There is a significant belief amongst the Edinburgh student population that the annual cohort of over two thousand first-year Pollock Halls residents are identifiable as fundamentally different to the average uni-goer. In the absence of verified reports, the Halls’ demographics exist in the zeitgeist as perceptually largely composed of English and international students. Life in Pollock is most empirically differentiated from other University of Edinburgh student accommodations by the provision of meals. This, compounded with ensuites in some Pollock buildings, produces more comfortable housing than the average university accommodation. It is, thus, charged at a significant premium, forming the first line of exclusion in the separation of Pollock residents from others.
Pollock’s hostel-style layout replicates the comfort of secondary school, with many Pollock circles composed of people who have ascended from British (specifically, South England) private schools, sometimes with prior acquaintance. This allows for easy bonding on the basis of background, or what is perceived to be common relations. As for international Pollock residents, a seemingly similar phenomenon results in other single characteristic groupings on the basis of country of origin, hometown, culture, and so on. An interviewed international ex-resident of Pollock Halls described themselves as grateful for the provision of meals, which allowed them to adjust to life abroad with relative comfort. However, interactions with the general Pollock residents were described as laborious. As a prior resident of Chancellor’s Court, perhaps the most notorious of the Pollock buildings, the interviewee reported their decidedly un-English background as a factor rendering them “too different” and “unrelatable” to the average “posh, English” resident.
The pervasive notion of comfort in Pollock Halls generates this need to ‘relate’ in order to attain membership in one of its in-groups. This supersedes otherwise important forces such as common interests or intrigue. The label of ‘Pollock resident’ is significant then, with people being judged in terms of their subscription to or subversion of it. The notion of comfort also explains the subsequent associations of Pollock with superficiality. Whilst Pollock tropes are common, many residents who do not align are compelled to social branching beyond the Pollock campus. Inadvertently, this problematises the notion of an absolute separation of Pollock from the wider student body. “There are some based people in Pollock, though, but that’s bound to happen when there’s that significant a population”, suggests an interviewed University of Edinburgh student and a firm believer of the Pollock divide.
“Pollock Halls, Edinburgh – geograph.org.uk – 6351857” by Graeme Yuill is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Pollock Halls: friendship catalyser or a divisive force?
There is a significant belief amongst the Edinburgh student population that the annual cohort of over two thousand first-year Pollock Halls residents are identifiable as fundamentally different to the average uni-goer. In the absence of verified reports, the Halls’ demographics exist in the zeitgeist as perceptually largely composed of English and international students. Life in Pollock is most empirically differentiated from other University of Edinburgh student accommodations by the provision of meals. This, compounded with ensuites in some Pollock buildings, produces more comfortable housing than the average university accommodation. It is, thus, charged at a significant premium, forming the first line of exclusion in the separation of Pollock residents from others.
Pollock’s hostel-style layout replicates the comfort of secondary school, with many Pollock circles composed of people who have ascended from British (specifically, South England) private schools, sometimes with prior acquaintance. This allows for easy bonding on the basis of background, or what is perceived to be common relations. As for international Pollock residents, a seemingly similar phenomenon results in other single characteristic groupings on the basis of country of origin, hometown, culture, and so on. An interviewed international ex-resident of Pollock Halls described themselves as grateful for the provision of meals, which allowed them to adjust to life abroad with relative comfort. However, interactions with the general Pollock residents were described as laborious. As a prior resident of Chancellor’s Court, perhaps the most notorious of the Pollock buildings, the interviewee reported their decidedly un-English background as a factor rendering them “too different” and “unrelatable” to the average “posh, English” resident.
The pervasive notion of comfort in Pollock Halls generates this need to ‘relate’ in order to attain membership in one of its in-groups. This supersedes otherwise important forces such as common interests or intrigue. The label of ‘Pollock resident’ is significant then, with people being judged in terms of their subscription to or subversion of it. The notion of comfort also explains the subsequent associations of Pollock with superficiality. Whilst Pollock tropes are common, many residents who do not align are compelled to social branching beyond the Pollock campus. Inadvertently, this problematises the notion of an absolute separation of Pollock from the wider student body. “There are some based people in Pollock, though, but that’s bound to happen when there’s that significant a population”, suggests an interviewed University of Edinburgh student and a firm believer of the Pollock divide.
“Pollock Halls, Edinburgh – geograph.org.uk – 6351857” by Graeme Yuill is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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