A student perspective on the most common misconceptions about the University of York.
Myth: University of York is posh
Despite the stereotypical aesthetic of overcoats and scarves, the people in York are some of the most grounded, friendly, and accepting people you’ll ever meet. People from all different walks of life get to come here. I was exposed to a plethora of worldviews and happily surprised with how included I felt, despite not being posh at all.
Personally, my flat is filled with people from lower income backgrounds like me, who’ve been helped by the Uni through the bursaries and contextual offers and other accessibility schemes. I’ve also met loads of people with interesting backgrounds! I’ve got to talk to people about visiting their homes back in Bulgaria or Italy, so York is actually a great subversion of that undiverse stereotype of universities.
Myth: West Campus is run-down
From my experience living on West Campus, I can confidently say that many of the facilities have been refurbished and the lecture halls in particular are very fancy. For me, the most useful place on West Campus is the library (that is actually three libraries) which has its unique brutalist aesthetic but is otherwise heavily modernised. I recently went to the Burton Library for the first time and was actually a little awestruck by how high-end some of the stuff there is, the whole suite of iMacs that is sorely under-advertised. Beyond all of this, the Uni is constantly working to improve things according to the needs of the students, and maintenance is always on hand.
Myth: York is a boring town
Now I get it, York has this reputation for being an old tourist town, and to be honest, there are times it can be. But anywhere you’ll go to around the Uni or in town will more than likely be full of students. If you decide to go on a club night, you’ll find a parade of students making the same walk to Salvo’s or Rev’s, so the clubbing scene is always active. If that’s less your vibe, then there are loads of other events like alt events or goth pubs.
My favourite part of York however is the scenery, because no matter where you go, wildlife is absolutely ever present. In fact, one of my favourite things I’ve done with my flat was our little trip to the York Minster (students get free entry!). This trip provoked lots of fun conversation and was followed by an adorable exploration of all the unique cafés and local businesses that York has to offer.
Myth: East Campus is desolate
Opposing the previous myth, with all the renovations in East Campus, there are a lot of modern, well-designed buildings in East Campus. Some people think the open natural spaces of Heslington East lends itself to an emptier tone, but I discovered that’s only because the social spaces are so popular. The Piazza Building and Ron Cooke Hub are the designated study zones and they’re proper lavish. The main attraction here, however, are the communal spaces of each of the colleges. East Campus homes fully kitted-out common rooms filled with pool tables, table tennis, huge cinema screens, the whole shebang. One of my friends even regularly visits David Kato specifically for the casual table tennis games that are held regularly. Plus, Anne Lister regularly holds some pretty legendary house parties.
Bonus Myth: Derwent is a party college
As a proud Derwenter, but also exceptionally introverted, I’ve always found this myth a little absurd. I was hesitant to go out on club nights, but there was no expectation or obligation to go. When I did want to try it out, all of my flatmates were super supportive and eased me into the whole experience. Besides this, many Derwenters like to socialise in other ways, such as the group study sessions, watching films in people’s rooms, or societies. My favourites of these were when my flat did a communal pizza party in which we worked together on a hard maths logic puzzle or when we built a mini golf course through our flat and everyone competed. All of this to say that there’s loads of stuff outside of the clubs that are available to do, and I wish that Derwent, such a safe and open place, wasn’t stigmatised like it is. Derwent college isn’t the ‘party college’, it’s the friendliest college.
~Ben (he/him)
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