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.
The first motion of the night was to ratify the Union Council minutes from October to January. This was proposed in the last UGM, but did not reach quoracy.
Next was a constitutional amendment proposal, proposed by the Union Council and seconded by acting Council Chair Tom Langrish.
The proposal is to approve the new constitution, which has been amended by Langrish. In his speech Langrish said: “Governance has to be flexible, it has to change to suit the changing needs of the student body.”
If the motion is passed, it will complete a number of changes made by the union, including rebranding the Athletic Union’s as York Sport, reviving the York University Media (YUM) Committee and splitting the Academic and Welfare Officer position into two roles. Langrish added: “Please vote for it, otherwise I’ve wasted quite a bit of time.”
The proposed changes to the constitution can be found at this link.
Next up was the first of Jason Rose’s many motions, which was seconded by YUSU Officers Jamie Tyler, Alex Lacy and Charlie Leyland and Labour Club Chair David Levene. If passed, YUSU will be mandated to oppose any attempt by the government to increase the tuition fee cap.
Rose said: “At present, I will be leaving university with £35,000 of debt, including £12,000 of tuition fees. If the cap is lifted to £7,000, this would increase to over £50,000 of debt.” He added that the current system is “very dodgy and unfeasible for over half of all students”.
The fourth motion of the evening was submitted by Jonathan Krasner-Macleod, and seconded by Amit Sinha, Charlie Leyland and Therese Hermann.
Krasner-Macleod put forward a proposal whereby provision marks would be returned within four 'term' weeks, and adequate feedback returned within six 'term' weeks. If this motion is passed, YUSU will be mandated to campaign for this.
Krasner-Macleod said: “If they [exams] are meant to help us learn at all, to engage our understanding of a topic, to see where we need to refocus our attentions then we need feedback when we can still remember sitting them.” He added that he’s “not asking for the impossible, the ridiculous or even the overly optimistic” but didn’t think his proposal was “unreasonable”.
Next was Jason Rose’s second motion of the night, seconded by Chris Northwood. If passed, YUSU will be mandated to lobby Sinclair Properties and other landlords in York to bring all of their properties up to the standard described in the Code of Best Practice.
Rose said: “There have been allegations of theft, allegations of breaking contracts, allegations of poor management, poor assistance, problems on a variety of levels.”
Though he did not give a speech last night, YUSU Societies and Communications Officer Rory Shanks has expressed his support for the motion. He said: “This is a great chance for students to let us know what they think about some of the local companies with which we deal.”
Rose then took the stage again to submit a third motion, seconded by David Levene and YUSU Student Activities candidate Ella-Grace Kirton. The proposal requires YUSU to label vegetarian and vegan items on the menus when they need to be replaced, and to make more vegetarian and vegan meals available.
The union would also have to consider other dietary requirements and, where possible, provide full ingredient lists for their menu items. Rose defended the union in his speech, saying: “This was obviously an oversight, because so much was going on at the start of term.”
The seventh motion of the night was proposed by Ralph Buckle, and seconded by Anna Appleton, Matilda Sheppard, Craig Martin and Sam Westrop. The motion proposed mandating YUSU to campaign against the introduction of National ID cards.
Buckle said: “Even if you do support ID cards, still support this motion. This motion is against the forcing of ID cards onto students.” He then explained that the current proposals would mean students needed ID cards to apply for their student loans, and all international students would require cards.
The penultimate motion was proposed by Daniel Renwick, and seconded by John Nicholls, Freddy Vanson, Jason Rose, Sanja Bilic and Farzana Khan. The motion called for YUSU to speak out against events in Gaza, and lobby the university to issue a similar statement.
If passed, the union would also be mandated to lobby the university to offer assistance to the Islamic University of Gaza and to lobby the government to investigate Israel’s conduct and recognise the Hamas government.
Renwick said: “I do not believe that YUSU will bring an end to the humanitarian crisis... but I do believe that the small victories and changes matter.”
The UGM ended on a humorous but controversial note, with a motion proposed by ex-Derwent Chair Oliver Lester and seconded by Jason Rose.
Lester was unable to attend the UGM, but he told The Yorker: “I feel very passionately about renaming the Student Centre to the ‘The Matt Burton Dance Hall’. Burton has tirelessly devoted himself to YUSU; he has given students their own bar and he has brought world class acts to York Balls such as Alphabeat, The Saturdays and Booty Luv.
“But more importantly, on a personal level, Burton has been a father figure to me. This UGM motion was York's way of saying ‘Cheers Burton, we'll miss you and don't forget us... we'll never forget you!’ I'm sure every York student will strongly agree.”
If the motion is passed, not only would the Student Centre’s official name be 'The Matt Burton Dance Hall' for the next three years, but Burton would be mandated to lobby the government for a new national holiday called 'Matt Burton Day'.
Rose spoke on Lester’s behalf at the UGM. In his speech, he noted that this would not cost the union money – the sign will not be changed, but 'The Matt Burton Dance Hall' would be the Student Centre’s official name.
This was the only motion which saw more than one speech given, with Tom Scott and Alex Lacy expressing their support and Matthew Pallas and John Nicholls speaking against it.
Scott said: “Many years ago, the Athletic Union submitted a motion very much like this to change it to ‘The Vaseline Centre’. As a result they won £6,000 for their creative marketing campaign from Vaseline. I’m in favour of this because it may spark off a string of name changes and York Sport may get even more money from its sponsors.”
Lacy added: “Matthew Burton is the quintessential YUSU Officer... He has spilled his blood, sweat, tears and many other bodily fluids in the YUSU building, and you can’t go through the Student Centre without feeling the musk of Burton in the air.”
Pallas had another name for the Student Centre in mind, saying: “This motion is plainly ridiculous. The Student Centre should not be called ‘The Matt Burton Dance Hall’. It should be called ‘The Trevor the Duck Memorial Dance Hall'.”
Nicholls was also in favour of renaming the Student Centre, but not after Matt Burton. He said: “I’m not going to say that it’s silly and ridiculous, I think it’s quite amusing...We should have another consultation as to another, perhaps a wider leader, or a society.”
Rose then opposed his own motion, saying: “Come to think of it, this is a silly motion, don’t vote for it.”
Voting for this motion takes place from Monday at 12pm to Thursday at 12pm. For more information about the motions submitted, click here.
For most students, a government elected in free and fair students should be recognised as legitimate.
For most students, an investigation into whether a government responsible for the deaths of thousands has been acting legitimately or illegally is a good idea.
My previous post was slightly wrong - the UGM does not condemn either side. It calls for both sides to stop fighting and the above.
The most controversial aspect of this motion is calling for a reduction in arms sales to Israel. Bear in mind that "Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II", "in August 2007, the Bush Administration announced that it would increase U.S. military assistance to Israel by $6 billion over the next decade" and "military analysts speculate that the increase in U.S. assistance will facilitate potential Israeli purchases of the most sophisticated U.S. equipment, including a possible sale of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter" (http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33222_20080102.pdf).
Israel receives the most military aid from USA and Palestine has never received US military aid. (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/crs/45198.pdf)
I think the argument is well refined here: http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/publish/article_17.shtml
There is no reason for YUSU to dodge supporting peace in the Middle East. This call is for both sides to stop fighting.
The only other controversial bit is supporting grants to Gazans. Here is a photo of their university: http://www.icahd.org/eng/images/uploaded/news/647.jpg
That's why. I'm not saying that you should vote for this motion but I would say that Dan Taylor's claim that this "borders on anti-Semitic" is unfounded because this simply calls for an investigation into the legitimacy of the attacks, which the UN Secretary General has already queried.
#40, if you think that this motion is only being opposed by a bunch of "right-wing extremists" then you are more out of touch with student opinion than even the wording of this motion suggests.
It's completely and utterly biased. You 'same old lefties' (to nick your phrase- trust me, I'm not a 'right-winger nor a diciple of Mr. Taylor) are pushing your views onto us and we don't really like it, pretty much as you just dont like Israel and use some PC language in a motion to hide it.
Jason, if we should be recognising the Hamas government as legitimate, why don't we hold them to the same standards as Israel in this instance? There is no mention of investigation being called for into Hamas' actions. At the recent panel debate about this topic, the chair of amnesty soc in York said that the actions of Hamas were wrong and atrocious. Yet this motion does not mention looking at these acts. Why? Simply put, it is biased. Its agena is not one purely of peace, it is approaching petty attempts at vendetta politics.
"I'm not saying that you should vote for this motion"
Jason, you seconded it. Your name is on it. What on earth are you talking about?
The UGM motion does seek to condemn one side. It seeks to promote a boycott, it seeks to award scholarships to those that break the law in Israel, and it calls for war crimes to be investigated on one side.
The most contraversial aspect of this motion is not the sale of arms to Israel. It is the condemnation of one side over the other. It is the demand that Israel be investigated for war crimes, and Hamas' acts ignored.
This motion is seeking to carry one minority group's beliefs and make the Union protest and campaign on a minority issue. The Union's place, as it has been stated again and again, is not this.
Additionally, your post doesn't even make sense, Rose. If you do insist on posting constantly on every story, check your grammar.
I perfectly agree with #42. The motion on Gaza is ridiculous, as well as biased.
I am definitely not a "right-wing extremist", and believe that labeling people as such and avoiding the actual discussion is not conductive.
Does anyone here actually believe that it is mature to say "end the crisis in Gaza"?! Who are we do such a thing? If you want to do something, carry on with the charities, walks etc. Do not waste anyone's time by proposing pretentious motions.
The third clause, providing help etc, is perfectly reasonable, but it is the only plausible clause of this motion.
Also, have our president lobby the government? Really? Just take a moment and think about this. Think of the reaction of a government official, if a president of a small university in england "lobbies" them to start an inquiry in whether Israel has committed war crimes.
Lastly, this motion is annoyingly biased. Why not inquire whether Hamas has committed war crimes? They have bombed civilians as well, they use their citizens as human shields... they store rockets and weaponry in schools and public buildings. Both sides have committed crimes, and should both be held culpable. Blaming one side only is unfair and biased. (As a point of information, I am not pro-Israel, I am against all those who justify Israel in its actions).
To people who propose this motion: it is about high time you matured a little. Making grand statements such as "Condemn Israel" or "end the humanitarian crisis" is annoyingly ridiculous and pretentious.
A.
How much wasted YUSU money will be involved in the "President" lobbying Her Majesty's Government to investigate Israel for war-crimes? I'd much rather it be lobbying for better Hes. East facilities!
Incidentally, it doesn't matter whether or not Hamas are 'terrorists' as far as the Geneva Convention goes. Using human-shields breaches this and given that you see them as an 'elected and legitimate body', they are just as much entitled to play by the rules as Israel are.
Why don't you apply the same rule to
Hamas that you do to Israel? I think Dan has a point when he says there is an element of this motion that is there purely to further your group's own opinions on the issue in wording that appears to be relatively normal.
Ok, how about this? If it passes I'll propose a follow up motion to patch in the gaps including calling for an investigation into Hamas' actions, after talking with anybody named in this discussion to make sure that they're satisfied with the overall neutrality. As I said, I wasn't involved in the wording of the article an I don't want it to appear as if York is supporting one side over the other. We want peace - that's the point.
Why not do the common-sense thing and withdraw the motion. If you believe in the articles of it, then fine. You are MORE than entitled to; It's energising knowing people hold views on it. BUT, People have a problem with you and certain other individuals trying to force their own particular views onto an entire SU that encompasses 13,000+ students.
I don't think YUSU should take any stance on the conflict. Independent students will do their own things as far as they see fit, depending on how strongly they feel about it. They don't need a niche group of similarly minded individuals trying to dictate to THEIR union as well, what policy should be adpoted regardng the subject area.
i’ve indulged in a little facebook stalking and seen some of the people proposing this motion, they are complete weirdos. its really worth a look, if to eat up time on a boring Sunday afternoon! they are all in it for themselves and dont care about what 99% of normal students think. i just want the dance hall to be named after matt burton!!!!!
The motion resolves to:
1. To issue a statement calling for an end to Israel’s military attacks, for Hamas rocket attacks to stop, for Israel to lift its siege of Gaza, and to demolish the illegal security barrier surrounding the occupied Palestinian territories.
2. To mandate the President to lobby the University to issue a statement to the same effect.
3. To mandate the President to lobby the University to offer assistance to the Islamic University of Gaza, through donation of spare educational materials, and scholarships for Palestinians and for Israelis refusing to serve in the IDF.
4. To mandate the Campaigns Officer to raise awareness among students on which products sold on campus have direct links to Israel and occupied territories.
5. To mandate the President to lobby the government to support an inquiry on whether Israel has committed any war crimes, recognise the Hamas government and to restrict arms sales to Israel.
The motion is not pro-Hamas, it simply asks for our government to recognise Hamas, the democratically elected government in Gaza. The alienation of Hamas further exacerbates the suffering of the people.
The motivation for recognition of Hamas is not to legitimate their ideology, nor support them. We need to recognise the government of Hamas as without dialogue no progress can be made.
Jason, here's a better solution - don't submit a modified version. Leave our students union to deal with student issues, not international politics.
If you do get elected Campaigns Officer I don't want you gallivanting around trying to secure scholarships for Palestinians or demanding investigation into war crimes, I want you to get us a cash point on Hes East, better private accommodation in York (let's hope that one goes through) and faster feedback from exams.
You know, student issues. The ones that directly affect us. Leave the politics to the politicians and those that fancy themselves as politicians.
"3. To mandate the President to lobby the University to offer assistance to the Islamic University of Gaza, through donation of spare educational materials, and scholarships for Palestinians and for Israelis refusing to serve in the IDF."
Isn't that a student issue? Should we just 'leave everything to the politicians' and just be content with our lives and our pursuit of our own self-interest?
Very democratic and very honorable indeed.
Well done, you've managed to completely twist my words out of context.
YUSU is a students union. It shouldn't be an international lobbying and pressure group.
Why for Israeli's refusing to serve in the IDF and not Israeli's in the IDF?
Conscription is still present in Israel. I happen to think that serving in your nation's armed forces in an honourable duty. Don't you?
israelis is murdering innocent children every day, the idf are terrorists more than hamas that protects its people from the zionists. the statement should be making hamas good for the yusu and we should go for it.
#54, the situation is far too complex and the range of views far too broad and varied for a single statement issued by YUSU to be truly representative of the student body it's supposed to be representing.
#54, what planet do you live on?
If you want to stand any chance of getting this motion through, I wouldn't come up with ridiculous statements like that. It highlghts just what alterior motives you have behind your motion.
“I do not believe that YUSU will bring an end to the humanitarian crisis... but I do believe that the small victories and changes matter.” What a complete waste of time. Do those involved in student politics at the university of york genuinely think this will have any positive effects... Why don't they spend some time on issues that they can actually influence, ie. matters regarding york students. ps, the city of worcester is being twinned with gaza.
"Independent students will do their own things as far as they see fit, depending on how strongly they feel about it. They don't need a niche group of similarly minded individuals..."
I AM an independent student. Both sides are in the wrong. The USA giving billions and billions of dollars to Israel and none to Palestine is completely wrong, the UN refusing to sanction either side when they break international law is also wrong. I'm not in favour of taking a side.
But.
In response to Chris, I feel that spending half an hour writing and sending a letter (or two minutes making sure that a letter someone else has written is ok!) calling for the UN to do something is a perfectly good use of my time.
If elected, I will most definitely not put specific motions on top of others and Chris and I will definitely keep each other to account. I would expect any other candidates to do similarly. We're mandated to campaign for a number of things including a change in the tuition fee system, graduation in the minster and an ethical investment policy. I may disagree with some campaigns or agree with others but they're what York students decided and the Campaigns Officer is simply their representative. If Chris and I prefer some campaigns to others, however, I suspect that the more passionate person would campaign... and I suspect that this would be the case with any pair in this position.
#57 "think this will have any positive effects" - I can't see how it would have any NEGATIVE effects. Either way, student will decide.
Though I think that being called selfish for trying to help other countries, #48, is a bit of an odd opinion. Surely that should be insulted for being too selfless, if anything?
Jason, yet again, you spout off to others about how their facts are allegedly "wrong" yet as Gareth Liptrot frequently and rightly points out, you too are factually incorrect to a ridiculous extreme.
"The USA giving billions and billions of dollars to Israel and none to Palestine is completely wrong..."
Your wording here is extremely ironic as what you say preceding 'completely wrong' is, infact, completely wrong. The USA has actually donated $900m dollars to the humanitarian relief of Gaza- the largest single contribution to the area aside from Saudi Arabia (as well as being the largest contributor to combating AIDS in Africa). Might I help you correct your factual inaccuracies by directing you to this website:
http://www.usaid.gov/wbg/home.html
You really seem to be missing the point, Jason. The reason people are opposing this motion in such numbers is not because it allegedly calls for 'peace in the region' but because it is distinctly biased and seeks, very slyly, to push through the self-interests of a select and polarised few of politically active campus extremists.
The opposition isn't from the 'same old people' (just see the facebook group- members and numbers). It is from people who are GENUINLY concerned that there are individuals that seek to force their views on an apathetic campus through a Union that shouldn't make political points but campaign on matters that directly influence individuals at York.
If you can't see these are genuine concerns and see that this isn't one massive 'right-wing conspiracy', then you really can't claim to represent all students on issues of concern, because it's simply not the case.
Personal views on this particular conflict aside, the wider issue raised, which i feel should be discussed, is what issues should the students' union become involved in.
For me, I agree with Mr. Northwood- student union for student matters.
I want a policy and campaigns officer to lobby for:
- Cheaper transport- Advertising for landlords who sign up to the code of practise- Suitable facilities on the new campus- Value for money / more commercial developments- Fair funding for societies- Access for all- Vegetarian options in the bar- Replacement stairs for langwith bridge- Flexible library hours in exam periods and better stock levels- Cheaper sports membershipAll these are STUDENT matters. And all will take a certain degree of officers' time. We DO NOT need to make rash statements about current affairs that we know NOTHING about. No matter how many biased sources the pro-hamas or pro-IDF lobbies throw at me, the fact of the matter is I do not have the informed knowledge to support one over the other.
Please, for the sake of us all, focus upon achievable aims that will improve the student experience.
Jason (and your quieter partner), I know we have no choice in who to vote for (I don't have the time, and didn't know about the deadline, before you ask me why i didn't stand) but you'd be very very very very sensible indeed to drop these far fetched 'save the world' campaigns if you don't want to get RON'd.
People want local problems sorted and fought for, not a pointless 'statement' on behalf of 13000 people that only really represents a radical few.
Student radicalism isn't cool. Or fashionable. Or respectable. The more radical we look, the more likely Hes Hall, First, City of York Council and other relevant organisations will ignore us.
....And Mr. Taylor, thanks for the compliments on the volley against sunderland. Glad you enjoyed it.
R. Keane
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