[Awoodrow2]

(Original post by LETSJaM)
How rah-y is hatfield? I'm curious.

<3 x

I think everyone knows some rahs from Hatfield, and depending on the composition of your year group they can seem dominant in college, but most of the time it's really not a deal at all.

[LETSJaM]

(Original post by Awoodrow2)
I think everyone knows some rahs from Hatfield, and depending on the composition of your year group they can seem dominant in college, but most of the time it's really not a deal at all.

Thank you.

<3 x

[CharlotteBanner]

I don't mean to be rude but the Guardian is a labour paper so they are likely to exaggerate whatever they call 'conservative poshness'
And if you check the stats on this student room website on the Durham page you will see that there are far more state school students than private school ones. So you have a higher proportion of 'non rahs' so theres nothing to worry about.

[Antifazian]

(Original post by CharlotteBanner)
So you have a higher proportion of 'non rahs' so theres nothing to worry about.

Sure as hell doesn't feel like it.

OP, just remember that all the colleges at Durham are different, some are far less rah than others so choose wisely.

[|jenny|]

Hia,

I go to Grey and absolutely love it. I am going to be starting my fourth year in september and can't wait! There are plenty of non-rah non-drinking people there. There are a group of people like that but it is so easy to avoid them if you want as there are over 200 freshers joining each year.

As for that article, it was written by someone in my year about my formals and is absolute rubbish. We turn up just before going in wearing smartish clothes and gowns, sit down and have three courses, then leave. I have never in my life been presented with a fish fork or steak knife. I also want to point out that formals are optional things so if she doesn't want to attend, she doesn't have to. It is her choice. And she was at one the other week therefore can't find them that bad!

If you have any other questionsabout Durham or Grey I can do my best to answer

[Timothy]

That Guardian blog is awful. Completely misrepresenting Durham.
I've been here 6 years, in different colleges. Though there are posh people, rahs, and those from private schools, there are also "normal" people. It just depends on who you socialise with.

Similarly, the locals vs student issue is completely blown out of proportions. I've never had any issues, and almost all of those I've heard about are completely justified (either way). As long as both groups respect one another and don't act like idiots, nothing happens.

As for Durham having more students from private schools vs. state schools. Applications are made relative to the number of student who apply from each. I.e. If 60% of applications are from private schools, 60% of accepted students will be from private schools.

[fairy spangles]

I havent posted here in a long time and i havent read all of these posts but i just needed to say looking back despite all of the bad bits durham university was amoungst the best days of my life.

Im neither posh or rich. My school was useless just as in the article however not many of us went to sixth form. Despite all this i have never ever felt out of place with the posh peoples infact ive made friends for life.

I wish i could go back to being 18 and have one more night at the union and go bar crawling between the college bars. Pretty sure id start with St. Cuths bar.

[Awoodrow2]

(Original post by fairy spangles)
I wish i could go back to being 18 and have one more night at the union and go bar crawling between the college bars. Pretty sure id start with St. Cuths bar.

Just a shame they've not got any club nights on any more.

[fairy spangles]

(Original post by Awoodrow2)
Just a shame they've not got any club nights on any more.

Not even planet of sound?? And why?

[Awoodrow2]

(Original post by fairy spangles)
Not even planet of sound?? And why?

There just weren't enough people going any more to make it profitable. They've since changed tact of the Union, and have spent the last year restructuring and failing to actually support students.

[fairy spangles]

I cant imagen what its like now. Sounds like all the good things are evapourating. Next your going to tell me the colleges have closed their bars or that they dont do the festival of light with the random miners helmets or chase bar no longer serves cocktails. Well i have my memories i guess!!

The collegiate system works well for student support surely?

[undergradstudent]

(Original post by Awoodrow2)
There just weren't enough people going any more to make it profitable. They've since changed tact of the Union, and have spent the last year restructuring and failing to actually support students.

The DSU's got loads better and helping students in the last year, they've actually got the university to change its policies on some things which is pretty much unheard of, and they've completely restructured the representation structure so people will actually interact with the DSU from next year rather than ignoring it or having to go to DSU council.

[affinity89]

(Original post by fairy spangles)
The collegiate system works well for student support surely?

I think that depends on your course. I have had literally no contact with anyone welfare/support based in college, despite living in lol. The only people in college that I've spoken to are the porters when I've been collecting mail!

[Unkempt_One]

Here's an exercise. Imagine you are at a posh dinner and have poor table manners, a rah who is somewhat more clued-up than you tries to tell you how to use the cutlery. Write a passage of what he says. Did you write something like this? "You must move your food to yourself, not yourself to your food. Place your knife and fork at a 45-degree angle when taking an interlude and leave them parallel when you're done. Be sure to tilt your soup bowl away from you. Away, Mei, away." Notice how it doesn't sound at all like a realistic speech? (No one would say "Away, Mei, away.", no one would use "be sure" in that context, she drops the cutlery and all of a sudden this rahbot churns out a military brief of the etiquette?) This leads us to one of the following conclusions:
-The author had a somewhat similar exchange, but a bad memory, so she tried to fill the gaps and failed miserably, exaggerating everything in the process.
-The author is a childish idiot who completely made this up.
The rest of the article has a hint of truth but is wildly exaggerated. To summarise; many people at Durham are upper-middle class (oh dear how horrifying), most people, including rahs, are tolerable to speak to providing you don't catch them inebriated, Durham University is very-well regarded, Durham as a town is broadly average with the exception of the pretty Cathedral looming over everything, the locals don't actually hate you, and if you think they do you probably have an elevated opinion of yourself. Furthermore, a lack of state-sector aspiration to top-tier universities is a genuine problem which can only be completely solved by a switch to a post-results application system.

[Awoodrow2]

(Original post by fairy spangles)
I cant imagen what its like now. Sounds like all the good things are evapourating. Next your going to tell me the colleges have closed their bars or that they dont do the festival of light with the random miners helmets or chase bar no longer serves cocktails. Well i have my memories i guess!!

The collegiate system works well for student support surely?

What's "chase bar"? :-S And for the festival of light, do you mean Lumiére? That's the only one I know of, but I don't know anything about miners helmets. Not that I actually enjoyed the display... :-/

And in my experience, the collegiate system is still great for student support, apart from people who distance themselves from college for whatever reasons, as you'd expect.

(Original post by undergradstudent)
The DSU's got loads better and helping students in the last year, they've actually got the university to change its policies on some things which is pretty much unheard of, and they've completely restructured the representation structure so people will actually interact with the DSU from next year rather than ignoring it or having to go to DSU council.

On the university policy note, they don't help themselves if no-one knows about what they've done - I'm better-informed than most people, and I have no idea. And what about 38-week lets?! That was the one campaign that actually got through to a large number of people, and the university completely won.

As for the restructure, I'm still dubious that delegating things to committees will actually get anything done - I'm going to be involved in the Environment and Ethis committee. For some bizarre reason they completely ignored the existing arrangement with Colleges and Greenspace, and have based it entirely on societies (as far as I'm aware), that only have a few individuals who actually care about the DSU.