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.
Since its opening on Saturday Week 1, The Courtyard has been busy essentially every day and, despite some problems with the bar staff, food and the kitchen, it seems students are enjoying the new facility.
YUSU Societies and Communications Officer Rory Shanks said: "The first week of the Courtyard being open has been massively busy. The place has literally been full to the brim for most of the week which shows that students and staff are really responding to this new offering on campus."
One student said: “I think it’s brilliant that students have somewhere to go that has colour on the walls, an amazing menu and all sorts. Also, to have waiters on campus as well is incredible!"
However, the new Langwith bar has had some problems. In peak hours there is a very long wait for food, large queues to order and they have ran out of food several times.
Shanks said: "We've had a few teething issues that we're now ironing out." He added that there have been "some storage issues in the kitchen, meaning we've been running out of food before the next daily delivery arrives".
Shanks also said, however, that new fridges have been ordered for the kitchen which should improve storage space and mean that the bar will no longer run out of food.
There have also been reports that the kitchen was not expanded from its original size and that this has created problems in terms of cooking and work surfaces. These reports have not been corroborated.
Langwith Chair Sam Asfahani said: "Obviously a few problems were bound to happen, it is the first Union venue, and the food shortages are a testament to how popular it has been!"
In terms of profit, Shanks said YUSU cannot release that information as it is commercially sensitive, but he added: "What I am able to say is that we've been having a Carlsberg lorry full to the brim delivering every week and several cows' worth of milk going through the doors every day."
Services and Finance Officer Matt Burton said: "We are indeed pleased - the place hasn't stopped being busy all week. However, we also hope that students are pleased too - and we've been hearing words to that effect."
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comment deleted by a moderator A weasel that has done some pretty commendable work in regards to that place!
On another note, this article is terrible. There are grammatical errors everywhere. The Yorker is going downhill fast...
Yeah well, regardless of Shanks, Langwith bar is quite nice. Good food and a good atmosphere. They have a lot of work to do in terms of training bar and kitchen staff though.
I was a bit disappointed at how chaotic the first week was, they could have had staff training in week one...
"Regardless of Shanks"?! The last time I heard, along with Burton wasn't he pretty crucial to the project?
Well yes, I meant regardless of how big of a weasel he may or may not be...
I like the DJ Booth.
I was disappointed about the range of drinks on offer, but MJB has promised Newcastle Brown, and there are rumours of Real Ale, so I'm temporarily appeased.
I just hope thay can make the money back, yes the bar is great, but is it worth the risk? Although they do give you a biscuit with your coffee.
I can't understand why Rory keeps getting credit for the bar, he's in charge of censoring campus media and neglecting student societies. Matt Burton was important, but Rory's just in charge of the press releases about the place. Very sneaky, eh, shame he never wants to talk about his own actions.
He didn't exactly sensor the media very well though...
I'm sure he did stuff to help with the bar. Someone should ask him. Anyway, it's nice and if it was cheaper I'd go there more.
Plus it was empty when Goodricke had an event on so it shows that it won't kill the rest of campus life!
As the person who did Rory's job last year, I can categorically say he's not in place to "censor" the media. However, with regards to the campus press these comments show how important welfare checks are - how many of you out there would like to be publicly referred to as a "weasel" and some of the other comments that were previously on here? These personal attacks are completely unnecessary, he's not there to take your abuse regardless of whether he's the main spokesperson for YUSU or not.
From what I've seen Matt, Rory and all the officers & staff have worked really hard to make the bar a success and are taking all the feedback on board, so be constructive rather than just plain abusive!
I don't like commenting on here too often but this is one of the big things that made my blood boil last year...
Sam Bayley
YUSU Socs & Comms Officer 07-08
Also I think one of his main election promises was to make the bar look good and make it feel completely differently to campus.
Assuming he's done that for The Courtyard, he's probably done a pretty amazing job!
comment deleted by the author why do all of YUSU get such unnecessary criticism all the time? Credit where credit's due, the venue looks amazing and has been packed all week...
#15 - hear hear.
I think this bar shows what the union should really be about.
Yes, the politics winds me up, the protesting is downright silly and cynicism is probably well-grounded on most occasions, but the bar project deserves a lot of credit.
It's the best bar on campus by a country mile in terms of branding and presentability. The courtyard almost embarrasses the other campus bars when it comes to 'being a place students will want to go'. The advertising campaign in the run-up to opening was very very good, reacting to what people didn't like about other bars, and what they felt was missing.
The union actually works quite well when it's actually got something serious to do. Now they're in charge of a venue every day of the university year, attention will hopefully be turned away from petty personal politics and towards making this business work and giving us the best service possible.
The shop rebranding was a good move too. Don't know much about this Burton fella, (other than he ripped down adverts for the charles last year!) but he seems pretty business-minded to me.
Hope this place makes a tidy profit over the next few years and keeps commercial services on their toes 
....and #7 the sooner the better with the newcastle brown! 3 for £5 on bottles of brown ale instead of VK...now THAT would be a good drinks deal!
t"The union actually works quite well when it's actually got something serious to do. Now they're in charge of a venue every day of the university year, attention will hopefully be turned away from petty personal politics and towards making this business work and giving us the best service possible".
So you don't think running an academic and welfare advice service, representing students at hearings, running and supporting a huge range of volunteering projects, funding sports clubs and societies and participating in dozens of university committees are "serious"???
#16 The majority of UGMs i've been to seem to consist of refusing to support a certain group or person, 'petitioning' or 'mandating officers to campaign for' some left-wing cause such as pacifism and various other political issues (feminism, environmentalism etc...) which may seem important to some members but really will get nowhere. Having the union 'officially support' freeing tibet, or 'officially' condemning global warming will never make an ounce of difference to anyone. It's merely the voicing of preference. And nobody's listening.
Last year's vision 'highlights' says it all: someone getting sacked for a drunken scuffle, a tin of baked beans causing a 'scandal' at freshers' fair, someone promising a pharmacy that never got built...can you not see why until now, people have found it hard to take the union seriously (culminating in the joke candidate winning)?
The sentiment i meant to get across in post #15 was that now the union has its own licensed premises it's on par with most other SUs in the country, and as such will engage with all students that use it, political or not. When people think of the union, i hope people will look at the success of the bar and associate this with the entire YUSU brand, whereas before, people linked the brand with squabbling over fisticuffs outside derwent, or covering up dirty mags in the shop.
Yes, welfare services, acedemic tribunals, funding are very serious, but tend to only affect those directly involved. Very few of us ever need help during a tribunal. Even fewer actually listen to whats said at NUS extrordinary meetings.
All of a sudden, people have a reason to be interested in YUSU, political or not. I think this is only a good thing.
Apologies for any offense caused.
Boooo, down with pacifism :|
They provide a brilliant welfare service, academic appeals for students, a free minibus service, a wide range of RAG/Student Action fundraising events which DO make a difference to thousands of people worldwide, the entire sports wing of the university (except the bills) and, in case you never noticed it, YOUR:Shop (and related brands). The fact that they now own a bar as well as a shop isn't that big a deal in terms of their focus.
I appreciate your points completely and I understand them. I don't think people take offense, except perhaps those that you just told were doing trivial/pointless things etc.
But you're right. For whatever reason YUSU has been poor in the past at marketing its successes and a tin of baked beans here or separated-coloured-bags can put them in a bad light despite the massive amount of condoms, STD tests etc. that they dish out weekly. If the bar goes well, people will definitely see YUSU in a better light... and hopefully the university will too!
I agree with #7. Get some real ale in. Since Derwent got rid of Ansells its been impossible to get a decent pint in central campus. John Smith's just doesn't cut it.
#8 "I just hope thay can make the money back, yes the bar is great, but is it worth the risk?"
Yes. Yes it is. They will very easily make the money spent on this project back very quickly. They're on to a profitable venture indeed. It's actually very beneficial to yusu's financial position as it diversifies their sources of income.
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