The Campus Times - 02/05/2011

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SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

NEWS SHORTS

Murphy elected USI Vice President

No University for Waterford in lifetime of this Government

Clubs & Societies Recognition Award Winners 2011

Gary Redmond was re-elected as president of the Union of Students Ireland (USI) while former WIT Education Officer Colm Murphy was elected as Deputy President at the USI National Congress in Dunboyne, County Meath earlier this month.

A Priority Question asked by Deputy John Halligan on behalf of the people of Waterford has revealed that there are no plans to consider WIT for full university status.

The WIT Clubs and Societies Recognition Award is an award for members of clubs/societies who have made a positive contribution to their club/society during their time here in Waterford Institute of Technology.

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By Kevin O’Sullivan

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IT Students came out in their numbers as they voted in the WIT Students Union Election. Two of the three full time positions were uncontested making way for an easy return for both President Conor Doyle and Welfare Officer Denise McCarthy, both of whom topped the poll.

Polling attendants confirmed during the day that there was a brisk turnout with periods of queuing on the College St. Campus. The official voter turnout was slightly higher than previous years at 1800. Eight candidates in total ran for the five positions on offer.

The canvassing for votes began with the hustings sessions in the Cork Road & College St. Canteen with each of the candidates who are running for full time positions making their pre-election pledges to the students. The education candidates addressed the students first, with Frankie Mulqueen speaking about the need for college fees and indicated support for a graduate tax. He would lobby for a placement officer on campus who would deal with students who are going out on placement and need the right job that suited their course – moving away from the current careers office approach. He declared he would take a cut in his wages and donate the funding towards a new student relief fund that would be based on the existing fund but much improved. During his hustings speech on College St. Campus he spoke umpteen times about bringing college st and the cork road campuses together as his approach of addressing the students concern about the “second class service” people felt on campus.

Veronica Wheatley, her second year running for the position after a narrow defeat last year, spoke about her contributions towards representing students having being president of class rep council, an active class rep and her work during various campaigns such as the fees protest, raise and give week, and road safety week. She proposed to improve the promotion of services such as The Student Life and Learning and The Project Spot for the betterment of students as they would help both mature students

The Students Have Spoken and international students. For computer and printing services, she will ensure all reported problems are addressed and that better equipment for students in college street library is implemented. She pledged to help those students who are eligible for grants and funding to ensure they receive it while raising awareness of the funds available to students.

Brian Stan Staunton also spoke about his position in the union in recent times helping in raise and give week, sexual health and guidance week, hunks ‘n’ trunks and others. He proposed ideas including holding a weekly series of meetings whereby students with particular skills obtained during their course could help other students by providing

MOVIE REVIEWS

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them with free tutorials, removing additional costs on students by removing the requirement of binding being required and continuing to improve the Student Union bookshop. Again, the issue of grants was a big part of his proposals with the plan to lobby awarding agencies to ensure students are paid on time and lobby for the removal of the Non Adjacent Grant level introduced by the previous government. He pledged to continue the fight for student nurses ensuring they are paid during their work experience.

Denise McCarthy the only candidate running for election for Welfare and seeking the students support for being re-elected for a second term spoke about her experience from the past four years and proposed helping alleviate problems students are having with accommodation through the introduction of PRTB clinics on campus with the aim of answering student questions and giving solutions to general student problems VV3

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SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

General News

The Student View On the WITSU Election Day, I spoke with a number of students closer to the end of polling who had voted on both College St and Cork Road Campus to see what their thoughts were on the elections and what candidates they voted for in the contested Education position.

By Kevin O’Sullivan

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ne student in Criminal Just Studies Year 3 expressed her disappointment that there wasn’t much choice for Welfare and President.

She said that as a college street student, she was voting for a candidate who she felt would work for the students and those who understood the problems they face on the college street campus pointing out that those who have not experienced it don’t understand how it affects students. Her vote went to Brian “Stan” Staunton.

Another college street student, a first year student in Social Studies, said she hasn’t been following the campaign closely but knew some of the candi-

dates and would be voting for them.

She didn’t agree that it was a bad thing that there wasn’t any competition for Welfare and President saying that both candidates had done a “very good job” over the year. Again, the issue of college street services came up and she felt the camps needed to improve printing services and offer banking. She singled out Denise McCarthy as a candidate she voted for because of the hard work she had put in last year and would be voting for Brian “Stan” Staunton as a college street candidate who was a strong candidate for the campus.

The final student I spoke with on College Street was a third year Arts student who said that she voted in all elections so far and voted for candidates she knew personally, and wasn’t following the campaign closely. She was happy

that candidates from College Street were running because she felt they had experienced the problems and would be able to fight for better services as they were being left out compared with main campus. Her vote went for a candidate that most of her friends knew based on her belief that he “can’t be that bad”, Frankie Mulqueen.

On the Cork Road campus, there were mostly campaign groups on the ground and very few students. One girl, a first year, commented that the campaigners were very convincing on campus on getting their candidates message across but that she had already a good knowledge of the campaigns and candidates from her work as a class representative for the students union. She voted for candidates she felt were the most convincing and offered the best plan for the students. For education, the vote went for Brian “Stan” Staunton.

Another student, doing his masters, commented on how he never really understood what the union were about or did, saying there was lack of communication from the union themselves on their achievements and work throughout the year for those who are not class representatives. The whole event was a

bit of a “hullaballoo”. For this reason, he decided to opt out and note cast a vote.

One other group of students, all doing business in year one, found the student union elections were “very in your face” and didn’t pay much attention to the student union elections. They were taken aback with the way the campaigns just start from and end in one day, apart from a few posters that are around campus. Indeed their votes each went for Brian “Stan” Staunton purely because they liked his poster.

The final group of students, who were shyer in opening up and talking, complained that not enough candidates approached them and spoke about their plans for the union. Instead, they had campaign groups on campus and hustings session during their lunch hour which didn’t impress them. The only candidates they considered voting for, in most cases, were those who actually spoke with them – Denise McCarthy and Conor Doyle. The rest, they voted for “randomly”.

In particular, two of the less shy talkers, had plenty to say. One slammed the candidates for not coming around and speaking them. He rubbished the theory that the best time to catch students were during lunch hour – after hours of college, they would like to eat in peace.

Another member of the group, has never voted in the election because he had “better things to be doing” and he “didn’t have time” – despite sitting in the canteen before polling even had closed.

General News | 3

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

News IN BRIEF

Systemic Voting Weakness Report

t Two WIT Students represented the college in the national IT Fac-

On Wednesday, March 23rd the students of WIT came out in their droves to elect a new team to represent them for the next academic year.

By Kevin O’Sullivan

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new record was set in this election, with a small increase in the number of students who cast their vote. The election saw eight candidates run for the five positions on offer with a majority of the candidates being female.

A total of 1800 students voted in this election, up 50 from last year. With around 5,000 or so eligible to vote in the election, it continued the trend for a typically small turnout. Over the years, the various political societies on campus have said that during voter registration campaigns for state elections – there is always a large number of students who refuse to vote because they have no interest. With student elections, there are mixtures of problems that may indicate why a small turnout is the trend in WITSU election.

Firstly, there isn’t a huge build-up or push for the elections. It’s a short lived campaign with election posters going up late, a very brief hustings session in the canteen during lunch hour which has no room for debate or a proper challenge from the students. Then you just have campaign groups out on Election Day which by then is a bit late canvassing students.

Secondly, there is always going to be a number of people who simply don’t care for elections and see no benefits in voting for representatives at student level or national level. With many, they

don’t understand or see how it really impacts them. Even in these student elections, students felt uninformed about candidates and didn’t really know what the union has done throughout the year – a common problem which no communication officer has managed to tackle (or really attempt at tackling the problem).

Finally, there is always large numbers of students who are not on campus or simply have classes on that day during the times the election is ongoing. For example, Social Studies and Early Childhood Studies Students are out on work experience and very few students in these courses managed to get onto campus and cast their vote. That’s a huge loss of vote’s right there as they were not accommodated. Many students are in class 9am – 5pm and don’t have time between classes or their lunch break to cast their vote. Yet polling opens and closes during these times and therefore isn’t accommodating these students either.

Until the simple problems are addressed, we won’t be seeing any buck in the trend in WITSU Elections in the coming years.

tor, held in Limerick IT on March 10th this year. Shane Barry (Cover song) and John O Connor (Original) went onto represent the college in the final and made the college proud with a fantastic performance on the night. The overall winner of the competition was GMIT student Myles Kelly who won a two-day recording session in a Professional Recording Studio. t Congratulations to Laura Grace who was recently crowned Miss WIT. Laura went onto represent WIT in the Miss University Competition held in Dublin for the chance to win a modelling contract with Assets Models and other prizes including free entry to the Miss Ireland competition. t Presidential Candidate David Norris visited WIT Students in the College St. Campus on March 15th.

David held a brief talk about his

The Students Have Spoken 1 VV while getting all landlords in Waterford registered with PRTB. Commenting on health, she proposed the idea of a “WIT Operation Transformation” to encourage students to get involved and get healthy. On finance, ask MABS (Money Advice and Budgeting Service) to come on campus in September, improve on the welfare fund setup last year and improving it, and co-ordinate a money matters campaign continuously.

The final candidate to speaking was Conor Doyle, seeking the re-election to the top office of President, spoke about his achievements to-date such as their charity fundraisers, Raise and Give Week, creation of the recreation room on College Street, and introduction of the Bike Shop. Like most of the education candidates, he pledged to lobby the government to overturn the non adjacent grant rate. He proposed that the old shop be replaced with student services to operate form including Student

Life and Learning and Clubs and Societies. He noted that with college funding going to decrease, he will fight against college management if they propose cutting student services to make savings. A big pledge for Architecture Students, who are moving off campus due to building works commencing shortly on campus, was to continue his fight on the issues which will affect architecture students as a result of relocating such as canteen facilities and parking. On the national front, he pledged to campaign with USI for a national ID card and a graduate internship programme.

Throughout polling day most candidates and their campaign teams were out in force canvassing students for that all important number one vote. Oddly, the only candidate and his team not on campus was Frankie Mulqueen which resulted in speculation that he had pulled out of the race – a suggestion denied by Frankie. Denise and Conor,

who as elected officers still had to work throughout the day, were trying to divide their time between canvassing and case work.

The count got underway that evening with results being announced much quicker than previous year. The first count was announced shortly before 7pm for Conor Doyle, who topped the poll with 1559 votes and Denise McCarthy who also topped the poll with 1576 votes. Most bizarrely, the returning officer announced the results without the candidates being present. The candidates only became aware they had been elected when they arrived over to see how the count was going. The next position to be announced was the Communications Officer, Vikki Murphy, with 1629 votes. Vikki ran uncontested.

The entertainments position had just two people contesting the election, with a tight gap between candidates resulting in a recount. In the end, it wasn’t meant to be for Dee Houlihan who lost out with Dee Grant getting the Entertainments position in the end. The hotly contested Education position, which was widely predicted to be a tight race between Brian Staunton and Veronica Wheatley, ended up with Brian exceeding the quota on the first count with 1,140 of the vote.

The gap was much larger between the remaining candidates, with Veronica getting 438 votes and Frankie just a shocking 215 votes.

career to date and his ambitions to become the next president of Ireland. He then went onto hold a Meet & Greet and Question and Answer session in the College Street Rec Room. The event was a great success and enjoyed by all in attendance. t WIT Students Union raised a massive €25,000 during its Raise and Give Week this year. There were four worthy charities, which were chosen carefully by the students’ union. These include the Irish Wheelchair Association, St Vincent de Paul (Waterford Branch), Housing for Boaco and the Make a Wish Foundation. t The WIT LGBT Society has been nominated for LGBT Organisation of the year, while their chairperson Ronan Brady has been nominated LGBT Person of the year. Congratulations on your fantastic work throughout the year!

4 | General News

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

The Candidates Review With the election results finalised and fully wrapped up, I interviewed all the candidates to see how they felt their campaign went plus their thoughts on the results and a general review on the election.

By Kevin O’Sullivan

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onor Doyle, who was re-elected as Union president and exceeded the quota on the first count, said he was delighted and “honoured” to be re-elected with such a large vote. With the count finalised for all candidates, he reflected on his campaign and commented that it was a stressful election because of the amount of case work that needed to be carried out especially with the resignation of James Lamb as Education Officer before the election but that he is delighted with the result and looks forward to working with the newly elected team. Asked what he thought of the contest for Education, he said that he was surprised that the results were not closer between the candidates and expected the count to go on much longer and ending up with only a narrow defeat. With the results in and the college term drawing to an end, he said the union will soon need to sit down and look at what areas they did well on and what areas need improving on for next year.

Denise McCarthy, clearly ecstatic with the result, said she was “over the moon” with the outcome and was surprised at how quick the count went – having to be called over from the Dome with news that her position had already been announced. She said that the election shows who has the love and the hunger for the students union and it shows a great atmosphere on campus with the passionate out campaigning hard. With a large vote from College St campus, she said that out of the six years in college four of those were in the College Street campus and her last election campaign also pledged to improve services on the campus which she succeeded in doing so.

She will continue the fight this year to make the campus even better.

Veronica Whetley who faced defeat for a second year in a row, was holding her head up high said she was disappointed and had the motto “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again” and last year’s battle was a much closer.

Brian Stan Staunton said he was apprehensive and that he didn’t know what to expect. All day he had heard reports that the other two candidates “had it in the bag” and he was unsure

how the students would vote on the main campus for him. He commented that it was a “clean battle” and there were no dirty tricks. He praised his team for their hard work which helped clinch the large votes, and laughed off my suggestion that his campaign of free kisses and hugs around campus helped secure a large female vote. With this being his sixth year in the college, he said it was time he gave something back to the college and would work hard as the new Education Officer Frankie Mulqeen, who ran for Education and came in final place with just 215 votes, suggested that being honest with the students was one of his downfalls in this campaign. He had thought that being an active member of the Young Fine Gael Society plus a former Entertainments Officer would have helped his campaign but looking back he feels that having being outside the union for over a year didn’t help and would have been a part to play in the small number of votes he received. Reflecting on the overall campaign, he praised all the candidates highly but refused to comment on the union president Conor Doyle saying he had “no opinion” off him. He commented that one candidate in particular circulated a rumour that he had “pulled out of the campaign” which he felt was a “dirty trick”.

Frankie, during his campaign, had called for the College Street campus to be shut and merged with the existing Cork Road campus while also suggest-

Murphy elected USI Vice President Gary Redmond was re-elected as president of the Union of Students Ireland (USI) while former WIT Education Officer Colm Murphy was elected as Deputy President at the USI National Congress in Dunboyne, County Meath earlier this month.

By Kevin O’Sullivan

T

he USI is the national representative body of students in further and higher education. Established in 1959, it recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and currently represents over 450,000 students in over forty educational institutions across the country.

During the week of March 13th – 16th hundreds of representatives from students unions across Ireland gathered for the annual National Congress of the USI. Speakers at the event included John Hennessey, the new chair of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), and Seán Gallagher from RTÉ’s “The Dragon’s Den” who spoke about how the young people of Ireland can drive the economy forward.

Central issues discussed at Congress included the lobbying of the new Min-

ister for Education and Skills, Labours Ruairí Quinn, tackling undergraduate unemployment and emigration, and the protection of student grants.

Redmond, who has previously held positions in UCD Students Union, will now undergo a second successive year as USI President having been re-elected with a majority of 92%.

In his acceptance speech, Redmond called for the country to move forward from the condition it has found itself in.

ing that students need to pay some form of registration fees.

Dee Grant, the successful candidate for Entertainments, said she was absolutely delighted with the results and it was a tough battle with a little over 20 votes between her and the candidate who ran against her. She has been involved in various WITSU events throughout the year and through President of the Business Society running the Biz Ball. For next year’s RAG week, she said she had lots of plans and ideas. She wants to have a mix of activities around campus, big acts “at the right price” and spreading the events around more places. She also pledged to get more people involved in organising RAG Week – opening it up to everyone instead of just a select few.

Dee Houlihan, the runner up for the entertainments position and having being narrowly defeated, told me she declared because she felt it would be good for College Street to have an Entertainments Officer and that she was encouraging others to get involved in the union and for an election when a “lot of people” spoke about how things were not being run very well in the College Street. She refused to comment on what issues students brought to her attention before and during her campaign. On reflection, she thinks now that her lack of involvement in the union hadn’t helped her campaign to be elected. She was happy with how her campaign went and said running next year would be a “big possibility”.

Vikki Murphy, the new communication officer, is a graphic designer and a photographer. She has plans to continue some of the improvements the Union have made in terms of communication, including the introduction of a video blog and the use of twitter.

“While it would be foolish to ignore the problems facing this country, we cannot afford to dwell on them for a second longer.

As an organisation, as a country, as a people, we need to learn from the mistakes of the past but we also need to move on.”

He has also expressed his belief that the old government had grown “quite stale” and that he is looking forward to meeting with the new Minister for Education.

He has proposed plans to ensure the Student Support Act is implemented, to follow through on the introduction of the Higher Education Strategy Group, to introduce a national student discount card, and to increase the powers of the USI. Recalling and celebrating the achievements of the past year, he focused on the USI’s response to government attempts to reintroduce fees, the national student march in November and the massive turnout of students for the election in February. “The last nine months have been momentous. We’ve kick-started a wave of student action.”

Current USI Education Officer Colm Murphy was elected Deputy President with 60% of the vote. Colm had proposed in his manifesto to propose a strategy that would help tackle the issue of funding in the Higher Education Sector through areas such as proposing a new funding alternative to a graduate tax or third level

General News | 5

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

“Real Political Reform” – is technology the key?

By Kyle O’Sullivan

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computer. Almost everyone has the one. Your brother uses one for World of Warcraft online.

Your sister uses one to check the latest B-list celebrity scandals and affairs. Your father looks at used cars on Carzone.

Your mother spends hours on Facebook adding more friends than you. And your grandparents (that’s all the stereotypes used I think) spend hours listening to old 60s songs on Youtube and dance around their bedroom.

Most areas of business have had technology integrated into their system and now it is one if not the primary driving force for efficiency and success. Arguably, two areas which have lagged behind are law and politics.

fees, protecting students from reforms proposed through the Croke Park Agreement, and lobby for Third Level institutions to offer more online and distance offerings both as entire courses and usage of their virtual learning environment.

Other proposals include lobbying the new government on graduate employment, improving the communication from the USI to the students and ensuring that aspects in the area of grant delays and maintenance levels in the Student Support Act are implemented without delay.

“It was a tight race, even tighter than the numbers would indicate. Aengus was an excellent candidate. I’m delighted with the win, and i believe that the experience i have gained this year will help me enormously to be able to hit the ground running on the first day of my new term” said Mr Murphy.

There was an upset in the election of the Education Officer as Trinity student Jennifer Fox was defeated by the RON (reopen nominations) vote. There will be another election between now and June to try and fill the post for next year.

Scott Ahearn won the Welfare election with 89% of votes. Siobhan McGuire was elected LGBT Rights Officer whilst Gerard Gallagher was elected Equality Officer in an uncontested race, beating the RON option by 127 votes to 58.

We live and love in a new age of technology. Not only is it a major market for goods and services, it often controls and manages how we work, how we create and how we live. It has been nothing less than a fundamental revolution of the way the world works. Most areas of business have had technology integrated into their system and now it is one if not the primary driving force for efficiency and success. Arguably, two areas which have lagged behind are law and politics.

There are a number of reasons for this. Tradition has been a major part of both areas for centuries and there is a reluctance among those involved to change this. There is almost a romanticism to pore through dusty volumes of reports. Who would dare get the online PDF version?? Blasphemers, of course.

In addition to this, technology is viewed as ‘dodgy’ – unreliable and not to be trusted. In some aspects I can’t blame them. Trying to open files and being prevented access, turning off computer, trying again and succeeding – ggggrrrrr.... however it must be admitted that a part of it would come down to my obvious technological ignorance.

So where can technology fit into politics? In the hoo-haw before the election, new Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin repeatedly said “we need real political reform.” How “real” though is the question? Are we willing to undergo a political revolution to really change things? One outcome from the election results is clear to me at least. It wasn’t an overwhelming vote of confidence in Fine Gael. It was an overwhelming rejection of Fianna Fáil. But not only that, it was a vote of rejection in politics today. People are sick of it and they want to see it change. Can technology drive such change?

President Obama showed one aspect of how the internet can influence politics as his social-network-friendly approach secured support, financially and politically. That is sure to develop and continue into the future. But what I have in mind is more procedural and elemental.

Firstly, a warning, I’m no expert on technology. I’m simply scratching my head and continuously saying to myself “such major technological advances have contributed to society in so many ways...surely it can do so in politics too.” Martin Cullen had the right idea when he bought those electronic voting machines but that turned out to be a bit of a catastrophe didn’t it? But I believe it is the way forward.

Let’s just pretend I’m standing at a drawing board jotting down ideas for the future. I’m not saying these ideas are perfect but what I will say is that these are the sort of ideas that we should consider to move forward into the 21st century.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing for a change for Ireland to lead the march forward on a new idea or way of thinking rather than waiting 10 years to be dragged kicking and screaming like a spoilt child in a toy shop into the present?

Firstly voting. Back to the theory that computers are pretty much available to everyone in the population (99%-ish).

Could it be possible to launch a voting program from government online? Every citizen entitled to vote will be issued a username and a password. They log on their computer on voting day, vote electronically and that’s that. Convenience to the button. And no waiting around for two days to see if someone got elected or not, it’d be fully counted and apportioned by the last vote! Alas for the “Counting Day” enthusiasts but such people really have better things to be doing anyway. This also gets rid of the need for dodgy recounts and the like. Now two issues immediately spring to mind in the way of problems. Firstly, security.

Is it possible to secure such a system to protect it from all corruption and invasion from hackers and such? Why not? I am quite sure that large corporations and governments have protection systems in place. Just give the FBI an auld ring and Bob’s your teapot!

Secondly, accessibility. For people who don’t have personal access to computers, a facility can be set aside like a polling station for people to vote there.

As to the other foreseeable problem: what about people who cannot use computers? Of course public awareness programs and tutorial meetings organised for those who are computer illiterate. However, if the userface setup on screen when voting is sufficiently clear and easy to use then it should not cause too many problems.

And if voting for candidates could work, what about voting for other things...like say legislation? Now that’s where it gets interesting. What if a similar system could be used to vote through a Bill? Let’s stop and consider this. Say a day every fortnight or month was “voting day.” Bills would be available online with pro and against arguments attached from Government and

presumably opposition. Citizens with their username and password as usual cast their vote over the legislation. Like a mini electronic referendum. It does not have to be the be-all and end-all for the Bill. It could simply be a Stage.

Of course this asks the question: how involved do people want to be in the making and passing of laws? Because I

believe that democracy has to evolve.

What exists now is merely an illusion.

A delusion. Technology has the power to give every person a real say in how things are done. Its capacity for change should not be underestimated.

These are just a few brainstorming ideas that occurred to me. Are they perfect? Of course not. But that’s not the point. We have to change the way we approach things. We have to look outside the box. I hope that if anything this article makes you think about the future of how we do things. Politics could learn a lot from business. Business rewards innovation and creative thinking. More of that is needed if we want to see “real political reform.”

Bruton: Govt to reverse minimum wage cut by the summer Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton has said the Government intends to reverse the cut in the national minimum wage by the summer.

However he said the cost of reversing the cut will be made up by changes in work practices, including cutting back on the cost of hiring workers to work Sundays and bank holidays.

6 | General News

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

Minister announces overhaul of student grant system Minister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn has announced that a single student grant awarding authority is to replace the existing 66 bodies.

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he new system will come into effect for the 2012/13 academic year.

This landmark decision reforms a student grant system that has been in operation in the State since 1968 and it will gradually replace the existing 66 VEC and local authority grant awarding bodies.

The City of Dublin VEC will operate as the new centralised authority fol-

lowing a competitive process carried by an independent selection panel. Minister Quinn will formally designate the CDVEC following agreement on implementation with his Department.

The single grant authority will operate on a transitional basis, accepting all new applications from 2012.

For this year, 2011, students will still apply to their local authorities or VECs for a grant and these bodies will continue to deal with renewal of existing grants on a wind-down basis over three to four years.

It also represents a development in meeting the objectives set out in the action plan for the education sector on the Croke Park Agreement.

Minister Quinn said he has strongly supported student calls to overhaul the student grants system.

“While I am grateful to the VECs and local authorities currently operat-

ing the student grant function, the system is clearly overloaded resulting in late outcomes to applications and late payments for students,” said Minister Quinn.

“I have said many times that this is not good enough. I expect the single authority to address these issues delivering a very significant service enhancement to students,” he concluded.

Gary Redmond, President of USI, offered his congratulations to the CDVEC. He said that the enactment of the Student Support Act earlier this year was a critical milestone on the road towards equity of access to education in this country.

Mr. Redmond said that, while the move to a single grant awarding agency is a much welcomed development given the obvious cost saving benefits associated with centralisation of responsibili-

ties, the priority for this new agency has to be the students who depend on the prompt arrival of grants.

No University for Waterford in lifetime of this Government A Priority Question asked by Deputy John Halligan on behalf of the people of Waterford has revealed that there are no plans to consider WIT for full university status.

By Adam Murphy DUBLIN, 24th March

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n answering Deputy Halligan’s question, Minister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn announced that he “supports and agrees with the analysis of the recently published Hunt report which concluded that there is no case for the creation of new universities”. It would damage the university sector in its entirety to simply change the name of an institute added Mr Quinn who stated that all of Ireland’s Universities rank within the Top 500 in the world, with 2 ranking within the Top 100.

Mr Halligan pointed out in his supplemental question to the Minister that other Government reports such as the

Port Report supported the case for full university status in Waterford. The regions poor graduate statistics and the low number of people who return to Waterford after their studies in other regions were also raised with the Minister.

Technological University Mr Quinn said that there is a path open for Technological University status for Waterford Institute of Technology and other Institutes in the region and recognised the high standard that WIT has reached. Performance criteria for such Technological Universities is at an earlystage of development and will be published soon.

Disappointment Following the debate, Mr Halligan expressed his disappointment in what he had been told.

“Both Labour and Fine Gael supported the case for full university status for Waterford prior to the election but both have quickly made a U-Turn upon going into Government, similar to what we saw from our previous Government time and time again.

“The Port Report noted that WIT is operating on a level equal to that of other universities yet this is despite only receiving a fraction of the funding. Both the staff and students in WIT

should be proud of this and I’m disappointed that our Government has chosen to renege on their respective preelection promises and implement more red-tape that WIT will have to spend significant amounts of money trying to navigate” Continued Lobbying “Waterford deserves a university, not more empty promises and wasteful processes” said Mr Halligan. “I will continue to seek answers and clarification from the Department of Education and Skills regarding this very important issue for Waterford and the wider region” he added.

General News | 7

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

Japan earthquake, tsunami kill hundreds On March 11 at around 2:46pm the country of Japan was hit by an earthquake that hit 8.9 on the Richter scale. The result of the earthquake was massive damage to buildings, blackouts, fires and most devastatingly of all a tsunami. However as Japan begins on the long road to recovery it may not just the country that could be in trouble moving into the future. In this article we examine what effects the new Japanese crisis may have on Japan and the world economy as we move into an uncertain economic future.

By Robin Murphy

Japan The last major earthquake to hit Japan was the Kobe earthquake in 1995 which killed 6,400 people. The cost of that earthquake was put at a sensational Y10 trillion ($100 billion), however industrial trade suffered only a brief dip and although the stock market fell by 8% in the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake it returned to a more stable position soon after the disaster.

Early reports suggest that Tohoku, in the north-east region of Honshu Island, was the hardest hit area during the earthquake. This region accounts for 8% of the country’s GDP however it is less populated and less industrial than the area of Kobe was. So from an outsider’s perspective it appears that although this new earthquake was much larger than the Kobe earthquake this new one may prove less damaging to the Japanese economy than its predecessor.

Not so, argues leading economists at Barclay’s Capital: “Based on currently available information, we estimate that damages could exceed 15 trillion Japanese yes (3% of GDP)” Other economists such as Kyohei Morita and Yuichiro Nagai present a similarly pessimistic view about the future of the Japanese economy “The economy in the affected region is highly open, which means developments within the region tend to have an impact outside the region and vice versa.”

They argue that Tohoku, as a “trading area” within Japan, is an area which the rest of the country is very dependent on. As a result it is expected that the latest earthquake may have longer lasting economic effects on what remains the third largest economy in the world.

Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute had this to say: “We still don’t know the full scale of the damage, but considering what happened after the earthquake in Kobe, this will certainly lead the government to compile an emergency budget. We can expect consumption to fall. This could temporarily pull down gross domestic product. The government would have to sell more bonds, but this is an emergency, so this can’t be avoided”.

World Immediately following the earthquake commodity and currency markets took a hit on international markets. However the impact so far has been relatively minor. Dennis Gartman, hedge fund manager and author of The Gartman Letter investor bulletin spoke about the crisis facing the world economy: “This is not just going to be a Japanese circumstance, this is on both sides of the Pacific and the dollars are going to add up very quickly”

Many reliable news sources suggest that the effect of the earthquake on the stock markets has been under what was originally forecast, which is an encouraging sign. However to fully gauge the effects of the earthquake on the world economy we have to look beyond just the stock markets.

The most controversial of these issues to talk about right now is nuclear power. The situation in the Fukushima Daiichi is an ongoing crisis and is already documented as the second biggest nuclear disaster in history after Chernobyl. Japan currently gets about 30% of its power from nuclear power sources with a strategic plan in place to increase that to 50% by 2030. Following the recent events this policy is sure to be revaluated and a similar back tracking on policy may occur in other countries such as the US and France where plans called for nuclear power to replace fossil fuels. A revaluation of nuclear policy will open new doors to green energy sources around the world and will provide an economic boast to the industry as a whole but at the expense of a drop in the demand for nuclear industries.

Another area to keep an eye on is the automobile industry. The earthquake has forced the closure of numerous Toyota and Nissan plants across Japan. Usually car dealers have at least a 30 day supply of cars on hand so a shortfall may not be immediately obvious. But as the factories reopen and find that suppliers they once had have now been destroyed further delays will occur in returning to full productivity. What does this mean for you and me? Simple, demand for cars has been on the rise again for the first time in a few years but now supply will be at a shortfall and when demand outstrips supply prices go up. It may seem at first that this can be

offset by purchasing non Japanese models however an average car consists of around 25,000 parts meaning no matter what make of car or what country it’s assembled in it probably has a percentage of Japanese parts in it.

In contrast in the commodity markets prices are expected to drop or at the least stagnate given the drop in demand for food and oil. Despite the tragic circumstances behind these drops this will be good news for the world economy as food prices have never been as high as they are right now and the world is currently battling a surge in the price of oil. This is expected to be only a short term drop but it will come as a timely boost to those who have been struggling to keep their food and oil bills at a manageable level.

The most interesting result of the earthquake on the world economy is to be found right at the heart of the US economy. Currently Japan owns about $882 billion of US securities (ie. The USA’s debts), this accounts for almost 10% of the entire US debt. With the vast amount of money required for the rebuilding effort in Japan the Japanese government may seek to call in a significant portion of this debt at short notice. While this may not have an immediate effect on the US economy in the short run given the size of their overall debt. However, the move would force the US to borrow from international markets at far higher rates and with no concrete plan to tackle US debt this type of run on US securities could have a long term economic effect on the US as a superpower.

Overall in the short to medium term the effects of the earthquake on the world economy may be minimal. However, over the long run the effects of the earthquake coupled with the long process of rebuilding in an already unstable market may prolong the world economy from gaining any real traction going forward into the future. While it’s too early to predict anything certain as this is still a developing crisis the earthquake in Japan is sure to leave a large impact not only on the lives of the poor Japanese victims for which we offer our sincerest condolences but it may also have an effect on each of our lives as we move into an uncertain future.

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SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

College Corner Exam Preparation It’s coming to that time of the year again, plenty of stress and all-nighters. Here are a few tips to take with you to help you for Summer Exams 2011.

By Denise McCarthy WITSU Welfare

Improving study skills

Where to study • Find a quiet place to study and work on assignments. You shouldn’t listen to the radio or TV, as this will only distract you.

• Always study in the same place, preferably in a well-lit and well ventilated area.

• Assemble and keep your study supplies to hand. These may include a dictionary, post-its, refill pads, index cards and highlighters.

• Keep your study area clean, tidy and well organised.

• The library is a great place to study but it will become really crowded around exam times, so get in early to beat the crowd.

• Don’t forget to get plenty of sleep and eat well and drink loads of water-it will help you study!

How to study • Set aside a specific time to do projects/study every night, as this will help establish a routine.

• Study in one-hour blocks and then give yourself 15mins of a break.

• Studying in groups can help focus on areas of importance and facilitates access to more information and may afford the opportunity of a better understanding of course content.

• Study Groups-Depending on subject, is a good idea You and your class mates can develop on various topics and learn more. Rooms for group study are available in Cork Road Campus During the exam • Read directions carefully.

• Listen to the directions given by the examiner.

• Divide time out evenly between all questions.

• Change answers only if you are certain they are wrong.

• Use all the time allowed; check over answers and re-read directions if you have spare time.

• Answer the question! Lecturers can only give marks for answers to the question. For example, if the question says compare Chemical A with Chemical B. If your answer just discusses Chemical A then this doesn't answer the question

Four people to talk to:

1. Someone a year ahead. If you talk to someone who has done the test, they can give you an overview of what is involved and what is generally required. This will give you an idea of the way the exam is put together, the content, and the form that it takes.

2. Your Lecturer: Try to make an appointment with your lecturer or at least get a good idea of what is involved in the whole process. This will keep you relaxed - the more you know the less you panic. It will also look like you are interested in doing well.

3. College classmates This is always a delicate area as they may steer you away from your focus. Find out if

they have any past exam papers or any notes or hints that you may have missed. Stick to the ones that are positive about the exam. Stay away from the “Oh my God’s”. You may find someone to share the study load and swap with.

4. Students Union: If you are worried about something or just need to ask a question, do not hesitate to Call into the Students’ Union office. Whether you are stressed and need to chat with someone, you need grinds, or even unable to attend an exam and don’t know what to do about it call in.

Denise McCarthy: 086 7854402 (welfare@witsu.ie/education@witsu.ie) Conor Doyle: 086 7854420 (president@witsu.ie)

It’s that time of year again...

Where will we live next year...?

Looking for new houses and apartments is only around the corner and the race for the nicest houses is on, but beware. It might look lovely but there could be mould or be too noisy or just way too expensive!!

By Denise McCarthy WITSU Welfare Officer

W

hether you are in 1st year looking for next year’s house or your going into 4th year and need somewhere comfortable and quiet - ask as many questions as you can and look at EVERYTHING in the house.

It’s easy to feel the pressure when you’re trying to find a new place to live... there’s so much to remember to check! So here’s a handy list of stuff you need to know before you sign a lease or hand over your cash. Take it with you

when you’re checking a new place out to make sure you don’t forget a thing!

Before you move in/when you view accommodation: • Double check the amount of the deposit, rent in advance and rent • For security, check all the locks on doors and windows, alarm, fire alarm, fire extinguishers, and make sure you know who else has a key • If necessary, ask situation with parking for bicycles and cars • Is the accommodation convenient? Is it near WIT, shops and a bus route?

Is the area safe at night?

• Ask the landlord for ID & if he/ she is registered with PRTB(Private Renting Tenancy Board)

• Security – check all locks, check the alarm, and make sure you know who else has a key.

• Make sure the place is properly ventilated, and that vents, fireplaces or windows aren't blocked.

• Make sure that all appliances are in good working order – the fridge, the freezer, the oven, washing machine, microwave, the phone, and (probably most importantly) the TV. • Be wary of a strong smell of air freshener – what's that trying to hide? It might be damp, so have a good look inside wardrobes, behind heavy furniture, on ceilings and in corners of rooms.

• Is there hot and cold running water in all taps?

• What kind of heating system is there? Oil, gas, electric... none?

• What bills are you going to have to pay on top of your rent? Heating, electricity, phone, internet, cable TV, bin charges?

• If there is anything wrong with the property, ask the landlord if they intend to fix it, and if so, when.

Always think of your safety. New buildings are obliged to have smoke alarms, fire blankets, fire escapes and the like, but they are only recommended in older buildings. Make sure the landlord will provide all necessary safety equipment If you need any extra advice please call into the Students Union Office and make an appointment or send an email to welfare@witsu.ie Denise McCarthy WITSU Welfare Officer 086 7854402

College Corner | 9

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

WITCard Bursary The WITCard Bursary offers students the chance to win €250 WITCard Top Up. The WITCard Bursary is run through out the college year in conjunction with the WITCard, Bewleys & Freshways which gives students the opportunity to win the fantastic prize of €250 WITCard Top Up by simply topping up their WITCard Online.

Why Top Up your WITCard Online?

Topping Up Online couldn’t be easier, It’s safe and secure and gives students the opportunity of topping up at ease.

When students receive their WITCard, they will automatically be issued with a WITCard account. This personalised WITCard account provides students with greater security along with many other advantages.

Advantages of using Online WITCard Top Up methods are: • Beat the queues at the Top Up Machines • You can top up your WITCard from a number or locations i.e. college computers, At Home, WITCard Office

• Parents or family members can top up your card from home for you • Its safe and secure – rather than carrying cash • Earn loyalty points – every time you top up using any of the three methods above you earn points that convert to cash on your WITCard.

you receive your WITCard. Watch out on Campus TV’s for dates.

To Win Simply Top Up one of these three ways: 1. Online @ www.wit.ie/witcard 2. At the AIB Bank Machine located on campus or 3. Via Mobiload

To be part of next years WITCard Bursarys simply Top Up Online once

To learn more about The WITCard & Services visit www.wit.ie/witcard.

Where the jobs are...

Figures from Gradireland.com vacancy system At the time of circulation there are on average 158 graduate jobs, graduate schemes and work placement positions on Gradireland.com.

14.7% of these roles are categorized as either work experience or internship positions.

17.1% of the total number of jobs/ graduate training scheme positions are for roles either entirely outside Ireland or a mix of positions in Ireland and other countries (mainly UK).

Irish Labour Market Information Want to find out about the growth areas in the Irish labour market? Review CareersPortal.ie.

WIT Career Centre Vacancies There are currently over 230 jobs advertised on the WIT Careers Centre website under “Jobs Available – NOW” heading.

These are updated daily and are here in Ireland, in the UK and in Europe. The sections are divided into – Internships and Placements – 23.5% – remember “placement” jobs could become permanent, if not you have work experience and that goes a long way on a CV! Job Opportunities – Graduate Training Programmes – 11.3% – these programmes run from 6 months to 2 years are salaried and lead to permanent positions within the companies.

Jobs Vacancies – 46.5% – these are full time positions, 99% of which are permanent!

Part Time, Vacation and Volunteering Work – 18.7% – the part time

vacancies are a mixture of permanent and fixed contract duration and don’t forget, volunteering work is networking and you never know where this will lead!

Opportunities Abroad If you are seeking to go abroad to gain work experience, you may find these two web sites useful: • Improved Job Search for International Students and Graduates The new look, improved International Graduate Jobs part of prospects. ac.uk has just gone live! It has op-

portunities with different employers in a wide range of job sectors. Plus there is other useful information on the site to help students to get the job they want – — how to write a good CV and covering letter — example CV for many countries — and tips on how to improve interview skills.

Go to www.prospects.ac.uk/international_graduate_jobs.htm • Also under the WIT Careers Centre website “Jobs Available – NOW” heading is the “Voluntary and Work

Experience – Home and Abroad” section, which details organisations offering voluntary/work experience – paid and unpaid – opportunities from two weeks to 2 years. You will be doing something positive with your time working in a wide range of environments and gaining that much needed experience for your future job applications.

All the best Angela and the Careers Team

10 | College Corner

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

WIT Campus Accommodation Students End of Year Check Out Calling all Residents of Manor Village & College Fields Please Read the Following Information Carefully

E

nd of year check out is fast approaching. Therefore we have put together some Do’s to help you reduce the deductions to your deposit at the end of the year. They are as follows: 1. Pay All Outstanding Bills i.e. ESB, Refuse, Fines and any Outstanding Rental 2. Remove All Rubbish from your Bedroom and Common Areas 3. Remove All Food from Fridges and Kitchen Presses 4. Clean Your Room & Common Areas 5. Clean Your Cooker, Fridge, Microwave & all Presses

6. Make sure your Toilet, Shower, Sink and Tiles are free from lime scale, grime & hair 7. Report any damage in advance of your check out 8. Please do NOT forget, standard fixed charge of 8.00 will apply to all for Laundry of your mattress protector, shower curtain & kitchen curtains 9. Your final and LAST ESB bill will be deducted from your deposit, as we can only read meters on last day of exit.

10. Cleaning charges are â‚Ź16.00 per hour so please take heed less cleaning for us less charges for you!

11. Please make sure you have handed in your bank account details. Failure to do so will result in delays of your deposit return being processed On a final note all Deposit Returns will be completed in batch and sent to our Accounts Department on the 30th of June 2011 and will be processed the first week of July 2011.

For Further Information or any queries on the above please feel free to contact us.

WIT Campus Accommodation would like to wish all our students the very best in their exams & their future endeavours...

College Corner | 11

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

Travel Health Clinic at The WIT Medical Centre It’s that time of year again when dreaming of travel to far off places in the summer of 2011 becomes a reality, when flights/accommodation & jobs have to be organized!

O

ften forgotten about in the chaos of trying to figure out the cheapest airfares, luggage sizes, visas etc is TRAVEL VACCINATIONS.

Important Tips

1. TIME. It is never too early to get travel health advice and travel vaccinations….people often leave it too late to ensure adequate coverage by vaccinations. On average it’s advisable to attend at least 6-8 weeks before travel.

2. COST. The cost of getting ill in a foreign country and health consequenc-

es following same far exceed the cost of travel vaccines; thousands of Euros vs. on average €100.00 for a course of travel vaccines which can give coverage for years .

3. DOCUMENTATION. In some countries proof of vaccination against certain diseases is a requirement before entry into that country.

At the WIT medical centre, you will be provided with: • A consultation with the doctor and nurse to discuss the details of your trip.

• Advice on the kind of vaccines and malarial protection you might require.

• The vaccinations you require.

• You will receive your own travel vaccination booklet once you have been vaccinated. (that includes a Yellow Fever Certificate, if needed)

Stay Healthy While Abroad

Don’t let your holiday or travel be affected by sickness acquired while away or on return. For all travellers (regardless of destination) the following

are sensible precautionary recommendations:

an insect repellent, and avoid unnecessary exposures if possible.

Hand washing If hands aren’t clean they can spread bacteria. You should spend at least 20 seconds washing your hands to ensure they are clean.

Other behaviours that might put you at risk • Casual sex. Condoms provide some protection, but not complete.

• Injection drug use. Never share needles or equipment.

• Other exposures such as ear piercing, tattooing, acupuncture, manicure and shaving with open razors should be avoided unless you are absolutely certain that the equipment being used is sterile.

• Sun exposure. Use high factor sun block.

Eating and drinking Only eat food that has been cooked all the way through or fruits and vegetables that have been washed and peeled.

Remember: boil it, cook it, peel it, or don’t eat it. Only drink water or other drinks from sources you trust.

Avoidance of insect bites Depending on what part of the world you are in, mosquitoes can spread malaria, yellow fever, dengue, Japanese B encephalitis, and West Nile virus, in addition to other infections.

Sand flies spread leishmaniasis and tsetse flies spread sleeping sickness. Ticks can spread lyme disease, as well as other infections. Remember to cover up exposed skin areas (with loose clothes) use

Last minute checklist...don’t forget your passport, travel insurance and travel vaccines!

The Medical Centre at WIT Telephone: 051 302873 (campus centre) 051 85299 (city centre surgery)

12

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

Entertainment Movies4Men – Perfect Movies for a Guys Night In

By Adam Murphy

A

guy’s night in – one of men’s last refuges where they’re free to talk vivaciously about anything that crosses their mind without fear of reprimand from the fairer sex. It’s a night where the beer is flowing and the farts and burps are seen as something to be proud of rather than be embarrassed about. It sounds perfect. However, the night is only as good as the movie that everyone has come to watch, so I’ll now go through a golden selection of movies that are dripping testosterone from start to finish and will be sure to make your night memorable. Expect plenty of blood, sex or laughs (usually all three) from start to finish.

Battle: LA Review S

et in Los Angeles; the city looks a bit different than we’ve seen it before. This is a destroyed urban sprawl that wouldn’t look out of place in a war torn Middle-Eastern town.

An unknown enemy has attacked and is close to over running the city. Not knowing what else these invaders are capable of, the military decide to wipe the city off the map, and taking the enemy with it. The film starts with Staff Sgt. Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) and his platoon as they are tasked with rescuing survivors stuck behind enemy lines before the bombs drop. The marines get dumped in the middle of a war-zone, and a rescue mission soon turns in to a fight for survival.

I was in awe, watching this film. The special effects are fantastic, on par with District 9. I loved the gritty, in your face, Ross Kemp in Afghanistan style it was filmed in as we follow the marines. Even better is that this is purely a war movie, and the enemy just happens to be alien.

This is an instant win in my book. The aliens are organised, relentless and hard to kill, which makes for some great set

pieces. The platoons’ first encounter with the aliens is thrilling and the highway scene is pure brilliance. The pacing is fast and there is not a boring moment throughout. And for a Call of Duty vet, such as myself, Aaron Eckhart’s transition from rifle to sidearm, towards the end of the film, nearly brought a tear to my eye. It was flawless.

Holding the film back, are clichéd characters and some extremely cheesy dialogue. A ‘patriotic’ speech in the build up to the final act is almost unwatchable, and if it was anyone but Eckhart, I would have burst out laughing. The script will put some people off; some effort in it could have made this a classic. Luckily enough, the superb action scenes disguise the majority of this. Sacrificing character development and having a laughable script would destroy most movies, but the director knows his audience and delivers the eye candy and action in spades.

Those of you searching for Call of Duty on steroids, brought to the big screen to combat aliens, look no further. Highly recommended.

Brian Cullen

Airplane As far as politically incorrect humour goes, I can think of no funnier movie.

Sit back in your chair and laugh at will, while not having to worry about the glaring, disapproving looks from anyone else. There’s so many one-liners packed into the 80 minutes or so that you can zone out to talk (allowed only if it’s to talk about sex, violence or alcohol, of course) and rejoin the action without feeling lost. It’s over 30 years old now but they really don’t make them like this anymore.

Superbad As much as I hate to recommend a film with Michael Cera in it to anyone I know, Superbad is an absolutely hilari-

ous film. It introduces us to McLovin’, a character we’ll have no problem laughing at, and feel pretty good about it too.

It’s also a modern-day American Pie only without the awkwardness of knowing that all the women in it are about 40 now!

Smokin’ Aces I only came across this film by chance because I thought it was related to poker!

What I got instead was 90 minutes of plot-twists and over the top violence.

The plot is a bit thin on the ground and the twists are pretty laughable, but who cares?! There’s violence galore and plenty of fun to be had watching this!

Entertainment | 13

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

Ultimate chick flicks

By Sinead McDermott

F

or all the girls that want to have the ultimate girly night or you want to let your man know what he has to do to win your heart! ;) Here are a few of the best girly movies of all time and the key songs from the movies that are a must to download!

The Notebook Movie about on an old man reading a story to an old woman in a nursing home. The story is about two young lovers named Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, who meet one evening at a carnival. They are separated by Allie’s parents who dissaprove of Noah’s unwealthy family, and move Allie away.

After waiting for Noah to write her for several years, Allie meets and gets engaged to a handsome young soldier named Lon. Allie, then, with her love for Noah still alive, stops by Noah’s 200-year-old home that he restored for her, “to see if he’s okay”. It is evident that they still have feelings for each oth-

Dodgeball Packed full of hilarious one-liners and a plenty of slapstick humour (sometimes both - “if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!”) and complemented with an all-star cast that includes a cameo appearance by Chuck Norris. What more can you want from a movie?!

The Hangover It would be criminal for me to have left this one out! Another film that’s instantly quotable and you’ll often find yourself making random Hangover references for quite a while after watching it. Drink, drugs, strippers… and Mike Tyson all feature prominently and if this film doesn’t make you want to round up a group a friends and head to Vegas, nothing will!

That list above isn’t exhaustive by any means and there’s probably hundreds more movies that can be considered man enough for a Guys Night In. If you have any other suggestions, send them in! If you want to get a bit more creative and combine the drinking with the movies, Google the film you want to watch and drinking games. Someone is bound to have come up with something ridiculous for you to try out!

er, and Allie has to choose between her fiancé and her first love.

Key Song: Billie Holiday – I’ll be seeing you What A Girl Wants Daphne, a seventeen-year-old girl from New York goes to England in search of her father, who does not know he had a child with an American girlfriend he met while working in Morocco, and whose aristocratic family did not approve of the woman and do whatever they can to get her out!

Key Song: Jamie Oliver – The Greatest Story Ever Told How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days Benjamin Barry is an advertising exec competing with two female co-workers for a major campaign for a diamond merchant. He cuts a deal with his competitors that the account is his if he can make a woman of their choice fall in love with him in 10 days. In comes

Andie Anderson who, in turn, is writing a story on how to lose a guy in 10 days as a bet with her boss to be allowed to write more substantial stories. With a hidden agenda in each camp, will either party be able to complete their mission?

Key Song: Chantal Kreviazuk – Feels like Home Maid In Manhattan Marisa Ventura is a single mother born and bred in the poverty of New York City, who works as a maid in a first-class Manhattan hotel. A twist of fate and mistaken identity, Marisa meets Christopher Marshall, a handsome heir to a political dynasty, who believes that she is a guest at the hotel. Fate steps in and throws the unlikely pair together for one night. When Marisa’s true identity is revealed, the two find that they are worlds apart, even though the distance separating them is just a subway ride between Manhattan and the Bronx.

Key Song: Glen Lewis – Fall Again A Walk To Remember A prank on a student goes terribly wrong Landon Carter, a popular student is held responsible and forced to participate in after-school community service activities as punishment, which include starring as the lead in the school play.

Also participating in these activities is Jamie Sullivan, the reverend’s daughter who has great ambitions and nothing in common with Landon. When Landon decides he wants to take his activities seriously, he asks Jamie for help and begins to spend most of his time with her.

But he starts to develop strong feelings for her, something he did not expect to do. The two start a relationship, much to the chagrin of Landon’s old popular friends and Jamie’s strict reverend father. But when a heart-breaking secret becomes known that puts their relationship to the test, it is then that Landon and Jamie realize the true meaning of love and fate.

Key Song: Mandy Moore – Only hope So there you have it, these are the movies that have everything from forbidden romance to funny twists of fate this is a small list of movies that will have all you girls entertained for years to come!

14 | Entertainment

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

10

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Review (PS3, 360)

By Thomas Atkins

M

arvel vs. Capcom 3 is all sorts of crazy. This is a 3-on-3 fighting game featuring characters from both the Marvel and Capcom universes. That means you can find the likes of Marvel’s Ironman, Wolverine and Spiderman facing off against Capcom’s Dante (Devil May Cry), Chris Redfield (Resident Evil) and Ryu (Street Fighter).

MVC3 features 36 characters to choose from, with 18 from each side. The gameplay is fast and furious, the object being to beat your opponent around the screen while throwing out special moves and launching them into the air. It’s incredibly fast paced stuff and it’s easy to find yourself lost amongst the flashing lights and vibrant colours flying across the screen. Then you realise the fight is over and you should have been paying attention. Your partners can be swapped in and out at any time with the press of a button, but if you just want them to assist with one attack you need only tap the button. Most people will avoid fighting games because they’re either too hard to play, but Capcom have come up with a solution. The game can be played in either Normal Mode or Simple Mode.

Normal Mode is the usual fighting game set up. Combine different buttons for different attacks and combos and to use special moves. Simple Mode has been developed for those who don’t usually play fighting games and would rather just press random buttons. The button combinations and combos are swapped for simplicity. You’ll have one button to

attack, one to launch your opponent, one button to use a special move and so on. This mode won’t give you access to the most powerful moves in the game, but comes in very handy when you just want to relax with a few games.

If there was one big problem I had with the game it would be the lack of modes. You’re given Arcade mode, a Mission mode to help you learn moves and combos, a Training mode and then online multiplayer. Each character has an ending to be unlocked via Arcade mode, and there’s plenty of media and artwork to unlock too, but other than that the only thing that will keep you lasted is online mode. Online works pretty well with friends and I haven’t run into any real hitches yet other than a small bit of slowdown here and there.

It’s just when you compare this to Super Street Fighter IV that came last year with plenty of modes and extra options; there is no excuse to be putting out a game like this with scarce modes and options. I never imagined I’d see a fighting game in 2011 that didn’t have some sort of survival or time-attack mode. I can only hope that they’ll be added as DLC at a later date.

That being said, MVC3 is by no means a lacklustre game. The fighting is fast and addictive, and there’s and almost endless list of combinations and teams to be made from the range of characters available. Pick up a controller with a friend or two (or drop me a request at PSN: MitchKoobski if you need an easy win!) and get stuck in to the button mashing mayhem that is Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

(8/10)

of the best Life Hacks

Emma Flynn In this issue of the WIT Fashion Files, Emma Flynn a 3rd year Arts student from Waterford talks us through what she is wearing.

I

usually wear a pretty casual outfit to college I like to co-ordinate my outfit with contrasting colours. Most of the outfit that I’m wearing today is from Penneys apart from the jeggings which are from Forever 21.

Where do you like to shop Emma?

My favourite is probably Forever 21 they do some funky tops that I can dress up or down from a day outfit to an evening outfit. I also love Penneys which are great for bargain buys of course! Bershka is a great place for a stylish outfit also!

Do you have any designers that you admire?

Of course there are a few items of Chanel that I would aspire to own some day but for the moment as a student I love the designs in high street shops!

What has been your biggest spend on fashion?

My debs dress from All About Eve it was 300euro back then!

What is your best bargain buy?

A pair of jeans from Pull & Bear which were 12euro in the sale that I bought years ago but still get the wear out of them they’re a super fit!

Who is your celebrity style icon?

Sienna Miller as she looks effortlessly stylish in any outfit and Katy Perry for rocking some quirky, fun outfits from dresses to costumes!

What has been your biggest style disaster to date?

Those flared pants with a matching attached skirt and platforms that were like boulders on my feet I thought I was one of the Spice Girls with those!

Thanks for your time Emma, it’s been great!

Life hack: A tool or technique that makes some aspect of one’s life easier or more efficient.

Here are 10 of the best life hacks out there to make your life easier everyday!

1. Putting the clothes in your wardrobe with the hangers reversed once a year. As you take clothes out and wear them, reverse the hanger. At the end of the year give the clothes you didn’t wear to charity or younger relatives.

2. When you need to remember to bring something with you in the morning, put your car or house keys on top of it the night before.

3. Really long paper to research or write? Find one very solid source, and then use that source’s bibliography to locate further sources.

4. Wherever possible, avoid owing money to anyone.

5. Go to the toilet at work or at college. At work you’ll be using the toilet while getting paid for it, and it saves money on toilet paper at home.

6. Always keep one full packed bag in your car or in your room. Clean underwear, clothes and other basic needs.

You never know when you’ll meet up with friends, end up sleeping at their and need to feel refreshed and clean the next day.

7. Make lunch for work or college the night before. You won’t have to worry about getting up to make it the next morning, and it saves on buying lunches during the day. Take it one step further and make all your lunches for the week on a Sunday evening.

8. Put your socks on before your pants. No one likes the feeling of trying to cram your feet through stiff pants. Socks will make it go so much smoother.

9. Be nice to people. Talk to them as if they are your best friend. In the long run it will always work out for you.

10. Don’t hate someone. No good will ever come from trying to validate your own reasons for disliking someone or being mean to someone.

Compiled from www.reddit.com and www.boards.ie.

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SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

Clubs & Societes Corner WIT Architectural Society: Building In Every Sense

By Tadhg Casey

I

t all began last Spring with an intimate but captivating presentation to 3rd year architecture. The speaker was Steff Power, a Waterford hairdresser. Her subject matter was the charity she created from scratch, ‘Housing for Boaco’, and her presentation was striking. Matter of factly and unassumingly she described in detail how her brother had become involved helping the community in the village of Emplame de Boaco, Nicargua, how he dovetailed with a start-up an American charity and the birth of ‘Housing for Boaco’. Steff ’s manner and presentation had grabbed our attention.

It was the topic of conversation for several days afterwards and when we came back to college last September it had remained in our minds. An idea took hold that maybe we should take advantage of the skills of all students of T-Block and use them to build for communities in the developing world. The Architectural Society (ARC SOC) were on board and we were off.

Contact was made with several charities to research which one would afford the ARC SOC the best opportunity to make the greatest contribution. Many charities were very structured and bureaucratic, making entry for newcomers difficult. Ideas came full circle and we met again with Steff, or more importantly we were met with Steff ’s enthusiasm and organisation. We were impresses that unlike Niall Melon and so many others, Housing for Boaco’s work is very much focused on strengthening community spirit, not dividing communities and fostering jealousy by giving away free houses. The focus is on community buildings which are accessible to everyone, and in the past when housing has been built it has come with an affordable mortgage and been distributed to a cross section of the community in order to avoid creating ghettos.

A design competition was run in TBlock on FEB 9th last. Over the course of one day 150 students gave up their free time and competed in teams to design a specific building for Boaco, with the winning design being built this August by students from the winning design team. €10,000 is needed to build and

members of ARC SOC are busy fundraising throughout this semester. The Student’s Union have helped greatly by supporting us as one of the nominated charities during this year’s RAG WEEK. Continued thanks must also be given to lecturers, the College Chaplain and all in the Clubs and Societies office for their constant support.

Taken in perspective this represents a great opportunity for the people of Boaco and also for members of the ARC SOC. Students have the opportunity to design, detail and construct buildings before they even leave college. Also after the August project is completed it will open new doors for bigger and better projects for the ARC SOC to build.

It has become a symbiotic relationship rather than charity. In the words of the aboriginal activist Lill Watson: “If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is tied up with mine, then let us work together.”

So if you are approached by students fundraising for this, remember this is changing communities for the better and enabling your fellow WIT students to compete on the world stage. So when you are approached by ARC SOC students fundraising please support us.

For more info see www.archsocwit. ie, like us on FB at WIT Architectural Society.

16 | Clubs & Societes Corner

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

WIT Clubs & Societies Host Awards Night On Wednesday 6th of April the Clubs & Societies Office hosted the annual WIT Students Awards Ceremony in the Dome Bar with over 160 guests attending the celebratory evening.

By Robin Croke 65 students were presented with various awards on the evening and it is an indication of the calibre of our students here in WIT that so many of their ef-

forts over the past year were being celebrated.

The following awards were presented: • AIB Students of the Year Awards for the schools of Business: Noel Connors, Engineering: Ian Watchorn, Heath Science: Katherine Peacock, Humanities: Susan Murphy and Science: Rachel Moran.

• The John Moore Community Award went to Conor Doyle, WIT Student Union President • 22 Community Service „Buddy” & „Volunteer” Awards from the Student Life & Learning Office • 35 Clubs and Societies Recognition Awards from the Clubs & Societies Office • WIT Team of the Year Award went to the Senior Camogie Team

• WIT Societies Personality of the Year Award went to Tadhg Casey, chairman of the WIT Architectural Society • WIT Sports Star of the Year Award went to Anne Dalton, captain of the WIT Camogie Club

the Annual Awards Ceremony signals the beginning of the end of another academic year and the Clubs & Societies Office would like to thank all our members, participants, supporters and particularly the committees for all their work over the course of the year.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by all and RTE’s south east correspondent, Damien Tiernan, was an excellent MC on the night. As always

Best of luck to all clubs and societies members doing exams and best of luck in the future!

Clubs & Societies Recognition Award Winners 2011

T

he WIT Clubs and Societies Recognition Award is an award for members of clubs/societies who have made a positive contribution to their club/society during their time here in Waterford Institute of Technology. This award will be given to individuals who have shown an outstanding level of commitment and have represented their club/society with distinction over a sustained number of years here in the Institute.

This contribution can be classified in terms of the following: Administration work, Coaching and Sports Performance.

This year we the Clubs & Societies Office presented 35 awards to the following people: • Architectural Society: Tadhg Casey • Athletics Club: Brian McGinley • Badminton Club: Dearbhail Kirwan • Basketball Club: Andy Piper & Elaine Kennington • Camogie Club: Michelle Quilty, Aine Doran & Stacey Redmond • Engineering Society: Keelan Murphy

• Equestrian Club: Kevin Veale • Gaelic Football Club: Alan Malone & Cathal McNally • Golf Club: Gary Byrne • Hurling Club: Benny Kenny & Ray McLoughney • Kayak Club: Aisling O’ Neill • Ladies Football Club: Jenny McEvoy, Loretta Gilbert, Bridin Doyle & Marguerite Doyle • Ladies Rugby Club: Elma Beirne • Ladies Soccer Club: Clare Conlon • Law Society: Jane Rockett & Kyle O’ Sullivan • Men’s Soccer Club: Aaron Kehoe, Shane Morrissey, Dylan Sparrow & Gary Redmond • Men’s Rugby Club: Paddy Hyland • Motor Sport Club: Shane Mulcahy • Science Society: Rachel Moran • Swimming Club: Sean Martin • Ultimate Frisbee Club: Martin Kelly • Young Fine Gael Society: Steven Fitzpatrick & Kevin O’Sullivan

Clubs & Societes Corner | 17

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

WIT Political Society News WIT Young Fine Gael News

By Sinead McDermott WIT YFG hasn’t stopped in 2011, where they kick started the New Year with an open forum on educational reform, where students from across the campus got into a lengthy debate about the Hunt report, University for the South East and college fees.

To follow on from the success of this, they held another open forum – this time on the topic of “GE2011: Why the country needs a Fine Gael majority government”. On top of all this they have been heavily canvassing, day and night, for Waterford’s Paudie Coffey for the General Election and attending the different events to show unhindered support for him including his Campaign launch, and the re-launch of the WIT Political Society with their successful GE2011 Candidate Debate which Paudie Coffey took part in. The society is run by WIT YFGs very own former chairperson, Kevin O’Sullivan.

WIT Young Fine Gael was also the only body on campus to heavily campaign for students to register for the 2011 General Election. WIT YFG con-

tinued their campaign daily, handing out over 500 registration forms to students in one week alone. Despite claims, the USI came on campus only once, the day before the deadline. They collected all forms, which re signed by a Guard and manage to mess it all up as a number of students applications were not received in time by their council.

WIT Young Fine Gaels Patrick Butler moved a motion at the WITSU Class Rep Council that they would reject the Hunt report in relation to the merger talks of ITs and to only back a WIT University for the South East, and not a merger with CIT. Patrick rightly pointed out that the University for the South East has been the subject of much campaigning by groups and former WITSU officers. The motion was successfully carried.

Following all this, the WIT Young Fine Gael EGM was held, with the theme “Women in Politics” and guest speaker Brid Murphy from Young Fine Gael National Executive. To balance all the politics, WIT YFG had time enough for a bit of craic with a big social evening during the colleges Raise and Give Week.

The society was delighted that Frankie Mulqueen and Patrick Butler were elected unopposed onto the Munster Regional Council.

Early Childhood Studies Society News

By Sinead McDermott The Early Childhood Studies Society is appealing for students doing Early Childhood Studies or Social Studies to join and help form a new committee that will further promote the society on campus and get more students involved for next year. So far this year, the society has had numerous speakers and continues to grow from strength to strength.

The Early Childhood Society was setup to help and assist students who are doing the Early Childhood Studies course and also students in the surrounding courses which study in the area of Childcare.

The society aim is to have speakers throughout the college year to talk on Childcare, jobs available in this area (aimed for students going on work placement and students leaving college), speakers who can help students understand their learning experiences by comparing it with real life examples and speakers who can help with the writing up of a strong thesis, portfolio and presentations. These events would be of great benefit to students especially in the run up to exam and assignment times and would compliment some of the existing guidance offered by the college.

For more information, please contact Robin in the Clubs & Societies office on the Cork Road Campus or your course leader for the contact information.

O

n a cold and wet Tuesday night in the run up to the general election, over 100 students, lecturers, WIT staff and membered of the public braved the elements to attend a public debate in the Auditorium of WIT organised by the newly formed WIT Political Society. Candidates Justin Collery (Ind), Sen. Paudie Coffey (FG), Cllr. David Cullinane (SF) and Jody Power (Green) were all in attendance to discuss the topics of the education and economy. Those in the audience were also encouraged to put their own questions to the candidates in what was the first public debate of this election campaign.

With the notable absence of both Fianna Fail and Labour candidates, Kevin O’Sullivan, Founder and Chairperson of WIT Political Society said “it’s a shame that some of the high profile aspirational candidates couldn’t make it tonight but we’re delighted that we were able to offer a platform for candidates, especially those are not well-known yet in Waterford, to put forward their policies”. Those who were in attendance wasted no time in engaging with both the attentive audience and one another as they presented their plans for both Waterford and Ireland.

Education All candidates spoke of different priorities when presenting their policies on education. Jody Power spoke of Waterford’s need to seek private investment from the local community to achieve university status given the absence of available funding from the Government.

David Cullinane dismissed these claims as “nonsense” and went on to suggest that with €300m invested in WIT, the only reason we haven’t been granted university status was because of sub-par representation from our current Deputies. Justin Collery highlighted our need to focus on Research and Development and emphasised our third-level institutions roles in upskilling and retraining those in unemployment. Paudie Coffey outlined Fine Gaels plan that would see fees being abolished and proposed their policy of graduates paying 1/3 the cost of their course after they have found employment while in the interim setting up a student loan scheme.

Economy While the panel were in agreement of the problems that Ireland face, no candidates could agree on a specific solution to our economic crisis. Sinn Fein’s David Cullinane highlighted that his party had warned of the fragility of our economy as far back as 2007 and argued that taking too much money, too fast out of our economy through austerity meas-

ures would deepen our crisis and suggested that we follow Icelands’ example and refuse to pay back the private debt of our banks. Jody Power warned that burning the bondholders would lead to the unthinkable situation of the euro collapsing. Instead, Jody suggested, we should embrace ideas such as a three and a half day work week consisting of 10-hour shifts that would take advantage of under-utilised assets such as machinery and IT equipment. Paudie Coffey referred to Fine Gael’s 5 point plan and the urgent need to plug the �20bn deficit that our country is running at.

The Universal Social Charge, he argued, was a blunt instrument in reducing our deficit and there are better ways to plug our deficit. Justin Collery questioned the need for NAMA and contended that it will lead to the younger generations paying over the odds for property as long as NAMA existed. He suggested that we abolish NAMA and let the market find its own equilibrium while also criticising the Government for taking on the debts of private banks.

Q&A Once the audience were invited to ask their own questions of the panel, it didn’t take long for the recent reduction in minimum wage to be brought up. All of the panel were in agreement that it should be reversed with Paudie Coffey saying it would happen at the next budget while David Cullinane stated that there was no reason why it couldn’t be reversed as soon as possible.

One of the final questions arose when an audience member noticed that both Sinn Fein and Fine Gael seemed to be in apparent agreement on certain issues and questioned whether party politics are holding us back. Both David Cullinane and Paudie Coffey responded by pointing out that at the end of the day, this election is a contest that will be fought between parties that want to see their own policies implemented. At this point the event had already run over the allotted time and proceedings had to be drawn to a close, ending a night of very positive debate.

The WIT Political Society would like to thank all those who attended their inaugural debate and hope that all who attended had a better idea of their options come Election Day. Additional Information WIT Political Society was founded

by Kevin O’Sullivan and Adam Murphy in 2011 in an effort to help promote politics in WIT and educate and encourage those who are interested in politics but hesitant to join a political party to get involved in the issues that affect them.

This was the inaugural event run by the WIT Political Society.

Cllr Joe Conway (Ind), Cllr John Halligan (Ind), Cllr Seamus Ryan (Lab) sent their apologises due to prior engagements. Deputy Brendan Kenneally (FF) declined to attend. Joe Tobin (WP) did not reply to our invitation.

18

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

Student Side The Cobh Comment lieve your piece is not opinion (despite me stating over and over again it is), we got a last minute ad all the way to me not being allowed say “Liverpool’s season ha ha” back in December because it would apparently be offensive to some people. This sort of thing is called a nanny state i.e. CHINA!!! You can’t say anything unless we say it’s ok. Thankfully it’s a new dawn away from WIT IT and into a new paper. We shal see ahead if people are allowed share opinions or if it’s the same old me me me me me.

By Stephen Minihane

IM HOPE IM BACK Hello there everybody. Welcome to all the 1st time readers of this piece and what’s the craic to everybody else. This column is for you to kick back and listen to the ramblings of a man who will write down whatever is pissing him off, making him laugh, amusing him, and annoying him etc at this time. You may or may not agree but aint that the beauty of life. It’s my opinion. Oh yes that reminds me I must now say that all the views expressed on this page are mine alone as opinions. We don’t want anybody getting sued now do we?

THOUGHT 1 Well it’s great to be back. I did write a few columns already this year but unfortunately for various reasons most of which I believe were had something to do with the fact that this is an opinion piece written by me they were not printed. In my opinion, and after all that is what this column is all about, I thought I asked some intriguing questions about a variety of topics such as Harvey’s and Mason’s to the clubs and societies in the college but unfortunately was told no despite outlining my reasons why they should be printed. This has got me thinking about the whole topic of free speech. This is an opinion piece as in everything here is my opinion and my opinion only. In my opinion (there’s that word again) I believe that the free speech of what was called WIT IT (which by the way was a bloody horrible name) publication was compromised a lot. There were various pieces sent in by a few people which never saw the light of day and why? Because people who worked on those issues pulled them for what reasons I don’t know. I was told various things through the year from there isn’t enough room, we be-

THOUGHT 2 I found it very interesting to read on Facebook about how “Harvey’s Bar is WIT Students Union Official Bar 2010/2011”. They then went on to plug Harvey’s re-launch and promote their theme nights and €3 drinks offers on Wednesday nights. Now somebody correct me but isn’t this the same students union that in December when hammer and tongs against anywhere even mentioning “WIT Christmas Day” and the whole binge drinking associated with the day? Don’t get me wrong I’m delighted that there is €3 drinks. But isn’t it slightly hypocritical of WITSU to be seen possibly promoting “binge drinking” after so publically campaigning against what they perceived as it last December? I call bullshit.

HOME AND AWAY My home and away roundup returns. Ah you see the real beauty of Home and Away is that nothing really happens like that in real life. How in the hell did 1st Leah and then Miles afford to just fly out to Africa on a whim?

Ah come on do they have a couple of grand just lying around or what? If they do Id really appreciate some. I also see that Alf is apparently able to burn loads of evidence without a care in the world.

Great police in Aussie land. But there lies the beauty of the bay. It’s entertaining if nothing else.

CLUBS AND SOCIETIES I have tried to run this story twice now so let’s try for the hat trick. So the clubs and societies day was good again this/last year (this was back in hmm September?). I was looking at maybe joining the golf society and maybe learning but when I enquired on the day the following happened.

ME: Hi I was just looking there so what will yee be doing?

THEM: Hi em well we aren’t really sure yet but we are looking to hopefully

do like a few tournaments or something you know.

ME: Ah I see. I haven’t actually ever played golf before so will I be able to learn?

THEM: Do you have your own clubs.

ME: Em no I just said I’ve never played before THEM: Oh ok well em I don’t know so it’s really not for people who haven’t played before.

ME: Right then cheers.

Well done golf society for probably turning away a lot of interested golf fans.

P.S. I better be careful that story wasn’t allowed before oh no.

SOCIAL CARE SOCIETY I would like to know what is going on with the Social Care Society. I paid €3 to join this JOKE of a society yet nothing. In last month’s publication there was even a list of contact numbers for all clubs and societies yet nothing for the social care society. So what is going on? Where is my €3 gone? Why is it that in a college with literally hundreds of social care students that everybody else from Business, Health and Sport etc can plan and hold their own ball every year yet we are left high and dry with no idea where the money is gone? Next year I’m going to start my own society called the phone society. Ill collect €3 from people to join and do nothing all year. Lets see what will happen I may do as well as social care did. I suppose I shal continue to wait with baited breathe for a text about something, anything about what my €3 is going towards and what exactly I am going to get out of it.

IRELAND So how did it come to this? Ireland is sinking into the abyss with no visible signs of resuscitation. Fianna Fail has gone about overseeing the worst crisis in Irish history. The Green Party gone the way of the PD.s after tasting from the Fianna Failers poisoned chalice.

Labour has done a slight U-turn since Eamon Gilmore said in the last election how “Ireland has a successful economy”. Fine Gael will now run the country with Labour. It remains to be seen if the egos can co-exist. This year Ireland is grabbed by the short and curlys yet we can be thankful that even though we have financial pain we are nowhere near suffering as much as those in the Far East. Maybe we need to prioritise and be thankful for what we have.

FUNNY STUFF Arsenals season imploding ha ha ha Conor Doyle when trying to get elected as students union president sitting down and telling us that the recreation room in college street would be ready by the end of September or start of October. Well it was finally ready in January but I’m on placement. You just have to laugh sometimes.

Anything to say about the stories or thoughts here contact me at celticutd87@hotmail.com

Lecturer: “If I had 100 euro and I got an extra 20 euro, it would have increased by what percentage?”

Student: “A fifth.”

Lecturer: “That’s not a percentage........”

Student 1: “It says AB here, does that mean absent because I didn’t sit the exam?”

Student 2: “Nah, it stands for absolutely bollocks.”

Student: “I can never tell the difference between Morgan Freeman and Nelson Mandela, either way I’m sure one of them freed the blacks from Israel.’’

Student 1: “What’s with all the animals outside?”

Student 2: “Ag science session probably...”

Spar staff: “Would you like anything eeeeeeellllllse?”

Student 1: “Put a bit of sudocreme on that heat lump and it’ll be grand.”

Student 2: “On my heat lamp?

No I don’t want it to go all runny.”

Student Side | 19

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

Emigration or Exodus: A result of Globalisation

By Emer O’Neill & Lorna Kelly BA (Hons) Arts degree at the Waterford Institute of Technology.

Final year students.

W

alking through the streets of Waterford city the word ‘emigration’ can be overheard flowing from the mouths of citizens both young and old alike. Those who once considered themselves truly Irish are now considering leaving their homeland in search of a better life, in search of a stable life. But why has emigration hit an all time high since the late eighties?

Why are people more eager than ever to leave the country they were born and raised in? Of course there are the obvious attributions to pour blame onto; the recession, the government and the running of the state, and the immense rise in the poverty line have all influenced the rise in emigration levels in Ireland.

Surely there are other factors that have added to the rise of emigration, surely globalisation has played a part.

Globalisation in Ireland dates back to the first decade of the nineteenth century, becoming more prevalent as time went on. Globalisation is the growth and maturing of countries of the world.

The vast improvement in technology, telecommunications and the Internet has significantly influenced the process of the world going global and its influence on emigration. Globalisation opens doors to citizens of all countries around the world as societies and cultures have become more connected and intermingled.

Due to globalisation Irish culture has become more prevalent in other countries. The largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration takes place in New York City, thousands of miles away from Ireland where the celebration originated. We choose to emigrate in search of a ‘better’ life but how different would it be to live in another country?

400 million people now speak English as a first language today; which allows for an easier spread of culture and ideas on a worldwide scale. Globalisation became an evident part of Irish society when we joined the EU in 1973. The growth of trade was enabled, an increase in the flows of education and capital and a better allocation of resources to be met around the world occurred due to the process of globalisation. Emigration and globalisation then began to coincide

with rights and laws of Irish people and other Europeans integrating. Suddenly moving from Ireland to France was no different than moving from Waterford to Cork. Instead of devising strategies to create employment for the countless numbers who are leaving, the Irish government has just factored the high levels of emigration into their figures for this year.

Emigration has certainly had a devastating effect on Ireland over recent years. Unfortunately there are no set solutions; there is no magic wand that can solve this epidemic. It will become clear from the 2011 census the true extent emigration has had on Ireland due to the lack of positive government intervention. Globalisation could be used as an advantage in the emigration epidemic. The advertisement Discover Ireland could be played on a regular and worldwide basis and Irish television stations could be discouraged from showing ads that encourage emigration. Of course these sound obvious and easy but the issue has become such a problem that it may take years to get it under control.

As students in our final year of college, at present, our future in Ireland looks bleak. So many of our friends before us have chosen to emigrate and if something drastic isn’t done about it soon, it may be our only choice too. Choosing to leave Ireland behind, our homes, our families, our lives, is not something we ever imagined growing up in the celtic tiger era but due to globalisation it is evident that the choice is increasingly easier than ever before.

Gabriel Nowak’s Erasmus Experience in Ireland

By Marian Flavin Why did you decide to study in Waterford?

I decided to come to Ireland as it was quite near France and I always wanted to explore the Irish culture, in France there are many different depictions of what Ireland is like, for example that Irish people wore a lot of green and enjoyed the ‘craic’ in their own traditional manner!

I chose WIT as Waterford was relatively easy to commute to from Lille, I had the access of both Cork and Dublin airports only hours away by bus or train whilst taking in the beautiful, green scenery of the Emerald Isle. I also had the option of studying in Tralee but I thought that Waterford was a more populated, busy city and easier to commute to.

What are you studying here in the WIT and are you enjoying it?

I’m in 3rd Year of the Marketing degree here in WIT. I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this experience probably one of the best aspects of this experience was meeting so many new people. When I arrived here I didn’t know anyone else that was going to study in Waterford also, so that made me feel quite nervous and anxious as I was leaving my family and friends in France for 9 months and moving into the unknown, not knowing what to expect is a surreal, exciting experience to say the least!

My Year as an Erasmus Student in WIT

By Marian Flavin

W

ell, so many things to say, so many stories to tell: Discover an entire new country, discover its culture, its language, its citizens, its beers.

If I had to remember only one thing that would be pretty simple: The people. That should be the reason of everybody who’s doing an Erasmus, meeting new people, because this is what makes an Erasmus unique and so wonderful.

I met people from all around Europe, and from several places in the world, and there’s nothing better to broaden your mind! Now the only thing I’m thinking about is to find a job and travel across the world to visit my friends.

I have to say that this Erasmus is the richest experience I’ve had, and if it’s not easy everyday, well, the challenge has been well worthwhile!

I’ll stop there; almost 10 nationalities are waiting for me to take the bus to Dublin for St Patrick... Damn! This is life!

While the work can be stressful and difficult at times it is worth every moment of the experience. I am really enjoying the course here, as I’m an Erasmus student I had the option of choosing the modules that I was going to major in so that helped a lot and motivated me as I had great interest in these modules. The course has a nice of balance of subjects and I find it interesting and challenging!

The social life for me is great because I’m living in Riverwalk for the year it has helped me to make so many new friends, I moved in with two other Erasmus students from France and we get on so well and the ‘craic’ is mighty whether we’re heading to Masons on a Wednesday night or Harveys on a Friday, we always enjoy it! Having a few drinks at the apartment with some good beer and music helps everyone to relax and enjoy themselves before we head to town for the ‘craic’! The social life here is quite different from that in France, the night clubs in France usually kick off at about 1am and finish at 6am I rarely go out to night clubs in France as it’s quite a journey for me so I’ve made the most of it on my Erasmus experience!

How does your day in college here differ from that in France?

The lectures in France are much longer where they can often go on from 2 for up to 5 hours! It can be quite boring and tedious so here in WIT it is nice that the lectures are shorter. The lecturers here are also a lot more friendly and relaxed than those in France, the lecturers here are more approachable in France it is quite rare that you would even get a response back from lecturers if you have a query.

My day in college in Lille is much longer for me as I have an hour to commute by train to the university and lectures for often do not finish until 6 or 7 pm in the evening. In college here I can enjoy a coffee with some friends in the canteen between lectures and the college is a mere 15 minute walk for me which really helps also. The atmosphere here is also more relaxed and friendly than that in France, it is less busy and stressful also.

What is does the Summer months consist of for students in France?

Many students travel to the coast for the Summer and live there getting jobs in the hospitality industry as these popular tourist destinations become thronged with tourists. As fashion is quite a big industry also in France there are many jobs in clothes shops also! Another popular job is working on the ‘Le Vindage’ which is the creation of wine where many students get jobs picking fruit for the wine or maintaining the trees which grow the fruit to putting the grapes into sacks to be used in the wine production process.

My experience here in Waterford has been unforgettable and the memories will be invaluable! I have met some of the most friendly, wonderful people from all around the world and people with whom I hope I plan to stay in contact with for the rest of my life! I would recommend students to participate in the Erasmus experience there is one particular word I have to describe it ‘UNREAL’!

20

SPECIAL EDITION t 02.05.2011

Sport Rugby: An emotion game

By Steven Fitzpatrick

W

hat a difference one game makes! Well to be correct I should really say what a difference getting things right makes!

Where has this Ireland team been all the way through the Six Nations I hear you ask? I would reply that it has been there all along. We have seen so many variations of this side over the past two months which included the best of Irish rugby and the worst of Irish rugby. Before kickoff against the English I was asked how I thought we would do.

I stepped back for a second to think about my answer. Based purely on facts and results and by the performances I have seen by the Irish during this campaign I wouldn’t have been overly surprised if England had won. Not by their superiority no, but by Irish indiscipline and high error count. But I had a niggling thought, I knew in my heart that if Ireland got things right, keep their discipline and attack the English from the start that Ireland have the beating of this inexperienced England side. Why didn’t I go to Paddy Power!?

I don’t think I’ve enjoyed 40 minutes of rugby as much in a long time as I did watching the first half of that game.

Ireland was simply immense. Jonathan Sexton was on fire. Being a Munster fan, firmly in the ROG camp I was delighted for Sexton; after all he is the future of Irish rugby. After the world cup is over we will be building a team around him and up until now I have not been impressed by him in an Ireland shirt. For Leinster he has been great over the past two years, and I was so happy for him

to stand up to his critics and absolutely dominate that first half. To say he was the only one is unfair on the rest of the team; Paul O’Connell, David Wallace Donncha O’Callaghan and Captain Supreme Brian O’Driscoll were all noticeable leaders on the pitch.

My mind wonders though, if only we had played like this all throughout the campaign we would have been going into this match with the dream of a second Grand Slam in three years and while I’m a very happy Irishman that we not only prevented England from capturing the Grand Slam, but also gave a good account for ourselves. It saddens me to think that due to our own frailties and poor refereeing decisions we have ended this championship with no silverware.

This championship reminds me of the Champions League season in Football when FC Porto won the cup. The overall standard of the championship was poor, the perceived better teams performed poorly and a team which would not normally have been thought contenders ended up being the champions. Could we draw a comparison between Martin Johnson and Jose Mourinho from this?

But with no competitive matches now until the World Cup in September, this Six Nations campaign really asks more questions than it answers. What type of team is Ireland? Who will start at 10 in the World Cup? Does Ireland have a Plan B if things are not working?

We don’t have impact players we can use from the bench, so what happens if we pick up injuries? Have we the mental strength to beat the teams from the Southern Hemisphere?

I guess we will have to wait until September to find out.

Success for WIT Intermediate Hurlers 2011 saw WIT host the Fitzgibbon Weekend which was noted as a remarkable success but unfortunately the WIT Senior Hurlers didn’t make it to the semi finals after a hard fought group stage. This left the Intermediate team panel with inter county players like Paddy Nolan and Eoin Moore at the disposal of the management and with players from 8 different Counties picking this team would prove difficult.

WIT’s first outing was against GMIT in Carnmore just outside Galway City.

This was definitely one of the most bizarre games that was every played. After only 15minutes gone, GMIT had racked up a score of 5:02 to WIT’s 1:02. A tactical switch saw Joe Kelly revert to full back to weather the storm, this switch proved crucial as it helped WIT fight back the huge deficit. By half time there was only 8points between the teams.

The second half saw WIT making a serious with Tommy Kavanagh and Daniel Murphy showing well in the forwards and Martin Power and Eoin Moore tight at the back. After clawing their way back WIT went ahead with another point by Kavanagh and with the final play of the game GMIT dropped a free short and with that the ref blew the final whistle, WIT were through to a mouth watering clash against their bitter rivals LIT in the semi final.

The LIT game wasn’t that exciting as WIT came away with an 8 point victory showing good form. It was lack luster first half with the only high point a well worked goal by WIT with the half time score 1:10 to 0:05. The second half seen LIT throw everything at the Waterford Students with little return as the racked up the wide count. Two late goals proved only a consolation as WIT won out 1:17 to 2:06.

The 10th of March was the date set for the final game in this years Intermediate hurling championship, WIT verses CIT in the new state or the art WIT Sports Campus. The game ebbed and flowed throughout the first half with a strong wind at the backs of the CIT side but failed to capitalise and they couldn’t take advantage as WIT went in at half time with a two point lead. With 30minutes left to play WIT were not prepared to leave the cup behind and in some ways it was a way to make up for the seniors blunders earlier in the year. Joe Kelly was introduced at half time and maybe this was the switch that changed the match. As the half went on it was point for point with WIT still

leading, until Kelly fielded a high ball on the edge of the square, turned his man to rattled the net. In the driving seat now WIT tagged on a couple more points. With minutes remaining CIT were pushing strong for an equalizer with only 3poins in it, the WIT backs held firm and closed down every attack.

The final whistle blew with a score line of WIT 1:13 to CIT 2:07. Eddie Hickey who had a great game both from play and place balls collected the cup on behalf of the hard working WIT side. On the day great performances were given

by Martin Power, Luke o Loughlin, Adam Brophy and Paddy Nolan as well as a huge team effort given by all.

The Panel: Kieran Hammersley, Joe Fennelly, Paddy Nolan, Cathal Whelan, Luke O’Loughlin, Mattie O’ Donnell, John Cahill, James Gahan, Bernard Burke, Adam Brophy, Martin Power, Eddie Hickey, Tommy Kavanagh, Shane O’Donnell, Daniel Murphy, Derek Deegan, Joe Kelly, Daniel Wall, Donnach Mulcahy, John Corcoran, David Corcoran, Darren Duggan, Stephen Gunning, Ciaran Boyle, Derek Butler, Stephen Gunning, JP McGrath Congratulations to all involved with a management team made of Benny Kenny and especially to Alan Roche and G.A.A Development Officer Conor Phelan.

WIT GAA Awards Night 2011

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ast Monday night the 4th of April, the WIT GAA club held its 25th Annual awards night in the Dome Bar. There were three teams collecting medals for their achievement throughout the year. The teams were as follows: The Ashbourne Cup who won their third title in a row, The Giles cup Ladies Footballers who were narrowly beaten last year but came through to win this year and finally, The Intermediate Hurlers who had a great win over CIT in the final.

Special guests on the night were two Tipperary Men, Brendan Maher who won the Young Player of The Year award and a winner of an All-Star award last year and Padraic Maher who also won an All-Star last year.

A great night was had by all special thanks to organisers in the GAA Club and the Dome Bar who made everything run smoothly. Well done to all involved!

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WIT complete 3 in a row in Ashbourne Cup Ashbourne Cup Semi-Final Waterford IT 4-9 University of Limerick 0-6 Defending champions WIT were in control right from the start of this game and some superb defensive displays from Trish Jackman and Kilkenny star and WIT captain, Ann Dalton meant that UL created little chances in the opening half. A goal either side of half-time from rising Kilkenny star Denise Gaule put daylight between the sides after a competitive opening period that ended at 1-5 to 0-3 and the victory was secured when Michelle Quilty and substitute Caitriona Shortt added further goal midway through the latter half. WIT’s ability to take their scoring chances proved fundamental to their success on the day and. Throughout the field there was a mixture of experience and youth and all players seemed to respond effortlessly to any challenges that lay in front of them. Most notably, Offaly star Jean Brady worked tirelessly along with her county colleague Lorraine Keena at midfield and this epitomised the team’s style of play. The holders had an all-star forward line-up that included Kilkenny quartet Denise Gaule, Katie Power, Michelle Quilty and Edwina Keane as well as last year’s player of the tournament Katrina Parrock. That combination left too many fires for the Limerick side to put out. This set them up for an intriguing encounter with last year’s beaten finalists’ and current league holders UCC. Waterford IT: Kristina Kenneally (Tipperary), Collette Dormer (Kilkenny), Sarah Anne Fitzgerald (Laois), Kay Ryall (Kilkenny), Patricia Jackman (Waterford) (0-2f), Ann Dalton (Kilkenny), Stacey Redmond (Wexford), Jean Brady (Offaly), Lorraine Keena (Offaly), Katie Power (Kilkenny) (0-1), Fiona Morrissey (Limerick), Michelle Quilty (Kilkenny) (1-3 1f), Karen Kelly (Waterford), Denise Gaule (Kilkenny) (2-2), Katrina Parrock (Wexford) (0-1) Subs Edwina Keane (Kilkenny) for Morrissey (HT), Caitriona Shortt (Tipperary) (1-0) for Ryall (46 mins), Bridin Doyle (Wexford) for Dormer (55 mins), Maggie Hogan (Laois) for Keena (55 mins), Stephanie Baeusang (Cork) for Power (55 mins) University of Limerick: Susan Vaughan (Clare), Edel Frisby (Kilkenny), Edel Murphy (Cork), Aisling Hobbins (Galway), Carolyn Motherway (Cork), Karen Duggan (Kilkenny), Aimee McInerney (Clare), Linda Bolger (Wexford) (0-1), Maria Walsh (Cork), Fiona Lafferty (Clare) (0-1f), Roisin Byrne (Kilkenny), Judith Mulcahy (Limerick), Fiona Rochford (Wexford) (0-2), Finola Keely (Galway) (0-2f), Lisa Bolger (Wexford) Subs Maria Moran (Cork) for Hobbins (50 mins), Aine Brislane (Tipperary) for

Mulcahy (50 mins), Eva Dunne (Cork) for Frisby (58 mins, inj) Ashbourne Cup Final WIT 2-10 UCC 2-02 Ashbourne Cup final is always a great occasion in the Camogie calendar and this year was no different as the decider was a repeat of last year’s final between reigning champions WIT and current League holders UCC. WIT were backboned by 11 of last year’s team while UCC had numerous stars all over the field such as Cork duo Orla Cotter and Denise Cronin, Fionnuala Carr and captain Grainne Kenneally. WIT opened the game most prominently and got the ideal start when a long Katrina Parrock delivery deceived the UCC keeper, Susan Earner, to find its way to the UCC net.

From then on, WIT were well in control and some superb shooting and scoring power from Denise Gaule, Fiona Morrissey and Katie Power in the opening half meant that WIT were ahead by 1-6 to 0-2 points at the break. UCC had no answer to WITs phenomenal work rate and support play. The main difference between the two teams was WIT ability to take scores from play while all of UCCs scores came from placed balls.

UCCs were dealt a major blow when they lost key player Orla Cotter through injury ten minutes after the break. However, UCC responded well to the loss of Cotter and managed to margin the gap to only four points after two well taken goals from the stick of Fionnuala Carr brought UCC back to life but proved too little too late. WIT finished the game as they started and a late goal from Michelle Quilty and a superb long range free from Waterford inter-county star Trish Jackman ensured victory for WIT. WIT had leaders all over the field and their work rate, skill, determination and scoring threat caused a major headache to UCC players and management.

WIT were justifiably rewarded for their remarkable displays over the weekend when no less than seven girls received Ashbourne All Star Awards. The following girls were recognised for their magnificent displays- Colette Dormer (corner-back), Ann Dalton (wing back), Trish Jackman (wing-back), Katrina Parrock (midfield), Katie Power (centre forward), Denise Gaule (full forward) and Michelle Quilty (corner forward).

Also, Wexford star and current All Star Katrina Parrock received the Ashbourne “Player of the match” award for the second consecutive year.

Scorers WIT: Michelle Quilty 1-2 (0-1 Free), Kathrina Parrock 1-1, Karen Kelly 02, Denise Gaule 0-2, Fiona Morrisey , Katie Power and Patricia Jackman (Free) 0-1 each Scorers UCC: Fionnuala Carr 2-0 (2-0 Free), Orla Cotter 0-2 (0-2 Free

Intervarsity Success For W.I.T Athletics Waterford I.T sent its strongest contingent to date, to the IUAA intervarsity cross country Championship, which was held at the National Aquatic Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin.

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he generous weather and a dry course made for some terrific running on the day. In one of the closest team competitions in recent years, the W.I.T men’s team went one better than last year to take the silver medal with a total of 79 points from a very strong D.C.U squad. The 15 man team was led home by Dan Mulhare who took the overall title. Dan ran a terrific race, pulling away from Liam Reale and Brendan O’Neill at the halfway stage to finish in 1st place by a very comfortable margin of 31 seconds. This was a very significant achievement for W.I.T, as never before have the college taken the individual title. This was also Dan’s first varsity cross country title so a massive congratulations to Dan. Next home for W.I.T was Jason Fahy who ran a very strong race to finish inside the top ten and a fantastic 6th place overall. The 3rd and 4th scorers were Paddy Hogan and Brian Mcginley who had great performances to finish 13th and 14th respectively. Rounding out the six scorers, both running

Ashbourne All-Stars 2011 Waterford Institute of Technology would like to congratulate the seven WIT girls that received a record total of Ashbourne Al-Stars this year, This was also a historic year for the college, wit W.I.T winning 3 Ashbourne Cup Titles in a row.

Names and Positions as follows: 2. Collette Dormer (Corner Back) 5. Ann Dalton (Wing Back) 7. Patricia Jackman (Wing Back) 8. Katrina Parrock (Mid-Field) 11. Katie Power (Centre Forward) 14. Denise Gaule (Full Forward) 15. Michelle Quilty (Corner Forward

a fine race were, Andrew Connick in 18th place and Graham Power in 25th.

Following in close contention was Michael Dowling who had a solid run in 26th. Paddy Flynn, 39th, and Brian Gallagher, 52nd, both produced gutsy performances over the 8k distance and were followed home by Gary Cantwell who finished a very credible 63rd in his first varsity cross country. Gavin Downey and James Nolan were neck and neck to the finish with just a second separating the pair who finished in 94th and 95th position respectively.

James Maher ran a very strong race to finish in 100th position followed by Stephen Walter with a fine performance to place 106th. Another athlete making his cross country debut for the college was Sean Burke, running a great race finishing in 127th position.

Such success accompanied with enormous strength in depth proves that the W.I.T men are now serious contenders for the future. The men’s team have been consistently successful over recent years, medalling in 3 of the last 4 varsity cross country championships, an achievement that very few Universities or Institutes of technology can boast.

By taking both the individual title and the team silver medal, W.I.T have made great strides in recent years. From struggling to put together a team as recently as 5 years ago to now becoming one of the top cross country teams in the country, the only way is up for W.I.T. The women’s event also showed how W.I.T has improved as the athletic club had its highest ever turn out for the event. All three athletes were competing in their first national varsity cross country championship for the college.

Cheryl Stanley led the women’s team home and had a terrific performance to finish 34th overall. Next home for the women’s team was Grace Eade who had a great run to finish in 52nd place.

Rounding out the 3 scorers was Pamela Uddin with a very strong run to finish in 74th. The Women’s team placed 11th overall and have now set a precedent for future W.I.T teams. This performance will be the springboard for the ladies cross country in W.I.T and with all three athletes competing at this year’s varsities returning next year, there is a very successful future ahead for the Women’s team.

This year has been a landmark year for both the men and women of W.I.T cross country. It has been the most successful varsity cross country in the history of the college and an ever increasing number of athletes choosing W.I.T as their place of study can only mean further success at this event. There has been a significant amount of time and effort put into the W.I.T athletic club in recent years and it is only now that this hard work is coming to fruition. Performances at the Road Relay’s, Indoor Championship’s and the recent Cross Country has meant the W.I.T athletic club is now viewed as one of the top varsity athletic clubs in the country and is on course for its most successful year ever. It has been a year of firsts for the W.I.T athletic club and with the track and field championships fast approaching there is sure to be continued success.

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The Premiership Corner This has been an odd season, hasn’t it?! For some reason, there is an abnormal feeling of anti-climax about this current Premier League campaign.

By Steven Fitzpatrick

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don’t have that feeling that this is going to the most exciting finish to a season in Premier League history.

For me, I can’t see much changing in the top half of the table. As of right now, Wednesday 13/04, I cannot see anyone catching Manchester United in the race to be Champions. Arsenal are their main challenger, but after seeing them fail to pick up three points at West Brom and Blackburn recently, and with all the players they have out injured I find it very difficult to see how they are going to string the results together to catch United. With that being said, I think Arsenal should hold onto second place.

Manchester United have not played like champions all season, but that hasn’t stopped them winning like champions. Despite having their fair share of injuries and poor performers, United have been able to grind out results. Nani has really come into his own this season and has shown to be a leader within the squad going someway to fill the considerable boots of Cristiano Ronaldo. Rooney has been a frustrating player to watch this season. He can be his classy best as proven by his Goal-of-the-season against Manchester City, but at other times his first touch and general play can leave a lot to be desired. His performance against Chelsea over the two legs in the Champions League quarter final should give United fans hope that the “real” Rooney is back. One of the best signings I’ve seen Fergie make in a long time is bringing in Chicharito. “Little Pea” has been a fantastic for United, scoring some very important goals. If he continues in this form I can see him staying at United for a long long time. The next Ole Gunnar Solskjaer perhaps?

Arsenal; always be the bridesmaid, never the bride. Arsenal will always struggle to be the big gun in English football as long as Arsene Wenger is in charge. I don’t see in him that killer instinct. An instinct which he can pass to his players to help them see out games or to win games we all know they should.

For all the attractive football they play, it won’t get them very far unless they can develop a ruthless streak and achieve success from it. But Arsenal have not won any silverware since 2005, missing out on numerous opportunities due to their inability to close out games. The only way I can see Arsenal winning the Premier League is by replacing Wenger.

I know that’s a big call to make, but Wenger has been there long enough and

simply has not been successful enough.

They may play some beautiful football and have some of the most skilful players in the league, but that doesn’t keep the fans happy for too long and I can’t see the Gooner fans taking the lack of success for too much longer.

Third and Fourth place are going to go to the wire and I think there are going to be a few twists and turns on the road in. Chelsea has been so inconsistent and their inability to score goals could well cost them big this season. You could say the same for Spurs.

Simply put, Chelsea should be challenging for the title. I can’t put my finger on why Chelsea have been as poor as they have been this season. Could be due to injuries to key players such as Terry and Lampard, could be that the players don’t respect Ancelotti or could be that this team has just ran its course and that Chelsea need to restart and go back to square one. Personally, I think it has been a case of poor form and them struggling with the loss of key players.

I don’t think Ancelotti will be a long term manager at Stamford Bridge, but then again, with Abramovich in charge, will any manager ever be long term at this club? Didier Drogba has been in shocking form this season and I would not be surprised if he leaves in the summer. Jury is still out on Torres. Was never a fan of his at Liverpool and he hasn’t done anything to win me over yet

at Chelsea. Interesting to note, David Blaine’s world record for doing nothing inside a box for 40 days has been broken by Fernando Torres.

The Blues have relied on their solid defence to keep their season ticking over and if they can get their scoring boots on they should be safe enough for third place Tottenham have managed their season fairly well this year. Many pundits feared “Second-Season Syndrome” for Spurs this term after securing fourth place last year. Their escapades in Europe have been a breath of fresh air if I’m honest. They have brought Football back to basics and I thoroughly commend them on that. Regardless of their opponent, they go out and play their own game; nice, attractive and attacking football. However their fortunes on the road in Europe looks set to finally end at the hands of the Galácticos. Spurs have been stuttering as of late in the league and their most recent performance against Stoke City finally brought their first win in the league since mid February. The biggest irritation for all Spurs fans this season has been a lack of goals! Defoe, Crouch and Pavlyuchenko are not reliable enough to get you goals in the big games or to break the deadlock in tights ones. Spurs will need to spend the European earnings on two top quality strikers who will get twenty plus goals per season.

The other contender for Champions League football next year is Manchester City. I find it difficult to like Manchester City. I have great time and respect for City fans that were there through the tough times and especially before the big money came along.

But since then, Manchester City have had no identity. They have brought in new players and different managers, a new Chelski? I think there is a difference. I think that Chelsea, even though they received astronomical investment from Abramovich, have kept their history and identity throughout the whole changeover to Premier League Champions. City however, don’t seem to have an identity anymore. Perhaps the change to the new stadium has had an impact on this as well but since the foreign investment has come in City have struggled for success, bought recklessly and there is a clear divide between the manager and the players. I think if Manchester City are ever to be considered real contenders then things need to change. This change needs to be long term and they should not be under any illusion that success can be bought over night. In this day and age success has to be earned.

Right here right now, my money is on: Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs for top four.

This has probably been the most open battle in terms of relegation for years. By this stage of the season usually one team has been Isolated and is so far adrift of the rest that bar a mathematical miracle are all but gone. However, this season there are no indications as to who will be doing down.

As of 13/04, there is only eight points separating eleven teams. With most teams having 6 or 7 games remaining, it is impossible to see how the relegation battle is going to unravel.

With that being said, putting my money where my mouth is, I’m betting on Wigan, Wolves and Blackpool.

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Well, we finally did it!

The Campus Times is back in full swing starting with this special edition.

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fter a short break, the WIT Journalism Society has returned a bigger and better student paper than before. We had hoped for the paper to be released earlier in the year, but sadly problems arose and it was decided it would be published at the start of the Exams. Thankfully, all our hard work has paid off and we have published the new paper on time and with a fair and balanced reporting of news and events throughout the college. The start of great future publications we can only hope.

The Campus Times will be published throughout the new college year, starting in September. The paper will be self financed and run by the WIT Journalism Society. Contributions are welcome from students, but I would encourage

publication up and running again, and those who put together the range of fantastic articles and news reports – we wouldn’t have progressed at all. I think it’s worthy to thank former editors of the old Campus Times paper - Tadhg Casey and Joe Wallace. They started and worked hard for this student paper, and left a solid plan for the new editorial team for this year. Shannan Sutherland who was our editor during the brief period we worked with the “WIT IT” Magazine provided by the Students Union. The Clubs & Societies office who helped get the publication actually published in the first place. The Students Union, in particular Denise McCarthy who has been very supportive and Conor Doyle for his help. The Design Team at Alpha Design who worked long

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The Campus Times Returns

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any student who is interested in helping out in any shape or form with the paper in the future, please join the Journalism Society and get involved. Starting next term, the society will elect a new editor and a new editorial team who will be the main contributors and reporters for the college year ahead. If this is something that interests you, join the society and get involved. Just pop along to the Clubs & Societies office for more information. The more people on board helping the paper, the better the publication will be.

Ill finish up this piece by just saying a few words of thanks for all those who played a role in getting this publication put together. I took over the position of Editor very late in the semester, and I know from my involvement in the society the past few years the passion and interest amongst the members for getting a strong, interesting and fair publication printed – like most colleges have.

Without the society members who helped in initial stages for getting this

hours to get the publication created and the Munster Express for looking after the printing (Thanks Tony!).

Hopefully you will like the new design and the content within. It’s been a tough but enjoyable task for me as editor, with this being my final year – but I feel it has been well worth it and the finished product is the start of many great publications ahead.

We would appreciate any feedback you have, just visit us on our Facebook page and give us your Feedback (www. facebook.com/thecampustimes) so the next edition can be even better. Contributions are always welcome, and the Journalism Society are a very welcoming bunch who are always looking for people who will come onboard.

The very best of luck with all your exams and for those final year students like me – I wish you all the best with your job hunting.

Kevin O’Sullivan

9. A face looking towards you in the extreme left, to the side of #8.

8. Another face in profile directly above #6, the bird forms the nose and forehead.

7. Another face in profile on the opposite side of the #6’s bird statue (a mirror of #6).

6. Mirror image of #5 above the left column.

5. Profile of woman’s head above right hand column.

4. Baby in #3’s arms.

3. Lady beside #2 holding a baby.

2. Man in the centre left carrying a walking stick (whose head is the eye of #1) 1. Large head of a man in the centre looking to the left, with white hair and beard.

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Events Coronas

Sports Awards

Fight Night 2

AI WIT GAA Sponsored by

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Raise and Give Week

ction Debate Political Society Host Ele

Mary Roche Law Society Host Mayor