On Monday 19 October 2026, first-year students at the University of St Andrews gathered on Lower College lawn for Raisin Monday, a date the university's official semester-dates calendar lists within Week 6 of the 2026–2027 academic year. The Guardian's report of the same day describes hundreds of students in fancy dress covering one another in shaving foam, an optional dip in the North Sea, and encouragement to donate to a local food bank before the spraying began. The report also notes an impression that the event seemed less alcohol-fuelled than in previous years, though that is an observation rather than a verified trend.
Behind the foam lies something more durable. The university's public traditions page describes the academic family system, in which older students adopt first-year students as their "children" and help guide them in a system of mentoring. That mentoring culminates in Raisin Weekend, when the newer students are entertained by their "parents" and encouraged to play pranks and silly games, before the costumes and the foam fight on Raisin Monday itself. The Guardian traces the name to an old custom of freshers giving their elders a pound of raisins, and notes that group themes are chosen by the second- and third-year students known as "mums" and "dads".
For a new student anywhere, not only at St Andrews, this kind of event raises a practical question: how do you take part in university traditions and informal mentoring without letting them crowd out the reason you enrolled? The answer is not to avoid them. Traditions and peer schemes can ease the disorientation of the first weeks. The answer is to engage deliberately, on your own terms.
Start by learning what a tradition is actually for. Before you join anything, spend a few minutes finding out its origin and purpose. Raisin Monday, for example, is at root a thank-you ritual: the Guardian describes six centuries of first-years thanking older students for mentoring them through their first weeks. Knowing that changes how you experience it. You are not just attending a spectacle; you are acknowledging people who answered your questions about reading lists, laundry and lecture halls. Most universities explain their customs on official webpages, and student handbooks or orientation guides usually cover the rest. If something is unclear, ask what it involves before it involves you.
Second, decide in advance how much you want to take part. Traditions vary enormously in demands. Some ask for an hour of your evening; others, like the Sunday "kidnapping" and sea swim described in the Guardian's report, involve early starts and cold water, and were explicitly optional in 2026. Optional is the key word. Nothing about belonging to a university community requires you to accept every invitation. Look at your calendar first: if a tradition falls in a heavy teaching week, or the night before a deadline, it is reasonable to join the quieter parts and skip the rest. Many events, like the foam fight, are public and brief; you can often watch, take photos and still be part of the day without being at its centre.
Third, set your own boundaries around alcohol, cost, sleep and physical activity. The Guardian's observation that the 2026 event appeared less centred on drinking suggests that norms can shift, and you can help shift them by choosing what suits you. Decide before you go how much you are willing to spend on costumes or contributions, how late you will stay out, and whether you will drink at all. If an activity involves cold water, early mornings or physical exertion, check your own fitness and any safety guidance your university or students' union provides, and remember that opting out is always a legitimate choice. Boundaries are easier to keep when you set them in advance, calmly, rather than negotiating them in the moment.
Fourth, use informal mentoring for what it does well. Academic families, buddy schemes and peer-mentor programmes exist because older students know things official channels do not cover: which library floors stay quiet, how to read a reading list, when to email a tutor. Treat your "parents", mentors or buddies as a source of answers, not an obligation. You do not owe constant social attendance in exchange for advice, and a good mentor will not expect it. Ask specific questions early: how the scheme works, what events are typical, what is genuinely optional. If your university runs such a scheme, signing up is usually straightforward, and if it does not, simply asking one older student how things work can achieve much the same effect.
Fifth, keep study and rest at the centre. The first semester sets habits that are hard to break later. A useful rule is that traditions and social events are additions to your week, not replacements for sleep, lectures or reading. If you find yourself exhausted, behind on work, or attending events out of fear of missing out, that is a signal to step back. Universities schedule things like Raisin Monday inside the teaching calendar, and St Andrews' own dates page places it in Week 6, so the institution itself expects you to keep studying alongside it. Protect a regular sleep pattern, keep up with coursework, and let social life fit around that structure rather than the reverse.
A note of honesty: none of this guarantees friendships, belonging or a particular university experience. Traditions are invitations, not contracts, and different students will value them differently. Some will love the costumes and the crowd; others will prefer a quiet coffee with a mentor. Both are valid ways of being a student. Also remember that every institution has its own rules, and your university's official guidance on events, safety and conduct always takes precedence over general advice like this.
Here is a concrete next action. Before your university's next tradition or social event, decide three things in advance: one question you want answered, such as how a scheme or custom actually works; one boundary you will keep, whether a budget limit, a decision about alcohol, a bedtime, or an activity you would rather skip; and one person you trust to ask about local norms. Then take part on your own terms, check your university's official guidance, and, if an informal mentoring or academic-family-style scheme exists, sign up or ask one older student how it works, at your own pace. The foam washes off; the habits you build in your first weeks tend to stay.
中文摘要
圣安德鲁斯大学官方学期日期页面将2026年10月19日列为"葡萄干星期一"，卫报当日报道描述了化装、剃须泡沫大战、可选的北海冬泳，以及喷洒泡沫前向食物银行捐赠的倡议。该校传统页面介绍的"学术家庭"制度中，高年级学生认领一年级学生并给予非正式指导，指导最终在葡萄干周末达到高潮。本文据此为各地新生提出实用建议：先了解传统的由来，提前决定参与程度，为饮酒、花费、睡眠和体力活动设定界限，把非正式指导当作提问的渠道而非义务，并始终把学习与休息放在首位。参与活动前，先想好一个想问的问题、一条要守的界限和一位可信任的请教对象，按自己的节奏参与，并查阅学校的官方指引。