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.
York Secularists says it will "make sure that no York student falls into their [scientologists'] trap." The founders of the Facebook group hope to gain enough members to move towards a society to represent the views of secularist students.
The Church of Scientology mission of York opened on Hull Road, a popular area for student homes, last June.
Controversy has dogged the organisation since it was established in 1954. Critics have alleged that it is a “cult” that seeks to control members.
Tomáš Ruta, who set up York Secularists, said: “The Church of Scientology isn’t the only cult I have encountered personally. It tries to look respectable but it’s just a way to get new members. There are many people who join and then leave within the first couple of months.”
“There are many people who feel that religious societies are getting bolder and bolder and atheists or people who don’t want to be formally recognized as religious don’t have anyone to stand up for them.”
Ruta added that he distinguished between organisations such as the Church of Scientology and inter-denominational student groups such as the Christian Union.
Scientology defines itself as "the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life." It teaches that man is an immortal spirit known as a thetan, in possession of a mind and body.
The religion's website insists that: “Scientology is not a dogmatic religion in which one is asked to believe anything on faith. An individual discovers for himself that Scientology works by applying its principles and observing or experiencing the results. The ultimate goal of Scientology is true spiritual enlightenment and freedom for the individual.”
The Church of Scientology was established in Los Angeles in 1954 and now claims 8 million members across the world. High profile members include Hollywood actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
In 2000 a report by the then French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin described the organisation as a "totalitarian sect" and called for it to be banned in France.
But last April the European Court of Human Rights agreed that the organisation is entitled to the protections provided to other major religions by the European Human Rights Convention.
South Park, Season 9, Episode 12 - "Trapped in the Closet" is a good introduction to Scientology if you don't know how ridiculous it is...
Wikipedia, generally is a good place to start too.
I am a supporter of no organised religion, however I find it difficult to understand the negative press and attitude towards 'religions' such as Scientology when other more established religious organisations can go about their business recruiting (and indoctrinating) people with no interference.
Ruta distinguishes between Scientology and other organisations such as the CU, but on what grounds? Each have their beliefs, based on faith, and attempt to recruit new members, I struggle to see a difference between the two. It appears deeply entrenched social norms and acceptance has enabled us to chastise and censor some groups whilst allowing others with almost identical aims and practices to continue unhindered. It seems some people need to evaluate existing religious organisations and their histories before simply writing off new upstarts as ‘cults’ and censoring them, you may find so-called ‘respectable’ religions began their lives in very similar ways.
comment deleted by a moderator No doubt it may be some sort of scam, however I am not sure how you judge that it has 'even more lies than Christianity'. The point I was trying to get across was that if there are calls to attempt to censor 'cults' such as Scientology then surely there must be similar treatment of other more established religions.
samantha stein: which lies in christianity were you refering to?
James Hogan: why do you have to take every comment about Christianity as a personal attack on you? They might be your beliefs, but let other people have theirs rather than trying to force them into a debate where you can somehow prove how amazing and infallible Christianity is. You're starting to get slightly annoying with it all...
In fact it's starting to put me off The Yorker in general. I come here for news and debate on that news, not to start or read never-ending debates on religion.
If someone wanted to stop people being Christian then there would be a massive uproar, why not just leave the scientologists to it, they aren't hurting us (in fact they hurt people less than people who stand in town and preach Christianity!).
Scientologists aren't hurting me, but they have hurt many other people. "traditional" religions are less totalitarian in their views in that you can leave a church with relatively little fuss. Leave scientology and you face been cut off from everyone who is still inside. Mothers have been cut off from daughters, others from their whole family. It's not what they believe, it's the way the "religion" works.
The diferrence between scientology and other more established religions is the fact that scientology is almost blatantly a scam. Why? Well to kick off there is the pyramid scheme style of recruiting new members, the self help and other "religious" essays and works that can cost up to 30 thousand dollars. Oh and the fact that Mr Hubbard, the founder and acclaimed fiction writer, once said "The only way to get super rich is to start your own religion".
Add to this the sometimes stalkerish and obsessive manner of the followers with the manipulative techniques they use to recruit new members and you have a very, *very* shifty organisation. All this is referenced from the above posted wiki article.
Mitch: here, here! I too am sick of Hogan's zeal-spiel.
Very interesting views Samantha & Robert, however I have two issues:
1)Samantha on what grounds exactly are you claiming that traditional religions are less 'totalitarian'? As far as I remember leaving one of the 'big 3' prophetic religions to join another or become an atheist means you may be sentenced to death, cast out of society (which your religion dominates) and threatened with going to hell. A read of the Old Testament or Sharia law will show a far from accepting and quite obviously totalitarian view on these sorts of issues. I think you will find that all religions, however spurious they may appear ‘work’ in very similar ways, using indoctrination, manipulation and fear to attract and then keep subsequent generations in the religion.
2) Robert, again on what evidence are you claiming that Scientology is almost blatantly a scam when more established religions are not? Firstly, the ‘pyramid scheme’ style of attracting members, are you honestly trying to claim that the prophetic religions do not contain any kind of instruction for the practices of ‘witnessing’ or lay preaching? The more successful a preacher you are in any religion means you will gain more respect and power within that religion and leading from that will be reward of some sort, be it monetary or not. When you cite the quote ‘the only way to get super rich is to start your own religion’ and maybe try to infer that established religions do not try to accumulate great wealth I think you are completely incorrect. The Vatican’s wealth was estimated at $10-15billion in 1965 (Time magazine), and must be vastly greater now. How exactly was this wealth generated? by regular donations from lay Catholics at church (not to mention The Crusades), ‘gently persuaded’ to do so by the threat, and images of hell, hardly ethical. To move on to your point about ‘stalkerish and obsessive’ techniques used to recruit new members to Scientology, has a Jehovah’s Witness never knocked on your door? Have you never been shouted by a preacher (of any established religion you choose) in the street or been badgered to buy something (a book of prayers perhaps)?
All these techniques are used by ‘established religions’. Again my point is that one cannot start writing off these so called ‘cults’ and attempt to censor them when quite obviously other religious organisations already established are using exactly the same practices, it is plainly hypocritical. I am not attempting to defend Scientology in any way, and I think all of the practices and techniques discussed above are quite abhorrent, however we need to acknowledge that these issues are endemic throughout all religions and begin to address them, before we start blasting one relatively new ‘religion’ as ludicrous and dangerous.
then i apologise and will refrain in future 
. I realise i have trouble resisting when i hear misconceptions etc, but i don't want to spoil peoples experience of The Yorker.
cheers
James
Very interesting counter points anon. I conceid that many other well established religions can be viewed as exploitive and have much the same sort of corruptions as scientology.
Anon, I meant that in *this* society, cults may be more totalitarian than established religion. If you leave the C of E, in most cases, no one will bat an eyelid. If you leave Judaism, or Islam or Christianity, you may upset your family, but it is less likely you will be completely cut off.
Obviously, in countries where established religions have total rule, this difference becomes obselete. Like I said, it's the way the religion acts.
Personally I do see Cults and Religions as essentially the same thing, but have grown to accept religion as relatively benign. AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT IMPINGE ON MY (or anyone else's) RIGHTS. Wait a couple of years, perhaps I will have changed my mind. 
This post sounds angrier than I am. Perhaps a couple of smileys would help 
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