NEWS
Tuesday November 26, 2019
5
MESS: LEAVES STUDENTS VULNERABLE HARDSHIP FUND BY CHAY
The SIX PAGE form to apply for leave... not including documents for evidence Number of students taking leave
1000
820!
800
600
400
200
0
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19
Over 800 students took a leave of absence in the past year, higher than any in the past decade
OUT OF MIND PAGE IMAGES: UNIVERSITY OF YORK
dation and return home. On top of assuming that all students can return home or have a home to return to, it means that friends, support networks, and resources in York are taken away. One student who spoke to Vision told us that they avoided taking leave, even though they were in desperate need, because they were dependent on York-based medical and addiction treatment. Although they needed the time off, the University would have forced them away from support that they needed to live.
Many students will be reliant on something in their University life in order in supporting them. A regular routine, new friends, and a hub of activity can all be leading factors to support a student if they’re suffering, yet this is what is denied to them after the University says that they’re “expected to spend their time away from the University”. Any build up of support that the University or YUSU could provide would be an enormous help. A student on leave is offered YUSU membership in the form of associ-
ate membership, but can’t give full membership as they aren’t legally listed as a student. The University and YUSU can do more. Outside of challenges that Vision has presented, what needs to be changed immediately is the attitude of the University. Students should see total and utter support. The University could make steps to make the process for a leave of absence remarkably easier, and unless it does, it is actively taking measures to make a process designed to be supportive and helpful
harder than it needs to be. The University has told us that they’re “undertaking a large-scale review of the leave of absence processes to ensure that they are as efficient and empathetic as possible”, so whether or not significant change will be made is yet to see. They also state that “students are given appropriate opportunities to stay in contact with the University during any leave they might take to maximise their chances of successfully returning to study”. Community and Welbeing Officer Steph Hayle
told York Vision “Students on LoA need access to a greater level of support than the University currently offers them. It is absurd that the University essentially cuts students off when they are most in need of our assistance. I am currently working on a project that will help strengthen that support, and develop and assist these students on a departmental level. In general, health related LoA only shows how much more funding our health services need so that students can access relevant and timely care.”
QUINN
STUDENTS REQUESTING FINANCIAL assistance from the Emergency Hardship Fund had a 55% chance of receiving funds in 2018/19, compared to 79% in 2012/13. This drop comes despite a 57% rise in the total funds allocated. The funds allocated went from £226,718 to £396,281 between 2012 and 2019, but the number of students assisted has stayed stable. These numbers imply that the money being allocated per student is greater than ever, an analysis which would be consistent with skyrocketing rents in the city of York and on-campus, taking up a greater proportion of maintenance loans. When York Vision approached the University for comment, they couldn’t confirm why the applications had gone up but the students assisted had remained steady. They also noted that instead of the Hardship Fund being open all year round as previously, it now operated with a deadline structure, meaning students have fewer opportunities to receive emergency funds. YUSU’s Steph Hayle told York Vision that “accomodation costs are skyrocketing nowhere near in line with student loan levels... The entire funding structure for the cost of student living needs to be re-evaluated, and universities, need to start cutting their costs.”
YORCUP SUCCESS
BY CHRIS
SMALL
THE UNIVERSITY HAS massively underestimated the number of disposable hot drinks cups saved in 2019 compared to 2018 in a press release. Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that 2019 is not yet over, but with 2019 figures using January to August for this year, and then making the assumption that the September to December figures would be the same as last year, Commercial Services have told York Vision that they will have saved more than the 75,000 cups stated in the press release by the end of the year. Given that it is so easy to be cynical, perhaps Commercial Services should have shouted louder about what it actually achieved the first time around. The press release announced that four campus outlets will be dumping plastic-lined disposable hot drinks. This will be trialled at the Derwent Cafe, Ron Cooke Hub cafe, Glasshouse, and Vedge from January to July 2020.