Uni I wasn't eating and and because I
didn't feel comfortable in the Uni because my classes everybody was a
British I'm not saying I have anything I asked them but I would feel very
uncomfortable because every it was their first language it wasn't mine I feel
like alone I've been left out because if they have their own jobs their own thing
because they're from the same is not they're from the same country so it's
something I couldn't join in to like that so that's why I didn't feel very
well and I have to do I have to do the ACS african-caribbean Society and that's
where I could feel a bit more say it included yeah more included
because it was more like international I also have my African pride because I was
born in Ghana and that's how I managed to come out from that situation racist
comment in Exeter I haven't had one no I don't think what I've heard you have
heard one to another girl but not to me so usually if I don't I've like heard
stories like two of my friends they were going down the high street and then they
with their with these guys in a car there was speed a pass and I don't know
they both of them heard like the same one of the same words but they said like
some kind of comment and they said like the n-word as like they were driving
past but obviously you can't do anything like the cars already gone they were
shocked they're like what they heard like oh you bloody and words or
something like that others times it's not even like
intentional or like over like that like say you I've gone to pay and someone get
has given me like the change on the table instead of that in my hand when my
hands been right there or do you feel uncomfortable because you
were black here in Exeter because Idol I did in like I knew that I was not gonna
be like it wasn't going to be very diverse here so I kind of set myself up
and prepared but like two weeks in that that kind of started to that like I
don't want to say like that like prepared and I wasn't prepared enough so
like two weeks in I started to feel like this is like really weird
oh my gosh and like nurses in like these little things and these little things I
probably still going on now but because it's like so frequent now I'm just yeah
like that yes it's not it's not a good thing like I should like I still pick up
on like big things I might don't say that or don't do this but like yeah I
like when I went home for Christmas I told my family I've never spoken about
race so much because sometimes it's not it's not a thing of like someone trying
to be rude they just you're gonna meet so many people that are not from cities
and they don't know or think like some of the things that they say in a rude
and like sometimes they'll be your friends that are like saying stuff and
you're just you're like war and you have to you don't have to but like I'm not
you know you can't say that because this is that and the other I like you if you
come to not just X to any University like this you're gonna have to have
patience
no I don't think especially you like with British people they won't it's not
like over know just like they're not gonna say to your yeah they would say to
your face but it might be like a little like I don't I don't know I can't think
of a situation but they might say something that's just like they didn't
need to say always like a residual the way they said it to you would be
different to the way they said it's like Oh white friends it's that well they're
not that white friend but like the person that I'm a person that talked to
who's also like he's white so like sometimes like at first I really picked
up on that and like mm-hmm but like now I guess I thought I'm not hanging around
there's like when you're first meeting new people give me a lot of people when
you decide like okay I'm not then they're not my people whatever so yeah I
guess I'm not around that anyone's too much but I
I would I would I would have gone to an actual bigger city like London
Birmingham Cardiff I don't know a bigger city worser there's more diversity more
things to do because honestly I can't imagine myself living in Exeter for four
or five years because I just feel like there's something else I'm missing out
and my friends are great that's the thing I would miss in the university but
the life in Exeter I wouldn't say it's great I I think this year's are very
important now they're very young so I would like to for me would be like
losing my ears in essence yeah
I don't know I I will think much much longer and harder by it and I wouldn't
dismiss city universities like because when I was deciding I just like this mr.
miles I mean but now like I realized how important my friends are founding like
you know Wow like even like my like my white friends or like teachers even from
like London but like you're going to exit are like okay like Deborah in life
and I was like yeah sure like you'll be fine like you know what I I didn't put
that much weight on it and I really should have like I didn't realize we
live in the capital of difference to live there as well I'll say like maybe I
expected to be like not like one of the only few black people but I would say
that like white people I thought they'll be more races and also I would say like
white people were other races that are from that London as well just very
different to like people who aren't from a big city for example or like they
understand stuff you don't need to explain to them so like I just yeah I
yeah but what I did I don't know I don't know if I don't know I think I like the
university's been good to me especially it so anyways so I can't
yeah like but what I know well it's not think about I'm finally here is no like
I'm suffering or anything my daily life is good I have my friends and everything
but I would like to have a different kind of life in a bigger situation
that's that's my preference
it's so cool to have like you guys
like exit ah because I feel like this is important that they don't like exercise
people change and what they change this is that when you are new here and you
know a person like please say hi because I don't know if you've had that before
what do you say hi in the person totally ignores you I've had this so many times
in Exeter British people well they just smile awkwardly yeah it's not very open
like the way you describe Spain is very very open his even when I see some
people I they're not close friends I'd see them in foreign language should I
say hi am i bothering them I've never had that before
because for me sigh oh she's there I'll say hi but here's a bit more moon I'm
like Wolverine I might launch got to think about daily conversation so we owe
ya yeah I'm gonna oh yes so we have so many things to say where I can say the
am being likeliness
okay it's okay not really he's giving you permission to film on the bridge
this is a workplace
her day is not disturbed sorry yeah so sorry to like cut the video into the
interesting part guys relationships next luckily we did relocate and we did find
another place and we did talk about it so don't worry but that will be in a
second interview in a second video so if you're interested about that let me know
and comments yeah yeah I want to see it if not I'll prioritize other interviews
so yeah this little episode I just wanted you guys to see the behind the
scenes so that you've really understand that when I said that I'm not partnered
with uni I really do mean I'm not partnered nor supported by the Uni this
is purely my initiative so yeah so hope you guys enjoyed the video anyway and
let me know what you think in the comments guys subscribe like do your you
know what you know the gist and I will see you in the next video bye guys
I'm trying to put you in the worst mood anyone cleaner than your church shoes