Societies & Student Media
With over 200 societies and student media groups, there really is something for everyone at YUSU. It’s super easy to get involved, and start something up of your own! Search through our Societies A-Z.
Societies
Through our societies you can meet and socialise with students from your new department; star in a sell-out show; learn about another country; join together in worship; start a new sport or hobby, and much more. Societies often collaborate with one another to put on joint sessions or events, and they’re all open to everyone. Some are even completely free to join!
Groups are divided into eight different categories to help make it easier to find the groups you’ll most enjoy. They are: Academic and Educational, Arts and Culture, Campaigning and Political, Faith, International, Games and Fandom, Music and Performance, and Special Interest, and each category has an elected Representative who attends Societies Committee and mentors groups. Search through the list below to find where you could belong at York.
Student Media
York is widely known for its student media prowess. Many former student journalists here have gone on to top-level careers in print and broadcast journalism, and you could be next! Our award-winning media groups include two campus newspapers, a satirical magazine, specialist publications on topics including fashion, history, and film, our very own TV station, and the oldest independent radio station in the UK - not to mention our on-campus cinema, run entirely by students.
Media groups are separated into Print and Multimedia, each of which has a Representative who attends Media Committee and helps organise the annual YUMAs - our awards ceremony to celebrate and recognise all things media at YUSU. Whether you want to write, photograph, design, edit, camera operate, or just meet like-minded, driven students and pick up some great skills, you could find a home in our media groups. If you’d like to start your own, find out how here!
Societies Committee
The Societies Committee is made up of eight elected student Reps - one for each society category. They meet three times a term to ratify new societies, allocate grants, and report feedback and issues facing societies directly to the YUSU Activities Officer. Reps are a key point of contact for all societies within their category, and they also mentor newly ratified groups as they start their journey as a YUSU society. If you want to stand to become a Rep, elections are held every year at the Societies Open Meeting in April, with by-elections during the year for vacant positions.
The 2019-20 Societies Committee are:
- YUSU Activities Officer: Ollie Martin
- Academic and Educational Rep: Brian Terry
- Arts and Cultural Rep: Ruth Awolola
- Campaigning and Political Rep: VACANT
- Faith Rep: Jack Woodruff
- Games and Fandom Rep: VACANT
- International Rep: Daniel Memarpour
- Music and Performance Rep: Brandon Fletcher
- Special Interest Rep: Isaac Arnachellum-Owen
Start Your Own Society!
Got an idea? There’s always room for more societies! If you’re thinking about ratifying a student group under YUSU, there are a few steps you’ll need to complete. Ratifying brings you a whole host of benefits, including access to financial aid, a free presence at Freshers’ Fair, a spot on the YUSU website, and dedicated staff support for your operational management - but we hold our groups to a very high standard, so you’ll need to be sure it’s the right thing for your group.
Your application will be reviewed and voted on by the Societies Committee. Once you have their approval, you’ll have to complete some documentation before you are formally ratified. Read through our Guide to Starting a New Society to get started - you’ll find the link to the application form there!
Societies Resource Hub
We want our student leaders to be as informed as possible, so we created the Societies Resource Hub to help answer all your questions about running your student group. From finance queries to health and safety concerns, if you have a question about society management the Resource Hub is the best place to start.
