Editorial Comment
A Change for the Better
As the university moves forwards by selecting a new Chancellor, and students prepare to return home for a well-earned Christmas, one might think it was a time for everyone to break with tradition and embrace the future. We have seen anti-drugs legislation bypassed and people deciding their own attitudes to drugs in York, while demonstrations across the country have voiced our dissent over the state of world politics.
However, it is a shame to see the same old issues raised again and again within our Students Union. This issue’s lead on the GradBall fiasco is a painful reminder of the lessons that weren’t learnt last time round. While first and second year students may feel secure knowing it is not their celebration in danger, unless next year’s candidates take notice now this cycle of disappointment could easily continue. But the SU cannot save the event on its own. Many students are simply uninterested in taking part in the debate – eager to criticise later but unwilling to give suggestions themselves. It seems the days of student radicalism that Greg Dyke would have seen in the 60s are long gone.
Censoring the Media
Unfortunately we cannot be so supportive of the SU’s other pet pastime: censoring the media. This issue is raised every year by new sabbatical officers, most attempts rarely get far. But due to changing circumstances within the structure of Vision and nouse, this term sees the first mandatory censorship in York, with both papers forced to give copies of their pages to the SU before they get to the students. We are heading towards the ridiculous scenario at Leeds University, where 10,000 papers were pulped by the Union because a band they interviewed insulted Tony Blair. This term has already seen the censor’s pen descend on Vision, and we can only hope that nouse doesn’t suffer the same fate when the paper is taken out of our hands.
Students Facing Crime
Our spotlight on crime this edition comes as Uni Security announces its lowest statistics of on-campus crime in recent years. While this shows the value of our porters, a stolen bike is not the most problematic criminal action that a student faces. When the residents of Holgate’s Hall find a riot on their doorstep with little or no protection, these statistics ring hollow. Similarly Blunkett’s personal involvement in crime in York does suggest that our campus is only a small oasis in a locality where student houses are known and targeted.
But why do students find themselves targeted? As we remain in our Heslington colony and go to campus weekend events, venturing out into the wider city only to queue up for student nights at Toffs and Ziggy’s, our behaviour is different to that of most Yorkies. How many of us can genuinely say that we engage with York beyond the safe mould of posturing in campus society, fostering meaningless rivalries and cultivating second rate celebrity? It is true that most students don’t even try to engage with the city outside our campus.
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