However, difficulties to successfully implement the scheme have arisen since a survey of the Deposit Protection Service has revealed that one in four landlords is still unaware of the change in law. Furthermore, a survey carried out by Nouse has shown only one in twenty students has heard of the new Scheme protecting their deposits.

Doubts have also been expressed about the effectiveness of the new law. One of the interviewed students commented on contacting the Scheme in case of conflict, saying, “It depends on your relationship with the landlord. If it’s good, there should be no problems, but if it’s bad, contacting a third party might complicate things even more.”

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme applies to every tenancy agreement signed after April 6. The landlord is obliged to follow one of two types of schemes to protect the deposit and inform the tenant about the choice within 14 days of signing the contract.

According to the new law, the deposit must be returned within ten days

John Issitt, Langwith College Provost, has published a new report that contains plans to replace the bar with a coffee shop as part of a proposal to change Langwith College into an “artistic and educational socialising place.”Issitt said, “The reality is the bar is not working”, and economic pressure has made the current setup as unsustainable”.

The new project would provide space for various artistic activities such as music and drama events, as well as visual arts exhibitions. The space would also be available for conference use in the holidays.

Issitt said, “The difficulty is making the business plan and convincing all the powers-that-be to cooperate, negotiate and make it work.” He admitted that the project will require a lot of financing, requiring an investment from the University, but said “the economic viability of it is built into it right from the beginning”.

Zach Pepper, a Langwith Bar Rep, has expressed doubts about the financial success of the project. Pepper said, “It sounds like a good idea in principle but it’s going to cost a lot of money, so whether it’s realistic it needs to be seen.” He also admitted that he was apprehensive about plans to replace the current bar with a smaller bottle bar that would only be accessible during events, saying “I think it will decrease the viability of large events.

“I can’t realistically say that we want the bar to continue as it has been because it has not proven popular. We’re happy to recognise that Langwith works better as a venue than as a bar.” He also blamed the bar’s unpopularity on the fact that it is located between Derwent and Vanbrugh college bars, both of which are considerably larger.

Langwith College JCRC Chair Won Youn has reacted with concern over the plans to get rid of the bar. “It’s the one thing that we really take pride in.

“It’s a place where you go and meet your friends. It’s a socialising area, and if that goes, it will affect us quite badly, but we’ll have to deal with it,” Youn said. “Hopefully something better will come”.

However, he assured students that the JCRC will take further action to save the bar from being closed down. Youn said, “We’re going to go all the way, even if we find ourselves losing it. We’re not going to give up that easily”.

The new Langwith venue project plans are currently on public display for staff and students in the Langwith JCR.

The ‘Club D’ event of February 24 was disrupted after Ents Tech showed up over an hour late to set up the stage.

The ‘Club D Funked’ event was based around live music sets from visiting artists Joel Owen and Soul Cellars and campus band Make It Better Later, all of which were cut short.

Following the late arrival of Ents Tech the order of performances had to be swapped, and bands were given reduced time on stage. The DJ set, which was schedluled for the end of the night, was cut from 90 minutes to less than an hour.

The Derwent JCRC has asked the Ents Committee for a 50 percent refund of the money paid to Ents Tech that night, and have proposed an amendment to Union Code to ensure that a campus event organizer could deduct a certain amount of the fee, depending on how late the Ents Tech were to set up.

Jamie Tyler, Derwent JCRC Chair said, “If they can charge extra for late booking, then we should be able to get reduced costs for late arrival. By overrunning, they’re reducing our event’s time.”

The unpopular Ftr bus project was originally billed at £450,000 but has already cost the city more than 1.5 million pounds. According to Labour councillor Tracey Simpson-Laing who is the vice-chair of the Council’s City Strategy and Advisory Panel, the money has been spent on various changes and alterations across the route that were necessary to adapt the streets of York for the non-standard sized buses but were not included in the primary project plans. “They just kept finding things that needed doing and did not plan first.” said Simpson-Laing.

The councillor said she was still not confident that the Ftr bus project will not require more financing from the Council. “I have asked if any more [money] will be allocated, they have said no – they have said this to me at each time they have reported the spending of more money.”

The councillor also expressed dissatisfaction with the ticket machine system in the Ftr buses which causes inconvenience to many passengers. “I strongly believe that buses should be turn up & travel and that no one should be financially disadvantaged – such as higher cash cost tickets and inability to obtain change if you did not have the correct money”, said Simpson-Laing. “It would have been easier to buy tickets at the Park & Ride sites, then there would not have been the farce with the ticket machines.”

The money that has been paid to ‘First’ bus company came from the Government Local Transport Fund and not Council Tax; however, York residents are still to experience a change in their budget as the Ftr bus ticket prices were raised on Sunday 21 January. A First York representative said, all one-day-ticket prices have gone up by 10 – 30 pence and the student ten-journey-ticket now costs £11 instead of £10.

Despite the disappointment about this increase, many students feel they do not have an alternative to paying the higher price. “No one wants to walk that far in gale force winds and very few freshers have cars,” said Helen Jones of Eden’s Court. “It’s not fair, because ‘First’ is able to raise the prices as much as they want to – disproportionately to fuel price rises – and a lot of students will still be reliant on them.” However, Simpson-Laing said ‘First’ should expect a decrease in customers. “If ‘First’ and CYC want people to use buses for the environments sake then continued price rises will only deter residents. It will be more attractive to take the car to town and park than stand at a drafty bus stop with no idea of when the next bus will actually turn up.”

The need for a public inquiry emerged after numerous expressions of disagreement local people who signed petitions and established action groups, and along with members of the University gathered evidence against the expansion.

As a part of Heslington East Campaign launched by Nouse in May 2005, a dossier of such complaints, statements from University academics and other investigations was compiled and presented to the Vice-Chancellor Brian Cantor and four Government ministers by Nouse journalists in June 2005, seeking their support in fighting the controversial expansion plans.

In response, YUSU passed a policy expressing their position on the matter. The policy states support for the expansion as long as it “favours student interests.”

The University expansion would double the number of students on campus, whereas staff members would grow by 436% The new campus would include four new colleges residing 3,300 students as well as six academic departments introducing new subjects such as Law, Dentistry and Drama. The Computer Science department, along with a part of Electronics and several others, would be transferred.

Students are promised a modern sports centre with a stadium and swimming pool along with a central student venue which would host.

However, plans of the expansion are not consistently concentrated on student needs, as more than a third of the new campus territory would be dedicated to non-academic activities. In cooperation with companies such as ‘Yorkshire Forward’, who describe themselves as a “business led organisation that aims to help improve the region’s relative economic performance”, the University plans to establish projects simillar to York Science Park.

Much attention is also paid to expansion of research-related activities and establishment of spin-off companies on campus.

Every resident of Derwent Blocks C and D, and Vanbrugh A Block, has been offered compensation of £126. Residents of Derwent A and B, Goodricke B, and Langwith A Blocks have been offered the lesser amount of £72 as they had slighlty more extensive initial facilities in their kitchens. Compensation for the first nine weeks of term has already been paid to affected students, and payments will continue until the situation is fully rectified.

According to letters sent out to residents, further improvements of cooking facilities in areas of Derwent, Goodricke, Langwith and Vanbrugh are due to be completed before January 15. The plans include wall extensions which will make the installation of hobs possible in all kitchens. The University has still not explained why no action was taken before the beginning of the term.

Rich Croker, YUSU President, said “If it had happened in the summer, it would have cost less”, explaining that the construction works in the kitchens could have been completed by the workers that were employed to work on campus over the summer.

The decision to implement changes has come after extensive discussions between YUSU and the University. Students wrote multiple letters complaining about inadequate facilities, and the Accomodation Office was repeatedly confronted by unsatisfied parents. Students also voiced their opinions on the issue by voting in an online YUSU poll, and by setting up an online campaign group. “They have realised they made a mistake”, said Croker, “I suppose this one is highlighted by the fact that it hit so many people and it is going to cost a lot to fix.”

Students have criticised the University for unequal and limited kitchen facilities across campus. Despite the completion of renovation work to Goodricke A block, on October 30, around 300 students are still without proper cooking facilities in Derwent, Goodricke, Langwith and Vanburgh colleges.

In a letter posted in the affected kitchens , Professor Riddy admitted a failure of communication and apologised “very sincerely on behalf of the University”.

Rich Croker, YUSU President, said “after extensive lobbying and discussions by YUSU to the University there are plans in place to improve cooking facilities in Derwent C&D, Langwith A, Vanbrugh A&B, Goodricke B blocks. There is also a commitment [from the University] to provide compensation to students living in the blocks listed above”.

Currently however parts of Derwent college see 18 students attempting to self-cater with only two microwaves and a toaster. Students of Derwent B block have also complained that basic facilities such as dining tables and chair haven’t been provided . Laura Latridou, a B block resident said “we have to sit on someone’s floor and eat, its not very hygienic”.

Other students have expressed concerns about how not being able to cook their food properly will affect their health. “Because of my special dietary requirements, I find cooking in a microwave very restrictive” said Tom Seal, a member of Derwent College.

Students in Derwent, Langwith and Vanburgh colleges have expressed anger at unequal facilities between colleges, where facilities in colleges such as Alcuin and James dwarf those of Derwent and Langwith. “Its not fair that we pay the same amount as people in James” said Jill Smith, of Derwent B Block. Student anger has also led to creation of an online campaign group with 146 members and a petition has been circulated.

YUSU however has consistently campaigned for equal rent across campus to counter the creation of a two-tier accomodation system, between richer and poorer students.

Matt Burton, Goodricke College Chair, has welcome the completion of building work on Goodricke A Block. “They are a massive improvement on the level of faciltities we had last year” whilst Hetal Pandit, an A Block resident, said “it was definitely worth waiting for”.

During the construction period students were given free meal vouchers as a compensation for the temporary lack of facilities. However, some students were dissatisfied with this offer. Rob Goodyer, Goodricke A Block, said that he couldn’t have breakfast before early morning lectures as the canteens only began serving at nine o’clock. “We want compensation” said Goodyer.

A recent addition has also been made to the University Catering Service’s brand new ‘Mad’ scheme, with the introduction of ‘Mini Mad’.

The new addition will mean that students who don’t wish to eat breakfast and dinner on-campus seven days a week can now eat only dinner for an approximate saving of 12%.

Health implications of using Microwaveable Ovens:

Lack of varied diet

Options for microwavable food are limited, mainly to ready meals, meaning students are prevented from ensuring a balanced and varied diet.

Problems cooking meat

It is strongly recommended by health & safety officials that meat is not prepared in a microwave. Red meats in particular cook in a pool of fat.

Dietary needs ignored

Students with special dietary requirements such as vegans or those with food allergies are now even more restricted by most microwavable foods

Fattening diet

Microwave foods encourage snacking and the eating of high-fat content foods leading to increased obesity and sever

By Milda Sabunaite and Hannah O’Shea