UCC INSIDE VERGE
LAURA HUSSEY TALKS TO AUTHOR LOUISE PHILLIPS
EXPRESS
Friday, 21 March 2014 | www.uccexpress.net | Volume 21 | Issue 13
SUMMER STYLE P16
THE PUTIN PROBLEM P10
Graduate salaries hit ten year low Stephen Barry | News Editor @StphnBarry
STARRY-EYED: Lauren Ronan, Katie Cornally Somers, Barry Nevin, Pádraig Rice, Olga Dennehy, Katie Dennison, Aaron O’ Sullivan, Annie Hoey and David O Leary, attending the UCC Societies’ Guild STARS Awards 2014. Photo: Emmet Curtin
Stanton chosen as Union President Elect
Eoghan Lyng | Arts & Literature Editor @EoghanLyng
Third year Economics student Mark Stanton won the position of SU President for 2014/2015 at the Election Count on March 11th. Stanton’s victory was announced in the New Bar, following three counts. It was Stanton’s second year running for the role, following his lose to Padraig Haughney last year. However this year he managed an additional 600 first preference votes, with his total of 1,729 being double that of second placed, Luke Field. In his acceptance speech, Stanton commiserated with opponents Field, Diarmuid ‘Pooch’ Collins and Susan Logue, before thanking his campaign team for their strenuous work over the last couple of weeks. Talking to the Express after the count, Stanton emphasised that he is looking forward to the academic
year; “I would like to thank everyone for their support over the last few weeks,” he said. “It was a fantastic experience and I really look forward to working with the incumbent team.” The other full-time officers were also announced on the night. Richard ‘Dick’ Murphy defeated SU LGBT Rights Officer James Upton for the position of Deputy President and Campaigns Officer. Murphy’s campaign saw him secure 57% of the vote, which means he will succeed Annie Hoey on the 1st of July. Barry Nevin will succeed Owen Kirby as Commercial and Communications Officer. The member of the Societies Guild Executive prevailed in a contest which was evenly contested between the three candidates. David McCarthy edged out Paul Lawless in the second count by 40 votes, after RON (Re-Open Nominations) was eliminated. The two were
evenly matched on transfers meaning Nevin was elected without reaching the quota. Joe Kennedy was deemed elected as the incoming Education Officer after the first count, beating David Magee with a 2 to 1 vote. Meanwhile Cian Power had a substantial victory of 3131 votes to 667 votes against Kyros Stavrianos, securing a remarkable 81% of the vote. Part Time Officers have also been announced. Unopposed Irish Officer candidate John Prendergast will succeed Timmy Collins, while second year student Robert O’Sullivan will take over as Equality Officer from incumbent Mary Collins. Second year Commerce student Paidí Brady defeated Grace O’ Leary for the role of Entertainments Officer, with 2563 votes to 1296; O’Leary polling well despite running her campaign from Mexico where she is on a year abroad. The College Rep positions will be
held by Markus Knutsson (Business and Law), who ran unopposed, Ali Khan (Medicine and Health), and Leigh-Ann Hayes (Science, Engineering and Food Science), who beat Julia Cooper by 29 votes. The fourth College Rep will be Ian Hutchinson (Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Science), after he won a remarkably tight race. His opponent Kelly Doherty out-polled him on the first count by 5 votes. However after RON was eliminated and the second preferences transferred, Hutchinson picked up 19 votes to Doherty’s 6; swinging a 5 vote deficit into an 8 vote winning margin. There are two more part time positions available on the Students Union Executive; the role of Postgraduate Officer, who shall be elected during the next Academic term, and Council Chair, who was elected at Student Council on Wednesday night.
Research by the Central Bank of Ireland has found that starting salaries for graduates have fallen to a level below the average 2004 rate. “The analysis presented suggests a significant decline in average starting salaries for new graduates since 2007,” concludes the report. “With the majority of new jobs in the economy being filed by those with third level qualifications, this suggests that the fall in graduate salaries could impact overall economy-wide pay trends in the coming years.” The study which examined wage data from 2004 to 2012 found that as well as an across the board decrease since 2007, which wiped out wage increases in the prior three years, that graduates from certain sectors have been disproportionately affected. Architecture graduates have been worst affected with salaries falling by 31% since their 2007 peak. Arts students have also seen salaries fall dramatically, hitting €19,748 in 2012; a drop of 19.1%. Agriculture and Science graduates also experienced a decline in wages above the 11.7% average. Graduates from Commerce and Business Studies programmes were among the least affected by the downturn with salaries dropping 5% of their value to €23,860. “The decline in salaries could arise from a number of sources,” according to the report. “It could reflect a degree of underemployment among graduates who have had to move into lower skilled sectors or occupations in search of work. Alternatively individuals with third level qualifications may be doing jobs comparable to similar graduates in 2007, but for a lower wage.”
Full results of SU Elections on page 5 Continued on Page 3
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