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.
A college, as your average dictionary will tell you, is an educational institution.
York’s collegiate system poses a bit of a challenge to this perception, because its colleges, while most contain academic departments, are in fact individual sub-units of a larger educational institution, the University of York.
However, despite recent events, I do not think that social space or provision of certain services is a necessary component of our definition of a college. I would argue that academic integration, social spaces, and general service provision are contingent, not essential properties of a college; they contribute to the primary aim of the collegiate system, namely student welfare, but none of these aspects are, by themselves, necessary or sufficient.
Through its welfare system, including everyone from provost to porters, from cleaners to kitchen staff, the college serves a very important role as a provider of support to new arrivals to the University of York.
The most important role of the college is to be a ‘home away from home’. Through its welfare system, which includes everyone from provost to porters, from cleaners to kitchen staff, the college serves a very important role as a provider of support to new arrivals to the University of York. The college provides a safety net as well as repeated and varied opportunities to meet and interact with new people, through social events, sports, drop-in sessions, and the simple provision of communal areas.
To this end, investment in spaces such as common rooms and restaurants and bars is successful. The importance of the physical components of the college cannot be overstated: when my college, Alcuin, lost its nucleus (the east wing of which still exists as a teaching block, known as Alcuin East Wing) it lost a dining hall, a bar, a common room, and offices. While the loss of these spaces did not make Alcuin College something other than a college, it did have implications for the ‘sense of community’ that alumni were keen to tell me about at the 40th anniversary celebrations earlier this year.
Similarly, while the lack of integration with academic departments (though some does exist, particularly in the links between college welfare teams and departments) does not prevent York’s colleges from being colleges, more could be done to strengthen the ties. It would make sense to have your supervisor in the college you reside in during your first year, for example, and anecdotal evidence suggests that placing first-year students in tutorial groups on a college basis has been a successful exercise.
As our Pro-Vice-Chancellor for students rightly pointed out in a comment piece in Nouse recently, higher education funding does not pay for social spaces or restaurants. I think this is a backwards way at looking at the issue. I think that if it can be established that expenditure on social spaces and services to strengthen colleges is a successful exercise which also strengthens the student experience then the decision to continue should be straightforward.
There have been some positive steps in this direction lately, including support for anniversary celebrations and the introduction of individual college funds, as well as the planned revamp of college websites. Yet, there is plenty more to be done. I am particularly worried about the planned centralisation of services on Heslington East. While, again, buildings and spaces and services do not make a college, it is difficult to make a college without them.
Let's be honest, York's collegiate system is hardly more than a shallow facade which the University clings onto in order to attract a greater proportion of Oxbridge and Durham rejects. There's nothing collegiate about it -- as the lack of college-based facilities highlights.
It's time people acknowledged that colleges are glorified halls of residence with sports teams... and college teams barely manage to survive.
What little college spirit there may be is merely a reflection of students stuck in the "lesser colleges" trying to raise their spirits via an artificial sense of camaraderie.
Besides, why are we all pretending to care about colleges, when only last term we so flamboyantly rallied in support of YUSU's hostile takeover of Langwith bar...? surely that undermines any collegiate sentiments that may have been salvaged.
Tom just because you lack the psychological and emotional capacity needed to foster collegiate spirit does not mean everyone else does as well.
I started playing for my college team in first year and still do. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my university life.
I think colleges do matter because they provide welfare and a sense of identity and belonging that go, in my opinion beyond a bar. However I do feel that some form of social space, where students feel comfortable being and can interact with each other is essential.
"Besides, why are we all pretending to care about colleges, when only last term we so flamboyantly rallied in support of YUSU's hostile takeover of Langwith bar...? surely that undermines any collegiate sentiments that may have been salvaged."
You mean the 'hostile' takeover of an empty room right? Because it wasn't going to be a bar anymore was it?
Yeah, it was an empty room, which just goes to show how little the university actually cares about it's so-called collegiate system.
I am not as cynical as Mr Smith, but I do think that whatever a college may be, we don't have it here. Unless the university is prepared to give it's colleges more autonomy, in terms of choosing it's students, it's facilities etc we are never going to have a college system.
Just out of interest, were any graduates told about this debate? A few of us would b very interested in attending...
The fact that collegiality on a graduate level doesn't work is probably the worst kept, but least acted upon fact about the University of York.
All graduates either associate with their department, or Wentworth. I can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of graduates who'd say they were members of James, Vanbrugh Langwith College...
Unfortunately, the details of the debate were only finalized this morning, so we've only recently begun to publicize it.
It will be an open debate and members of the panel will be taking questions from the audience. However, if a member of the GSA or the Wentworth college provost would like to be on the panel have them contact me.
Antonia Moura
News Editor
News@theyorker.co.uk
Sounds good guys! It's definitely a debate that should be had and is, in my opinion, long overdue!
In a lot of ways I agree that you can't really call York a collegiate system, and that our colleges are really a glorified hall of residence, but I don't think thats a problem.
A lot of people, especially in first year and especially in some of the less luxurious accomodation, form a very strong attachment to their college. I know I did, and still do. I take part in college events, college sport, and even now as a seasoned third year who has lived in a house for 2 years, feel like my college is still my home in York, and that its there if I need it.
But I like the fact thats theres also life outside the college. My brother recently started at Cambridge, and he hasn't yet met a single person outside his college. Thats sad. I like having a mix of people who I know - I don't want to only ever have seminars with the same 10 people in my college who do my subject, or to be limited to college societies. I like the variety.
Some people might try to say York colleges are nothingy either way, but personally, I think they've got the mix just right 
If you don't play sport, colleges do seem a bit unnecessary. JCR committees often seem to overlap with union jobs (do we really need 7 lots of eco reps?) and having 7 events teams may give us choice, but at what price? College events (derwent excepted) often fail to sell out and have had to close early on numerous occasions. Freshers week is a lottery on how much you pay, what the events are, and how good they are depending on your college allocation.
I think York would be better off with no JCRCs and more centralised control over events. This university has such potential to host some really big events, Hendrix and Queen used to play here...
If JCRC money was put into a centralised events fund, we'd be able to spend more on fewer, but bigger events. Just like every other uni in the country.
And college bars aren't central to welfare provision! I love having bars spread over the campus but if walking from alcuin to V bar is a welfare issue then i really don;t know what the world's coming to!
@9 - you're missing the point of my comment, and the point of JCRCs and the SU, which is to involve students on every level of student life. The most cost-effective way to make sure we got big acts would be to stop spending £84 per student per year on the SU (and indirectly JCRCs and socs) and spend it instead on a massive student venue and professionals to run it.
But that's not what student organisation and representation is for. Nor is the walk from Alcuin to Vanbrugh a particular welfare issue (although it can be). The point is that social spaces within colleges aid us significantly in achieving the purpose of the College welfare system, which is to make every student feel at home.
And check your facts please - in Alcuin we've sold out or near-sold out every standard event since Spring Term 2007.
Erik: When I was on the Alcuin JCRC in 2006 every single event sold out then too
If certain individuals dont want to fully participate in all of the things that college life can provide then thats up to them - but for all of my three years college life was everything. Durham's collegiate system is no more legitimate than York's.
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