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 have expressed outrage at YUSU’s handling of the Big Bang event, held last Saturday. Ticket holders were left disappointed after they were refused entry into Central Hall, and given little information on the alternative venues.
An estimated 1000 or more students were denied entry into Central Hall to watch Big Bang’s live music performances, due to the fact that the venue could, in fact, only hold 900 students. Despite this, over 2000 tickets were sold for the event, resulting in the majority of ticket holders not being able to see the act.
Students arrived under the impression that their £25 ticket would allow them to watch the headline act, Marina and the Diamonds. However, it soon transpired that Central Hall was reaching full capacity during support act Sunshine Underground. Doorsafe were under instructions to stop letting people in, and thus began refusing entry to ticket holders.
First year student Peter Smith commented: “We spent £25 to watch Marina and the Diamonds and we didn’t even get to see them. The only thing I enjoyed was the fireworks and I could’ve seen them for free”.
YUSU Democracy and Services officer and event organiser Dan Walker was keen to emphasise Big Bang’s breadth: “The capacity of Central Hall as set by the University is actually around 900. The main stage was, as always, one part of a larger event.”
Meanwhile, the alternative music arrangements also proved a controversial matter amongst students. Put off by the large queue outside Central Hall, some students simply decided to go home, unaware that there were other events laid on at the college bars.
First year student Daniel Binnion told the Yorker, “[I] wish I hadn’t bought a ticket. I spent most of the night in my kitchen”.
Similarly, English student Jordan Lloyd, found in the Courtyard, said: “We didn’t even know that anything else was going on. I’m only here because it’s close to where I live but I didn’t pay £25 to go to my college bar with some music”.
Reports suggest that Derwent, with a host of acts lined up including Breakz society DJs, never reached more than 30 people on the dancefloor. Concerns have arisen about the money wasted there on Doorsafe, bar staff and the venue’s expensive equipment in the venue.
Walker expressed his regret at the atmosphere in the college bars: “The other venues were advertised in advance of the event online (as with all Big Bang Promotion). The other venues benefited from a unprecedented spend on sound and lighting equipment and it's my regret that at times they suffered from low traffic during the event.*”
Students were also concerned about the pricing of the event. Many claimed that £25 was too high a price with no guarantee of seeing the headline act.
Philosophy student Pierre Finnimore felt that he didn’t get what he paid for.
“It would’ve been better if they had sold tickets separately; one for Central Hall and one for the bars. At least they’d have been honest with those of us who wouldn’t be able to see the headliner”, said Finnimore.
Walker, whose campaign promise was to hold more events on campus, was keen to emphasise that student satisfaction was key for YUSU.
“This is one way in which the ball, if kept on campus next year, could move. The event is after all brand new and we spent a huge amount attempting to create atmosphere on the night and provide enough at the event to give students value for money. As a union we will always work to better our services, and improving student satisfaction was key in the decision to move the ball to campus.”
On a positive note, students who did see the headline act have expressed delight at the handling of the event. The fireworks show and Marina’s set were items of particular praise.
Mathematics student Faisal Samih was particularly pleased with the event.
“The music really got me going. The event looked like it was organised very smoothly and the fireworks really were fantastic," Samih told the Yorker.
URY’s assistant station manager Darren Webb gave the show a 9/10 on his radio show, announcing that “Marina was great and the silent disco was even better”.
YUSU has also stated that its refund policy remains in place for the event. YUSU’s policy states that they can only offer refunds if the event does not run as planned.
According to Walker, “The event ran as advertised and for that reason refunds are not possible. There is also no fair way of refunding individual ticket holders for differing aspects of their experience on the night.”
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