When I first arrived in Langwith College, I felt like I made the right choice. Now, I know that I definitely have. Langwith College, located on Campus East, is one of the bigger colleges in the University of York. It welcomes 500+ new students each year, and I am happy I was one of them in 2019.
What makes Langwith special?
There are so many different things that come to mind when thinking about the reasons behind loving Langwith, so I will go through them one by one.
There’s a dedicated student committee to organise all sorts of events. I mean, which other college or university would think of organising alpacas as a day activity for Fresher’s Week?
A good Second and Third Year Mentor (STYM) committee, also led by students. Your STYMs will help you throughout the year and be there on move-in day, too. Other colleges have STYMs as well, but they don’t have as many people eager to be involved in the scheme.
.
Our Langaroo (and no, that’s not a typo. It’s a Langwith Kangaroo). Not only does it look cuddly, but it is also present during most Langwith events that take place on campus.
.
The Location. Some might say that East Campus isn’t a great location if you have lectures on West Campus. But I actually found it better that way as you had a whole campus as a lecture-free space. Out of the colleges on East Campus, Langwith is also closest to the bus stop which takes you to and from campuses as well as into town. Not to forget, The Glasshouse, a bar/restaurant located in the centre building where you can enjoy a decently priced drink or meal.
Our two lovely social spaces, The Corner Room and The Basement are open to everyone in college. The Corner Room contains a keyboard, a book swap corner, sofas and bean bags to sit on. The Basement has music practice places which can be booked online, a pool table, ping-pong table, a selection of games, and more sofas to relax on. So, both very comfortable!
A good student atmosphere – during Fresher’s Week as well as afterwards. Because Langwith is built in a slightly circular shape, most of you will end up bonding with the flats around you. Even if you don’t, there is just something about saying “I’m in Langwith” and feeling welcomed that, personally, I don’t think other colleges have.
What events are on offer during the term?
Driven by the Langwith spirit, the student committee with positions from President to Postgraduate officer and BAME officer to ensure that everyone is being represented, meets weekly to discuss event plans. Common events that have taken place previously, just to name a few are:
T-Shirt Bar Crawls – these have taken place in York as well as in Leeds where transport was arranged as well.
Wellbeing Weeks – these have included events such as mug painting, dog walking, wellbeing breakfasts, film nights, games evenings, and more.
Winter/Summer Formals – these are so popular that they have sold out in less than an hour, showing the Langwith spirit.
Bingo – there have been drag queen led and student led ones with prizes such as big fluffy teddy bears.
Quizzes – these take place weekly in The Glasshouse and are a fun, small event to attend with your flat.
Langwith also has its own Green Langwith team for more sustainable events. These include gardening in the spring and summer and baking where all recipes are vegan and ingredients are provided.
Event wise, Langwith makes sure to have something on offer for everyone and stresses the fact that you don’t need to drink to have fun! So far this year, every event has been extremely popular, making the Langwith spirit shine brightly.
So…
Overall, living in Langwith College for me was one of the nicest university experiences. Having seminars and lectures on West Campus, East Campus offered me a home to walk back to. Something that didn’t remind me of any work pressure as rabbits and geese were walking around uninterrupted everywhere. There is something about the college spirit that other colleges don’t seem to have (at least in my biased, Langwith loving opinion).
So, although it is further away from town than other colleges, Langwith gives you a comfy flat, events for everyone throughout the year, two sweet social spaces, the East Campus bar/restaurant, and, of course, the ongoing and seemingly indestructible Langwith spirit that lights up East Campus. So, if you choose Langwith, you choose well.
Leave a Reply