Nine ways to say you go to the University of Leeds without actually saying it

If you go to the University of Leeds, you’ll know students here are a certain type of mythical creature. The classic Leeds student tends to have an estate in Surrey, and having grown up as heir to daddy’s multi-million-pound company, they’ve decided its time to experience some true northern grit. But what does it really mean to be a Uni of Leeds student?

1. Fruity

The club night that students worship; you honour fruity like your life depends on it. Its cheap, close to home and the music speaks to your soul. You tell yourself you should branch out and go somewhere quirky and alternative, but no matter how edgy you think you are, you’ll always find your way back to Fruity. After all, nothing beats being in a room full of sweaty bodies singing your heart out to ABBA.

2. Your stomping ground in all her glory, Hyde Park

A peculiar place. To Leeds Students, Hyde Park has absolutely no relation to that place in London. Sitting with your pals sipping  tinnies here in the summer months is somewhat a rite of passage. After all, if you don’t take a video panning the park when its heaving and whack it on your Instagram story, were you even really there?

The moment the sun comes out

Anyone lost a pair of Air Force?

However, when your parents come to visit the area, you’ll likely experience the courtesy chorus of them saying ‘oh its not thaaat bad’ or ‘oh well at least it’s nice on the inside’ as you show them around the house you’ve just signed for. Children zooming around on bikes with machetes? Just your standard Tuesday afternoon.

House party? Here? No Sir, it’s just a small gathering we promise

3. The Fashion

The “I just spent £50 on an Ellesse jumper from Depop! Can’t wait wear it at beaverworks” is quintessential Leeds student vibe. The y2k look has become a uniform among students, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, so pop on your flares and North Face puffer and get yourself down to Belgrave. If you turn up wearing skinny jeans, well, don’t bother coming in.

Nothing says Leeds like black flares

4. Choice of fine dining

“Quick hold my Chilly’s bottle while I grab my Bakery 164”. Ah yes, you know it, the place you’ve spent so much of your student loan on, the wonderful Bakery 164. Would you like it toasted? The answer is yes, obviously. Eating them sitting on the Parkinson steps is the way forward if you want to feel like you’re in an episode of Gossip Girl (not quite the same glamour as the Met Steps, but it’s the next best thing).

Brunch with girlies? LS6 is the only answer. The perfect place to snap a picture of your avocados on toast for your Instagram story… Sorry Isabella but eating a healthy-looking breakfast doesn’t make up for the fact you drank your body weight in VK’s in Fruity last night.

Bakery 164

LS6

5. Roger Stevens, the building (and the pond of course)

You can’t really claim to be a Leeds student if you haven’t cried trying to find your way around Roger Stevens for a lecture. Oh wait, unlucky freshers… you’re STILL yet to experience this trauma. Why does everyone hate this building so much? Is it really THAT ugly? Who really knows, but the general consensus is that we as a collective aren’t fans.

The pond on the other hand? Rather appealing apparently. Fancy a post night out swim? Pressured by your friends to bomb in after your sports night out? This grotty pond is the place for you (seriously though have you seen how grimy it is at the moment?). Sort it out Leeds Uni.

Quick 2am dip

6. The Otley Run

Not doing the Otley run when living in Leeds is like going to Ibiza and not going clubbing. Period. A rite of passage since the dinosaurs, the famous pub crawl has 16 stops in total, and you will need to add some form of fancy dress to say you’ve done it properly. Get yourselves a good nap in before you start, because this is about to feel like an Olympic sport.

If you didn’t dress up did you even do the Otley Run?!

7. Everyone is southern

If you came to Leeds from down south expecting to acquire a Yorkshire accent, you got that very wrong. If anything, your southern accent thickens as everyone around you has come from the south.  The sheer number of ‘rahs’ is astonishing. When doing the obligatory “So where are you from?” in freshers week, there’s a 90% chance they’re going to respond with Hertfordshire, Surrey, Kent or pretty much anywhere around London.

8. Mullets

Can we just agree to end this soon? As if the past year hasn’t been hard enough, like coronavirus, the mullet trend doesn’t seem to be on the way out anytime soon. C’mon lads, you were cool for a grand total of four seconds. Just accept you’re from a painfully middle-class background and get a proper haircut.

9. Being Edgy

Trying so hard to come across like you don’t care about your appearance by dressing “edgy,” and thus caring in the process. Basically, everyone is so edgy that no one is edgy at all anymore.

The list goes on, but if you can relate to any of the things above, its safe to say you make the cut.