Following a series of deaths and significant pressure from the student body, the university acted, putting forward a new model of care. Bristol would "professionalise" and focus its service around three specific locations, a 'hub' each in the accommodation blocks of Stoke Bishop and Clifton and another in the city centre. It would replace the 150 strong crop of senior residents with 24 "chief residents" and 96 senior residents - some working out of hubs, others living in halls.

The ratio of live-in wardens to students would increase from 1:45 to 1:100, though. That's the crucial part. Ella explains: "My concerns are that students who are highly vulnerable often don’t think that they’re vulnerable.

"I’m given 40 students that I’m responsible for, who in theory I should see once a month but in reality I see once a week because we live in the same building. Nine times out of 10 I notice something’s wrong with them before they come to me."

The other contentious aspect of the proposal is describing the change as a move to "professionalise."

"I think they were desperate to fix the system but they’ve thrown the baby out with the bath water."

Ella and her fellow senior residents are technically volunteers, remunerated by way of 75 per cent reduction in rent because their role dictates where they live. However, the residential life mentors would be paid and, therefore, professionals. Professional does not mean a mental health professional, a counsellor or therapist.

"They wouldn't have any mental health experience," Ella says. "All training will be done in house, so actually the difference is not enough for them to say it’s a professional coming in.

"I think they were desperate to fix the system but they’ve thrown the baby out with the bath water with a whole new system that we don’t know anything about."

Making a statement on February 14, that same day, the Director of Student Service, Mark Ames, said: "We are very pleased our students and staff are engaging passionately on the issue of student well-being. This review has been driven by our desire to provide the best possible support for all our students and we are confident that feedback received so far will help us to create a consistently outstanding model of support for the future.

"Our proposal will provide more, easily accessible support for students from professional services staff on duty 24/7 and 365 days a year who will have this as their primary and only focus - not as an additional role as current staff do. They will be supported by students who will continue to live in halls, maintaining the peer-to-peer assistance we know is much valued in the current system.

"The current stage of consultation with students, staff and alumni ended last Friday (February 9). We have heard concerns about resource levels, particularly regarding the live-in student support, and will be addressing this in our revised plans which will be presented to staff and students next week.

"Developed in partnership with students, staff and Bristol Students’ Union, this proposal feeds into a whole-institution approach to support which includes major new investments in well-being in our academic schools, and in central services such as our student counselling and health services."

This all came about because of how poorly the university's changes were received by the student body. By February 3, a protest group had gathered enough impetus to orchestrate a march.