- Halifax College
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Coordinates: 53°56′31″N 1°02′49″W / 53.942°N 1.047°W
Halifax College
University of York
"Scholarship, Activity and Community" Named after Lord Halifax Established 2001 Provost Karen Fritz Deputy Provost Sue Johnston Dean Sally Brabyn Undergraduates 1,850 Postgraduates 300 Website Halifax College
HCSA
Halifax College is the largest and newest college of the University of York. It was founded in 2001 and is named after Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, the 1st Earl of Halifax.The College is situated to the south of the main campus, next to the village of Heslington and the University sports fields.
In 2006/07, Halifax College won the University's College Sport Championship; and successfully held onto the title in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons. They regained the title in the 2010/11 season and are hoping for a lot more years on top!
Contents
Courts
Unlike the other Colleges, Halifax does not consist of a main building divided into blocks and corridors. Instead, students live in houses which are grouped together to form courts.
There are nine Courts in Halifax:
- St Lawrence Court
- Lindley Court
- Wood Court
- Ingram Court.
- Irwin Court
- Younger Court
- Ainsty Court
- Hickleton Court
- McHugh Court
Ainsty and Hickleton Courts are managed by UPP Projects Ltd as part of the University Partnership Programme. They were built and originally maintained by Jarvis Plc.
College members with families also live in Garrowby Way, an area of housing which is part of Halifax College. It is owned and maintained by the York Housing Association. McHugh Court was its first new-build accommodation.
The other Courts are managed by the College and the University's Accommodation Office.
Departments
Halifax is the only College which is not the home of any academic departments of the University, even though management have some offices in Halifax. This is probably due to the location of the College in relation to the main campus, being around ten minutes walk from Central Hall.
History
The first blocks of Halifax College which formed Ingram, Irwin, Younger, Lindley and Wood Courts were built in the summer of 1996. Named 'Halifax Court' each house was assigned to a college at the University. The lack of any tie between the campus colleges and the houses in Halifax Court quickly led to demands from students that Halifax Court be given full college status.
The location of the buildings - at the back of the existing (1970s built) St Lawrence Court (used at the time almost exclusively for post-graduate and foreign students) - meant that even the student union paid little attention to the students, despite them forming the largest group at the university.
Halifax Court residents were the first to pay differential rents on their accommodation and lets were a mandatory 38 weeks. All others students, whether in the newer James College blocks or the very dated Derwent blocks paid the same rate. Despite this, accommodation in Halifax in 1997 was £38 a week - £6 more than the rest of campus but still one of the lowest rents in the country.
The campaign for full status was delayed primarily because of the insistence of the Dean of Halifax Court, Mark Evans and the JCRC that Halifax Court should have all the facilities of a campus college. At that time, the Halifax Court Centre Building (now JJ's) consisted of a central common room (unlicensed though clearly built with the concept of housing a bar), the only part-time portering service (Geoff the porter) at the university (every other college had 24hr portering at that time), an adjacent laundry room accessed from the outside (now the lounge area of JJ's), and a small convenience store accessed from the outside (now the pizzeria). The building of today is almost unrecognisable from that of this time.
The lack of desire for a common room (it was very rarely used) and the need for a bar led to the construction of a new building housing the portering service and the shop and the complete refurbishment of the Halifax Court Centre Building into JJ's. The area now occupied by the newer Ainsty and Hickleton Courts (next to the car park) was a large 'village green' for the Halifax Court/College residents. During the summer term this was frequently full of students playing frisbee, having barbecues (strongly against the wishes of the university administration!) and studying together.
The building of Halifax Court gave a huge boost to the local economy in Heslington Village as students walked through the village, used the shops and used the pubs.[citation needed]
The lane running directly from Halifax Court past St Lawrence Court, across Heslington Lane, past the Vice-Chancellor's house and eventually to the library has been used by students for many years as it reduces the walk to the main campus by a considerable margin. Despite being muddy, pitch black in the dark and a route that the university advises female students not to use, the lane has been the subject of years of campaigning for lighting and paving.[citation needed]
The last few years have seen many changes to the college- seen in the departure of Professor Mark Evans (Provost since the college's foundation) and Carl Thompson (later Provost of Wentworth College).
In 2009 Halifax College changed its College Crest from its original blue and white shield to newer Crest derived from the Coat of Arms of Lord Halifax while maintaining the College's traditional colour.
Mascot
Since 1996 to at least 2003 a relatively large strawberry blonde cat, assumed to be female, would tour the student houses, particularly around Lindley Court, to eat and sleep. Despite frequent warnings from the Halifax Court/College administration that the cat was flea-ridden, students continued to treat the cat as the Halifax mascot. The cat was presumably owned by a local resident but would spend almost the entire day with the students. The cat had many names but the name that spread across Halifax and stuck over the years was 'Fat Bastard' as it always seemed to want to eat. Its favourite food was said to be Dairylea Triangles. The cat got such legendary status that many alumni specifically venture out to Halifax when they return to the university to see 'Fat Bastard'.
Catering
JJ's used to be the Halifax College bar and pizzeria. It is believed to be have been named after two former College Sports Officers, named John and John, who won a competition to name the new bar. JJ's is now the Common Room for the college and has a capacity of 200.
There is also a small Costcutter supermarket, which is franchise held by the University.
Social events
Halifax College is a busy college for social events. Whether it’s barcrawls through town, quizzes in JJ’s, court BBQs, trips to various cities or even the beach (“Fax off to Scarborough”, anyone?) there’s something organised by the HCSA every week.
The big events of the year are the Halifax Summer Ball, which in the academic year 2010-2011 was held on a boat, Faxival, Halifax Has Got Talent and of course Freshers Week which changes in content and length from year to year.
Faxival, the brainchild of Andrew Wallace and Davedass Mootanah, is a festival/carnival held throughout the college. Including live music, BBQs, hog roast, a bar, various inflatables, and of course sumo suits, it was started in 2011.
Student representation
Halifax College students are represented by the Halifax College Students' Association (HCSA), which represents all students of the College. Halifax is the only College at York to have combined graduate and undergraduate representation.
The Students' Association provides Halifaxers with a variety of services, including large events, student welfare, volunteering, charity work, recycling, College merchandise, College sports and representation to the College and University. It also organises the College Freshers' Fortnight.
Halifax was the first college at York to offer certified Fairtrade College merchandise and continues to stay on top with many issues.
HCSA President
2002: Tim Fassam
2003: Verity Radley
2004: Noel Davies
2005: James Flinders
2006: Samuel Bayley
2007: Tim Day
2008: David Sharp
2009: Robert Powell
2010: Lydia Blundell
2011: Davedass Mootanah
Halifax alumni
As Halifax is the youngest College of the University, few of its alumni have yet had time to make their name in politics, the arts and entertainment. The College and HCSA are currently setting up an alumni organisation, which will bring together current and former members of Halifax College.
External links
Colleges of the University of York Categories:- University of York
- Colleges of the University of York
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