Derwent College, University of York

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Location

Derwent College is located mainly on the eastern side of the campus. The college nucleus (including 'Doodles' the bar, the porters' lodge and the departments housed by the college) as well as accomodation blocks A to D are located on the campus central side of University Road, while the Derwith extension accomodation blocks (E and F) are located on the opposite side of the road and the Edens Court accomodation (whose inhabitants are Derwentians) is to the south of campus on the south side of Heslington Lane.

Departments

The departments of Politics and Philosophy are housed by Derwent college. However, as with all of the departments, college facilities are limited and so classes are spread around campus.

A brief warning for any future Derwentians: Some of the accomodation blocks also house seminar rooms and offices, so do not be alarmed when a group of unfamiliar students arrive in your kitchen at 9.15 asking where their class is.

Accommodation

Derwent's accomodation is on the older end of the York scale, in general. Blocks E, F and Edens Court are far more recent than the rest and so are basic but comfortable. Blocks A-D, however, are around 40 years old, but remain in relatively good condition, with several showers per floor. The kitchens in most have been recently refurbished (having previously featured a mix of Baby Bellings and Microwaves rather than the ovens they now, thankfully, have) but the bedrooms feature such novelties as mystery two-pin plugs, the only electric socket at the opposite end of the room to the desk and locked cupboards which there's no key for. However, the accomodation provides all a student needs and the large kitchens/dining rooms most blocks have created the famously sociable atmosphere not found in some of the more upmarket accomodation on campus. Additionally, being the first college (with Langwith) built on campus, some of the rooms can be extremely big compared with the newer hotel-style rooms in other colleges.

None of the the main block college accomodation is en-suite, and all is arranged in the traditional university hall style, with long corridors of up to 20 people. Edens Court follows the Halifax College 'house' model and blocks E and F are arranged in two houses of 10 rooms, several of which do feature en-suites.

Social Spaces

Gardens

Dining room

Bar

JCR

The Joint/Junior Common Room of Derwent college is a reasonably small area (Roughly ten metres by eleven) containing around four sofas, a number of other chairs, a few coffee tables, and a small annex whereby all of the JCR equipment and merchanidse is held. A projector is mounted to the roof, and a screen covers a large proportion of one side of the room.

Movies are shown on sunday nights, including the obligatory marathons (For example, this term [Summer 2007] one consisted of the entire rocky series). It is open to all, roughly 24/7, and majority interest can decide what is viewed at any one time - the room has a freeview connection. There is, additionally, a dvd player for any to use.

The JCR is also represented by the JCRC, the student comittee that liases between the college and the students, and is responsible for events, equipment, welfare, bar games, marathons, education, and fostering a friendly community spirit. Members of this comittee are, contrary to popular belief, often the most approachable people on campus, and are always willing to stop and lend a hand to a wayward fresher. It acts as a great buffer to help people in need of aid, support, or entertainment.

Study rooms, lecture theaters and Computing

Study Rooms

Lecture Theatres

Computer Suite

There are two computer suites in Derwent, both upstairs and down in the central nucleus that houses the bar, cafe, restaurant, and the departments of Politics and Philosophy. Each room holds approximately twenty to thirty individual computers, with a large printer downstairs which is operated and paid for with the University Printing Services Account (Hint: This is automatically set up for any new arrivals, and the login details are the same as your york.ac.uk email address).

These are sometimes booked out for certain events and classes, but far more often than not there is a myriad to choose from - one gets the impression that many, if not most students at Derwent College living in halls already have access to a computer, be it a laptop or desktop.

If one requires scanning facilities, the closest is in nearby college Langwith's computer suite, where a single scanner is connected to a rarely used computer.

Welfare

Atmosphere

Derwent has a reputation for having the best college spirit out of any of York's undergraduate colleges. Club D events take place twice or three times a term, and feature a fancy dress theme in the dining hall and bar, which is turned into a club for these late licence events. They routinely sell out, and Derwent's college spirit is proven by the singing of its song 'We Love You Derwent' at the end of every Club D. They are the most popular campus events in terms of attendance. Derwent organises an enormous charity campus event set around its grounds and buildings and those of the nearby college Langwith. It is held in the summer term. Previous acts include: Desmond Dekker Katrina and the Waves Chesney Hawkes Jools Holland Pendulum

Additionally, Pink Floyd have played in Derwent dining hall. Blur, before they were famous, were apparently turned down by the SU.

Other Facilities

Student-eye view