STUDENTS at York University have started the new term by making a pledge to be good neighbours.

York University Students' Union (YUSU) is taking part in SSHH (Silent Students = Happy Homes), a campaign aimed at tackling problems with noisy students.

The original SSHH was the brainchild of the Students' Union at York St John College, which piloted the first ever SSHH campaign in the country two years ago, and the scheme there has been hailed as a resounding success.

As part of their campaign, the Students' Union at the university will run a telephone hotline during the day, and the university will run one during the night, for people to phone if they have any concerns about their student neighbours.

This in turn gives the union and university the chance to take practical steps to reduce potential problems.

Student union officers have already delivered about 1,000 leaflets to homes in Badger Hill, Heslington, Homefield and Fulford in a bid to advertise the campaign and local pubs and nightclubs are being asked to put up posters.

On campus, junior common room committees and the various colleges are also advertising the campaign where late night noise can be a problem especially at exam time.

The students' union has worked with First York as well as Luminar Leisure to ensure that Ikon & Diva and Toffs nightclub buses pick up and drop off students outside the library in University Road, rather than within the village of Heslington.

This means that the noise created by up to 100 students arriving every 15 minutes in the early hours of Monday and Tuesday mornings is concentrated away from the village and college residences.

Students' Union president James Alexander said they had carried out a lot of hard work to understand disturbance concerns both on campus and in the surrounding community, and had gone on to promote the campaign.

He said: "York University Students' Union are committed to tackling the potential problem of late night noise both on campus and the surrounding area.

"We want students to be good neighbours to each other and the surrounding community."

The daytime disturbance hotline operates from 9am to 5pm on 01904 433724 and the night line from 7pm to 9pm on 01904 433333.

Updated: 10:05 Tuesday, October 12, 2004