Welcome to the first edition of Love Where You Live quarterly blog!
We are bringing you all the latest campaigns, events and student led blogs that you could ever need. Throughout October there are loads that you can get involved in and so many ways not only to look after your room but the YSJ community as well. It is the start of our first campaign ‘Look After Your Mate’ we want you to explore and learn about YSJ and York, so as the temperature drops and the nights draw in why not get your flat together and make the most of autumnal York.
Your City Social Update!
2.5 billion disposable cups are being thrown away each year in the UK; enough to stretch around the planet roughly five and a half times. To help you break the cycle to landfill from the 5th of October “Love Where You Live” reusable cups will be sold at all outlets for £2.50, including your first cup of coffee or tea free. Alternatively you can bring your own reusable cup with you, when you visit the outlets. The university is introducing a 20p disposable cup surcharge across all outlets. Monies raised from the surcharge will be used to help fund environmental projects here at York St John.
Monday to Friday 5:30pm till 6:30pm – Dine in Nights
What to book in a meal with your friends to celebrate birthdays, beating fresher’s flu or completing your first essay. Then City Social have introduced dine in nights at the main dining room on campus.
Groups of 4 or 5 – save 10% off the final bill.
Groups of 6 or more – save 20% off the final bill.
Bookings must be made at least three days in advance via catering@yorksj.ac.uk
Terms and conditions – If you have any dietary requirements please make staff aware when booking. Bookings must be made a minimum of 3 days before your preferred day.
Look After Your Mate – October Campaign!
Week starting 8/10/2018 till 18/10/2018 – Your YSJ Bucket List
Explore York with your flat, every day two locations will be released on our social media pages.
Facebook: @york.accommodation
Twitter: @YSJHalls
Instagram: @ysjlovewhereyoulive
The rules are there must be at least three people in every photo use the hashtag #YSJBucketList and tag us in your photo. You can also download your checklist in the notes section of the Accommodation Facebook page.
5/10/2018, 8/10/2018, 15/10/2018 – City Social Recipe Cards
After the hectic Freshers Week has died down why not have a night in and cook a easy and inexpensive meal. You can collect your recipe card for free in the main dining hall in the Holgate building on campus.
If you have a great recipe that you want to share email it d.tucker@yorksj.ac.uk and it will feature in the blog at the end of the month.
19/10/2018 – Student Recipe Blog
Eating healthy on a budget can be difficult while at University, you can also miss the comfort of homemade meals. We have put together a student recipe blog with help from your RSAs to share their favourite meals.
If you have any recipes you would like to share please email them to d.tucker@yorksj.ac.uk by the 17th of October.
26/10/2018 – Dine in Deals
The first of the themed Dine in Nights is taking place on the 26th of October to celebrate Halloween. You will be able to book a 2 course meal for you and your friends.
Please email catering@yorksj.ac.uk for menus and to make a booking.
Terms and conditions – If you have any dietary requirements please make staff aware when booking. Bookings must be made a minimum of 3 days before your preferred day. A £10 non-refundable deposit will at booking confirmation per table, if you do not attend your booking no deposits will be returned.
Our Student Blogs!
How can you look after your mate?
York is one of the most beautiful cities in England, and it hasn’t earned that reputation for nothing. The students arriving at YSJ are some of the countries luckiest, as they have plenty of opportunities to eat, drink and play across the many great places that make up the city they live in. Here are a couple of fun ideas for Freshers to take part in:
– Take a walk along the City Walls. This one is best taken when you have a spare afternoon, as walking the full length can take several hours! However, there isn’t a much nicer experience in York than travelling its Roman walls from one end to the other. Whether learning about the city’s ancient history, taking in the beautiful scenery, or just breathing in that higher oxygen, the City Walls are a great chance to find out how York gained its fame over the years.
– Eat out! While there are far too many to list here, York is world-renowned for its wide variety of eateries. Whatever your taste, you can bet your student overdraft that it’s catered for somewhere in the city. Some personal recommendations of mine would be ‘L’Antica Locanda’ in the Shambles for Italian cuisine, ‘Fiesta Latina’ if you fancy a spicy Mexican, and ‘Bombay Spice’ for an authentic Indian dish. If you live at Percy’s Lane, check out Walmgate Sandwich Bar for a traditional English breakfast. Or, if you’re at City Residence, try Groves Pizza and Grill for a great takeaway pizza. I’ll leave it to you to find the rest… it may only take a short walk down the road to find your new favourite restaurant!
– Go for a drink. Now we’re not encouraging excess drinking. But it’d be crazy not to go for a pint or two in some of the warm old taverns that have served the city’s locals for hundreds of years. Here’s a fun fact: York has 365 pubs; one for each day of the year. With that in mind, set aside a couple of pounds a week so you and your mates can catch up over a round. For a great Friday night, take your YSJ Student card down to the Stone Roses Bar for special discounts on cocktails. Following that, head over to Club Salvation for a double vodka-and-coke and a dance with your mates! Or, if a quiet pint is more your thing, check in at the Red Lion on Merchantgate, one of many old-style pubs in the city centre. Cheap drink, a warm log fire, a good crack with your pals – What more could you ask for?
– Just go wandering! Okay, this may not sound like the most exciting advice. But York has far more cool things to do than I can talk about here, and the best way to find them is the old-fashioned way: Go looking for them. York was built in Roman times, and its narrow cobbled streets hide many treasures down alleyways and around corners. Where one minute you find a quaint chocolate shop on the Shambles, the next you’re watching a hip young busker ply his trade in the City Square. A quick turn from the high street leads you onto Coppergate, a long stretch of road containing several dozen pubs, cafes and quirky card shops. Attractions like the Minster are easy to find, of course, and you’ll hear about those from the other bloggers. But my own advice is hunt down the small places: you’ll find the biggest surprises.
Have fun in York!
Patrick Morgan
How to make the most of your student experience!
I and probably every other student has felt a combination of these things as we entered university life for the first time. It’s both the most exhilarating and nail-biting time, and if you make the most of it, you’ll have the time of your lives.
So, here’s how to make the most of Freshers week, YSJ style…
1. Join the SU
And that doesn’t just mean register online. Go down to the campus with your flatmates and course mates to check out the building which is arguably the hub of the university. With a top floor Starbucks café and bottom floor bar, there’s something for everyone down at the SU. They run events all year long in collaboration with the many societies which make up the university, including movie nights, karaoke and the infamous £1 a pint every Wednesday night. What more could a new student wish for?
2. Explore the city
Whether you are still in your home town or slap bang in the middle of unknown turf, a good stroll around the centre of York will show you just how good a place this is for a student to live. We have free access to the Minster all year long, simply flash your student card at the entrance and go and see some visible history! Head down to the Shambles if Harry Potter is your thing, rumour has it there are a few shops down there that might float your Gillyweed. If you fancy a break from nights out and takeaways (Denny’s near Percy’s Lane and St John Central is a must-try after a night at Kuda) then there are plenty of restaurants in town with good student discount deals. To name a few, Ask Italian is up to 40% off with a student card, and if you’re down by the riverside, go pick up a £4 Revs card to receive 241 offers on selected cocktails and up to a 25% food discount.
3. Hit the town
Although drinking and dancing till you drop might not be for everyone, it’s a large aspect of university culture and the official YSJ nights are not a thing to be missed. Everyone has their own favourite night depending on timetables etc, but all the clubs associated with the Uni are well worth a visit at least once. Kuda Mondays are a personal favourite and boast a spectacular Halloween party that is not to be missed. If you just fancy kicking off your dancing shoes and having a few beers with your mates, the SU is the perfect place to go; remember £1 a pint? Comes in handy when you want to party but are short on cash.
4. Have a night in
As controversial as this might seem to the stereotypical Uni boozing culture, having a simple night in with your house mates can bring you so, so close together. Pick a movie, head down to your local shop together to buy snacks or order a Domino’s, and have a night filled with laughs and carbs. Nothing brings friends together like comedies and food. And waking up without a hangover is an added bonus.
5. Treasure every minute
Amongst the madness of moving in, making new friends, settling in your new home from home, it is easy to forget that this week of partying and getting to know your way around is the last long segment of free time you’ll have before lectures start. Make the most of every minute. Take tonnes of photos, let your hair down and enjoy every second. But once Freshers is over, don’t despair. You can look forward to freshers in 2nd and 3rd year as well – just because you get older doesn’t mean the fun stops!
Emily-Jane Knight
All About Respect
All About Respect aims to highlight the importance of healthy relationships, consent and respect. We engage in open dialogue with our student and staff communities to strengthen the prevention of sexual misconduct and domestic abuse. This semester we are running a range of training for students: IDAS Champions training, Bystander and Consent. If you are interested in taking part in the training or would like to get involved in All About Respect in other ways, please email allaboutrespect@yorksj.ac.uk
There will opportunities to assist at events, get involved in campaigns or create your own piece of work. We really need students to get involved and to share your ideas so please do get in touch if you want to find out more.
Gemma Linfoot-King, All About Respect Adviser g.linfoot-king@yorksj.ac.uk
To access support contact:
York St John University Welfare Adviser at wellbeing@yorksj.ac.uk or 01904 876 477
IDAS (Independent Domestic Abuse Service) www.idas.org.uk or 03000 110 110
Survive www.survive-northyorks.org.uk or 01904 638 813
Bridgehouse SARC (Sexual Assault Referral Centre) www.bridgehousesarc.org or 0330 223 0362
We have implemented a new online reporting system where you can report any incidents of sexual misconduct or domestic abuse anonymously www.reportandsupport.yorksj.ac.uk
For more information on the project:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/student-services/welfare-advice/all-about-respect/
Students Union!
Black History Month – We have tonnes of events over the entire month of October celebrating at the University and the Union celebrating Black Excellence.
World Food Festival – On Tuesday the 16th outside the SU from 11:00 – loads of different types of food to feast into!
Tuesday Quizzes – Every Tuesday we have our weekly quiz and tonnes are being hosted by Sports and Societies this month to raise money for charities, so get down and support!
Hate Crime Week – 15th and 16th of October is Hate Crime Week at YSJ and there’s a variety of stalls in Holgate supporting our zero tolerance to Hate Crime at YSJ. Come down and support our cause by signing the pledge board and find out other forms of information you may need to support the cause.
Breast Cancer Awareness Event – On Tuesday the 30th will be a concert that is raising money for BCAM, full of music and a raffle – a brilliant event led by Liv your President of Wellbeing and Diversity!
Halloween! – From Monday the 29th the entire SU will be transformed into a Haunted House!
Enjoy the festivities and attend our Halloween party on Wednesday evening!
Your next edition will be coming to you in January!