2024: Pressure to Attend Social Events in First Semester to have a Good University Experience

First-semester students are socially pressured to attend parties to get the most out of their Bond University experience, say some freshman students.

BUSA Social Director Jessica Zanchetta said that attending parties helps students make friends from the beginning, but it can be overwhelming for first-semester students who have never needed to balance ‘work and play’.

“I think it’s more when you are in your first semester. I think people like to party a lot,” she said.

“But after that, people were like, well, this is my degree. This is my education.

“Especially everyone at Bond who has worked hard to get here and is paying more money,” she said.

First-semester student Elleia Tampi said that living on campus affects how often she attends social events.

“I go to Don’s 'cause it’s right next to where I live,” she said.

“Because I’m like right there, I’m like, yeah, why not?

“If I were living off campus, I’d probably feel less open to going out ‘cause then I would have to worry about getting back home,” she said.

Tampi said that there is a social norm of attending student events, particularly the major ones that are standard every semester.

“I don’t think I need to attend [events]… I’m not gonna like, I guess, waste my time if I’d rather do something with just my close circle of friends.

“It depends, though; like Palaver, for example, I was like, okay, I’ll go; everyone’s going,” she said.

First-semester students are more vulnerable to the social pressures of attending parties because they want to experience the most out of university social life before they have to leave.