Derwent College, York
| Derwent College, York |
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Derwent College is a college of the University of York, one of the first two colleges (along with Langwith) to be opened following the university's inception. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 22 October 1965. Derwent College is home to the University's Politics and Philosophy departments.
The college itself is on the fringe of the campus, lying in the shadow of Heslington Hall close to the gazebo and gardens known collectively as The Quiet Place. This contrasts with the somewhat raucous reputation usually given to Derwent students.
Derwent College often identifies itself as DCUK, a parody of FCUK. The college since October 2001 has had an unofficial theme song, I love you, Derwent, sung to the tune of Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You.
Famous past members of the College include Greg Dyke (politics alumnus and now University Chancellor), Neil Entwhistle, Jung Chang, and Harry Enfield.
College facilities and events
Facilities in Derwent include the Computer Services class rooms and computer rooms, the Junior Common room and Derwent bar and dining room. During the day there is the main dining room, the snack bar and the drinks bar.
Club D, a popular student disco on campus is organised by Derwent JCRC. This is held periodically at weekends during term time in Derwent bar and dining room.
Derwent College also hosts the annual Big-D (formerly known as Derwent BBQ) the biggest event on campus. It is an end of year event along the lines of Club D, but as the name suggests, it is on a larger scale. Taking up the whole area in and around the college, it is normally held on the final Thursday of the Summer term and has several rooms of music, several bars and food and activities outside. In the past there have been bouncy castles, bucking broncos, gyroscopes, table tennis, candy floss and hot dogs at the event.
Past acts to play in Derwent include Fenna Rhodes and Bruce from The X Factor, and more recently Li'l Chris, Boyd from Neighbours and The Cheeky Girls. In 2008 Pendulum and Chesney Hawkes played the event.
Past events and features
For many years after its opening, Derwent was known across campus for its late-night snack bar, featuring the much-liked "cheese and pickle sandwich", and the "Derwent Horrors", a series of horror-film screenings in the dining hall, a few bedsheets pinned to the wall forming the screen. Initially the event showed the better films from Hammer Films, American International Pictures and Roger Corman, but quality declined somewhat as the event ran out of classic horror to show. Some films, for instance The Screaming Skull, were enjoyed as much for their kitsch value as for their ability to thrill. Audience participation was a major feature of the screenings, as was the occasional streaker.
Accommodation blocks
Derwent College has six accommodation blocks, named A, B, C, D, E, and F. Blocks A, B, C and D are standard university accommodation. They were built in the CLASP system, invented by Andrew Derbyshire, consisting of prefabricated concrete blocks and panels.
Block A is part of the main college building, being the northwest and northeast sides of a small quadrangle, with the administrative offices and JCR on the southeast. B Block is situated nearer Heslington Hall overlooking the University Lake. C and D Blocks are also located near Heslington Hall and also form a single separate building in most important respects. A concrete slab forming part of a covered walkway is the only actual connection between C block and the kitchen portion of the main college building.
The original college only had A, B, and C blocks. Block D was added a few years later on a different floor plan with comparatively small individual rooms, but a large central kitchen and eating area. The older blocks had little communal space but somewhat larger rooms.
There are also a small group of rooms known as "N Block" (N standing for nucleus) which are situated above the bar. Originally these were used for guest accommodation.
E and F Blocks form part of the Derwent-Langwith (sometimes known as Derwith) extension. They are situated across the other side of University Road from the rest of the college, adjacent to Heslington Church field. They are more recently brick-build accommodation and some of these rooms offer en-suite bathroom facilities.
Further to the main blocks, Derwent students are also accommodated in Eden's Court which is situated on Heslington Lane. Eden's court comprises 8 houses, each of 10 rooms with similar layout to those of Halifax college.
Derwent College JCRC
The JCRC (Junior Common Room Committee) are a group of students democratically elected in the Autumn term to look after all aspects of College life, established in 1965. Each year the college is served by a committee of around 30-45 members.
Former/current chairs
- 2009: Joe Rankin
- 2008: Oliver Lester
- 2007: Jamie Tyler
- 2006: Dave 'Cuddly' Jones
- 2005: Rich Croker
- 2004: Andrew Whittingham
- 2003: Mark Hinton
- 2002: Rick Guest
- 2001: Nick Besley
- 2000: Clive Burrell
- 1999: Ben Youdan
- 1998: Helen Woolnough
- 1997: Patrick Carroll
- 1993: Rachel Rankin
- 1992: Genevieve Findlay
- 1991: Stuart Epps
- 1990: Robin Pembroke
- 1989: Mike Smith
- 1986: Percy Ian Staker
- 1974: Francis Ademu
For more information on the current JCRC see web link below.
In the past, meetings of the whole JCR, that is all Derwent undergraduates, were called to discuss various matters. Since attendance at these meetings tended to be sparse, it was not unknown for members of the committee to propose and publish outrageous motions, such as banning all freshers from the college bar, as a ruse to increase attendance.
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