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 →

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 →

Heading back to UCD, you may reflect on the various changes the college has seen over the last few years. There have been some developments even since we left for Christmas. Complaints about the library that dominated semester one have been more or less solved. Long time criticisms about the lack of textbooks, and out of date materials have been aided by a one million euro injection by the college and after much protesting, there will be a return to seven-day library openings. Continue reading →

With protests and vigils held all around Ireland, and another planned for Wednesday 28th in front of Leinster House during the Dáil debate on the issue, the whole world has been swept up by the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar with calls for legislation and even calls for the separation of church and state. Continue reading →

This issue it was a struggle to come up with a topic for this editorial. I had a very busy weekend, was out sick for a few days, and then had a frantic catch-up when I returned. Though I am usually very interested in politics, news and current affairs, in the last few weeks it has sort of passed me by. I started looking up newspapers to get some ideas and nothing was familiar to me. I knew the characters but not the stories, like missing a series of Downton Abbey or going to the bathroom during Lost. Continue reading →

Campaigning for social rights and equality seem to have been the theme of the last few months. Every week a new issue gathers steam and people erupt with passion for the topic. The issues being campaigned for have varied widely and in recent months we have seen the March for Marriage fighting for equality in marriage law, the Blood Ban campaign in UCD asking to donate blood on behalf of their gay allies who are banned from doing so, and the March for Choice saw thousands of people marching through Dublin city to call for the legalisation of abortion. Continue reading →

As the first round of class rep elections take place in UCD, and students’ unions all around Dublin are currently or planning to hold referendums on whether they should be affiliated to the Union of Students of Ireland (USI), it raises important questions about the representation of University students; about both how they should be represented and how interested students are in the various unions that claim to be their voice. Continue reading →

As we start the new college year, a theme is already emerging for 2012-2013. With students coming from all parts of the world to make UCD their home for the next few years, everyone is talking, advising and preaching on the importance of the student community. Former UCD students Darragh Doyle, in his Op-ed, and Paul Fennessy, in his column, have stressed the importance of getting involved in the various student activities during one’s time at UCD, but this sentiment is particularly vivid on campus with the opening of the new Student Centre. Continue reading →

For a seemingly innocuous and fun social event, the UCD Ball and recent circumstances relating to it have provided a telling insight into the disparate mindsets of students and college authorities

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The Students’ Union Elections and real student power

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