Op-ed: Senator Feargal Quinn – “Open Seanad Éireann, Don’t Close it”

The Government has recently signalled that it intends to hold a Referendum on abolishing Seanad Éireann in September. This will be a hugely important decision for the future of democracy. It is important that people now begin to acquaint themselves with the facts of what the closure of the Seanad would actually mean because, if this shocking eventuality comes to pass, it is highly unlikely that the people will ever again be given the opportunity to reverse that decision. Continue reading

Editorial – Issue 11 – Female participation

This has been a rather eye-opening week for me in many respects. Last week I attended for the USI Congress for the first time. It was never something I expected to go to, first because I am not involved with student politics, and second because I am so not involved in student politics that I hadn’t really heard of it. For those lucky enough not to be initiated, Congress is where almost all of USI’s policy is decided. Each member Union can send a certain number of delegates to vote on their behalf. I was chosen to go not as a delegate, but as an observer, meaning I was allowed to watch and speak, but not vote. I learned a lot last week, and not just about what 250 students will get up to if you get them extremely drunk and give them free hotel rooms. That story is reserved for therapy. Continue reading

Editorial – February 5th

In anticipation of the referendum on whether UCD Students’ Union should disaffiliate from the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), several articles in this issue debated the purpose and value of students’ unions, both regional and national. The Head to Head on page five brings up issues of effectiveness, cost and representation, while former UCDSU President Pat de Brún’s piece on political engagement in the student community comments on the change Irish students’ unions have undergone in the last few decades, from ideology based protesters, to a student service provider. Continue reading