General advice

A common mistake made when packing for university is assuming that you have to bring everything you could possibly need with you for the first day. York is a city well equipped with shops where you can purchase additional items of kitchenware, cleaning materials, stationery and so forth. It is often better to bring some money with you to purchase anything extra you might need when you are here, than to overbuy items and bring them with you.

Kitchen items

Sharing kitchen facilities with lots of other people is a new experience for most. The majority of flats end up sharing kitchen equipment so you would be best advised to bring the minimum required. One set of crockery, cutlery and a pan should do it. Anything else you might need can be borrowed or bought cheaply here.  Students are not advised to bring expensive or valued items with them. 

Many students shop at the same places so it can get confusing as to whose food belongs to whom. We advise students to bring tupperware or plastic storage boxes in which to store their fridge items, and which can be labelled with your name. A couple of marker pens are a useful addition to your packing. 

Electrical equipment

The use of microwaves, toasters, grilling machines, fridges, kettles and any other electrical kitchen equipment is NOT allowed in study bedrooms, and any electrical item you have brought with you must be safe and comply with electrical safety regulations and standards applicable in the UK. If you have any doubts about this, please speak with the Facilities Manager, who can arrange for testing of electrical equipment.

Ironing board and iron

Suggestions have been made in the past that it is better to purchase clothes that do not need ironing, than to drag bulky items up to University with you.  Some of the porters do have ironing boards to lend out, and someone in your corridor is bound to bring an iron and ironing board which they will surely lend to you.  A cheap iron and ironing board can be purchased for under £20 from any of our local supermarkets if you find you simply cannot live without one.

Laundry items

To prevent study-bedrooms getting damp, it would be advisable to only bring clothing that can be tumble-dried in our laundrettes. Please do not bring washing line with you. You will be asked to take it down as it can be a hazard when trying to vacate a room in an emergency. If you do need to bring something to dry hand-washing on, we suggest a small airer. 

It is advisable to bring a laundry basket that can be easily carried up and down stairs to the laundry rooms, rather than a free-standing laundry basket.

Food

The first week is always fairly riotous and it is important that you eat well. Plan for 3 days of meals when you are buying your provisions. 

Students often go shopping together in the first few days to buy basic cupboard stocks that they will then share. Unless there is something you are particularly partial to that can only be bought from home, it is worth waiting until you get here to go shopping. We have a lot of supermarkets in York and a small Costcutter on campus where you can purchase fresh fruit, vegetables and a variety of items. Please remember, with a lot of new residents arriving at once, fridge space it always at a premium for the first few days. It is advisable to bring only what you think you will need for those first few days whilst you are finding your feet. 

Perhaps you could bring something that can be shared with your new flat-mates? A home-made cake, some biscuits, or ingredients to contribute to a fry-up. Bonding with your flatmates is always best done over a shared meal so you may want to think about what you could contribute towards a large meal rather than simply cooking for yourself. For those arriving on the Saturday, when the weather is good, the JCR often hold a barbecue, so some items to contribute towards this might be ideal.

If you have decided to join the MAD scheme then don't worry. You can always bring your meals over to your kitchen to join your housemates. Just remember to return the trays and crockery afterwards!

Clothes

There are events where you will be expected to dress smartly, however University of York events tend to be costume and fancy-dress events rather than formal tuxedo and ball dress events. Rather than splashing out on an expensive suit or ballgown, some smart formal clothes and a fun costume will be far more useful.

The following are NOT permitted to be used in study bedrooms, due to fire safety regulations, so probably best to leave them at home!

• Fridges and any kitchen equipment, including kettles, toasters and coffee machines
• Candles
• Hookah/Shisha pipes
• Electric heaters
• Multi-plugs (trailing sockets are allowed)
• Fairy lights

Living communally, you will want to get on well with your neighbours, so best to leave the heavy sub-woofer / large bass speaker at home

Donald Barron Court, House A & Barbara Scott Court, House E:

• Dean: David Hickman, david.hickman@york.ac.uk, 07919 293167,
• A308, Donald Barron Court

Le Page Court & Donald Barron Court, House B:

• Tutor: Edd Caine, ejc502@york.ac.uk, 07919 293105
• A230, Le Page Court

Eric Milner White Court, Block A & Barbara Scott Court, House D:

• Tutor: Alexandra Carr, asc502@york.ac.uk, 07919 293079
• A242, Eric Milner White Court, Block A
 

Eric Milner White Court, Block B & Donald Barron Court, House C:

• Tutor: James Armstrong, jaa501@york.ac.uk, 07729 842454
• B105, Eric Milner White Court, Block B

Fairfax House & Barbara Scott Court, House F:

• Tutor: Tom Wright, tjw507@york.ac.uk, 07919 293078
• FX/108/9, Fairfax House

Eric Milner White, Wentworth E:

• Tutor: Joshua Whittingham, jw610@york.ac.uk, 07921 311165
• D/117, Wentworth E

Please see the Accommodation Services Website: Link

Guests are allowed to stay in your room for a period of two consecutive nights only. Guests under the age of 18 years (minors) are not permitted to stay overnight in campus accommodation. The resident student is responsible for their guest's behaviour at all times, as well as any offences committed by their guests.

A laundrette, containing two washers and two dryers, is located on the ground floor entrance to C Block, Le Page Court, next to the computer room. Non-residents can ask for an access keycard at Reception. For residents at Donald Barron and Barbara Scott Courts the laundrette is located next to the Warren Services Building. Access can be obtained with resident’s keycards.

A wash price is £2.20 and the cost for tumble-drying is £1.00 for 50 minutes.

We recommend that you bring a large laundry bag with you, which can be used to transport your clothes to and from the laundry rooms, rather than a laundry basket for your bedroom.  Not all the bedrooms have free-standing radiator, instead fan heaters are incoporated into the design of the room.  It is therefore advisable to bring clothes than can be tumble-dried as drying clothes in your bedroom can lead to damp walls and condensation around the windows, which encourages mould.  Clothes lines are not permitted in the rooms as these can prevent swift egress from the room during a fire-alert.

A telephone is provided in the laundrette which should be used to report any faults with the machines.

Storage for boxes

There is NO provision for storage of boxes, trunks or suitcases on campus.  Students should be aware of this when packing belongings.

Long-term storage

For those in 34 week lets, there is a lockable cupboard in your room where you can secure a small number of items over the Easter vacation.  Aside from this, there is NO provision for long-term storage on campus.  If you are moving out during the vacation and require storage for your belongings over the vacation period we recommend enquiring at the various storage companies in York, all of whom have student discount schemes.  You can find details of these companies on the College Office noticeboard or from their websites:

• Stadium self-storage
• Britannia
• Student Discount Storage
• CAMAir Freight Solutions

Emergency storage

In cases of extreme emergency, the College Administrator will keep a small number of items in the College Office over the vacation periods, however, please do not rely on this as an option.

Whilst we know that socialising is an important part of university life, we do ask you to respect the fire safety regulations in the buildings, which do not advise more than one guest, per resident, at any one time.  To prevent overcrowding, please do not have open invites to parties in residence blocks.

Residents are responsible for the actions of their guests at ALL times, so if something is broken, if your guest brings illegal drugs into your house, smokes in the property or sets off a fire alarm then you will be held accountable.

Please ensure that all residents within the block have been consulted and are happy for social events to take place - remember, some people may have exams so it is important that you respect their requests to keep the noise down, if they are working.

Please remember the 'no noise after midnight' policy.

Please ensure that you clear up all mess afterwards, and do not wait for the cleaners to ask you to do this.

Use of cycle sheds

All residences have cycle sheds nearby and residents' keycards will allow them access to these facilities.  Any non-residents can obtain access using a non-resident's keycard which they can collect from the College Administrator.

Summer vacation cycle storage

At the end of the academic year many cycles are left abandoned in the cycle ‘sheds’ across campus taking up valuable space required by residents that arrive for the new academic year in October. In previous years these abandoned cycles have been collected and auctioned off to staff and students at the start of the academic year.  This has proved extremely successful and has meant that cycles are ‘recycled’ and also funds have been raised for the Student Union. 

During the second half of the summer term, Security staff will tag ALL cycles across campus. Unfortunately on the day of tagging we are unable to differentiate between cycles that have been abandoned and cycles that are in use daily. Therefore, the Security team will tag EVERY  cycle – we apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause. If you intend to continue using your cycle, and to remove it from campus over the summer recess then please remove the tag. Any tagged cycle found on campus after 5th July 2010 will be removed and stored for the Autumn sale.

Any resident who would like to leave their cycle on campus during the vacation period will need to follow the procedures and complete the appropriate application form, both of which are available from the Travel Plan Coordinator at the following web – link:
http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/estates/transport/cycling/storage/index.html

Please note all cycles left on campus over the summer recess must be removed by 10th October 2010, unless previously agreed with the Travel Plan Coordinator.

If you have any questions regarding the above please feel free to contact Fiona Macey, Travel Plan Co-ordinator.

The extractor fans are automatically linked to the use of the hobs – when the hob is switched on, the extractor will begin to operate. The extractor will continue to operate for a while after the hob has been turned off to ensure all cooking fumes, etc,. are dispersed.

The intercom system allows visitors to buzz the flat and allows the resident to talk to the visitor – the facility does not remotely allow entry into the building, residents need to attend the main door to let in their guests. This is to maintain security against unauthorised visitors and tailgating. Residents are reminded not to allow entry into the building unless they know the person asking to be let in.

These operate continually and are in place to maintain airflow. The unit above the bedroom door puts clean air into the room, whilst the extractor in the ensuite pod removes the stale air/ water vapour.

The switch to operate the desk lighting is located on the electrical trunking above the desk top and is a single switch.

Blocks A-C only

To lock the doors from inside, you must double dip the card lock on the outside of the door first (ensure the red light shows when dipped twice as you do when locking your room on leaving), this will then ensure your room cannot be accessed from outside.

All Blocks

If you have locked your door from the inside and in the event of an emergency, all you need to do is operate the handle inside and this will automatically unlock the door for you to exit.

All bedroom windows should only open on the tilt setting and not fully, as the hinges are not able to take the weight of the full unit (this function is for cleaning only). Residents are not provided with keys but can borrow one from reception if the window is locked.