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.
On Monday 1st October, eight days after he had gone pmissing, the search for 20-year-old York Chemistry student Rob Davies reached a tragic end - a body believed to be his was recovered by police from the River Ouse.
CCTV footage had shown Rob outside Ziggy’s nightclub at 12.38am on Sunday 23rd January, but he had not been seen since. A massive search, including a Facebook campaign set up by some of Rob’s closest friends, had attracted overwhelming support.
It was later announced that a tree was to be planted in Rob’s memory in the grounds of the chemistry department. The ceremony, held on 10th January 2008, was organised by Rob's friends, alongside chemistry professors.
At the start of the academic year, more than a hundred freshers faced not moving into their college rooms after contractors failed to finish building them.
Contractors failed to finish construction at the Bleachfields site off University Road, which was to house incoming Vanbrugh students.The disruption shifted 47 Langwith first years to the Holiday Inn near York Racecourse, almost four miles from campus.
The disruption meant that first years could not move in until mid-November and building work on another two blocks went on until early 2008. Officials blamed last summer's wet weather for "severe delays".
The architects for Heslington East released the blueprint for the first phase of the development, to be submitted to the city council early in 2008.
A spokesman for the university said: "The idea is to mirror the existing campus - to create a campus with a similar atmosphere."
It was announced that Your:Books, the second-hand book shop on campus, was to close at the end of the spring term. The service had lost many customers in recent years as online book services had become increasingly popular. Your:Books had been serving students for over 20 years.
The American cults ‘Children of God’ and ‘International Church of Christ’ targeted York students on campus. Reports were released on York Extra which revealed that students had been approached by members of the religious organisations.
In November, old concerns about college security resurfaced when several students raised the alarm about an unknown man prying around campus after he got into a Derwent kitchen.
An outbreak of a lethal disease myxomatosis struck rabbits on campus. Highly contagious, the disease resulted in a number of fatalities.
In November, The Gallery Nightclub won the accolade of York’s top nightspot in the Best Bar None awards, taking the prize away from 2006 winners Nexus. The Old White Swan on Goodramgate was awarded ‘Best Pub’ while Orgasmic on Coney Street, was awarded the title of ‘Best Bar’.
In November, the Vanbrugh College football team got naked together and ran across the astroturf for the shoot of their naked calendar. The proceeds from the sale of the calendars were donated to Cancer Research UK, in the hope that the project would raise awareness for testicular cancer.
Langwith students held a 24-hour sit-in protest on Friday 23rd November to campaign for the restoration of 24-hour portering to the college.
In November, the Halifax College bar, JJ’s, first faced its potential closure after a drop in custom over recent months. A Facebook group entitled ‘JJ's – use it or lose it’ was created by Halifax students in an attempt to raise awareness and save the bar.
During early 2008 it has was decided that the bar would remain open, at least until the end of this academic year, however, JJ’s hosted its last event in Week 8, a 'Good Buy Weekend', before its final closure.
The closure has faced criticism, as it leaves Halifax freshers without a bar for the start of the next academic year, and may create difficulties for new students due to the isolation of Halifax from the main campus.
York swept the board at the Guardian Student Media Awards in November, grabbing 7 of 13 awards. Imperial College's two made them the only other university to win more than one award.
The results represented a return to form for the reputable York media, which failed to bag a single award in 2006.
On 27th November, the university was in shock after a third year Vanbrugh student was found dead in the early hours of the morning at a house in Fulford Road. The body was later identified as 20-year-old biochemist Laura Gerstel.
Police later announced there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death and adjourned their inquest.
On 26th November a conman who successfully scammed York students was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Mark Raymond Brown, who conned students into giving him money for a train ticket home by saying his car had broken down, pleaded guilty to 8 counts of deception. He told his victims he would return the money by arranging to meet them the following day, failing to turn up and leaving a fake mobile number.
In December, the university faced criticism over its library fines policy after a student received bills totalling £700 for books she said were loaned properly.
Rhianne Jones argued the fine was an administrative mistake and managed to negotiate the fee down to just £32.60, but still felt victimised.
In January, it was discovered that award-winning student newspapers Nouse and York Vision faced an uncertain future after their printing costs tripled overnight.
Local business Newsquest ended a decades-old agreement to print the papers at cost price, after finding itself in financial difficulties. However, funds from YUSU managed to secure the future of the papers for the immediate future.
In early January, York students were angered when they faced a 20% price rise on FTR buses. First York raised prices on the number 4 route from the university to York city centre to £1.80 for a single and £2.90 for a return journey.
A Facebook group, 'FTR....FIGHT THE RISE' was set up, and a boycott of the buses was planned, but both had limited success as many students still used the service. There have been ongoing discussions with First since, resulting in trials of lower fares.
A senior lecturer was criticised in a report released by the university for playing a part in losing a radioactive chemical. The report concerned the radium, which was eventually found in a scrapyard in early 2007.
In early January, YUSU Academic and Welfare Officer Grace Fletcher-Hackwood admitted hit second year Dan Taylor in the head in a drunken argument outside campus event Chav D. Fletcher-Hackwood later faced a no-confidence motion submitted by Taylor.
On 31st January at the UGM, YUSU Student Development and Charities Officer Joey Ellis used the meeting as a platform to speak out against her colleague. Ellis, who said she was "too emotional" to read her statement, passed her speech on to Anne-Marie Canning, UGM Chair, to read. It said: "Violence, no matter how small the action or chance of physical harm is unacceptable in my eyes."
On Thursday 7th February, Fletcher-Hackwood was voted out of her position as Academic and Welfare Officer by only 8 votes. 1440 votes were cast, an unprecedented total for a UGM vote, passing the motion by just a 0.5% majority. Fletcher-Hackwood left her post with immediate effect, leaving YUSU without a welfare representative for the remainder of the academic year.
In January, the first sign of the decline of Toffs was seen, when it decided it was no longer to open on Thursdays due to low numbers of clubbers. Despite new events being introduced to try and expand Toffs’ appeal, the club closed in summer term to be reopened a week later. The club was re-branded 'TRU' after a reported 1m refurbishment.
In January, a day that brought a clean sweep of winning results for the university football club was marred when a thief stole over £4,000 of valuables from the Second XI's changing room. The had been playing at home against Sunderland, and only discovered the robbery when returning to the changing room after their match had finished, finding the door guarding their possessions had been left unlocked for over two hours.
In late January it was announced that URY were to help York St John University set up their own Radio Station. University Radio York was the first student radio station in the country.
In Feburary, students were faced with further isolation and inconvenience after bridge closures around campus, including the demolition of the Alcuin-Langwith bridge, and the closure of the Goodricke-Vanbrugh bridge, which was re-opened eventually in May.
On Thursday 7th February, University Security Services caught two males who were trying to break in to campus bedrooms.
Conducting an undercover operation, the team managed to detain one male on campus, and provided information which led to the arrest of another intruder. Both were thought to have been involved in a large spate of burglaries on campus since the beginning of 2008.
In February, Derwent Chair Oliver Lester turned film director to highlight the problems faced by residents of E and F blocks in the college. The video asked whether the students, who are paying £72 a week over their 33-week let, "get the 'fully furbished' facilities they are promised". Students living in the blocks told viewers that there are only 6 chairs in their kitchen, despite the fact there are 16 residents in the house, and that they have only two Baby Bellings (one of which rarely works) to cook on.
On Wednesday, 27th February 2008, students across York have been woken up by an earthquake which registered 4.7 on the richter scale.
The sentence of two university cheats was passed at York Crown Court. Jerome Drean and Elnar Askerov, who had pleaded guilty of defrauding the university in January, walked away with a suspended prison sentence and 300 hours of community service.
In exchange for generous payment, in the space of one year, Drean sat exams on behalf of Askerov. The £20,000 payment made to Drean by Askerov was confiscated by the court as part of the sentence.
In the early hours of Saturday 8th March, a shock result at the YUSU elections saw pirate Mad Cap’n Tom Scott elected as President, and a close call for the AU, with Alex Lacy later being announced as winner.
The election of Mad Cap’n Tom brought with it a mixed reaction. Within minutes of the result being announced, Facebook groups were set up demanding his resignation, whilst others supported the decision.
In March, the e:Vision records system used by the university was exposed as a security risk by a Yorker reporter. It was discovered that since at least January 2007 it had been possible to access any former student's account and personal details with just a student's date of birth. Even after a student reported the fault, 14 days passed before the system was disabled, with it finally being rectified on 4th March 2008.
In April, York climbed to 11th in the 2009 League Table by the Good University Guide, a rise of three places from the previous year. Oxford led the table, beating Cambridge and replacing their rivals in the top spot. York topped the Yorkshire Universities, and Lancaster rose from 19th to 10th.
In May, The Yorker revealed that a secret police raid at Efes in a hunt for illegal immigrants had led to one man being deported and another stripped of his employment rights.
In May it was announced that students starting university in 2008 are set to benefit from a major reform of the current maintenance grant system, giving more help to a larger number of students with a rise in the maximum family income for different grants.
On Sunday 4th May, the white rose of York was victorious once again against the red rose of Lancaster at the 2008 Roses competition.
With an 18 point lead on Sunday it seemed inevitable that York would win the first away Roses since 2002. However, it was a strong day for Lancaster, who fought hard to bring the overall score to a tow point difference. The final score was Lancaster 122 - 124 York.
Ziggy's nightclub announced that students were to benefit from free entry to the club on various nights of the week. Extending beyond the usual free student night on Wednesday to include Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, students are able to gain free entrance with an NUS card.
In May, despite the Hes East project being named one of the top 12 worst developments resulting in the loss of Green Belt land by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), the plans were approved following a successful meeting with York City Council.
The whole project is expected to take over a decade to complete. The university anticipates that by 2020 Heslington East and Heslington West will house 16,500 students and predicts that Heslington East will create 8,000 new jobs and boost York’s economy by £185m a year.
In May, 11 years after his attempted rape of a University of York student, Steven Sellars was arrested and pleaded guilty to the offence. Sellars was finally arrested after attempting to return a craft knife his son had accidently brought home from school.
All the tickets for the after-dinner Summer Ball sold out for the very first time. Services and Finance Officer Matt Burton said: "This is the first time Summer Ball tickets have sold out and we are very happy to have done so." Tickets for the Derwent College event ‘Big D’ also sold out, proving the event is as popular as ever.
In June, YUSU President-elect Tom Scott announced he has decided to be 'Mad Cap'n Tom' for "ceremonial occasions" only. Scott, who will succeed Anne-Marie Canning as President in July, cited the freshers talk in Central Hall as one occasion when he would wear full pirate costume.
In June, James College Chair Chet Khatu was no-confidenced by the Junior Common Room Committee. Khatu, the surprise winner in the elections, was subject to a motion proposed by the Press and Publicity Officer, citing "leadership issues" as the reason for dismissal.
The Yorker would like to thank all readers for their continued support, and wishes a fantastic summer to all. We will be back in October bringing you daily coverage of all the happenings at York. All that's left to say is the best of luck to this year's graduates, the class of 2008.
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