Vision Says…
A well deserved congratulations, good job and thanks to all those involved in the construction of the new Sports Village on the Heslington East.
For far too long sport has been a horrific and long running joke at the University. Students have had to put up with second rate sports tents, badly maintained astro turfs and muddy athletics for far too long. While our collegiate cousins at Leeds, Hull and Newcastle have been treated to gleaming well-maintained facilities, York students have had to approach our sports equipment with a dry sense of humour and a “make do and mend” attitude.
Not anymore! Thanks to the tireless work of campus superstars such as Keith Morris and Sam Asfahani (to name but a few), York has finally started listening to their students, responding to their needs and meeting the challenge head on. Campus refurbishments are often a lengthy and costly joke – going over budget and over time. However, Heslington Hall appears to have gone into 2012 with a new attitude of professionalism.
All students are rightly quick to grumble when we see a campus cock-up. But let’s give credit where credit is due. Keith Morris and his stunning sports team should be praised for their hard work and great results.
Thumbs down to…
The University, for the extreme examples of exam cock-ups. Communicating with the student population about the simplest details of assessments really is the least undergraduates should expect.
How can professors tell their seminar students the wrong format for exams? How can academics confuse their undergraduates in the run up to exams with confusing messages about what needs to be brought to assessments? Why haven’t administrators been told whether biology students should have calculators or not? And surely it isn’t beyond the scope of some of the brightest minds in the University to avoid missing out pages of an economics paper?
Some campus cock-ups are excusable. Not being able to run a system of assessments is beyond a joke. It is the core of what the University should be good at. Students will rightly be asking if Cantor’s cronies can’t get this correct, what hope is there for the future of higher education?
Thumbs up to…
Tim Ellis, for successfully lobbying against proposed rent rises. Last year Heslington Hall stated their intention to raise non-catered accommodation by 5.7 per cent and catered rooms by a staggering 8.7 per cent. But our beloved President has raised his voice and lowered our rents. Now all rooms will only be going up by the current rate of inflation.
Too often students have been subjected to mediocre statements of “we tried our best” or the frankly patronising “what students may not realise is…” The silent but effective Tireless Tim has persuaded Heslington Hall of their mistakes. President Ellis doesn’t shout, he doesn’t moan and he doesn’t patronise. He just gets off his arse and gets on with the job.
It is great to see students finally get the representation they deserve and not have to put up with the vocal but useless BNOCs we have seen before.