Within the Living Room, many students play board games, use massage chairs, or sit at tables and have lunch. They’re not allowed to study there. “I come here 90 percent because of playing pool”, admits one of the students. The topic of loneliness is one that seems familiar to the students, yet not everyone relates it to their studies. Some students described that they felt lonely during the start of their studies, while others said that these were not related to any specific point of their study.
One of the Living Room hosts describes loneliness as specifically present among first-years. He believes that the Covid pandemic and moving away from your home country as an international student are key reasons why students feel lonely. Therefore, students can come to the living room to ‘feel part of something’, another host says.
