Inside U.K. Being a typical student By Richard Paye	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
ウィリアム王子、花の大学生 9月から、スコットランドで一番古い歴史を持つ大学、セント・アンドリューズ大学で学生生活をスタートさせたウィリアム王子。入学前に「普通の大学生のように楽しみたい」と希望を語っていましたが、王子の生活には、一般的な学生生活とは違う部分もあります。果たして希望どおりになるでしょうか。

Record numbers of new students are busy getting used to life at colleges and universities across the U.K. as the new academic year gets under way. Well over 300,000 are starting this year, and among them is perhaps the most famous student in the world, Prince William.

The 19-year-old prince has just started a four-year course in history of art at St. Andrews, the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the U.K. While fellow students were quietly getting used to their new life, settling into their accommodation and making friends, Prince William had an altogether different start to his university career. After saying goodbye to the queen, he arrived in the historic town of St. Andrews with his father, Prince Charles, to be greeted by 4,000 cheering people. A quarter of the population had turned out to welcome him.

Despite the enthusiastic welcome, William, who dislikes all the attention he gets, has made it clear he wants to be treated like any other student. Whether that is possible for the future king of England remains to be seen.

In a country where the royal family makes front-page news virtually every day, there is bound to be intense interest in everything William does during his four years at university. Prince Charles has pleaded for his son to be allowed his privacy and has made it clear that he expects the press to leave William alone. However, the temptation for newspaper editors to publish pictures of William getting up to some typical student antics Ewhich usually involve drinking large amounts of alcohol may be just too great.

Ironically, the only media disruption to William's university life so far has come from the television company owned by his uncle, Prince Edward. Camera crews from the company were discovered filming at St. Andrews after all the other media had left. Prince Edward has apologized to William and to Prince Charles, and has handed over the film.

As well as having an excellent reputation for learning, St. Andrews University also has a reputation for fun. There are several traditions and events the prince could get involved in. Among these is Raisin Weekend, which takes place every November. After two days of dressing up in silly costumes, partying and, of course, drinking, the students take part in a massive foam fight. Another tradition that the prince may choose to take part in is the pier walk. The students don scarlet gowns and walk to the town's pier and back on Sunday mornings after attending church.

Before starting at university, William took a year out of studying. The "gap year" as it is known, is becoming increasingly popular with students who, instead of going to university straight from school, decide to delay it for a year in order to go traveling or to get a job, which will then help them fund their university fees.

During his gap year, William worked as a volunteer in Chile, went on safari in Africa and went trekking with the British Army in Belize. But in a recent interview at a national news conference he gave just before starting at university, William said his time working as a farm laborer in England was the best part of his year out. He added: "I enjoyed the fact that I was put in as a hand, and was paid and was just another guy on the farm. I got my hands dirty, did all the chores and had to get up at 4 a.m. I got to see a completely different lifestyle."

As much as William wants to be "just another guy" at university, there is one significant difference between him and the majority of other students: he will not have any money difficulties. Most students are heavily in debt by the time they complete their course. In 1997, the government introduced tuition fees for the first time, which meant many students had to borrow large sums of money from the bank in order to finance their education.

Sarah Parkinson, 22, graduated from Manchester University last year. She spent her final two years working part-time as a waitress, but she has £7,000 (¥1.3 million) debts. She said: "Although I now have a full-time job, the burden of the debt is huge. It will take me years to pay it off. It is a dreadful way to start my career." According to the National Union of Students, a typical graduate finishes their education owing £12,000 (¥2.2 million). The government is now looking at ways of changing the system so fewer students will end up in serious debt.

Although he won't have any money worries, will Prince William be a typical student in other ways? "I just want to go to university and have fun. I want to go there and be an ordinary student. I mean, I'm only going to university. It's not like I'm getting married Ethough that's what it feels like sometimes. It will get easier as time goes on. Everyone will get bored of me." (He hopes!)

Shukan ST: Nov. 2, 2001

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