At no time in life is there more enjoyment as there is during college days. For students it marks the beginning of freedom and independence and offers them a glimpse into the future. For the first time, many get to experience some of the pleasures that their parents had forbidden.
At no time in life is there more enjoyment as there is during college days. For students it marks the beginning of freedom and independence and offers them a glimpse into the future.
For the first time, many get to experience some of the pleasures that their parents had forbidden. They live supposedly normal lives, but scratch below the surface and you will discover a weird lifestyle.
Take the case of Kevin. A third year student at a local university, he registers for classes but only goes to class on examination days.
Kevin spends most of the day and much of the night gambling. He is an accomplished pool and cards player. He says on a good day, he might make up to Rwf 20,000 on pool.
He gambles openly at the university’s pool table but plays cards in secret places like in closed rooms. Kevin has played cards and pool since his first year. The gamblers are mostly self-sponsored students or ex-students who haven’t found employment.
The number of students who engage in computer-related crimes in colleges and universities is staggering. A walk through a university hostel will tell you why the war on music piracy won’t be won in a hurry. For a music video or movie to get to all of the university students, just let one have it and before the end of the day, everyone will have it, courtesy of the many counterfeiters who do a thriving trade from their rooms.
Love life among students is another area full of drama. Take the case of Lucas, who met and fell in love with a girl. They were in the same year, and he believed she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
They dated for two years and she even introduced him to some members of her family. Then one Saturday afternoon after she moved to a new house, he went to visit but when he asked around, no one seemed to know her. But when he described her, they recognised her immediately but called her mama Boy. Meet the married campus women and single mothers. You will never suspect anything if you are the boyfriend, because, when you go out with her for the first time, she will say something like, "I have never done this before.” You can therefore imagine the shock when you discover that you’re beloved has two children or worse.
The same goes for male students. Mamy and her boyfriend are having a good time when her phone rings. She picks it up and looks at the caller. He is listed as ‘Uncle John’. They talk for a while and she tries to explain to him why she could not be with them over the weekend, but promises to visit them in the course of the week.
They are a close-knit family; she tells her boyfriend when the call ends. What the boyfriend does not know is that the man christened ‘Uncle John’ is another boyfriend. The man is a lot older than her and married with children.
Most of the girls in campus have at least two men in their lives. One is the campus boy to be seen around with during the day and attend birthday parties with. The other is outside campus who provides cash and treats her like a lady, spoiling her with gifts and jewellery.
The names of such boyfriends are coded in the phone book. They are saved as uncles, cousins and sometimes given the names of females.
Relationships in campus are double faced and most students have no faith in them. Ironically, it presents the girls with a problem. Knowing what they do with the husbands of other women, some swear that they will never get married since they are sure that their husbands will be stolen by university students. When it comes to social groups, there is the ‘We guys’ and the ‘Us guys’.
The ‘Us guys’ go to trendy clubs at the weekend, attend birthday parties and have transportation means. The ‘We guys’ drink their SFAR bourse and finish campus having attended only one birthday party.
What of students who were born and bred in the word of God? They probably spent their teens as altar boys and girls and at home are known for their high moral standards and good behaviour. Meet them in campus and the picture changes completely.
They take alcohol, sleep around and even smoke when they are with their colleagues but when they go back home, they are saints.