RE: [kent-grads] Any university's collegiate system fading?

["Greg Walker" <gwalker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm not sure but I would agree that any differences were due more to the
architecture and geography of the colleges. There was certainly no college
tradition to call upon nor , it seemed, any feeling that there should be
one.
While in my time ('83 -'86) we certainly felt that each college had its
'character' this was due largely to our impression of each college's..uhh.
entertainment facilities. I was at Darwin and it had a big lobby with the
Hall off to one side - site of many a great gig from visiting bands
including the Smiths during my first term. No other college matched Darwin
for the gigs. Then there was a wide staircase sweeping upstairs to an open
landing with benches along the walls and the corridor leading off to the
large bar. It was a great for socializing but there were no real heavy
boozers or aggression. There were alternate entry points and enough privacy
and noise mitigation designed into the 5 room 'apartments' to enable those
who actually wanted to , to study. Darwin was open, fun and laid-back with a
very international mix of people. Loved it.

Keynes had  a reputation for being more of a 'hippie' place (for some
reason) but at the same time was more mature. This was undoubtedly due to
the proximity to Park Wood and the higher number of 2nd and 3rd year
students at the bar and on the table-football. Keynes was where a lot of us
overseas students had to stay out of term time and became a favourite
hang-out in later years. The burger-bar helped. 

Then there were the twin fortresses - Festung Rutherford and Stalag Luft
Eliot - while I had friends from those colleges they tended to be escapees.
We found the atmosphere very different especially at Eliot - almost a
distrust of outsiders which I suppose spoke volumes about the strength of
bonds within. Non-fortress people tended to dislike going inside - we were
never quite sure we could find our way out again! And of course it was after
a function at Eliot in (I think) late 1985 that a large group of alleged NF
types from the town came up to campus looking to beat up overseas students
supposedly at the invitation of some racist white 'Home' students - they
were seen off by some of the equally white boys from the rugby club but not
after smacking a few poor HK kids who failed to observe the convoy system. 
And then there was the group of 'lads' from, I think, rutherford who invaded
Darwin in my first term looking for a rumble - very strange. Well maybe not
that strange as they seemed to be led by a Scots kid with a complex about
the size of his privates. It was 1983 - only a year after the Falklands and
we know what that sort of thing does for the small minded.

These may be just my own prejudices I know but I think the different designs
of each college bred a slightly different mentality. From what I saw, apart
from overseas students and Uk-ethnic minority students most people in the
first year tended to mix with core groups who were from the same college. Of
course there were always friends from tutorials etc. Eliot and Rutherford
somehow always felt very 'British' not that that is necessarily a bad thing.
It was more fun in Darwin though and the overseas kids seemed to prefer it.
Keynes if any came close to having some of that college 'je ne sais quoi'
but if, as you say, people are sleeping around all over the place now so to
speak, then that is probably a thing of the past.
Luckily the colleges were only for first year students or perhaps we really
would have seen different species evolving.
Thank the heavens for Park Wood. And Keynes bar...

Greg Walker
Darwin 83-86)

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-kent-grads@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-kent-grads@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Steve Hammond (shammond)
Sent: Thursday, 15 December, 2005 9:58 PM
To: Tim Roll-Pickering; kent-grads@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [kent-grads] Any university's collegiate system fading?


Only Keynes had a burger bar though....   ;-)

Eliot seemed to be famous for false fire alarms and a 'smokey' JCR  ;-)

I'd agree though - other than for organising accommodation I can't say there
was a huge tie to your individual college - even the accommodation was not
enforce - my wife was also a member of Eliot college but lived in
Rutherford.

Steve
(Eliot 93-96)


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-kent-grads@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-kent-grads@xxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Tim Roll-Pickering
Sent: 15 December 2005 13:33
To: kent-grads@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [kent-grads] Any university's collegiate system fading?

Oxford is overhauling its admission system which will result in central
applications and "The university admitted that as a result, colleges will
lose autonomy and individuality."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/15/noxf15.x
ml&sSheet=/news/2005/12/15/ixhome.html

I have to admit that in my time at Kent (1998-2002) I did not especially
feel the college system - other than the location of some accomodation
(which was not used by all and in any case I understand this has since been
decoupled) and having to vote in your college for SU elections (though this
was increasingly abandoned by my last year) I could have gone through my
entire university career and never once have it matter just which college I
was in. (Okay there were some other things but not all followed them.)

Was it different in earlier years?

 Tim. 



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