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.
However, no alternative parking arrangements have been suggested, leaving students struggling to find somewhere to leave their cars.
Although the University of York does have numerous car parks, they are costly, especially for a student budget. According to the National Union for Students, a student has on average 13 contact hours a week. At £1 an hour for parking on campus, a student at the University of York would therefore pay at least £13 a week to £130 per term to park.
The University does offer free parking between 6pm and midnight, but this doesn’t benefit students attending lectures during the day.
While the majority of students don’t take their cars to university and those who do can commute to campus on foot, by bike or by bus instead, some students live too far away to walk or not on a bus route, such as Hull Road.
Alan Belmore, a second year Politics and Economics student, told the Yorker, "While most students don’t need to drive, an article 4 declaration, passed by the council in February, will change council controls on the construction of new student houses and move students further away from the university and so increase the number of students who need to drive."
He added that while painting yellow lines will make University Road safer, it will not solve “the problem of an excess of people parking near the University, which frustrates many local residents, and people will just find a different place to park, probably Heslington Road.”
Belmore also said that contractors, such as those working on the library at Alcuin, add to the parking problem as they currently have to pay to park on campus while working and “the university needs to address that.”
Michael Morgan-Williams, a second year chemistry student, told The Yorker, "Let’s think about the environment and the staff.” As they mainly travel from further away.
However, he added, “If more car parking spaces were provided, it would make jobs such as dropping off work easier, so maybe more short stay spaces is an answer.”
The Press revealed two weeks ago that a campaign by local residents to the City of York council on this issue, with a petition containing more than 300 signatures, had been successful. The reasoning behind the petition was that the parked cars reduced footpath access and also narrowed the road, creating a hazardous route, particularly for the many buses and cyclists.
Quite frankly, as long as you don't live in Harrogate or have some form of disability, no-one should need to drive to the University. York is not a big town, and it's rare for a student to live further than the centre of town (unless they're based in King's Manor). Complaining about Hull Road "not being on a bus route" is mad. Hull Road is for the most part twenty minutes walk maximum from the University.
Driving short distances for short periods of time is lazy, wasteful and costly. The only people who should need to are those who genuinely do find it difficult, but if that was the case we wouldn't HAVE a parking problem in the first case...
What about free transport to King's Manor from the university - I can tell you now that getting there twice a week or more is costly for a student budget!! You either need to get a return ticket to town (£3.20) or pay parking fees (£5 min) which can really stack up over a term or two!
Why would anyone park along University Road anyway? It's a long thin stretch of road that also a route for chunky buses and has three bus stops along it. And the campus already has four or five car parks.
Suggestion: get off your arses and walk the couple of miles (most will not live further away, many will live closer) to campus. If it means you have to manage your time better to get there on time, then do it.
My rule is I'll drive if I'm going to be on campus for less time than it takes me to walk; so only really handing in work/returning library books. It's a lot easier to get round that bend without all the parked cars... especially when you meet a bus coming the other way!
Of course most of the parked cars aren't students, they are contractors who don't come from York - so they don't have many options!
Me and my organic unicycle get along just fine.
If they're too poor to park - They should be too poor to drive anyway!
And it's a nightmare for the buses, all those cars being there, so good riddance.
"...some students live too far away to walk or not on a bus route, such as Hull Road."
You're kidding, right?
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