York: a brief A-Z

A - AGM - This is one of the most common acronyms you will come across. Standing for Annual General Meeting, in plain English it means "elections." Every Society hold them, that includes your JCRC (See J) YUSU (See Y) and Sports Clubs. All have committees and you can turn up and take a position after a 30 second speech, great for the CV and for the social life. Important elections are usually be held online (see Y).

B – Bikes. York is full of them. More handy for those living off-campus but they save a lot of money getting to town and time getting to lectures when hungover. If you do bring one, make sure a lock and a helmet. In the first few weeks, the Uni organises a bike auction, but be warned: the bicycles involved have generally been abandoned - probably with good reason, so we recommend Bike Rescue for the eco-friendly option!

The Courtyard

C – The Courtyard – The Union bar. Located in Langwith, The Courtyard was opened last year, replacing the deserted Langwith bar, and is pretty much the only decent bar on campus. It is used as a central venue for most big events (York Come Dancing, Battle of the Bands, Big D, etc.) thanks to its easy access to L/N/028.

D – Duchess, a club loved for its weekly Silent Discos. Incidentally, D also stands for Degree, something you may occasionally forget about. Until third year that is.

E - Efes. York's most well-known kebab takeout, is located toward the end of Heslington Road, aka one's way back to campus from town. You may or may not regret that kebab in the morning, regardless it's one of the best late-night grease-filled sobering agent. That, and water.

Heslington East

F – Freshers' Fair. This might be the most traumatic part of your Freshers' Week, especially if you are hungover. This event held in Physics, Goodricke Dining Hall, Roger Kirk Centre and the Sports Centre is massive and will give you an overview of the rich array of societies that exist in York. It is also an opportunity to pick up freebies and flyers which will be left to gather dust on your shelf for the remainder of the academic year. It's a good idea to sign up for societies you're interested in so you can get your emails - however don't forget to get off the mailing list if you're not: I still get the Chinese Students Association emails, and am not sure why. My advice is, get in, get some free Dominos pizza, and get out before you feel faint. Most societies hold "recruitment" meetings in Week 2 and 3 anyway, and you can always join later on in the term.

G – Gallery – Haunt of all club lovers, it provides the most varied music for all the 3 clubs in York. Speciality drinks are 4X and VK Apples, best served on Thursdays and Sundays. Don’t miss out on a free Membership card at Freshers Fair (if you make it to the gallery stand, that is).

H – Heslington East – Basically, the Uni is about to double in size into the local village of Heslington, which has angered residents. Goodricke freshers will be the first to discover this new campus in October. Yay.

I – I love Your Monkey's Nipples - The graffiti message "People make mistakes. I've made loads. The memory of you will be here when the paint is gone. I love you" appeared on Retreat lane (also affectionately known as "Rape Alley") last year. It was later updated to "I love your monkey nipples", and "does this remind you of Star Wars?" was added thereafter. Other notable grafitis include "Ah Good the Sea" (the meaning/origin of which is still very much subject to debate as some claim it was there in the 70's) and "things could be worse." York's a pretty existential place, you see.

J – Junior Common Room Committee (JCRC) – Each College has a committee, made of students who promote everything from volunteering to welfare. Each has a Chair who represents you in everything from University committees arguing with the powers that be or the Union to arrange more freebies.

K – Killing Ducks - Our campus has the "best" duck-to-student ratio in the UK. Apparently. According to the rich -and often frivolous - folklore, a student may return to finish their studies after serving a sentence for murder, but not after killing one of the campus ducks. For more information on our lovely wildlife refer to What is it with all the ducks?

L – Lake – If you haven’t been to campus it has a large lake in the middle and constantly tempts people to jump in. Unfortunately, folklore dictates that you will need a great many vaccines if you do - that's the same folklore which suggests X. Then again, common sense given the colour of the lake (a toxic green) also dictates you should NOT take a dip. L also stands for the Library, which may be a surprisingly refreshing and useful place - I am thinking of the futuristic moving shelves of the North Rooms in particular. Really.

M – Media. York has some of the best Student Media in the UK. Most of the media outlets are award-winning. They include Nouse and Vision the two newspapers, URY the radio station, YSTV the TV station, Haus (the magazine formerly known as Bad Taste), The Lemon Press, and The Yorker. There are also a handful magazines: The Zahir, Christis, Unspun. For a short history of York's media outlets, click here.

The possibly toxic lake

N – Nightline provides a student-run listening, information and sexual health supplies service to students. You can call, email or drop into the flat in Wentworth. Click here for their website.

O – Online News – That would be us then. We’re a 24/7 online news site who will bring you all the campus news as it happens. We're also independent of the SU and are a limited company. If you'd like to be involved, drop us an email at editor@theyorker.co.uk. Plug over.

P – Pirate and Politics – The two are intrinsically linked at York, where weeks are punctuated by political (pseudo-?)scandals. Mad Cap’t Tom (aka Tom Scott) ran as a joke candidate for the job of YUSU President in March 2008. Something about him – hypothesised to voice discontent at the standard of current representation – meant he got elected as YUSU president for the 2008/2009 academic year. This year's president is Tim Ngwena. For more information on this year's sabbatical officer click here.

Q – Quizzes – Of the Pub variety. They’re a right laugh, they test your knowledge, you can go in your Pyjamas and you can win free stuff. The one at The Victoria (on Heslington Road) can win you a Sunday Dinner, the one at The Charles free Beer, and various freebies are up for grabs at The Courtyard.

R – RAG – Raises money for three beneficiaries all year, totalling over £30,000 last year. It hosts events from the annual RAG Parade to Murder Mystery’s. It’s run by the Union and it’s sister which organises volunteering is Student Action.

S – Socials and Societies – York’s full of them, from Whisky to Bell-ringing to Cheerleading, all throw socials regularly and are the best way to get into the Uni experience. Meet them all at the Freshers Fair, or consult Yorkipedia's society portal.

T – Tru (formerly known as Toffs) - Tuesday night is our night and is the cheesiest club night around. After three years you’ll know the playlist backwards but after several Corky’s shots…who’s to notice?

U – UGM: Union General Meeting - These meetings are famous - and famously important - because of their motions. If there is something you want to change, write your own!

V – Vote of No-Confidence- No-confidence-ing officers has become something of a trend in the last couple years. This may be a sign that students are not as apathetic to student politics as they claim. They are, however, very serious and have led to a sabbatical officer losing her job and a College chair's removal in 2008. Tread with care.

YUSU

W – Welfare - Expect the term "welfare issues" to be thrown about whenever a decision is made... and with good reason! YUSU and the University co-ordinate all sorts of welfare services to make sure that every student gets the support they need when they need it. This includes everything from accomodation, to spiritual support as well as representation for minorities. For more information, consult the welfare portal or email welfare@yusu.org.

X – X-Rated – In terms of most sports socials. There is always a great deal of nudity from certain teams (naming no names) and can be witnessed in Ziggy’s (see Z) every Wednesday

Ziggy's

Y – York University Students Union (YUSU) – Made up by six Sabbatical Officers (ex-students) and numerous (non-Sabbaticals, current students) who are representatives of us to various people. The bits you see are the events and sports, the bits you don’t are the arguments with the University to maintain our rights. Check out the newly revamped yusu.org a useful resource - especially in election time!

Z – Ziggy’s – A three-storey townhouse in the city centre which is also the sweatiest club probably in the country. Music is varied spread over three floors and K2 (cheap VK’s) are the drink of the night.

For a more exhaustive guide to Campus and Uni life, check out Yorkipedia as well as The Yorker's coverage in the upcoming weeks.

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