That Girl from Derwent dwells on the value of religion this Christmas.
That Girl from Derwent has learned a few more things about prejudice since moving up North.
That Girl From Derwent reckons if you're going to be offensive, you should find a better reason.
That Girl from Derwent considers why it is that some words have wider implications than others.
Yesterday was the inter-college sports day. While Derwent clearly had the greatest number of supporters out on the field, representatives from all colleges turned up to take part, although it wasn’t obvious where James was… the “collective college lie” kicking in, I guess. Students from all years participated and it was good to see so many people enjoying themselves and revelling in the light-hearted rivalry.
But I couldn’t help feeling a little nostalgic.
The college system at York was one of the major things that drew me to apply. An Oxbridge-reject, I was looking for the next-best thing. I joined with high hopes – and I was not disappointed. At first anyway.
It’s true that the college spirit at York varies from college to college. Derwent is obviously the paradigm of college spirit, although rivals will often speak of the Derwent college spirit as, “vodka”, more than anything; while Halifax, as one of the biggest colleges, has less community. Joining a very “spirited” college, I felt from the very beginning that I had a lot to live up to – and a lot to expect.
But for me, my sense of college spirit kind of petered out after the first term. Freshers’ Week was a practical overdose of the stuff, and after that, nothing seemed quite as fulfilling. Since then, there has only been a select group in my college who have truly embraced the college spirit. I’m not going to lie; I find it a bit intimidating sometimes. Frustratingly, there can be a sense of exclusion and the feeling of a clique; now I’ve neglected to get involved straightaway, I feel like I’ve missed my chance.
The college system can also be seen as segregationist. Excluding students from each other and cultivating rivalries and inter-college hate, however light-hearted it may be. I think maybe college chants should focus on the positive aspects of one’s own college, rather than degrading other colleges, such as the popular Derwent chant: “Piss on Langwith”.
Yet, now I’m coming to leave my college accommodation and go out into the wide world of York, I’ve come to realise just how much my college has meant to me. When I moved in, it was wonderful to have people around me who cared so much about the traditions and community – even the horrible-looking buildings – of our college. As the year has gone on, I may not have been the most active participant in college life (on account of society work), but I’ve definitely appreciated what those, who did get heavily involved, have done for me. Even next year, I’m pretty sure I will continue to use our college bar and café; anything else would seem like a betrayal.
On top of this, I think our college system is better than that of Oxbridge. We are both part of our college, and of the university. Instead of socialising merely with our college, we can easily branch out and gather close friends from all different colleges – one of my best friends had only ever been to my college for seminars before this term, now she practically lives here! And likewise, we can get the best of both worlds. We get the close knit community of a college, with all its pastoral care and support and social scene, as well as not being completely excluded from university-wide opportunities.
In fact, whether I like it or not, I’ve absorbed more college spirit than I realised. Talking to a friend of mine who is coming up to York next year, I suggested we go out in Freshers’ Week. Suddenly it hit me that if she wasn’t in the same college…
…I don’t think I could do it!
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