AR U Serious?

No matter how dodgy you consider your Cambridge Crib, at least you have somewhere to call home. Over 80 freshers who applied to Anglia Ruskin University through UCAS clearing have spent their first weeks of term living in a Travelodge due to insufficient student accommodation.

The students are all expected to move into typical university run halls throughout October, but the temporary fix is said to have strained town-gown relations. Describing complaints from his constituency to Cambridge News, Cambridge City Councillor Richard Johnson said:

“If you’re ‘freshers,’ you have the exuberance before the start of your studies so there are concerns about disruption and noise.”

Their caption, not ours.

And it is clear the arrangements did not dampen fresher’s week fun for the short-term tenants. Speaking to The Tab, an ARU student who recently vacated his room at the Travelodge told of a fellow fresher who “managed to fall asleep in the elevator at 4am one night.”

In fact, it seems the housing crisis has hardly been a gruelling ordeal.

“I didn’t have a typical fresher’s week because every day a maid came round and cleaned my room for me, gave me fresh sheets and towels” our source continued, describing housekeeping service to make your bedder’s pale in comparison.

With a 3.5 out of 5 rating on Tripadvisor.com, Cambridge’s Newmarket Road Travelodge sounds like fairly decent student digs, by any standard.