The 1990s are widely viewed as being a good time to be young; from the optimism sweeping corners of post-Th atcher Britain to ‘football coming home’, (ish), or ‘Britpop’ ruling the sound waves. In the year Britain’s youth were first introduced to Oasis’ Half The World Away, being a young person in Britain changed forever through the insidious introduction of tuition fees. Whilst the cost of fees were set at a cosy £1,000 a year in 1998, by the end of the following decade, the cost of a university education was raised to £9,000 a year in 2010.

England had slumped miserably to a 4-1 thumping courtesy of Germany and Oasis had imploded. The optimism of British youth had fizzled out in just twelve years. In a matter of twenty five years the venue that plays host to the zenith of one’s youth - universities - have undergone a seismic reconfiguration.

Universities, once the bastion of free debate and discussion, are changing, particularly after the Higher Education Act became law over the summer, with Arif Ahmed given the role of Director of Speech and Academic Freedom of the Office for Students, or ‘free speech Tsar’ as he has been ordained. The former Cambridge professor and appointee to the ECHR Board by Tory Minister Kemi Badenoch now finds himself in the rather omnipotent position of being the free speech crusader to act as a check and balance on ‘cancel-culture’ in universities. Yet, the power he wields in this role appears to bring his benign image into doubt, as Ahmed told the Times he has the power to not only discipline academics for social media posts but also the ability to impose fines on student unions if they elect to disinvite speakers, even though such ‘disinvitations’ are often the result of students balloting for such action to be taken.

Despite Ahmed’s proclamation to “defend all views”, it would appear student unions and academics are not to be included in this bracket. Aside from the threats posed by the ‘free speech Tsar’, our universities are attempting to undergo an endogenous cultural change, with a particular focus on drinking culture. Despite a survey showing over eighty percent of students view drinking as an integral part of university life, such views have been disregarded by some universities, such as Aberdeen University who announced the closure of their student bar, despite it’s £200,000 refurbishment over the summer, for three months in September 2023.

In an act of seemingly pseudo-solidarity, Exeter University rebranded their ‘freshers week’ to ‘welcome week’, as a means to de-alcoholise the opening weeks of university, in a move that has no doubt seen the Real Ale Society in uproar. Although the clampdowns on freedom of speech may juxtapose with the desires to change university drinking culture, they are both signs of a changing British university culture which sees students pay more, drink less and lecturers think twice before voicing their views. Only time will tell if such reforms will lead to more productive and improved British universities.