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.
Students gathered outside Heslington Hall on Thursday morning to object to unethical investment.
While a meeting of the Directors of the University of York Pension Trust Ltd. with Graham Gilbert, finance director for the University, went on inside, a mix of concerned students stood outside with banners and signs. The venture was a mixed effort between Amnesty International and People & Planet on campus. Their grievance was with the University of York Pension Trust Ltd. that invests in BAE Systems and is not held under the University’s ethical investment policy.
Before the “show of solidarity” as one student called it, Freddy Vanson and Jason Rose met with Gilbert to present their case. They highlighted their concerns with the matter of unethical investment and their hopes that their concerns would be considered in subsequent meetings.
Freddy Vanson told the group that while he admits the Pension Trust Ltd. is “unlikely to disinvest in the short term”; he believes there may be a “long term possibility” of reduced unethical investment.
At the present time, York University Pension Trust Ltd. is given funds by the University and allowed to invest such money however they please. The University maintain that while they can advise the Fund to invest in specific areas, the decision is ultimately up to the Pension Trust Directors. The Pension Trust Ltd is unwilling to impose restrictions on investments.
The student campaign “request[s] further steps be taken to draft a full ethical review of all companies the University of York Pension Trust Ltd. currently has a vested stake in, to ensure future investments remain consistent with University of York mission statements and aims”. The University Mission Statement declares the University “will seek to raise its international profile as one of the most forward-looking institutions in the HE sector”. Some students believe this forward-looking profile cannot be achieved while unethical investment continues.
Vanson concedes that it will take a lot of time and effort to make any sort of an impact on the investment policy, but the fact that University officials agreed to meet with him at all, was a “good start”.
You must log in to submit a comment.
