York University students may often be teased for being apathetic, unpolitical and surprisingly right-wing considering most of them are sponging off the state, yet there is a heartening and growing campaign for the University to pull out of their shares in major arms manufacturers.

At the end of the days, the money invested is students money: our money which we have chosen to invest in an education at this institution

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York University last week announced plans to award students’ degrees that are incomplete as a result of work not being marked or set, after the Association of University Teachers (AUT) assessment boycott continued into its third month.

The announcement comes as concerns heighten in universities throughout the UK over the chances of examinations being marked in time for final-year students to graduate this summer, with the University of York admitting this week that 10% of its students will be affected by the dispute.

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The People and Planet Society has hit out over the University’s continued investment in BAE Systems, the third largest arms exporter in the world.

Ric Lander, the Chair of the York Student group, said that the University’s policy is a “complete misnomer” and has continued to call for the Vice-Chancellor to pull out of the company. In October 2005 Nouse first revealed that York had 115,000 shares in BAE after the information was revealed through the Freedom of Information Act, and York Vision has since joined the campaign against the investments.

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Goodricke College’s flagship event, ‘Playboy Mansion’, is to be sponsored by international food giant Nestlé, whose Rowntree division is based in York.

The event, which will take place on Friday week five, is being billed as ‘Playboy Mansion: Chocolate Encore’ with the Nestlé logo appearing on promotional material for the event. In exchange, Nestlé has given Goodricke 800 bars of chocolate for distribution at the event.

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DESPITE THE ‘Save our Bars’ campaign, Commercial Services are proceeding with planned closures of campus bars next academic year.

A leaked report entitled ‘Bar Closures – An update from the Students’ Union’ sets out the University’s plans to restrict Langwith, Alcuin and Wentworth bars’ opening hours to only two nights a week. JJ’s is set to open four nights a week, with only Derwent, Goodricke and Vanbrugh facing minimal or no changes to their opening.

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STUDENTS UNION Services officer, Nat-Thwaites McGowan’s assertion that “dialogue” established with the University was the ultimate success of the “Save our Bars” campaign has been contradicted by several college JCRC chairs who have complained that the Commercial Services have refused to consult with them.

Micky Macefield, the Vanbrugh Chair, accused the SU of “leading everybody to believe that closures were negotiable.”

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PRESSURE IS mounting on the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and University and Colleges Employers Association’s (UCEA) to resolve the ongoing dispute involving University lecturers’ pay, which is threatening hundreds of students’ degrees in York, and thousands of undergraduates nationwide.

As final year graduation dates approach, the past fortnight has seen several attempts by external groups to solve the dispute through protests, meetings and discussions.

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THE NATIONAL UNION of Students is receiving renewed threats from Students’ Unions across the UK that they will withdraw from its support of the examinations boycott.

Students’ Unions, including those of Exeter and Bristol Universities, have threatened the NUS that they will withhold affiliation fees, which are critical to the financial support of the Union, if they continue to support the action being taken by AUT and NATHFE members.

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THIRTY UNIVERSITIES across the UK are set to dock lecturers’ pay for refusal to set and mark examinations.
Northumbria University were one of the first to begin the capping of salaries just over a fortnight ago; and the situation has led to a full-scale walk-out from lectures’ within the institution that condemn their actions. Martin [...]

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SU President elect Rich Croker has been condemned by liberation officers, who threatened to resign if his plans to degrade their posts once he takes charge at the end of the present academic year were implemented.

Croker has said “I believe there is no need for a LGBT nor Women’s Officer” within the Executive; the committee which controls the day-to-day running of the Union.

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No one could accuse James Strawbridge of being a typical student. Alongside completing his History degree at York, he has been heavily occupied with his family’s BBC televised project “It’s Not Easy Being Green” which has involved, among other things, producing diesel out of chip fat, slaughtering pigs with his bare hands, and being propositioned by older women via email.

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York University has been awarded part of a £5.3 million grant to fund research into the next generation of electronic gadgets.

York, one of several universities, including Glasgow Edinburgh, Manchester, and Southampton, to be part of the scheme will be developing ways in which gadgets of the future such as mobile phones and mp3 players can be smaller, smarter and more powerful.

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University Radio York is to be broadcast on national BBC Radio 1 over the May Bank Holiday.
The prestigious broadcast has been awarded after the independent radio station won Best Student Radio Station 2005 at the end of last year with a large amount of members from the past and present attending the ceremony held in London’s Covent Garden. The show will be live on air from 4am-7am on Monday 29 May in the slot usually taken by JK & Joel.

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The new FTR buses that have come in to serve the No. 4 route through the University have come under fire just two weeks after its arrival onto the streets of York.

The multi-million pound venture by the First Bus Company has been the subject of various teething problems, including technical problems and complaints by York residents. Rachel Lacy, a resident on Heslington Road, complained after being trapped by a door suddenly closing. “I was waiting to get off the back of the bus, while other people were getting off at the front.

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Student demand for part-time work is soaring, following the introduction of top-up fees up to £3,000 from the start of the next academic year, a leading student recruitment company has revealed.

Figures from “Employment 4 Students” show a dramatic increase in demand for student jobs. Chris Eccles, Managing Director of Employment 4 Students, says: “top up fees are having a huge impact on university life and the cost of student living. As a result we have experienced a significant increase in demand from students for term time and holiday jobs.”

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