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.
BM: Within hours of last year's elections results, there were two Facebook groups set up calling for your dismissal. Are you pleased to see this year's results pass with less controversy?
TS: Definitely. I must have given Anne-Marie, my predecessor, so much grief last year. Seeing this whole process from the other side has made me appreciate what a tough job it is to co-ordinate.
BM: How do you think the new YUSU team will perform?
TS: They'll be fine. It's an odd system, though - every year, six people get thrown together into a very high-stress job, with no concern about whether their personalities or skills will clash. It's a rough ride, but I reckon they'll be able to do it.
BM: During this year's elections build-up, you referred to the election rules as being "stuck somewhere in the 1980s". What did you mean by that?
TS: There hasn't been a major overhaul in years; the elections rules have been patched time after time, year after year, and we've ended up with something that doesn't reflect the modern campus news cycle, which takes hours instead of weeks, or mobile phones, or the internet. These rules come from a time before mobile phones, when the only news you got about the elections was Nouse during the week of voting and Vision to announce the results (or vice versa).
BM: In that same note, you promised to "overhaul the system entirely". What changes do you plan to make, and who will you be consulting about these?
TS: I don't know what the changes will be - the reason I'm going to consult is to find that out! It might be that we currently have the best of all possible election systems, and that all that's needed is a rewrite to take account of the fact that technology has moved on; or it might be that we want to completely revamp everything. So over Easter, I'm going to be sending out a lot of emails, getting advice from the NUS and having a thorough read of their best practice guidelines - and then getting a group together to help rewrite the rules. I'm also planning to challenge people to hack them - to find the loopholes, to play the part of the candidate acting in bad faith, and to see if we can fix any problems before next year.
BM: As your final term in office approaches, you must be starting to reflect on your time as President. How do you think you've fared?
TS: Bloody well.
BM: Do you think that's a fair assessment to say that your campaign last year was "sticking a giant middle finger up to YUSU"?
TS: I wouldn't agree. Sticking a middle finger up is malicious, it's taunting, and that's never what I was trying to do - despite several theories to the contrary that I've heard, I was just in it for the comedy. There was no serious political point, no attempt to kick up a fuss; it just seemed like a way to make people laugh.
BM: I take it you're glad that when the time came, you dropped the pirate persona? Can we expect to see any more appearances from the Map Cap'n before you step down?
TS: The shtick is getting so, so old now... but yes, there will be at least one more appearance. There's a bit of UGM policy I need to fulfil...
Just to clarify, my comment at Hustings was not in any way directed against Tom.
What I said, is that I think that the reason why he was elected last year was because STUDENTS decided to raise a giant middle finger against student politics.
This is my subjective interpretation of last year's results and I hope it does not offend anyone.
It would be extremely unfair to disrespect the amount of work Tom has put over the last year - this comment was only in reference to last year's elections.
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