This page aims to give you the low down on life at Aidan's in one convenient package. Click the links below to see bios of the Freshers' rep team, the plan for Freshers' week and selected picks of our Information and Photos pages to give you a taste of what to expect when you get here, and try and answer some of the more common questions.
Welcome
A message from your JCR President, Pinski
Hello Freshers!
Firstly and most importantly, congratulations! To be reading this far you must have some great results and you’ve been accepted into Durham University. For this you have already won the lottery of life, and the icing on the cake is that you’re coming to St Aidan’s College.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tom Filipinski (although most people call me Pinski) and I’m your JCR President for this year. What that means is I graduated last year so already know about the good, the bad, and the ugly of university (although it’s pretty hard to think of anything for the last two) and now I have the privilege of staying on and introducing you to the most amazing time of your life, and making sure it is truly special. I also run the JCR executive committee, the well known faces around college in charge of committees, who do everything from running the shop and bar, to putting on formals and social events. I’ve been up here since August getting ready to look after your welfare and your arrival. Preparations with college staff are well underway for freshers’ week and the exec and freshers reps are working tirelessly to make it an unforgettable week to begin an incredible year.
Coming to university can be a bit daunting. I’ve worn those shoes, but at Christmas I guarantee you will love this place so much that you’ll be begging not to be taken home. That said, if you have any questions about anything at all, want a bit of reassurance, or just want a chat (I’m a bit lonely up here atm), don’t hesitate to give me a ring +447796 345476 or email me at president@st-aidans.com or add me on facebook. You can also chat to me through this website or join the facebook group ‘St Aidan’s CollegeFreshers 10/11(Official)’. The exec and freshers reps can answer your questions and you can start to chat to other soon to be Aidanites.
Aidan’s students are a pretty chilled out bunch and there is a place for everyone in the community, whether you want to get involved in a committee, play beautiful music, captain a sports team or act in the panto (or even script it). The more involved you get, the more you’ll get out of your time at Durham! Whatever happens, I’m here to make sure your time at Aidan’s is an amazing experience you will never forget.
So, if you have any questions, get in touch. Otherwise, I hope you’re as excited about the start of term as I am and I can’t wait to meet you all!
Tom Filipinski
Reps
Ben Richardson - Senior Freshers' rep
Senior Freshers' Rep (and Open Days) is the driving force behind preparing for the arrival of freshers in October. They are involved in everything from setting the theme of the week, making the arrangements for each night of freshers week. Making sure everyone is having a good time and no one is being left out. They put together the rotas of reps for different tasks on different nights and days. Basically, without them freshers week wouldn't happen. It's a hugely intense role, but probably the most rewarding thing you can do in your time at Aidan's!
Luke Lobo - Male Freshers' Rep
Max Miles-thomas - Male Freshers' Rep
Hugh Collins - Male Freshers' Rep
Adam Gray - Male Freshers' Rep
Henry Duffy - Male Freshers' Rep
Samuel Barker - International Rep
Karina Dar-juan - International Freshers Rep
Emma Mcerlane - Female Freshers' Rep
Zoe Round - Female Freshers' Rep
Ciara Riordan - Female Freshers' Rep
Ava Heffernan - Female Freshers' Rep
Elizabeth De-cothi - Female Freshers' Rep
The Week
Information
Extended Let
College Accomodation comes with with the option of extended let. The standard let involves only term time, so is 28 weeks.
Extended let gives you the option of staying over the Christmas Vacation or the Easter Holidays. Easter is particularly useful as it allows you to come to Durham before the summer terms starts to get some early revision in.
Extended let used to be used to allow you to leave you room as it was and not worry about having to take everything home with you during the holidays. However now all rooms have big bed boxes (lockable storages spaces under the bed) which can be used to store things between terms. So extended let is much more for people who intend to be in Durham over the holidays.
Internet in Your Rooms
Every room in college has a port for you to plug in a laptop or desktop computer. You will be provided with an ethernet cable when you arrive in college, but if you happen to have a longer one at home then you might want to bring it to give yourself more flexibility. Wireless is available in some rooms as a product of it being available in the JCR, library and Lindisfarne Centre. It is not recommended to rely on wireless from your rooms, as the connection is often poor quality. Wired internet is faster than wireless anyway.
The connection in college is very high speed and more than sufficient for browsing and even streaming video. Streaming can slow down in the evenings when lots of people use sites such as BBC iPlayer. Computer games are not restricted, but certain games will need ports opening on the ITS Firewall. Consoles will not be able to play games over the internet.
For information on ESOL (Ensuite Online) and other ITS (Information Technology Service) offerings see the ITS Student Services web page.
Quarantine
When you first connect your computer it will be placed into "Quarantine", which assures that your computer will be safe to use the network. To pass quarantine you will need to enter an ITS username and password (doesn't have to be your own, but it is recommended) and download a program to scan your computer. The scanner will check for ONE of each of the following things:
- Anti Virus
- McAffee
- Norton
- AVG
- Microsoft Security
- Kaspersky
- Anti Spyware
- Windows Defender
- Microsoft Security
- Spybot
- Operating System
- Windows (XP Service Pack 3, Vista Service Pack 1, 7)
- Mac OSX
- Linux
Some tools (AVG, Spybot, Windows Defender, Service Packs) are made available during the quarantine check. Please do not think you need to buy McAffee or Norton if you do not already have them - they're not needed and slow down your computer; the free version of AVG is sufficient to pass quarantine.
Once your computer is through quarantine you will be informed and will need to close and reopen your browser. Everything should now work as normal. If not then do not fear - the JCR IT Officer will be around throughout Freshers' Week to help you out.
Normal Meal Times
The current college meal-times are:
- Monday-Friday:
- Breakfast: 8:00am-10:00am
- Lunch: 12:00pm-1:30pm
- Dinner: 5:30pm-7:00pm
- Saturday:
- Brunch: 9:00am-1.15pm
- Dinner: 5.00pm-6:15pm
- Sunday:
- Breakfast: 8:00am-10:00am
- Lunch: 12:00pm-1:30pm
- Dinner: 5:00pm-6:15pm
Sharing a Room
Half of the rooms on the curves are shared so there's a good chance (about 45%) you'll end up in that situation. If you do find yourself sharing, there's no need to worry. Whilst I did not personally share, the majority of my friends did and the very large majority (i.e. >95%) became good friends. The shared room actually formed the basis for our friendship group as they are big rooms and good for socialising/partying. It can be a bit different if you've never shared a room before, but you soon get used to it (again this is from many of my friend's experiences). Earplugs may help if you're a sensitive sleeper. If you're worried about privacy (i.e. with a partner), the doors actually double lock - so your returning roommate may take a hint if they find the door doesn't open after 'unlocking it'...In the unlikely event there is a serious issue it can be resolved by talking with someone such as Welfare... but it's unlikely this'll happen if you're just honest about yourself on the form you fill in, so be honest!!If you are really opposed to the idea of sharing a room, i'd just be honest about that - or at least try to give a valid reason why you don't want to. Otherwise, think of it as a great opportunity to make a friendship right from the off.
Things to Bring
Hey new Aidanites! Now you've got your results, if you're anything like I was, you'll be counting down until you're moving in. I thought I'd be ahead of the game and start off a list of things you might want in your first term:
- Bedding (you can buy it from college but most people bring their own)
- Posters and pictures to make your room cozy
- Blue tac for attaching said posters to the wall
- Kettle, mugs, tea, coffee - maybe get the rents to buy you some milk on the way in
- Advisable to have some snacks, like cereal, as the first few days are very hectic and queues for breakfast will be long
- Basic First Aid Kit - paracetamol and plasters are a good idea
- Coathangers - college give you about 5
- 50ps for the washing machine
- Possibly laundry basket/bag
- Washing detergent
- Some cash, as there isn't a cash machine particularly close by
- Clothes horse - saves you money and shrunk clothes in the long run
- Not definitely a necessity as college does have one but I found having a printer very useful
- Smart clothes for University Matriculation
- Fancy dress!! Your handbook will soon be on its way to you telling you all you need to know!
- Pens and A4 notepad - although we have got plenty of places to buy stationary in Durham (and actually pretty much everything you might need) it's a good idea to have these already
Visa and Passport Checking
Tuesday 7 September, 1.00-5.00pm (Fisher House, Ustinov College)
- MA Social Work
- MSc New and Renewable Energy
Monday 20 September 9.30am – 4.00pm (Fisher House, Ustinov College)
- MBA
- MSc Design Manufacturing and Management
- PGCE (both)
Wednesday 29th September 9.30am – 7.00pm (Howlands Building)
- All new students
Thursday 30th September 9.30am – 4.30pm (Howlands Building)
NOTE: ITS open to issue Campus Cards
- All new students
Saturday 2nd October 9.30am – 1.00pm (Howlands Building)
- All new students
What is a JCR?
JCR stands for Junior Common Room, of which there is one in every college in the University. The type of JCR's we have in Durham exist only in Oxford, Cambridge and Durham itself.
The JCR is essentially a collection of undergrads, affiliated students, and sabbatical officers at a particular college who have paid their JCR levy and so have full members rights, such as attending social activities and using the facilities. However it means much more than just that. The JCR is a student led, student run body whose aims are to: represent its members at all levels; provide social activities for them; advance their education; but most importantly to provide the unique lifestyle that comes with the collegiate system. This includes committees running all kinds of events, funding sports teams, looking after charitable interests and enhancing talent in areas such as the performing arts. In essence the JCR is whatever its members make it out to be.
The JCR is run by the Executive Committee (Exec) that consist of the following:
- JCR President (sabbatical)
- Bar Steward (sabbatical)
- Vice President
- Social Chair
- Services Chair
- Welfare Officer
- JCR Secretary
- Senior DSU rep
- JCR Treasurer
- Shop Chair
- Sports Captain
The JCR Chair also attends all activities the Exec do, but is not actually a member of the Exec out of the need to remain impartial at all times.
Members of the Exec and the Chair run the various committees that in turn run the JCR's activities. They are required to act in the best interests of all JCR members when in their position as they were democratically elected to their position by their peers, and money they spend on various activities come directly from funds mainly provided by them.
Currently, all JCR's in Durham University are classed as "exempt charities". However due to the Charities Act (2006), the JCR will soon be entering a transitional period, at the end of which it will become a fully fledged charity without exemption or will be redefined within the University statutes to fall under the University's umbrella charity.
