This report consists of three seperate parts.
Hello again,On Tuesday evening, I said to hell with Ml, and went to the Student Centre EGM, and to the last Union Council (as well as a brilliant NI debate) instead. There weren't many people at the EGM, but I kept track of what was said by both sides, and I'll give a brief account of the happenings, and follow this with the usual report from Union Council. Also, the hustings for the by-elections took place on Monday evening, and I'll give an a/c of the various candidates at the end. (..Sorry for the delay, but I had a lot on...)
So, firstly then.
Report from the EGM regarding the proposed Student Centre.Dermot Lohan, the SU president chaired the meeting,
Seamus, the SU Vice pres, set the scene for the discussion outlining the background to the plan, stretching back to last April.
Martin Conroy was the first speaker for the University.
He said straight out that the students are being asked to fund half the construction costs in return for half the control and an equal share of the profits for the new centre, however he was keen to set this against the massive fundraising which has been done by DCU w/o asking students to dip into their pockets at all. In this regard he mentioned the 8.5 million they've raised for the development of St Clares, and the 15m for other student based facilities. He pointed out that the university could have raised money to build a new business school or whatever, and yet they had put the money into facilities for us the students. He said that they've spent 23.5 million on us, and it's only fair that we should pay part of the cost for what's going to be a new Student Centre. He also warned that if we refuse to raise any money ourselves, then it's going to be very hard / impossible for DCU to raise money from the Private Sector, if we effectively say that we're not willing to raise any money ourselves.Next to speak was Eoin O'Ceallachain, the SU Clubs & Socs Officer.
He repeated some of the points already made, and emphasised that this wasn't just the SU - it's the SU the Clubs and the Socs all pressing for a yes vote. He stressed the importance of proper facilities for clubs and socs to hold meetings and events in, and said that these would be provided by the new Centre.The last to speak was Gerry, the chairperson of the SPC (Societies and Publications Committee)
He gave the POV of the socs on campus, and said that the facilities currently provided were overburdened, and that we could provide proper phone / fax / photocoping facilities etc in the new centre.Some of the speakers repeated what had already been said, and so I left out that bit.
Next we moved on to a Questions and Answers session.
What about the Profits ?
All profits will go to Student Activities.
Why don't students have Majority Control ?
Students are funding half the project, and so they have half the representation. There's no casting vote, and nothing can be decided w/o the consent of the Students on the Management Committee ( SU + Clubs & Socs ) Also, DCU is owned by the state, and there are certain manageent structures which that imposes. The Committee will consist of 4 university reps, and 4 student reps, namely the SU President, The SFC Administrator ( employed by the students, not DCU ), and two from Clubs and Socs.
Why should 3rd years pay for sth. that they're probably not going to use ?
They could still use the facilities after they graduate. Also, if people always took that attitude, we wouldn't have things like the Sports Centre that we all now enjoy.
Can I get a copy of the deal ?
They'll put it up on the website. They say the delay in spreading the word is that the major negotiations went right up to the wire.
Why are the University paying their half ?
Because they are interested in the welfare of the Students. DCU gets as much of a reputation from it's social life as it does for it's academic life, and they want both to be memorably good.
Won't locals object at the planning stage ?
They have objected to things before, but this has been in relation to things like science buildings, whne they thought that we were going to be doing horrible things to cute little animals.
Will there be food in the new centre ?
Yes.
Will it be controlled by Management Catering ? (like Megabytes + Canteen)
NOOOOO! - Dermot Lohan.
Why not put money into doing up the older centre ?
Some money will go into things like this, but it's hard to fundraise for doing things up, it's much easier to get money for sth. _new_.
Will there still be a membership fee ?
That hasn't been decided yet, but it can't be agreed w/o the student reps.
Will the current bar shut during the building stage ?
No. When the bar opens next year it will stay open. The new building will be completed on it's own, and the joining-up process can be done during the summer, when we aren't around.
Well, that's all I remember. Just to be clear, nothing I've written above is meant to represent the views of either the 'Yes' or the 'No' campaign. But I'll just point out for those who are wondering, that the SU have given equal funding to both sides.
If you'd like more information, read that little glossy leaflet, or the '6 reasons to vote NO' poster, and the '6 lies you've been told' poster that was brought out to refute the NO poster.
Ok, moving swiftly on.
Union Council met again last night, the main items on the agenda were.
1) The Student Centre.More or less the same questions that were asked at the EGM. Dermot Lohan also clarified that students getting grants would have to pay the levy just like everyone else. Also, questions were raised as to what would happen if there was a 'No' vote, and we were told that in the aftermath of such an outcome the staff would probably say to hell with this, and put the money into something else. Finally, it was clarified that if we don't get planning permisssion then the levy could be canceled.
2) Semesterisation & Modularisation Impact Study.
There could be some radical proposals coming out of this, things like getting extra credit for Clubs and Socs involvements etc. If you have views on things like this you should contact the SU Vice Pres, who has responsibility for educational matters. BTW, the group set up to look at this will have both student and staff representation on it.
3) By-elections.
Elections for the positions of Womens Rights Officer, Services Officer and Welfare Officer will all take place on Wednesday and Thursday, along with the Refernedum for the Student Centre.
4) Welfare Working Group.
There's to be a group of interested students established to help next year's Welfare Officer with things like Welfare Week etc. If you'd like to help out, then contact the current Welfare Officer, our very own Hugh.
5) Disability Network.
This is a group set up to facilitate contact between the various different people with responsibility for people with Disabilities. Ideas being looked at are things like making An Tarbh available via e-mail for blind people, or thinking about things like how disabled people are supposed to get off the second floor during a fire, when all the elevators shut down during a fire alarm. etc. If you have any ideas / opinions in this regard be sure to let us know.
6) Any Other Buisness ?
Council passed a motion to give money to an organisation being set up out of UCC, to translate things into Irish for us. We give £500 pounds and get professional translation services free. This will be handy for things like the new SU Constitution which should be coming out next year etc.
In the absence of any other business the chair adjourned the meeting, and that was the last Union Council for 97/98.
And finally,
I went to the Hustings which were on on Monday night, and so that you might know who you're voting for, here's a brief account of what each said.
Again, the following is only what I think I know about the candidates, and shouldn't be taken in any way to represent the actual opinions of the various candidates, as I may be mis-remembering some of the details etc. But here goes....
Womens Rights Officer.
There are three candidates, so in order of appearance....
Shiela:
-She has been a class rep.
-She would be opposed to the abolition of the WRO position which some candidates for WRO want to abolish.
-She wants to encourage participation of women in Clubs and Socs, and in the SU, but she was a bit vague as to how this would be done.
-She's wary of the promises which have been made by previous WRO's and so will not promise miracles in the areas of security or transport, but will of course promise to do her best.
-She's an AF2, and next year will be her final year.
-She was involved with the running of Fianna Fa/il in DCU this year.
Nicola O'Connor:
-She's an AL1
-She's got posters with informtion details up all over the place, go read them.
-She favours the abolition / downgrading of the WRO position, and wants to see some sort of a merger with the position of Rights Officer.
-She's concerned about the situation on the Ballymun Rd.
-She has experience working with a youth club.
-She's Chuggle on Redbrick.
Sarah Flavey:
-I _think_ she's a CS2, can't remember, but it'll say on the ballot paper anyway.
-She wants to educate _all_ students, both male and female about Womens Issues.
-She wants to produce a free booklet, seperate from the SU Handbook, and distribute it to students, possibly via stands in the canteen.
-She wants to work with specialist groups like the Rape Crisis Centre etc.
-She'd like to see an upgrading of the Health Facilities on campus.
-She'd like to improve the discount rape alarms scheme, and work with local community groups and the council on security issues.
-She attended Womens Congress on our behalf, and says she learned a lot.
The next position is that of Services Officer:
There are two candidates.
Ronan:
-He thinks that very few people know of the existence of a SU Services Officer, or who that person might be, or what he is supposed to be doing.
-He wants to work on communication with the Students, and sees the process of informing students about who he is, and what the Services Officer does, as the necessary first step to really getting things done.
-He ran for another position the last time out, and lost.
-He wants to see the car parking facilities improved, and says we have to use our imaginations to come up with ideas, but didn't suggest any himself.
-He wants to see the provision of things like Rolls and Sandwiches as an alternative to the Canteen.
-He wants us to remain in USI.
Neil:
-He's a CG1
-He's a class rep.
-He wants to see more discounts given in the student packs we get at the start of the year.
-He's been on the Electoral Committee, but resigned to run for election. (BTW the Electoral Committee are those people trusted with taking and counting the votes etc )
-He's campaigned outside the Da/il with the USI, and took part in the UCD referendum, trying to persuade people there to stay in the USI.
-He wants to see a BankLink machine in the new Student Centre.
-He wants to see 'rakes of taxis' at both entrances at key times.
-He worked Ents during RagWeek.
-He wants to see security having a greater presence at the entrances.
-He doesn't think theres much that can be done about the car parking.
-He wants us to remain in USI.
And last but not least, there's one candidate for the position of Welfare Officer.
-She says she's not from an overly wealthy background, and understands Welfare Issues.
-She says she'll be a strong voice.
-She says she's in contact with a lot of students.
-She favours the establishment of a Welfare Committee to help her.
-She says that Welfare Officer should be full-time, and paid position.
-She says she's involved with the SPC, and DBES, and IIRC she was Secretary of DCU-Sinn Fe/in this year.
-She didn't really know how the Welfare Loans Scheme works.
[ again, usual disclaimers about possibly incorrect information etc ]
Well that's it from me for this year,
Good luck in the summer!
Yours,
Jonathan Walsh.
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