Impact 2016/2017 Semester 2

DCU Office Of Student Life Bi-annual Activity Report VOL 5, ISSUE 2; MAY 2017

MARTINA BROWNE MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS CO-ORDINATOR Semester 2 was just as active as semester 1, if not more so!

All of the awards ceremonies were in full swing along with numerous campaigns and events conducted by the SU. The SU have worked tirelessly this semester with the staff of the OSL to make 2016/17 a year to remember as “the new DCU”.

We have an exciting new team elected for 2017/18 to carry on the legacy that the sabbatical officers established this year. I’d like to wish the exsisting SU the best of luck with their future endeavours.

A big thank you to all of the staff in the OSL for their continued hard work towards the student experience and for their assistance in bringing this magazine to life.

I hope you all enjoy reflecting back on the semester and I look forward to seeing you all again in 2017/18.

R E P R E S E N TAT I O N CHANGE OPPORTUNITIES AWARENESS COMMUNITY EVENTS HELP AND SUPPORT

REPRESENTATION

Letter from the Editor

CLASS REP COUNCIL There was a lot happening this semester in CRC, from general meetings to hustings. This semester has also seen many maiden speaker class reps bring forward motions for approval and class reps brought a new version of the constitution to a referendum which then passed.

It was great to see so many class reps getting involved in CRC this semester. I would highly recommend that anyone interested in making a difference in the DCU community runs for class rep next year. It is truly a great opportunity to get involved in DCUSU, to meet so many new people and make a change. It has been an interesting year as Chairperson of CRC with both challenging and great experiences. I’d like to wish the newly elected Chair and Secretary of CRC for next year all the best for the year to come.

-Callaghan Commons CRC Chair

REFLECTING ON OUR LAST SEMESTER

DYLAN KEHOE

MANUS MCLOUGHLIN

PRESIDENT

VP OF EDUCATION & PLACEMENT

That’s a wrap! Allow me to get straight to the point on the year I’ve had. I ran for election stating how I wanted to be a President that engaged as many students as possible through fun events and campaigns. Many students pass through DCU barely scratching the surface of involvement with the SU - they take a free lollipop here and there and are never seen again.

I have really enjoyed my tenure working on behalf of DCU Students’ Union and representing over 16,000 students as DCUSU’s first ever Education & Placement Officer. I have held two non-sabbatical positions on St.Patrick’s Students’ Union in the past and of course, one full time position this year on DCU Students’ Union. The three years of SU life has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs but it has all been worth it, if I’ve made just even one person’s day that bit better or helping a student in need, that makes it all worthwhile. Over the past year, we have successfully campaigned for a number of improvements to student life on campus, most recently, working with the library to introduce a 24 hour service over exams! I am currently a deferred student of DCU and I will be returning to St. Patrick’s Campus next year to finish my final year of the BEd programme. Thank you for a fantastic year, I have loved working for you all. You’ll still see me around as I will remain active in University life acting as the St. Patrick’s campus Rep for A&F and RAG Soc… and who knows what lies beyond the horizon.

I genuinely believe that this year I managed to get more people involved than ever before. Events such as Goujon Appreciation Day and Oktoberfest were highlights of the year while the biggest ever Summer Ball DCU has seen and Paddy Losty Appreciation Day the day after were simply insane - days/nights that will live long in the memory of DCU! I’d like to thank the rest of the SU for their support all year.

Manus, Eimear, James and Cody have been very easy to work with over the past 12 months and thankfully we’re all able to have a bit of craic together outside of the office. In particular, I will miss coming in each morning to the sound of a sliotar being pucked against the wall for 8 hours a day in James’ office and the soothing tones of Cody continuously telling himself how he’s the best Welfare Officer in DCUSU history.

The best part of the job has been getting to know so many of you over the last year. From first years to postgraduates; you’ve all played a huge part in my year and I owe you all for the great craic I’ve had along the way. I hope you will look back on this year with as many fond memories as I will.

That’s all for now folks.

CODY BYRNE

VP FOR WELFARE & EQUALITY It’s kind of impossible to put this year into only a few words. From a Welfare perspective, we had five weeklong campaigns, including SHIFT Week, Helping Hands Week and Body & Soul Week (which was nominated for a national student award!). We had free STI testing for the entire second semester, doggy therapy on campus four times, numerous alcohol-free ‘festival fun days’. We’re even the first Union in the country to bring in drug-testing kits! From an Equality perspective, we celebrated Indian culture with Holifest, had a bit of craic as Gaeilge with Seo Linn and even had Diversity Week. From a national perspective, we had a media campaign against a letting company and won, one of the largest student turnouts in the country for the national protest against the implementation of loans and twice as many signatures on a petition compared to other institutions. We had numerous movements for Repealing the Eighth Amendment including a ‘walk out’ of over 250 staff and students on International Women’s Day. My time in the DCU Students’ Union has been...interesting. I think one thing that we highlighted this year is that we can be both fun and professional, which is one thing that I’ve always wanted to see with the Union. I also wouldn’t have chosen any other teammates to have spent the last 9 months with. From the get go, we were very open with each other and quickly became friends. While they are authentically weird (you all have no idea), I am confident we will remain friends for life. If I could say two things, it would be that you, the students, rule this place. Without you all, none of this would have been possible. If there is something that you are not happy about, make it known. That’s what your SU is here for. Secondly, SUs come and go. It was honestly the greatest honour of my life to date to be your VP for Welfare & Equality. I hope I, and the rest of the team, did you all proud. Until next time… DCWHO? DCU.

JAMES DONOGHUE

VP OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS My time has come to an end here in DCU. Two years in the Students’ Union and it has been an exhilarating experience to say the least. I would like to thank all the students for electing me to represent and help them academically for the past two years and I hope I have done you proud. This year has been both challenging yet rewarding. This semester, we held a very successful Careers Week and also seen the return of ISSE, which, with your feedback, will play a huge role in the shaping of the University for years to come. There have been lots of personal highlights for me with some really cool events which I will never forget. I still have a couple of weeks left, I’ll be here up until mid-June to help with any exam related queries or otherwise that you may have. As I leave the Students’ Union Offices mid re-development with a crane towering above us it is clear the BOOM is back! What a time to be around. Enjoy your time in college. Thanks for having me.

EIMEAR MAGUIRE

VP OF ENGAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT This year has been the best year of my life. I have grown as a person and learnt so much. We have organised workshops, talks, campaigns and achieved so much. However, the most memorable thing of this year is going to have to be the four boys that I work with. Never in a million years did I think that four different individuals would work so well as a team and I would be leaving the Union calling them some of my best friends. Dylan, you are a great leader, friend and you have been there for me this year and always made sure to listen to the opinions of others. James, after two years in the union you were by far the most knowledgeable of us four. Cody, I can’t describe our relationship as anything other than like family. You have been my best friend this year both inside and outside of work and I couldn’t have enjoyed this year as much as I did without you by my side. Last but not least, Manus, what can I say about you… you have been my rock. You have defied all my expectations, I think we can both agree we never thought that we would be this close but I don’t know what I would do without you. I will never forget what we have done together this year.

YOUR NEW

EXEC

2017 2018

NIALL BEHAN - PRESIDENT

I can’t wait to get started next year as SU President. It’s going to be such a memorable year for the SU with the opening of the new state of the art Student Centre next February. All of us here in the SU want to ensure we have a great year ahead, I’m looking forward to getting started in September. Top of our agenda is to build on the work that’s already completed during the incorporation of all campuses. I feel very strongly that every student who studies in DCU should be proud to go to DCU, with so much on offer from clubs, societies and co-curricular life. So top of our agenda is to ensure everyone feels at home in the SU and that we are running events across all campuses. There are so many events coming your way this year, as well as more support than previously available to students. I truly can’t wait to get started and to meet all new students and commence as president.

BRENDAN POWER - VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS I am beyond excited to begin work in June alongside what I know will be an incredible team. It is a very exciting time in DCU with such an array of change happening each day. The key for us a team is to be relatable to students, be available to them and enrich their college experience. Careers week will be brought to another level in the coming year and I am looking forward to helping students with any academic issues they may have.

Enjoy your summer and see you in September!

PADRAIG HENRY - VICE PRESIDENT FOR WELFARE & EQUALITY I’ve never been more excited to start anything as much as Welfare & Equality Officer. Firstly I want to thank all the people who put their faith in me and voted. I want to follow up on Cody’s work but I also have some ideas of my own I would like to implement. I plan to work closely with the library and campus residence. I want to find a system that would reduce fines on short term loans over exam season. With campus residence, I would hope to design some sort of appealing system for fines during inspections and also explore the idea of an ‘emergency form’ for students who bring back guests that have not been signed in to prevent people getting stranded outside for the night. Finally I want to bring more awareness to sexual, physical and mental health. Building on this years SHAG week and Helping Hand week but also working closely with both the Clubs Officer and the Socs Officer to expand on ‘Give it a go week’ to get students to the best possible start next year.

Above all else I want to bethere for students in times of need and help them to my best ability. I will give this role everything I have and I cannot wait to get started. See you all in September.

OLIVIA FORDE

EDUCATION FACULTY REP I am delighted to be elected as your Education Faculty Rep. There are so many goals I wish to achieve, both on a day to day basis and on a bigger scale! A few things that I hope to achieve are: To increase engagement between St Patrick’s and All Hallows’ campus.

To bring back the much needed Bachelor in Religious Education tutorials.

To build a strong working relationship between the Education & Placement Officer and Education Faculty Rep.

MATHEW DAVEY - VICE PRESIDENT FOR EDUCATION & PLACEMENT

I’d like to start by just saying a huge thank you to every single person that voted for me. To be part of DCUSU next year is a massive privilege and I look forward to representing you next year as part of the team as VP for Education and Placement. More people than ever voted in the SU Elections and it’s great to see so many people enthusiastic about who represents them, placing a massive responsibility on us, which I am looking forward to and counting down the days until we start.

These are exciting times to be a DCU student. With the university becoming a multi-campus university there has been and will probably continue to be a lot of change, however with change comes potential and myself and the rest of the SU staff from this year and next know what an important job we have to do for the student body to maximise every single person’s experience in DCU. The changes are exciting and none are more exciting than the development of the Student Centre which epitomises the positive changes that are happening.

To everyone in their final year in DCU, I wish you the very best in your final exams, final year projects, placement and in your futures, to all the students coming back again next semester, I’d like to wish you the best of luck in exams, placement or with your assignments and I look forward to working for and with you in the next college year.

Go néirí an t-adh libh.

HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES REP

SCIENCE & HEALTH FACULTY REP I am absolutely delighted to be elected the Science and Health Faculty Rep for the incoming year.

These are a few of my plans for the next year: I want to ensure the Nurses Appreciation Day is held in both semesters so that all years of nurses will be on campus for at least one of the appreciation days.

I wish to ensure that more ice-breaker sessions and mixers are held during Orientation and Fresher’s Week for first years in the faculty to help ease them into college life.

I’m thrilled that I’ve been given the opportunity to represent all Humanities & Soc Sciences students next year. There’s plenty I want to get cracking on such as: More Empowered Class Reps; I have a plan for bringing H&SS Class reps together to discuss issues we’re facing and then work on them together as a faculty.

Language Support : I want to look into the feasibility of a language support service, and fight for more support for irish students such as restoring funding for Gaeltacht.

Campus Rep: I want the new DCU to be more unified and that starts with the SU, I want to split myself evenly between St Pats and Glasnevin when running events or meetings and be a familiar face to All Hallows students.

ALLAN STEVENSON

EMILIO WILLIAMS DORAN

THOMAS DORIAN

POSTGRADUATE OFFICER

ENGINEERING & COMPUTING FACULTY REP

CLUBS OFFICER

I’m thrilled to have been elected as the Post Graduate Officer for next year and some of the things I plan to do are: Use our affiliation to USI to continue campaigning for the restoration of Post Graduate grants.

To work on establishing a Graduate Students’ Union that caters for the needs of Post Graduate students.

Raise awareness of facilities, supports and services available to Post Graduate students.

CAOIMHE NI CHONGAILE

SIOBHAN MCTAGUE - VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENGAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT I am so overwhelmed to have been elected as the second ever Vice President for Engagement and Development. I have been an integral part of campus life in DCU and I cannot wait to share my passion for getting involved with the DCU student body. The university is going through a major transition and I want to ensure that the Union oozes the enthusiasm, positivity and pro-active attitude to go with it! I look forward to an exhilarating 2017/18 DCU SU.

CRAIG MCHUGH

CALLAGHAN COMMONS

I am very proud to represent Computing and Engineering students as Faculty Rep this year. I’m looking forward to working with the SU, student body and university to better the college experience for all students. I will look into the academic benefit of available exam solutions and explore the release of ideal answers to past papers, reform the faculty council making it more impactful and continue to engage with student issues and work towards practical solutions.

I’m so excited to get going and am looking forward to working with clubs across all the DCU campuses.

I plan to spend as much time as possible with every club and meet them on a regular basis.

Irish is my passion and I hope to get our national language used in every club. In the coming year I hope to provide cookery demonstrations for students to show how we can eat healthy foods on the go with a tight budget along with prompting easy exercise plans.

EMILY HARDY

BRYAN MULRY

IRISH OFFICER

BUSINESS FACULTY REP

SOCIETIES OFFICER

Being announced as next year’s Oifigeach na Gaeilge at the SU election results recently was a moment of great pride and joy for me for an array of reasons.

I was also exceptionally pleased to be elected as it means I now have the opportunity to promote Irish within the SU in terms of advertising and events. The role also enables me to help organise a campaign against the Gaeltacht fees which student teachers are currently obliged to pay. Making Irish visible and accessible across all the DCU campuses next is truly my primary aim.

I’m delighted to have been elected to represent the Business Faculty and can’t wait to start implementing my ideas. Next year I hope to get industry talks implemented in the Business school and help those going on INTRA make the transition as easy as possible. Alongside this, I want to help those who are struggling academically by creating new academic resources in the school and making other resources more accessible and easier to find.I am really excited to get started, trying to make the Business School the best it can be!

I’m delighted I’ve been elected and am really looking forward to the new academic year. I plan to ensure an area is allocated for storage space for societies and continue the work of the previous Socs Officer on obtaining and introducing ‘Society Lockers’ for each society. I will run an information session on an area or issue requested of me whether it be a PRO asking me how to make posters and gain momentum around an event or an ordinary member asking how to organise merchandise, apparel etc.

I would also like to work with ISS to create an online forum that will in simple terms act as a review site for societies.

USI CONGRESS DCUSU excelled at USI Congress this year. We had 16 delegates representing the students of DCU for the four days. Each delegate was respectful, well spoken and engaged. We had a great few days mandating USI whilst also making lots of friends along the way. DCU made history by mandating the national union to work towards funding for an officer to work for and represent postgraduate students. Below are some of the delegates opinions and thoughts on their time at Congress.

REFERENDA This year the class representatives and a focus group of both Students’ Union, postgraduate reps and undergraduate Reps worked tirelessly to re -write our old constitution and implement a new constitution which would now ensure all students are represented equally.

The constitution in place for this last academic year was outdated and needed a few tweaks. A referendum was held alongside the Students’ Union elections and our new and improved constitution was put in place with 93% of people voting in its favour.

“It was a fantastic experience. My fourth and final Congress where we made progress on behalf of students and our delegation showed real determination in getting our policies adopted by USI”- Sean Cassidy, EPL3 “Congress for me was an exemplary insight into the hard work and dedication which goes on behind the scenes, for students nationwide”- Brad Whelan, BS1 “Congress was a really enjoyable experience. It was great to see so many engaged and passionate students standing up for the issues that affect them, the sense of unity was overwhelming. The student movement is such a cohesive and welcoming one and congress really reflected that”- Rebecca Lumley, JR3

“Ensuring all students are represented equally.”

CHANGE

SU AWARD WINNERS 2017

Class Rep of the Year - Business - Bryan Mulry Class Rep of the Year - Humanities & social science - Laura Scully Class Rep of the Year -Science & health - Katie Dawson Class Rep of the Year-Engineering & Computing - Jacob Byrne Class Rep of the Year - Education faculty - Kate Coyle Best Fresher Rep - Bryan Mulry Staff Member of the Year - Peadar Gill Overall Class Rep of the Year - Christine Farrell Outstanding Contribution to Incorporation Process - Catherine Kane Outstanding Contribution to Representation Caoimhe ni Mhaolagain Outstanding Contribution to Change - Eleanor Hulm Outstanding Contribution to Help - Raphael Onwunali Outstanding Contribution to Community - Aoife Murphy Outstanding Contribution to Support - Jason Bolton Outstanding Contribution to Awareness - Alannah Kearney Outstanding Contribution to Events - Oisin Terzioglu Outstanding Contribution to Opportunities - Kate Canavan Outstanding Impact Award - Allan Stevenson

SU ELECTIONS Voting for the new SU team for 2017/18 took place on Tuesday March 21st online, which saw thousands of students casting their vote online across all campuses. This is the third year in a row that voting has been conducted online and it was met with a great deal of success.

Over 30% of students casted their votes for the new team, setting a new record as the highest ever voter turnout in the history of DCUSU elections.

Returning Officer Cat O Driscoll chaired the Hustings which began on

March 8th on Glasnevin campus, and March 9th on St Patrick’s Campus.

A highly engaging TV debate hosted by DCU’s Media Production Society then followed.

After a week of campaigning the new Sabbatical Officers and Exec were elected on March 23rd and announced in Nubar at 6pm.

The new SU will start their term this June, with a new Sabbatical team and SU space in the works for 2017/18, it looks to be an exciting upcoming year.

“ Highest voter turnout ever ”

THE ARTS BURSARY OFFICIAL OPENING OF SU SPACE ON ST PATRICK’S CAMPUS

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A great space for students and staff

OPPORTUNITIES

The official opening of the space took place at the start of semester two and it was a huge success. Prof. Briain MacCraith and SU President Dylan Kehoe cut the red tape on the day and both delivered excellent and engaging speeches.

Both staff and students were invited to the momentous occasion.

The official opening marks the first time in history that a Students’ Union on St. Patrick’s Campus has been designated a permanent space. This space will be known as the “Office of Student Life” and it is a mirror image of the Office of Student Life in the Hub on Glasnevin.

In the past, the Students’ Union on campus had to move at the end of every academic year. DCU Students’ Union are delighted to announce that this will no longer be the case!

The OSL on St. Patrick’s Campus has the following services available to all students all year round: Payzone, Leap Card Top up, Leap Card sign up, multi-dock charging stations, Clubs & Socs, a round table meeting room, a social space, DCU merchandise, lost and found, two sabbatical Vice President Offices and much much more. The Office of Student Life can be found just off the Quad of D Block.

The Office of Student Life, supported by the Educational Trust offers a limited number of Arts Bursaries to undergraduate students involved in the Arts. The aim of the Arts Bursary is to promote excellence in artistic and cultural activities and to encourage the pursuit of excellence.

This year, 8 students successfully received support from the Arts Bursary to the value of €3,100. Students used their bursaries to support their interests in visual arts, performing arts and media practice.

The Arts Bursary is open every year to all DCU undergraduate students and all art forms are considered. If you are interested in applying for an Arts Bursary in 2017/2018 please visit the resources section of dcusu.ie for more information.

If you have any general queries about the Arts Bursary, please email arts.bursary@dcu.ie.

The Uaneen module is an academic module that recognises and rewards the work done and learning acquired by students within university and outside clubs, societies, community work and extra-curricular activity in general.

The module can be either a contributing 5 credit elective or a non-contributing optional additional 5 credit module.

The experience and skills gained from exra-curricular activities within the third level experience is being recognised and valued more and more by employers. A graduate’s work with clubs, societies and other extra-curricular activity during their time studying is often what sets them apart from other applicants in an interview or job situation. The Employer’s organisation, IBEC facilitates and recognises these awards.

This year, over 100 students are participating in the Uaneen module and are due to be formally recognised at their Graduations in November for their extraordinary achievements.

The Uaneen Module is open to all students in their final year. If you are interested in applying for the Uaneen Module or would like to know more information before your final year, please visit www. dcu.ie/Uaneen for more information. If you have any general queries about the benefits of taking the Uaneen Module or the course structure, please email uaneen@dcu.ie.

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AWARENESS BLUE MONDAY REFRESHERS WEEK Semester two launched with our Refreshers Week from January 30th - February 3rd. This week helped everyone settle back in after the Christmas break with fun-filled activities spread out across St Patrick’s and Glasnevin campuses.

There were numerous daytime activities such as “Dunk your SU” and a petting zoo, with some amazing acts such as “America’s Got Talent”, finalist Stevie Starr along with “Hardy Bucks” Owen Colgan. The week was extremely successful with a high rate of engagement across all campuses, it was a great way of kicking off semester 2 and is something that could easily become an annual event.

“ A great way of kicking off semester 2!”

On the not-so-scientifically tested ‘saddest day of the year’, we had a big pick-me-up day! We had presents hidden around the campuses, hundreds of cupcakes, tea and coffee on both GLA and SPC. We also gave out over 300 mental health packs that contained student support cards and a teabag to go home and talk about your day with your roommate over a good cup of tae!

We hoped that by spreading a little bit of happiness that it would cause a domino effect and cheer up students on all campuses following the busy holiday season.

- Cody Byrne, VP for Welfare & Equality

“Talk about your day with your roomate over a good cup of tae!”

CAREERS WEEK

STRIKE FOR REPEAL On March 8th, International Women’s Day, DCU SU, along with SUs across the country and other organisations did a national strike. This included +250 staff and students alike walking out of class on SPC and GLA Campus. We did a march around all campuses with our #RepealTheEighth banners and held a teach-in in the Henry Grattan on GLA campus with professionals speaking on why the 8th Amendment should be repealed from a legal and social perspective. Afterwards, the SU transported over 50 staff and students into town for the Strikes for Choice march which saw over 12,000 participants.

For the second year running, DCU Students’ Union teamed up with our friends in the Careers Office, to run a Careers Week in the second week of Semester 2. Once more across the week, hundreds of students were engaged and given a chance to meet with industry, employers and careers advisors.

One of the highlights was a dress to success workshop where students were shown how to dress professionally and practically for work, interviews, intra and placement on a student budget.

NURSES APPRECIATION DAY In Semester One, we had Teacher’s Appreciation Day. During Reading Week of Semester Two, it was only fitting we had a day for our nursing students!

It takes a lot to spend so much time out on placement, keep up with coursework, hold a part-time job and enjoy a good social life! We had a wall of appreciation for our nursing students, cotton candy and popcorn, operation board, beauty technicians, baked goods and even raised over €700 for The Irish Cancer Society. Only minor, but it’s definitely deserved! We love our nurses!

SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE Seachtain den chéad scoth a bhí ann agus gabhann muid buíochas libh go léir as ucht a bheith rannpháirteach, spreagúil agus sásta an Ghaeilge a labhairt ar fud an choláiste. Idir oícheanta ar nós Shite Nite Gaelach, go leor píotsa saor in aisce agus ár bhfeachtas le gnáthdaoine ‘Gaeilge - taithí agus todhchaí’, bhí neart ar siúl a chuir an Ghaeilge chun cinn i measc chuile dhuine, idir chainteoirí líofa agus fhoghlaimeoirí, ar an dá campas.

Go dtí an chéad bhliain eile..

BEG BORROW STEAL 100 students took part in Beg Borrow Steal this year where teams had to traverse Europe from DCU to the Trevi Fountain, Rome. It wasn’t that easy though - they had to travel via multiple checkpoints in European destinations with no money; simply relying on the kindness of others.

Teams departed DCU at 9am and this year, Oran Duffy and Liam McAweeney were crowned victors arriving to the finish line at 5:20 am - less than 24 hours after they started. Many teams made it to Rome in the following hours and the celebrations soon began.

This year saw Beg Borrow Steal break the €100,000 fundraising target and it could not have been done without the DCU students that participated over the last 3 years. DCUSU would like to thank and congratulate all of those that had any involvement and who raised funds for a worthy cause; Movember Ireland. We can’t wait to see where the event goes to next year!

HOLIFEST During semester two, week ten, we had DCU SU’s first ever Holifest on All Hallows Campus in conjunction with DCU Indian Society and DJ Soc. This was to celebrate the welcoming of springtime and is a traditional Indian festival. We had over 800 packets of water-soluble chalk and 170+ students ready to go. We had ice cream trucks, DJ Soc playing a mix of Indian and traditional music, and plenty of craic. RTE even came to film! It will definitely be an annual event!

COMMUNITY

BODY & SOUL WEEK

DCU SU had their first ever Body and Soul Week in Semester 2.

This was a whole week dedicated to being healthy and happy in your own skin and we think it was an amazing success! We had an ‘Underwear Mile’ around campus with RAG Soc and Full Monty with DCU Dance. We gave out 4,000 condoms/lubes/information on STDs with USI and had numerous sexual empowerment classes. 52 people took part in our 5k Love Run and we put 48 ‘Stop & Compliment Yourself!’ mirrors around all campuses! It was a great week - sure to be an annual campaign!

GOUJON APPRECIATION DAY

Students were deeply saddened coming back to college for Semester 2 this year when they noticed the NuBar had reduced the portion size for goujons from 5 to 4. Led by President Dylan Kehoe, DCUSU started the #BringBackOurGoujon campaign online and ‘negoujiations’ were soon underway.

The campaign went viral in a matter of hours with national media, students and alumni all jumping on board to show their support. Goujon Appreciation Day was organised for the 14th February for students to show their love for the 5th goujon and it was a massive success. For one day only, the 5th goujon returned and the queue was continuously out the door of the NuBar. With live music all day, the 5th goujon and our very own dancing chicken; the event was a great laugh.

The event was so successful that the NuBar and Dylan agreed to have Goujon Appreciation Day every Wednesday where you can get the extra 5th goujon.

DCUSU HOUSE CUP

The Annual House Cup took place at the end of second semester this year and it was a huge success. The House Cup was traditionally a St.Patrick’s Students’ Union event and this year DCU Students’ Union have brought it back bigger than ever before. There was a grand total of 18 teams who entered but the winner in the end were “Footballs next stars”.

It was €60 per team to enter and due to the number of extra teams who entered this year some of the budget could be used to buy a cup and a “Highest Goal Scorer” trophy.

Professional photos were taken at almost every match as each team battled their way through the knockouts. DCU Students’ Union aim to have 20 male teams signed up next year and at least 6 female teams. #HouseCup2018

E L I F T C A F S C O S & CLUBS 39 Clubs on campus 84 Societies on campus

Over 14000 registrations for societies Over 5000 registrations for clubs

SurfnSail - largest club membership with 441 members ESoc - largest society membership with 2407 members

Over 130 paid club coaches

Over €650,000 funding allocated to Clubs & Socs

Clubs & Socs Fair held over 3 days

DCU FUSE DCUSU teamed up with the university to launch “DCU Fuse”.

DCU Fuse gathered opinions and ideas about a holistic approach to areas of student life, graduate employability, mainstreaming diversity across all campuses and many other topics.

DCU Fuse was a huge success with thousands of participants contributing to the threads at any given time. The staff are now busy analysing the comments & suggestions with feedback on the way, so watch this space!

ISSE SURVEY The Irish Survey of Student Engagement (ISSE) launched in 2012. It is a great platform for students to develop the resources and teachings within the University based on their experience.

In the past the ISSE survey has led to developments such as improving library and classroom facilities and the introduction of a Maths Learning Centre.

The Students’ Union promotes the survey and tries to get as much data as possible to improve the student experience. We hope that the large amount of data collected will result in exciting intiatives in the future.

OFFICE OF STUDENT LIFE IN THE DCU COMMUNITY The Office of Student Life works cohesively with the DCU Staff, Students, Allumni and the wider community to contribute towards the student experience and make it the best that it can be. There are various staff, volunteers and intiatives going on behind the scenes that build on student engagement and add to DCU Life. The OSL is happy to work alongside these members and promote these intiatives to give our student body a well rounded college experience.

CE SCHEME The OSL sponsored “CE” (Community Employment) Scheme is a government funded initiative.

The objective of the Scheme is to enhance the employability and mobility of disadvantaged and unemployed persons by providing valuable work experience and training opportunities for them within their local communities. The Scheme endeavours to break the cycle of unemployment by providing participants with good quality work experience opportunities as well as training qualifications and education.

The CE Scheme is based over the three DCU Campuses – DCU Glasnevin, St. Patrick’s Campus and All Hallows Campus. There are also participants based in DCU in the Community, Trinity Comprehensive and the Rediscovery Centre which are all in Ballymun.

The scheme currently has participants in various roles across the Campus in areas providing services to students and staff - Reception, Administration & Accounts, Maintenance, Caretaker/ Porter, Maintenance/Facilities (The WiserProject, Ballymun), Horticulture Assistants (The DCU Community Garden).

SOCIETY LIFE HIGHLIGHTS This year, without a doubt, was a different one for societies than any other year without having the Venue or the use of The Hub as a focal point for all society events. However, this turned out to be a positive, as there were more quality events taking place rather then quantity.

Societies got involved with using local pubs, hotels, and even the investment of a massive marquee for the first 6 weeks of semester one. Without question, there were definitely a number of stand out events throughout the year.

LUKE O’RIORDAN, SOCIETIES OFFICER

DCU Style’s Fashion show, which was voted event of the year, was a massive success, and saw over 600 people pack out The Helix in March.

DCU Dance put on 2 absolutely top quality inter-society events; Best Dance Crew and The Fully Monty.

DCU Drama, also voted society of the year, hosted a number of shows including “The Breakfast Club” and “Pippin”.

Another stand out event this year was the A&F Ball with Julio Bashmore, Daithi, and Booka Brass Band headling this year’s ball.

As always RAG, Enactus, FLAC, Cancer Soc as well as SVP Soc provided weekly events which were consistently assisting with helping the local community and providing charitable events on / off campus.

ESoc raised over over €20,000 between Rags to Riches, and The Quest, while MPS’s 24 hour broadcast raised €15,000 and received recognition throughout the whole country for their promotional video on homelessness.

Here’s to an even better 2017/18.

Soccer Harding Cup Champions 2017 (Mens Freshers)

Powerchair Football

Competed in the Champions League Finals in Denmark (2 of this team will play in this summers World Cup, Emer O Sullivan 1st year BSc Common Entry Science will captain the team

Olympic Weightlifting

Won their Intervarsity Championships, DCU is now number one Olympic Weightlifting Club in Ireland (The club won 11/14 gold medals with 5 of the 11 gold medals by female athletes)

Karate

Intervarsity Champions 2017 for the first time in their history. The club won 31 medals on the day

Boxing

CLUB HIGHLIGHTS 2016/17

Won seven gold medals in their All Ireland Boxing Intervarsities including a first ever Senior Mens Boxing title for DCU won by Jack Robinson

Archery

Irish Student Archery Association League secured gold in the Barebow, Mixed and Compound team categories and individual medallists with 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze

Swimming

Best ever Intervarsity results (Men’s- 5 gold, 1 silver, 1 brozne and 3rd place overall) (Womens 2 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze and 2nd place overall)

Athletics

IUAA Indoor Track & Field Team Champions for the 10th consecutive year!

IUAA Cross County team Champions 2017 4 members of Ireland’s Senior Throws team at the Winter Europeans!

Adam King 11th in the Men’s Hammer at the World Juniors in July 2016!

20 National Individual Medalists at the National Senior Indoor Championships in Abbottstwon, February 2017

Gaelic Games

Ladies football: Giles cup winners HEC All star recipient 2017 Sarah Rowe

Fresher A Football

All Ireland championship & league winners Fresher A Hurling All Ireland championship winners Intermediate League champions & Leinster Junior champions (Men’s football)

CLUBS & SOCS WINNERS 2017 Most Promising Club Fresher Jack O’ Connor – Men’s Soccer Club

Best Society Promotional Video FemSoc

Most Promising Club Fresher Sara Boyle – Badminton Club

Best Society Photograph Dance Society

Most Promising Society Fresher Aoife McDermott – Media Production Society Individual Contribution to Society Development Aoife Murphy – RAG Soc Caoimhe Ni Mhaolagain – Society Life Committee Enda Molloy – Drama/SLC Katie Mannion – Enterprise Soc Katie Richardson – Dance Soc Martin Nolan – Games Soc Luke O Riordan – AFSoc Niamh Whelan – Drama Soc Raphael Onwunali – FLAC Sorcha Killian – Mental Health Soc Valerie Keogh – Dance Soc Vito Moloney Burke – RAG Individual Contribution to Club Development and Sporting Excellence Eimear Corri – Ladies Rugby Jack Robinson – Boxing Leah Caffrey – Ladies GAA Niamh Merry – Archery Aine McParland – Ladies GAA Peter Wright – Men’s Rugby Philip Early – Aikido Sadhbh Condon – Boxing Club Best Publicity Campaign MPS 24Hr Broadcast Comms & Marketing Award SurfnSail Best Society Poster Fotosoc

Excellence in Coaching Award Ian Darragh – Weightlifting James Costello – Ladies GAA Club Safety Award (New Award) DCU Archery Club Staff Contribution to Club Life Niamh Higgins – Equestrian Tommy Mooney – Olympic Weightlifting Sports Scholar of the Year Greta Streimikyte - Para-Athletics Olympian Best New Society Speakeasy Most Promising Club Ladies GAA Most Promising Society Kingdom Cafe Team of the Year Soccer Club – Harding Cup Winners Karate Club – Intervarsity Winners Best Society Event Style Soc - Fashion Show Sports Personality of the Year Aaron McLoughlin – Karate Club Society Personality of the Year Caoimhe Ni Mhaolagain – RAG, An Cumann Gaelach, SLC Best Society in a Civic or Charity Field RAG Soc Club of the Year SurfnSail Best Society in a Cultural, Academic or Social Field Drama Soc

EVENTS Semester 2 was jam packed full of events. After the Christmas break the OSL wanted to ease students and staff back into the college environment, so we kicked off term with our “Refreshers Week”. We achieved our aims of conducting multi-campus events and activities both during the day and in the evening and the week really set the tone for what the semester had in store. Following this launch there were numerous events as part of DCUSU’s campaigns that saw multi-campus engagement soar, some of these key events were ‘Holifest”, “Body and Soul” and “Beg, Borrow, Steal”.

Along with the Students’ Union events, the OSL staff work closely with Clubs and Socs and faculty reps to help them with the planning and implementation of their events throughout the semester. This term saw some really well run events from all involved which sets the bar for the new members and Reps next year.

One of the biggest obstacles this year was the lack of on campus venues to accomodate large scale events, the OSL faced this challenge by sourcing external locations for the key SU Balls.

Our biggest event by far was the DCUSU Summer Ball 2017 which took place in the Wright Venue.

There were over 2000 students with 15 acts performing across four stages.

Our own home grown talent took over the DCWho stage as DJ Soc provided the tunes that kept the beats going throughout the night. It was a huge success with some great festival pics being snapped onto our social media platforms.

Next year will see the opening of the new SU space, with the Venue back in action for the 2017/2018 academic year. With the new SU team incorporating some highly anticipated event plans into this relaunched venue, next year looks to be just as

EVENTS SEMESTER TWO

EXAM SUPPORT

HELP & SUPPORT

The Students’ Union this year once more strived to be a helping hand to students during the stressful period of examinations.

Sabbatical officers informed students of exam regulations prior to the exams and offered advice throughout.

To help reduce stress, officers did regular fruit runs to the Library and also distributed pens and goodies.

A relax room was set up in the Mezz with bean bags and calming plants for people to relax.

EXTENDED LIBRARY HOURS For the entire month of May, both DCU libraries will be open 24/7. Library services such as the library helpdesk will not be available 24/7 however services such as taking out a book will be possible, unless you have any outstanding fines. The helpdesk will be manned by a security guard throughout the night and the helpdesk will be fully functional during the day.

THE SU HELPDESK Our SU Helpdesk continues to be an invaluable resource to us all. The SU Helpdesk offers a range of services including SU merchandise, printing, binding, Ticketmaster, Ticketsolve and Travel tickets. The helpdesk also acts as a vital information point for campus staff, students and visitors. Pop over the SU Helpdesk on Glasnevin or St Patrick’s Campus and the staff will be happy to help you with any query you may have.

THIS YEAR OUR SU HELPDESKS HAVE...

The funding for the 24 Hour library is coming directly from DCU library resources. The SU offered to run a campaign to fundraise to cover the cost of heat and electricity, however the library was confident that they had the resources. If you are studying for long periods of time please be sure to take breaks and get out of the library.

DCU Students’ Union would like to officially thank the Library for going the extra mile for students during the Autumn exam period last semester and now again for the Summer exam period. There are students who contacted the SU to let us know that they had availed of every extra minute the Cregan and O’Reilly libraries stayed open during the Christmas exam period. We have no doubt that the extra hours for summer exams will be just as valuable.

SEEN 5290 PEOPLE PASS THROUGH ISSUED 4108 STUDENT LEAP CARDS. Average of - 171 A WEEK - 34 A DAY

HELPDESK ISSUED 1182 ADULT LEAP CARDS

SOLD OVER 4000 TICKETS FOR SU EVENTS

DCU Office Of Student Life

Email us : suhelpdesk@dcusu.ie Phone: 01 700 5392