Henry Foy - News Contributor - Nouse

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Henry James Foy - Best News Contributor

“It’s like you ‘liberate’ some cake from the bins, but you still want it to be yours”

University investment in arms trade increases- An exclusive story. After obtaining figures under the Freedom of Information Act, I discovered that the University - which had been under sustained pressure from students and national groups to divest from arms-producing companies - had increased their holding in two major arms companies, Rolls Royce and BAE, to the value of £1million. I was able to get comment from campus, local and national divestment groups, and forced the University - an educational charity - to admit that it was placing profit over ethics.

The freegan way of life >> M10 - 11

University investment in arms trade increases Investment rises £350,000 since 2006

Second-highest in UK excluding Oxbridge BAE SYSTEMS

GSA ‘in crisis’ as elections are void THE ACTING President of the Graduate Student Association has said that organisation is ‘in crisis’ after last month’s election results were declared invalid. The election process, which was criticised in a report published over the summer, was deemed to be undemocratic and unreliable >> NEWS P3

Showdown over Union bar- An exclusive story. With only 30 hours to go before the Union’s 24-hour alcohol and entertainment licence was to be granted by York Council, I spoke with University ProViceChancellor Jane Grenville to get a comment regarding its implementation. It transpired that she was unaware of the application, after allegedly informing the Union that they should not even attempt to secure one. A war of words ensued between the Union and the University, with YUSU Officers denying any alleged verbal rejection occured, and University officials aghast that the plan was being pushed through covertly. Both refused to concede, before Grenville was forced to lodge a last-minute objection at the council offices to thwart the application.

B Henry’s given temporary repreive THE UNIVERSITY has chosen to reconvene the Bar Strategy Group to assess the future of B Henry’s bar. There were fears that the bar was to be shut down, but this decision ensures its future until March 2009 at least. Both Alcuin JCRC and YUSU, who have campaigned to keep the bar open, praised the decision >> NEWS P2

Intruder sparks security fears

National cap may force York to turn away home undergraduates- An exclusive story. A story re-

FEARS FOR student safety have been raised after an unknown intruder gained access to a locked bedroom on campus. The intruder, who entered a Goodricke bedroom, left a rose on the bed. The student concerned has called for University action >> NEWS P3

NOUSE

Mixed results for BUCS league teams Henry James Foy EDITOR THE UNIVERSITY has been strongly condemned for substantially increasing its investment in arms companies despite continued pressure from divestment groups. After a £350,000 increase over the past two years, the University’s shareholding in armsprouducing companies is worth almost £1,000,000. The continued investment, and the University’s lack of an ethical investment policy has been labelled “despicable”, “a disgrace”

and “fuelling war”. National and campus campaigners have been calling for divestment since 2005. Investments in BAE Systems, the world’s third largest defence company, and Rolls-Royce, which powers 25% of the world’s military aircrafts, currently total £997,342. In 2007 the University held £644,371 worth of BAE shares. The figures, compiled by Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), show York as the UK’s sixth-largest University investor in the arms trade, and the secondlargest when Oxford and Cambridge colleges are excluded. In 2006, York placed fourteenth nationally.

“The University needs to be held accountable, and take responsibility and an ethically approved stance,” said People and Planet Chair Robyn Heather. “It’s despicable and unethical that an educational institution would make money from war,” she added. “While Universities across the country are selling shares in arms companies, York are increasing their investment. Nationally, we are a disgrace,” Heather continued. YUSU Environment and Ethics Officers John Nicholls and Joe Thwaites stated: “Holding investments in arms companies has been an ongoing blemish on the

University’s reputation and we find the continued and increased use of students’ money in arms companies very concerning.” The shares are held by the University’s Pension Scheme, which provides pensions for staff on retirement or in the event of death. “The University of York Pension Scheme has a legal obligation to maximise returns on its investments as it is accountable to its beneficiaries. Its trustees pursue a range of investments in order to

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NOUSE

Nominated for Guardian Student Newspaper of the Year 2008

A STRONG START to the season for the Women’s Lacrosse and Men’s Badminton teams has contrasted with mixed fortunes for the football and rugby squads. A look at the prospects ahead >> SPORT P19

Philosophy and music: Inside the mind of Eddy Grant >> MUSE M9

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Licensing battle jeopardises Union bar

GEORGE LOWTHER

Everything you need to know about York. Where to eat, where to drink, and how to survive >> M8-13

Showdown over Union bar “The University has been unable to provide us with a single practical reason as to why they will oppose this application.” YUSU Service and Finance Officer Matt Burton

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“We categorically oppose a 24-hour alchohol and entertainments license and this has been clearly communicated to YUSU” Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Students Jane Grenville

Henry James Foy NEWS EDITOR SENIOR UNIVERSITY officials have threatened to terminate the planned Union bar in Langwith college if YUSU officers do not withdraw an application for a 24hour drinking license. Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Students Jane Grenville delivered an ultimatum to Officers of York University Students’ Union (YUSU) on Friday afternoon to either cancel their application made to the City of York Council or the University would withdraw support for the bar. After the Union refused, the University was forced to submit a last-minute objection on welfare

grounds to council offices in the city before the 5pm deadline on Friday. As Nouse went to print, Union Officers were still confident that the proposed application would be approved, and were not prepared to submit to the University’s demands. At the centre of the dispute is the outcome of a conversation that took place in July between Grenville and YUSU Services and Finance Officer Matt Burton. Grenville claims that Burton was told that neither she nor the University’s Senior Management Group would support a 24-hour license. Burton said the Grenville was unable to give a definitive answer during the July conversation. Speaking this week, Grenville

University threatens to terminate Union bar project

said: “[The University] categorically opposes a 24-hour alcohol and entertainments license and this has been clearly communicated to YUSU.” Burton, who has led the plans for a Union-run bar since inception, said the first time the University made clear its opposition was on the day it submitted its objection to the council. Burton said Grenville had raised not conveyed her position until “the eleventh hour”. Burton said: “the crux of the issue is that the University is unable to provide us with a single practical reason as to why they will oppose this application. That is frustrating for us. We believe they have little ground to object to this. It has created a situation of us versus them.”

National cap may force York to turn away home undergraduates Henry James Foy EDITOR

FRESHERS SPECIAL:

YUSU defies ultimatum over 24 hour licensing

garding the government’s University funding shortfall broke in Wednesday’s Guardian. The Higher Education Funding Council for Englad (HEFCE) discovered Spring Term Week Five Winner of three Guardian Student Media Awards 2008 that a miscalculation in funds for Universities Tuesday February 10 2009 www.nouse.co.uk in 09/10 would mean that any home student Est. 1964 number increases planned by universities for the October 2009 and 2010 intakes would have Sponsored by to be scrapped. What made this revelation even www.ey.com/uk/careers more problematic for York is the £500million expansion project which is set to open doors to Hokkaido to York Come new students this October, and will untimately Hollywood: Video Dancing: Photos increase total numbers by over 50%. I realised game movies M12 and Analysis p 8 that unless the University found a way around the HEFCE ruling, the ambitious expansion would be a waste for two years. When contacted, JCRCs attack bar management the University admitted that it would have to DERWENT, Goodricke, Alcuin and Vanbrugh JCRC chairs have actively encourage departments to select Inunited in condemnation of Commercial Services, claiming ternational and Mature students (which are not that their lack of competitive edge is killing college bars in the face of the new Courtyard covered by HEFCE) over Home students in order Venue. Alcuin JCRC chair Home student increases banned for two years International and graduate students to fill expansion Oliver Hutchings has described to make up the numbers gap. Commercial Services’ position as

Grenville, who has been a key University supporter of the bar since the idea was raised last year, said that she had either been “misheard or ignored” by Union officers. She said: “At the heart of this is a variance between YUSU and I about two conversations in July. My memory of those conversations is I was asked how I would react to the idea of a 24-hour license, and I replied that I couldn’t support that.” “It was under my radar because I thought I had a very good relationship with YUSU. I made an assumption that if I said no, it meant no. It was just a simple matter of trust. I feel that my good nature has been taken advantage of,” she continued. “There is no way in which any-

body is ever going to resolve this. One of us is not right. One of us is saying ‘I said no’, the other is saying ‘you said you had no problem with it’. It’s a ‘did, didn’t’ situation.” Grenville said she did not believe that YUSU had attempted to hide their application from her, but has now that no meetings between herself and Union Officers will occur without a neutral body minuting the conversation. Grenville, whose portfolio consists entirely of students relations issues, admitted that the incident had damaged trust between the two bodies. “Relations now between YUSU and the senior management

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group member who speaks for students are badly fractured,” she said. When questioned as to whether the University would terminate the bar project, Grenville said: “We will wait and see”. YUSU Societies and Communications Officer Rory Shanks, responded by saying, “If [Grenville] doesn’t support the bar because of a disagreement with Matt Burton, then that’s a sorry state of affairs.” Shanks said the proposal had been raised at a number of powerful University committees. “It has been very apparent that we were applying for the license and it has been aired in prominent forums. It was aired in the last monthly Bar Working Group, of which Jane Grenville is the most senior University member of staff invited. She didn’t attend, but it was minuted and they were sent to her.” “It has been no secret, and Jane Grenville acknowledges that,” said Shanks. Grenville admitted that she had not read the minutes from the working group, and as a result was not aware of the license application until it was raised in an interview with Nouse on Thursday afternoon. “If Jane has chosen not to read the minutes, she can

expect to miss things like this,” said Shanks. After becoming aware of the application, the University moved quickly to order YUSU to withdraw the application or risk losing support for the bar. Burton and Shanks claim requests for an emergency meeting with Vice-Chancellor Brian Cantor on Friday were ignored. Speaking on Friday afternoon, Shanks said: “They are putting us in a really hard position, a frustrating position, and are refusing to meet us. It is literally the eleventh hour. We will not withdraw the application until we meet with the Vice-Chancellor.” GEORGE LOWTHER

Former YUSU President Anne-Marie Canning

The formal objection to Student protests against the University’s decision to delay opening Langwith bar were ignored the council, which was submitted only minutes before the deadline, stated that the University “does not support 24-hour drinking”. It was signed by University Registrar and Secretary Sally Find us at Freshers’ Fair, on Facebook, get in Neocosmos, and is under- touch [email protected] or join us for a stood to have the backing of drink in Derwent JCRC at 7pm, Friday wk. 1 the Vice-Chancellor. Burton and Shanks denied that the 24-hour license would encourage unsafe drinking. “We don’t intend to trade whenever we can, it just gives us flexibility. It’s something to have in our back pocket,” added Shanks. The license proposal submitted stipulates that the University would have to agree to the specific opening hours for any event. If the council upholds the University’s objection, the application will enter a 14-day mediation process. “We hope that if we can sit around the table like mature adults, we will reach a point that is acceptable to both parties,” said Burton. The Union was forced to abandon plans for an October opening after the University refused to begin necessary asbestos removal work, despite large-scale student protests designed to put pressure on Cantor into overturning the decision to delay the project.

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THE UNIVERSITY of York may be forced into turning away undergraduate home students in favour of international and graduate applicants over the next two years to meet expansion goals following a Government ruling on student numbers. A national ban on increasing the number of home students in higher education for the next two years is likely to force admission officers to look elsewhere for students to fill the £500 million Heslington East expansion project in the immediate future. The University has admitted that postgraduate and international students will make up “a substantial proportion” of the increases required to populate the new site. Under a strict ruling from John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, a rise in the recruitment of home students in 2009-10 is highly unlikely. In addition, there are no plans for this cap to be lifted in 2010-11. Denham had already instructed the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which regulates funding for students and universities to “bear down on over-recruitment” before demanding that institutions “preferably eliminate” increased recruitment in a letter last month. A subsequent HEFCE letter to all Vice-Chancellors stated: “We will be making no further allocations of Addional Student Numbers (ASNs) for 2009-10, beyond those already approved or under consideration. In addition, we will make no further allocations of ASNs for 2010-11 at this stage.” The University have defended the viability of their expansion plans, claiming that as the constraints apply “only to home

undergraduate student growth”, plans to fill Heslington East will be “unaffected by the Secretary of State’s announcement.” University Press Officer David Garner said: “In the context of the Heslington East expansion, the undergraduate home market is only part of the picture. A substantial proportion of the increase in students associated with the development will be of postgraduate and international students.” According to the most recent figures available, international and EU citizens currently make up 11% of undergraduate students, while post-graduates account for just over 24% of the total student population. Goodricke College, which moves to the new site this October, will see the number of beds swell to 600 from the current 350. In line with the HEFCE announcement, it is expected that the extra students required to meet the increased capacity will not be home undergraduates. The new expansion-based departments of Law and Theatre, Film and Television will also begin accepting students in October. “We have growth in student numbers already factored into plans and funded for 2009/10 and 2010/11,” said Garner. “Demand for study at universities in general, and at this university in particular, is still extremely strong,” he added. To enforce the ruling, HEFCE has warned that increased admissions would result in severe penalties, threatening “further measures that we may consider could include constraining student numbers through changes to the operation of our funding method” In previous years, institutions were allowed to overshoot figures without facing serious punishment.

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GEORGE LOWTHER

“untenable” >> NEWS P3

Survey highlights YUSU apathy A SURVEY has revealed that the majority of students at York don’t feel represented by their Union. YUSU, which was criticised in a recent national assessment, was found to be disconnected from campus, with many students unable to name their elected officers. YUSU Sabbs have defended their position on campus >> NEWS P4-5

Library to adopt 24-hour opening THE JB Morrell Library has agreed to begin investigating plans for 24-hour opening, following student interest and pressure. After a UGM motion last term calling on the library to adopt the always-open schedule, officials have agreed to implement the idea, planned for the upcoming year >> NEWS P7

Key Varsity fixtures face cancellation POSTPONEMENTS and BUCS Cup progress have conspired to see many of the biggest fixtures of this year’s annual Varsity competition against city rivals York St. John cancelled. The now heavily subdued contest will take place without the crucial sports of football, rugby, volleyball or tennis >> SPORT P23

Students on drugs: Behind the highs and lows Heslington East will not increase home student numbers for two years

>> MUSE M5-7