By Edwin MakicheAdmission to university conjures up visions of a place of plenty, a haven of unlimited freedom and, at the end of it all, a dream career.
But those who have passed through these institutions will tell you that there is more to university life than the supposed glamour.
Due to peer pressure, some end up doing things they never dreamt of, such as the church youth leader in the village who ends up becoming a drug addict.
For women especially, it is a life of self-discovery and experimentation. Each academic year ushers in a new experience, right from being code-named ‘gold’ in the first year to being called ‘archive’ in the fourth year.
When Juliet was admitted to Moi University to study languages four years ago, she was the happiest girl on earth. She had always dreamt of working with an embassy and earning a good salary. After all, she was the first in her village to join such an exalted institution.
She was a devoted Christian and a choir leader at her local church, and everyone adored her in the village.
She joined campus with the ambition of becoming proficient in at least six foreign languages at the end of four years.
When she was warned against the wayward life that university students lead, she dismissed the caution. How could someone in her right mind drink and smoke?
But she was to learn that worse things can happen. With five broken relationships under her belt, she is now recovering from addiction to alcohol and desperately clinging to an elusive boyfriend who had once promised to marry her.
The jovial, carefree girl with ambitions of becoming a diplomat is no more. Today she would accept any job as long as it puts food on the table and clothes on her back.High expectations
"I can’t tell when I took the wrong turn. But I’m no longer the innocent girl who left the village,’’ she says.
When young women join campus, they are easily distinguishable from the rest of the crowd for the first few weeks. Most are humble and focused. They have dreams and ambitions. Among this lot expressions like ‘earning a first class honours’, ‘pursuing a masters immediately’ or ‘investing my first salary’ are common.
They have high expectations of learning and so the number of first years who skip classes is low. They also submit assignments on time and are obedient to lecturers.
It is during this stage that a campus girl can tell you what kind of a man she wants in life, the type of car she will drive, what firm she wants to work for — without narrating sad experience with men. Electronic gadgets
Since most students in public universities come from upcountry, they join campus clad in cute skirts and blouses bought at the ‘Garissa’ shops in Eastleigh.
They walk in groups and normally associate with those from their home districts and their former schoolmates. They get to learn skills like using flush toilets at the campus. A large number are dedicated members of the Christian Union and hardly miss the Bible study sessions.
At this stage the senior male students are easily available and generous. Some start saving early for the ‘gold rush season’.
Their rooms are stacked with electronic gadgets, packets of sweets and biscuits and the floors are adorned with shining carpets. They use these as bait to win first year girls.
These men also frequent the first year women’s hostels carrying chips, biscuits, popcorn and other snacks. Miss university
At this stage in her evolution the first year girl has the allure of hot cakes and her phone is busy. Her schedule is very tight with invitations coming in fast and furious.
She is spoilt for choice where suitors are concerned. Many of these men will have dumped their second, third or fourth year girlfriends in favour of the ‘freshers’.
Towards the second semester, the ‘civilisation’ process begins and the new members want to feel part and parcel of ‘campus life’. A large part of their budget is dedicated to buying hipsters, high-heeled shoes and expensive bags.
They also buy loads of beauty products and change their hairstyles every fortnight. The girl discovers that she is no longer in the village but at an institution of higher learning where there is a lot of freedom. They discover new friends and the language changes. They begin using terms like ‘as in’, ‘kinda’ etc. Towards the end of the second semester many enter the Miss University contests.
Second years
Like Form Two students in high school, second years are the notorious lot in campus. They feel that they are the bona fide members of the university and it is this lot that often agitates for ‘rights’.
For the women, everything changes from the style of dressing to speaking style and the kind of friends they hang out with. The skirt gets shorter and the back is revealed more. They begin experimenting with alcohol and other drugs which they eventually become hooked to.
Coming to class late is now the norm and her revealed body parts are a constant distraction to classmates, especially male students and lecturers.
She starts skipping lectures since she is too busy attending other engagements. To fight off the competition by ‘freshers’, she casts her net wider and shuns the campus men. Dating a woman at this stage is a headache since they are very competitive, getting advances from lecturers, senior students and sugar daddies.
According to Judy, a fourth year student, the second year has the highest number of players. This is when one discovers the power of luscious looks and education. You often hear them brag that they are dating the ‘working class’.
Lecturers, bankers, businessmen, doctors and other professionals run after them. Many lead lavish lifestyles and no weekend finds them in school.
They are taken out in sleek cars by the sugar daddies. By the end of the second year most are either pregnant or have aborted.Third years
This is where you find the highest number of ‘desperate housewives’. The young woman has been to hell and back; fought with another over a man, been impregnated and ditched and so forth.
According to John, a student at a local university, a third year woman is stable and good material for a wife. But few men have time for them.
Their stories are too well known: The number of guys they dated in the first year, when they got pregnant etc. They also have a couple of haters, the men they shunned in the previous years, who keep scaring away prospective ‘investors’ with their sordid stories.
Those who are already in relationships are very obsessive. To keep her man from going after a ‘fresher’, she monitors all his movements and ensures that he is always by her side.
Some resort to desperate measures like moving into the man’s room or doing his laundry. The length of the skirt at this stage does not matter since her anatomy is now too well known.
Those who have been ditched while away their time in campus joints waiting for an ‘investor’ to get attracted. Others move on and dedicate their time to the Lord and books. The more determined run after the first year
males who are only too willing to accommodate them.
It is this group that has the highest number of feminists. You often hear them talking about how men are beasts. Fourth years
There is very little to talk about a fourth year women. They seem like a forgotten lot and their hostels are referred to as ‘archives’. They have no interest in what is happening in campus but focus on their future: Job and maybe a family.
It dawns on some that they will soon leave campus without a husband. By now all the good men have been taken.
They take their studies seriously and attend various conferences and lectures to enrich their CVs. Some will be keen to get pregnant since it would force the man to commit to a lasting relationship.
