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.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE:
Mad Cap'n Tom: Studying an MA in Educational Research, after a BA in Linguistics from York, has been interviewed on Newsround, Runs the British part of International Talk Like A Pirate Day and has released a charity single.
Nadz Kunwar: 3rd Year PPE, YUSU Ents, Eden's Court Rep (Derwent JCR) Derwent College Committee Rep, Derwent JCRC Ents Rep, Chair of Ents Committee, member of YUSU Senate and Exec.
Laura Payne: 2nd Year, YUSU Womens Officer, YUSU Welfare Committee, University Harrassment Committee MUN Officer, UNA Society, Member of YUSU Senate and Exec, Morocco Hitcher!
1. Give us one reason you're running (in less than 5 words)
MC: Th'university be needin' swashbucklin'.
NK: Passionate about this university and its students (sorry, that’s 7...)
LP: To represent York students.
2. The biggest mistake made (not by me) whilst I've been at Uni is....
MC: "Wetherspoons no longer be servin' Belgian waffles."
NK: "...the university deciding to demolish bridges that are important for the cohesion of campus."
LP: "...The portering crisis - there is absolutely no excuse for compromising on a service that ensures student's welfare and it was simply a case of bad management by the Uni."
3. Finish this sentence 'I think Hes East...'
MC: "Yarrrrrrr"
NK: "needs more student input."
LP: "is a mystery."
QUICK-FIRE:
4. Why should students vote for you?
MC: "I be addin' the excitement an' adventure that student politics be needin'. I be genuinely competent an' enthusiastic. I once be gettin' five gold runs on Blockbusters."
NK: "Because I represent a break from the old guard. I resent a Union that is increasingly seen as a clique and unrepresentative of student views and concerns. I believe my approachability, my professionalism and my experience (within JCRCs and YUSU) will offer a change of direction for YUSU. As an Ents Officer, I have a reputation of cutting through the crap and getting things done and I think this is exactly what is desperately needed at the SU.
LP: "Because I will fight for York students on the issues that matter to us - our bridges, our bars and our buses. I will also take YUSU out of the office and bring it into the colleges - so get ready to see a lot more of us!"
5. Whats your best quality:
MC: "Benevolence to me crew, an' keepin' calm under pressure."
NK: "Honesty and approachability"
LP: "I'm a pragmatist - it's all about the solutions!"
6. ...and your worst!:
MC: "Keelhaulin' folks who be askin' awkward questions."
NK: "Not always very politically correct..."
LP: "I'm really hyperactive and fidget a lot. Don't ever give me sugar."
7. Your first childhood memory is...
MC: "Huntin' fer treasure off the shores o' Port Royale."
NK:" ...crying at my 4th birthday party because I got my remote control car stuck under a door..."
LP: "My first childhood memory was wanting to be YUSU president at 4 years old!"
8. Finish this sentence 'Last night I...'
MC: "...had too much rum an' lost me parrot."
NK: "...went to Toffs dressed in full Arabic regalia for an "around the world" themed bar-crawl."
LP: "...was at The Charles, where I work."
That seems a touch personal; checking up on someone's facebook interests. I don't think anyone takes themselves very seriously on facebook anyway.
Also, why is noone talking about Mad Capt'n Tom? It would be worth him winning just for the looks of incomprehension all round as people try to figure out what the actual practicalities of an SU led by a pirate would be.
To number 18- I think the media rights issue isn't just because Nadz openly admits to being a Yorker director but because he accepts that YUSU need to start taking responsibility for their own actions. The obvious example is the recent Grace story. As the papers are censored by YUSU this story would never have been seen by students had The Yorker, who have chosen not to sign the media charter allowing YUSU inteference, broken it. The response from this story shows that a free media really does give students a voice and can force changes in YUSU. In conclusion then, Nadz isn't acting for the Yorker- he is trying to make YUSU more transparent by allowing free speech.
"As the papers are censored by YUSU this story would never have been seen by students had The Yorker, who have chosen not to sign the media charter allowing YUSU inteference, broken it."
Speaking as a member of Vision, and having worked with YUSU on a few issues now, I don't believe that's the case.
Neither campus newspaper is having reporters snatched in the dead of night to silence stories.
Yet Nouse published the story as well as The Yorker, and Nouse is bound by the media charter. Let's bear in mind that there are situations and stories that the Yorker have published and then decided to significantly edit because the original article was completely insensitive (and the media charter would have prevented that).
comment deleted by the author I agree with #24 the only reason The Yorker "broke" the story, is becuase they are internet based and so work on a 24/7 basis, rather than a newspaper tied to deadlines. Also the Media Charter limits what can be printed, so as to protect the authors from legal claims, which on such a highly charged issue could easily occur, rather than for some Machiavellian YUSU purpose.
I for one have no faith in Payne - wasn't she the one who proposed that men should be allowed to be in the women's group? And did she propose that as the head of aforementioned group?
I thought that this move showed a complete lack of understanding for her committee. It might be thrilling for her to get an unprecedented motion passed, but what about the consequences for women who sought a men-free space; the women who she had meant to represent all the way through? I would argue that she would not be pragmatic at all as president, but (following this example as a guide) has pre-formulated templates of principles, which she unwittingly applies in all scenarios. Sexual discrimation against men should never have come into the debate about the motion, especially when one of the reasons for a women's-only committee is to combat the sexual discrimination that women still face as a result of centuries-worth of male oppression. The fact she proposed this motion shows how underdeveloped her politics are, and this is the reason why I won't be voting for her.
Early indications show that RON will achieve a landslide of epic proportions.
Well the Mad Cap'n is actually competent. Did you not see the posters?
Tom Rogers - are you seriously suggesting that I would have removed all reference to Grace hitting a student from the campus press had The Yorker not been around to save freedom of information?!
Please don't spread rubbish like this - it simply isn't true. As I've said on another story today, read our updated Media Charter, to be found at http://www.yusu.org/democracy/documents.html
You've heard from one outlet's editor agreeing with this and I think the other would stick up for us there...
Chris, comment 24.
Can you back this up at all? As a director (and living with the passed two editors) I am fully aware of all changes we have had to make (and indeed some are made). I can assure you there have been no 'significant changes' as you put it. We are towing the line pretty damn well as far as I can see.
Olly, I was referring to this news article in particular: http://www.theyorker.co.uk/news/uninews/910, which based on the comments (and it wasn't just me) in its original form was pretty insensitive.
That is fair enough Chris and your point is is taken.
However, I do not beleive that the article was 'completely insensitve' as you put it in comment 24. I think it was in fact a very difficult article for Daniel to write and I think he did as well as he could barring the reference that was removed.
But of course these are my opinions and you are entitled to disagree.
My real complaint was the implication in your comment that this happens often.
I certainly didn't mean to imply that it was something that's happened on a regular basis (I'm fully aware that they are isolated situations), so sorry if you read my comment that way. My point stands that if The Yorker subscribed to the media charter, even if only to the spirit of it, then that situation would have been avoided.
The media charter exists to protect the papers from legal action, protect student welfare and protect the union.
I cant really see a logical reason for why The Yorker would want to subscribe to the media charter if it has the financial power to run itself and is willing to take legal action for what it publishes. Just like any professional media outlet, be it newspaper or online, edits of articles are often done on a regular basis to avoid deformation and law suits. In the case of the Yorker this is done by themselves before and during publication – in the case of the papers this can be done by yusu before they are printed as yusu are taking some of the legal responsibilities.
If the yorker can fund itself and take legal responsibility for what it publishes then the only thing left is the welfare issues. Which I am guessing what this fair practice policy is all about?
I really can’t see Chris where you idea that having the Yorker sign the media charter would be a good thing. Would we not effectively have three of the same papers? That cant be good for the quality of student media.
Because the media charter enforces a certain level of ethical behaviour that operating below may technically be legal, but probably isn't ethical. As you say, the media charter exists to protect student welfare, so if The Yorker subscribed to it, or the spirit of it, it would also be protecting student welfare. Secondly, The Yorker is not a paper, so we wouldn't have three of the same papers, we'd have a radio station, a TV station, two reasonably diverse newspapers and a website.
Anyway, this discussion is get very off topic from the topic at hand...
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