Politics / International Relations, Year 3
(5)·By Christabel·History· Jul 2021 Freshers week was really well organised. Because the accommodation is divided into colleges you go out as a college. You get T-shirts and have assigned nights out to certain clubs where you get in for free with your wrist band. Second and thirds years called Stycs come to your flat to pre with you and then take you into town showing you how to get to the clubs you are going to or going to bars for pres first. Some nights are on campus and some have Themed dress up nights. On campus we had a roller disco and they have day time and non drinking events but I slept through them. There are currently 9 colleges and another one being built. Vanbrugh the one I was in is next to the music department and has its own pub. It has nice self catered new builds with en suites and the catered bits are in 60 blocks. Derwent is all 60s blocks and mainly catered it's got good sports teams and is quite laddish. It has two bars, D bar which has a lot of events and courtyard which is the best one on campus and does great drinks and food. Did a club night called time warp which played decades music. James is the sport one and is all catered they sometimes do event in the James bar and is right next to the gym. Always looks like a good time. Alcuin is next to the library and has the best cafe on campus but the joke is it's always dead. Halifax is a bit further out, about 10 minutes from campus. It has its own uni shop and a free bus. It's probably the Cheapest accommodation and not as nice as some of the others but people get really close and there's a community feel because everyone hangs out in the JCR and the grounds which you don't get as much with other colleges. I went for a movie night of shrek 2 and they had an ice cream van. Loads of my friends lived there and had a great time. Wentworth is for postgrads and has a veggie/ vegan cafe. On the other campus about 10 minutes away there are the last 3 colleges with one being built. East campus looks like a black mirror episode all the buildings are new. It has one bar called glasshouse which is really nice they have good Cocktails, karaoke Fridays and have a club night twice a month called marmite which plays cheesy music, snows Pokemon on the tv and has prawn crackers (I think it recreates a club that closed down a few years ago hence the vibe). It also has decent food. Campus east also has a gym with a swimming pool but is more expensive than the campus west gym. They also have a big shop, a Greg's, the doctors, a tanning bed shop and some takeaways. Goodricke is the cheapest, Constantine has really nice kitchens and double beds and can have en-suites and langwith is the most expensive, you basically get a house. Langwith and Constantine have TVs in the living room kitchen area and nice sofas, goodricke just has a kitchen like the other colleges. The students Union is not as big as ones like Leeds it's not a hub because of the college system, venues, bars etc are spread out over campus. YUSU seem to be fairly good and during covid, organised a whole outside canopied bar with music, food and drink in accordance with government guidelines. They also organised well-being packs for students on campus during lockdown. The gym is good but always busy and I think people that go a lot go to off campus gyms because sports teams use them a lot at the same time. The learning facilities are good and I go to the library a lot. It's divided into three buildings next to each other connected inside, fairhurst is for eating and drinking and group chatting, it has big whiteboards and movable chairs for group projects, morel has the books and study desks. You can eat and drink and whisper but most people sit and work in silence. Burton is no food, just water and silence study. There's a cafe downstairs. There are also single and group study rooms and computer rooms and you can borrow laptops. First year everyone doing politics and IR does the same 4 modules. The first term is not recorded on lecture capture but it gets you into a good habit of going to everything and have a pretty full timetable and make friends quickly. The politics do fun events and talks as well as a BBQ after exams, everyone went out clubbing afterwards. You do a lot in first year but it means second year Feels easier. You have so many different modules to choose for second and third year, I'm particularly enjoying my third year modules and third year is all course work. The city is really cute and picturesque which actually makes a difference to feeling at home and walking around on the walls or even through the centre can be relaxing. There are some really good museums as it can be touristy in the summer. There are a few clubs and all the students go to the same ones on specified student nights. This obviously isn't for everyone but I liked always seeing everyone I knew at clubs. Sports Society's go to salvos on Wednesdays and dress up which is always really fun. The bars are really good, there are some good restaurants, most of the chains I.e. Nando's, Wagamamas, McDonalds etc and lots of independent cafes. There is a small top shop and primark but I prefer going to Leeds for shopping although the urban outfitters and zara are a good size.