A group of York students has won the opportunity to have their very own I-phone application developed after winning The App Challenge final, held at the Ron Cooke Hub on Wednesday, January 18.
YUSU Welfare officer Bob Hughes has warned students to be vigilant after a student loans phishing scam has been revealed.
Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting York on Maundy Thursday, 5th April, as part of the 800th anniversary of York’s Charter for the traditional “Royal Maundy” ceremony.
A flood caused by a heating system “failure” forced the university IT services to shut down many essential systems on Sunday night, causing problems for many students on the eve of their exams and assignment due-dates.
How do you feel the race has gone so far? Laura Bo: I feel the race has gone quite well so far, I have enjoyed talking to many new people that I have met and hearing about their issues as well as discussing my policies.
Peter Warner-Medley: It's a busy time for me with a lot of important welfare stuff going on right now, so I don't have much opportunity to campaign. I'm trying to get as many big, clear posters out there as possible and taking free hours here and there to talk to people. Finding people in bars with a few minutes to spare or chatting to people in kitchens gives me a real chance to talk about what I'd like to achieve next year and put in place for the next Officer. It's a rewarding way of campaigning, and I hope that it encourages people to tell their friends about what my ideas mean or at least spread an understanding of the welfare system at York, what's available and how to get in contact.
What made you decide to run?
Laura Bo: Once I had defined the issues that I felt are most relevant to students throughout all years and talked to people about these issues, formed my own proposed solutions, talked to my supervisor about the effect the campaign may have on my academic schedule and future results, I felt that I was prepared to bring something valuable to the diverse YUSU environment present at this university and decided to run for YUSU Welfare Officer.
Peter Warner-Medley: Over Summer, I began to toy with the idea in my head for the first time and persuaded myself that I'd have made a decision by Christmas. In the end I spent much of this term making sure that I had the knowledge, the ideas and the experience and, most of all, that it was how I wanted to spend a year. Last year, as Langwith welfare rep, I'd helped welcome the March intake of nursing students when they first moved in, and we got some really positive feedback from that, so I asked to sit in on the meeting in the Health Sciences department where they decided what should happen with this year's March intake, where they should move in and when. I found myself actually fighting for students' issues and standing up against staff where I thought they weren't doing the right thing. I came out of that knowing that Welfare Officer is a role that I could fill and that I wanted.
Best moment of the campaign so far?
Laura Bo:There have been quite a few best moments - I've loved talking to everyone I've met, but I think it will have to be when someone complimented the pink ears out of the blue whilst passing by me in between lectures.
Peter Warner-Medley:When someone listened to me explain my ideas for the first time. I have a few simple, practical changes I'd like to make, but a lot of what I want to do is strategic and involves pushing for progress in the welfare system, defining the role as it stands and making sure that we're using everything we have effectively. It's often hard to sum all of these ideas up and explain them quickly, so I often don't get it all across to people when I talk to them. One day last week, however, someone just walked along with me and was fascinated by everything I was explaining. They hadn't heard of EWD (equality, welfare and diversity) committee and how the whole network is structured, and I really enjoyed actually giving someone else a run-down on what the welfare system here is and how I'd like to change it. I showed them where Open Door is, explained the service, and they put Nightline into their phone. What a day?! :D
If you could acheive one thing as welfare officer what would it be?
Laura Bo: I feel very strongly about increasing financial planning and awareness amongst students, but it would have to be increased visibility and clarity of the great work YUSU Welfare committees do through their campaigns and behind the scenes work.
Peter Warner-Medley: I think it would be giving people the knowledge to signpost themselves and taking a fresh look at the training we provide (sorry that that's two things!). Improving the way we support our volunteers and communicate with students are long-term goals, and I really want to put them in motion, so that the next few Welfare Officers can develop the whole system further. Over the next year, however, I want to completely overhaul how we look at welfare training and promise more than just refresher sessions. Rather than watching the same slide show every term, we need to push listening skills and signposting out into separate sessions outside of the lecture room, and we need to gear each term's training to the new representatives we'll have that term and the kinds of challenges it will bring them. What I'd really love to achieve is having more people knowing that they can just call Nightline for a chat when they want one, knowing the number or where to find it, more people knowing the service that Open Door provides and booking themselves an appointment when they need to talk about something that's affecting their life or degree and more people coming to YUSU's Adivce and Support Centre downstairs in the student centre, when they're not sure where they need to go, but need some guidance or help.
Do you feel that joke candidates for welfare roles undermine the importance of welfare and the issues people face whilst at university?
Laura Bo: As I have said previously, I think joke candidates introduce levity into the sometimes too tense elections period, but they should be willing participants and not aim to offend people through their actions. It does undermine the seriousness and responsibility that comes with the position, but I don't think the aim was to offend anyone and Andrew's approach of not having campaigned has ensured that he personally did not offend the people facing problems at university.
Peter Warner-Medley: We don't actually have a "joke" candidate for welfare, rather we have someone whose friends submitted a nomination form for him without his knowledge. It brings a lot of concerns, as he has been quoted several times with words that aren't his own: it is exactly as he said in one story, a case of "identity theft". I've been assured that any articles in which these quotes appeared will be removed or amended. I don't think it undermines the position as much as makes a point about the electoral process and the culture surrounding it here. I'd say that it's a shame that his friends chose such an important role for this, but there really is no full-time Officer position that doesn't have a large impact on many students. So far as I know he hasn't actually made any kind of negative comment about the position of welfare and, indeed, in one interview himself admitted that it's a really important position, reinforcing that although he may not be a serious candidate for the elections, the issues are still extremely serious.
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