Being a young adult in the age of Covid is an experience like no other.

The majority of my friends have gone to university this year and have found the new attitude on campus alarming.

For instance, a friend who is reading History and Politics at the University of Nottingham messaged me yesterday saying that 'there are security cars everywhere, guards are breaking up groups of over one hundred people and there are individuals just running around like crazy every night'.

There have been reports of other universities up and down the country experiencing large groups of students breaking social distancing rules and it is inevitable that the majority of these institutions will see similar situations as freshers' events gain traction this week and the next.

I cannot count the amount of times my mother has said to me "Zac, I'm so glad you didn't go to university this year" in the past couple of weeks.

With what universities face in the weeks ahead, I'm beginning to thank my lucky stars that gap years exist.

I must confess, I am one of the fortunate ones.

I decided to defer my place to study History and Philosophy at the University of Warwick since I knew that universities would be places of both fraught tension and strict regulation for this academic year.

I have got a job as Key Stage Four learning mentor at The Priory School for the year, allowing me to postpone my studies whilst helping to keep the hopes alive of those who cannot pause the intense rigour of their GCSEs.

But with the introduction of the new coronavirus restrictions led by the Prime Minister on Tuesday evening, my friends at universities up and down the country will be alarmed at the measures which threatens to amplify the disruption to their first year.

However, this must not undermine the supreme importance of the tighter limitations.

Whilst I sympathise with the countless number of new first year students who want to have their parties, their socials and their 'normal first year buzz', this is something that unfortunately just cannot happen.

In the new restrictions laid out by the Prime Minister, fines for breaching the rules begin at £200 and, in some cases, have been issued at £10,000.

Pubs, bars and other leisurely social institutions across England and Wales are set to close from 10pm every night rather than their normal closing times, with other efforts to stem the flow of the virus taking the form of the extension of mandatory face coverings within schools, offices and other academic establishments as well as exemptions to the 'rule of six' being viewed with greater scrutiny.

It is indubitable that these rules will deeply affect what university students can and cannot do during their first year at university, the traditional mantra of your first year of university being one of extreme social engagement.

Yet, whilst all these actions that in 'normal' times would be viewed as infringements to our liberty and freedom, it is absolutely imperative that university students follow these new guidelines to the very best of their ability.

The reasons for this are simple. One clear reason is that you cannot complain about the restrictions that are being imposed on your university if you have chosen to go to university this year.

It seems ridiculously simple, but you cannot expect for the norms to be implemented during such a turbulent time.

So if you are a new university student either at your institution, or are due to arrive there in the next week or thereabouts, I believe that by making that choice to attend you have already accepted that your experience at university for at least this year will be radically different than those who have attended before you.

Thus, the new motions must be observed to bring the return of the familiar university experiences back as soon as possible.

The point that I really want to stress though, is this.

As a young person who is due to become a university student in the near future, I want to be part of a group of people that, when the end of the pandemic finally does arrive, can hold their heads high and proclaim that they followed the government's measures to the highest degree, without deliberation or delay.

I believe that whether we agree or disagree with how the government has handled the pandemic, we have a social responsibility as the next generation of politicians, CEOs and educators to be the leading light in stemming the rate of infection and minimising the hardship that the virus causes to others who are terrifyingly vulnerable and susceptible to its indiscriminate nature.

In his most recent address, the Prime Minister expressed that "never in our history has our collective destiny and our health depended so completely on our individual behaviour".

This quote perfectly encapsulates what I consider to be the underlying message for young people such as myself.

Therefore, when thinking about how to act during this time whether we are at university, at work or simply out with our friends, we should 'fly the flag' for social responsibility and continually uphold the standards in which we expect others to adhere to.