DCU Office of Student Life Activity Report, Dec 2013

DCU Office Of Student Life Biannual Activity Report VOL 2, ISSUE 1; DEC 2013

Letter from the EditorNicola Leddy, Marketing and Communications Co-Ordinator.

It’s been a fantastic first semester! I’ve enjoyed so much working with the SU and Clubs and Socs, helping new ideas happen. For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m responsible for the Marketing and Communications in the Office of Student Life. That means that I work for the SU and Clubs and Socs to promote events and get their message to the student body.

In these pages you’ll get to see the highlights over the last few months from the Students’ Union and Clubs and Socs. Not a day goes by without something happening in student life, and hopefully we’ve summed it up well in this magazine. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone involved in making student life what it is, especially our 3 Sabbatical Officers in the Students’ Union- Aaron, Ciarán and Lorna.

We’ve divided the magazine into 7 sections. Representation, Change, Awareness, Help & Support, Community, Events and Opportunities. This is to highlight the structure of the Students’ Union, and all the services we provide. Every single student in DCU is part of the Students’ Union. The more you know about what we provide, the more you can get our of your membership.

I want to say a huge thank you to all the Media Crew members who contributed to the creation of this magazine. Our photographers, writers and graphic designers. A special mention to Anni Hayes and Sam Pearson who worked so hard on the layout of the magazine.

Enjoy!

CONTENTS REPRESENTATION CHANGE OPPORTUNITIES AWARENESS COMMUNITY EVENTS HELP AND SUPPORT

“I WOULDN’T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY”

/// REPRESENTATION ///

REFLECTING

Ciarán O’Connor Education

We started work way back in June but once Orientation Week hit, it felt like the first day of school. And now it’s Christmas! How’d that happen? Every day in this job has been different and I hope IMPACT showcases some of that variety to you. From Class Rep level right up to the senior committees Aaron, Lorna and I sit on - there is student representation in every corner of DCU and that’s reflective of the relationship staff and students have in DCU. I’ve enjoyed every second of this job so far and some of my highlights include breathing a bit of life into our Class Rep structure and DCU now having more Class Reps than ever before and working with Post Grad students to better their representation in DCU. Clubs & Socs have to be commended highly too for a great semester of activity and I hope you had fun at our own SU events too. I’m particularly hoping for another go at Speed Dating myself!

Meeting so many new people and being able to do my bit to help students out in various ways has been a continued challenge and an enjoyment and I luck forward to returning in January. Enjoy the Christmas break and see you in Semester 2.

Aaron Clogher President

I’ve been asked a lot over the last two months how I’m finding and if I’m enjoying Sabbat #2, and while I have consistently said that it has been very busy, I have sometimes forgot to add that I wouldn’t I have it any other way, and truthfully that I’m having a ball! The key to our roles is balance, and I’m lucky that I’ve got a couple of involvements outside of the SU which help take the mind off the job from time to time. I am really enjoying meeting even more new people this year, and while I might not be able to give every student who has sought assistance exactly what they were looking for every time, I can say it’s never for the lack of trying! I think the SU have made a strong and consistent impact on campus this semester and I personally intend to keep that momentum up right to the final whistle of my term here. I’m also very lucky this year to have a fantastic team working alongside me, both staff and elected officers and I want to thank everybody who is working so hard to continue to keep DCU as the benchmark in terms of campus life and student experience. As always, if you think that I could help you out in any way or at any time, please get in touch. DCU Abú!

Lorna Finnegan Welfare

Looking back on Semester one its hard to believe its almost over, feels like yesterday I was boasting about having 10,000 condoms in my office; a supply which has substantially dwindled in the past few weeks! So much has happened, talks were given, tea was drank and pants were danced off. Like any other semester there has been peaks and pits, the peaks out weighing the pits in a big way! Most memorable peaks have to be our campaign weeks, Freshers week and SHAG week were a particular success and it was a great way of getting out and meeting new people. It’s a given with this job to meet someone new every day which means every day brings something new, wacky, weird and wonderful. Another highlight of the semester would definitely have to be working with Aaron, Ciarán and Nicola over the last few months, they make any tough day in the office a lot more bearable. It also makes any success even more enjoyable knowing we all worked hard together to see it through! I’m really looking forward to continuing the excitement, the peaks!

EXEC

*

Exec is the main student committee within the SU and the University. The Clubs Officer, the Societies Officer, 4 Faculty Convenors and the Class Rep Council Chairperson are on the committee with your 3 Sabbatical Officers. They discuss your important student matters and make decisions to better your student life.

IAN KAVANAGH: Engineering and Computing Convenor

The role of Convenor is very rewarding, you get out of it what you put in. The highlight of this semester for me was the Fresher’s Fair where the Students’ Union raised €1000 selling discount cards. So far I’ve begun my campaign on improving feedback from lecturers to students on their assignments and how they are doing generally. I have just succeeded in setting up monthly Convenor Class Rep meetings for us Convenors to be able to better find out about various issues going on in our Faculty.

The position has been great and I hope what I have been doing will make a difference.

CONOR PALIN-STEWART: Science and Health Convenor

This year for me has started off brilliantly, even though I have had to repeat the year. Having the free time has allowed me to get more involved in all types of events from SU events, to smaller club and society events. My goal for this semester is to open a dialogue with lecturers and students in the faculty of science and health, which will allow for us to discuss issues from both students and lecturers. One such issue is student attendance. I want to find out what stops students from attending, and communicate this to the lecturers in an effort to get the attendance up. I’ve really enjoyed the semester and looking forward to the next one!

FIONNUALA MORAN: Humanities & Social Sciences Convenor First semester as humanities convenor has been great! So far I’ve set up a Facebook group for the Humanities class reps to tackle issues specific to our faculty. The ‘Convenor Lunch’ is a new initiative we’ve started which intends to get us Convenors working more closely with our class reps and achieving more for our faculty during our term. The Awareness campaign weeks have been a particular highlight. It’s really rewarding seeing the students getting involved in and enjoying the SU events. I’m really looking forward to seeing how much the Class Reps and I can achieve for our faculty this year.

ALAN PRENDERGAST: Business Convenor

So much has happened in my first semester as Business Covenor. I have loved meeting so many new faces along the way. In terms of my work for the Business school, I have handled a number of issues regarding timetabling and difficulties with assignment work in some modules. I have enjoyed meeting with all Business Class Reps to ensure all their classes are happy with their courses and some tips where they feel the business faculty of the college can be improved. It’s been a busy semester and I’m definitely looking forward to getting involved in even more next semester!

KENNETH BROWNE: Clubs Officer

From the word go, this has been a hectic start to the semester. I’ve worked closely with the Societies Officer Eve and the various chairs in organising C&S Info Sessions prior to Clubs & Socs days to give students a better insight into what is on offer for them in DCU. I’ve also worked closely with Ryan, who is the Clubs & Socs Officer in St Pats to organise a separate day for DCU Clubs & Socs to recruit members in Drumcondra. In conjunction with the Media Production Society I have been training people in their video skills. The aim is to have a promo video produced for each club by the end of the year that will help them with their online presence. We also aim to have some live sports coverage videos produced in the second half the semester.

EVE KERTON: Societies Officer As part of the SU Exec and SLC I’ve had a busy yet fantastic first semester! During my campaign, my main goal was to unite societies, as I felt intersoc relations and communications could be improved on. At the end of the summer I got in contact with every society and added each chair to a Facebook page solely for chairs. I feel this has been a huge success as societies can easily contact each other, with regards to their events to avoid clashes and advertise events & workshops that may be of interest to other societies. Furthermore it has proven a great platform for societies to familiarise themselves and improve relations. I’m hoping to complete my goal of having face to face meetings with every chair by the end of this semester and work on more intersoc events.

C R C CLASS REP COUNCIL

Rónán Ó Dálaigh, Chair of Class Rep Council talks about what CRC is all about:

“The Class Rep Council (CRC) is the forum through which DCU students make life better. Any student can come to CRC but only class reps (two per class) can vote on motions. A motion is a topic or action that a DCU student wants to support or make happen.

This year, CRC has elected its 11 officers and has started debating motions.

“ANY STUDENT CAN COME TO CRC”

Over the last few years DCU has improved massively. We’re starting to realise that our student experience belongs to us; if we want our lives as DCU students to be better then we have to make it happen ourselves.

On top of that our generation has more potential than any other generation in history to make positive things happen. So come to CRC, get involved and be engaged.

Let’s make the DCU student experience, your experience, the best it can possibly be”.

If you have any ideas you’d like to share with Rónán get in contact today! ronan.odalaigh2@mail.dcu.ie

NETWORKING ABROAD

UK Ciarán O’Connor, Education Officer writes: “Visiting Students’ Unions in the UK & Wales in July was a great benefit. From what we observed in other Unions to the ideas we brought home with us, it was all brilliant. From my point of view, learning about how they manage their Class Rep system and engage students on a day to day basis was very enlightening. As well as that, we were able to pass along some of our ideas as well.

Lorna Finnegan, Welfare Officer adds: “Not only did we get an insight to several very diverse student centres we also made great contacts with our equivalent counterparts in each Union. This has already proved extremely useful in the semester in terms of Class Rep council, Welfare campaigns and general representation with convenors in particular.

We all returned with new ideas and goals we wanted to achieve in our term in position.

US

Ciarán O’Connor writes: “Aaron Clogher, Una Redmond and I travelled to Boston & Connecticut along with nearly 20 other Irish delegates to the ACUI Conference in November. The conference was a gathering of staff and student staff who are all involved in student management and facilitating student activities. The US model of student activities and leadership is quite different to Irish/UK way of doing of things, but we were all there for the same reasons - to discuss, debate and come together to create ways of bettering the student experience in our student centres.

There were sessions on how to get students involved, inspiring innovation in our students and most of all, the sharing of current ideas.

Along with representatives from UCC, DIT & NUIM, we all came away from the conference with so many ideas to improve student life.

All in all, our time abroad was highly beneficial and we’ve returned with a refreshed attitude to our roles. We hope to be able to implement some of what we learned abroad in DCU during our time in the Students’ Union.

IN THE COMMUNITY Aaron Clogher writes: “Over the past few months, we have engaged a lot with our local community, including with local residents groups and neighbours, local representatives and the local Gardaí. We have twice met this semester with the local Garda Superintendent and Community Gardaí, Local Public Representative Dep. Roisin Shorthall, Local Residents Groups, Management of off campus Student Accommodation and University Management about a range of issues.

and the University.

We also had a very worthwhile open “Community Event” in The Mezz the week before Orientation Week to give local residents an opportunity to visit The Hub and chat about the wide variety of events and activities that we are engaged in on a daily basis. We found this to be a positive experience as it helped them put a name to a face in many cases. Surprisingly, two local residents said, that despite living across from the University for years, it was the Although, talks have sometimes focused on first time they had had a proper conversation the disruption caused by students to the with students and really felt they had got to local community, we have tried to move the know us, which was nice to hear. conversation along and discuss solutions to problems as well as various means of re-enforcing We will continue to work with all parties positive engagements between our neighbours throughout the second semester.

NEW PARTNERSHIPS Paul Hyland, St. Pats Students’ Union President writes:

“This year more than ever our Students’ Union in St. Pats has formed a very strong partnership with the DCU SU. Despite Pat’s being a sister college of DCU for years we never really had any interaction. This year we feel like great strides have been made.

The 5 of us sabbatical officers meet regularly to come up with ideas on how we can improve the services and experiences of our students. We have even brought together both Executives to give them a chance to meet their

counterparts, swap ideas and learn from one another. So far we have produced a joint Discount card, we’ve had a DCU Clubs/ Socs day down in St Pat’s for the first time ever. We have had joint training days in DCU for mental health training and reduced expenses through bulk buying for both discount cards and condoms.

Aaron, Lorna and Ciarán are fantastic to work with and very genuine on a personal level. We really look forward to working with them on some big events and new ideas to bring about change for the better in both DCU and St Pat’s.

CLUBS & SOCS DAY STALLS

Siobhán Byrne, Clubs and Socs Development Officer writes: “We decided to bring Exhibition style booths in for C&S days this year in the interest of fairness to all Clubs & Socs. It worked really well, looked professional and still maintained its fun, vibrant and energetic feel that we all know and love about Clubs & Socs days. We had a great increase in sign ups this year which are just over 6000 membershipsanother great year for DCU Clubs and Socs!”

/// CHANGE ///

CLASS REPS A NEW SYSTEM

When recruiting students to run for Class Rep, what proved essential was speaking to each class individually and ensuring students understood the importance and value of having Ciarán O’Connor, Education Officer writes effective Class Reps. We trained up our Reps in “One of my main campaign promises was early November on how to give advice and also to breathe life into our Class Rep structure. how to best represent your class academically.

We now have more Class Reps than ever before, which means more students have Reforming Class Rep Council is one my main representation than ever before, and that’s aims for the year and central to that, we’ve fantastic. With that, we also have a large been trying very hard to keep it relevant and number of first time Reps who have brought a interesting to students. Going forward, we’re going to try and keep it free from unnecessary fresh attitude to proceedings too. waffle and keep encouraging Class Reps to speak up and have their voice heard!

SU DISCOUNT CARDS DCU Media Crew member Aoibheann Diver writes: “The Students’ Union introduced their fantastic new student discount card in October. A student suggested this last year, the SU listened and the discount card was born!

The card costs only €2 and all the proceeds go to charity. The card, which is available from the Helpdesk in The Hub, gives great discounts for

Dominos, Captain Americas, Subway, Converse, IMC, Lifestyle Sports, Savvi, The Cat and Cage as well as many others. Students appreciate nothing more than a good bargain, so the card was certainly popular. Two-for-one pizzas and €3 cocktails always go down a treat!”

OSL

*Office of Student Life

OUR VISION

• To have a great reputation for our achievements and ambitions.

• To be at the heart of student life, fully engaged with all students.

• To be the informed and legitimate voice of the student body • To be adaptable, proactive and relevant to the entire student body.

• To encourage and cultivate innovative ideas and activities.

• To create a fun, safe and supportive environment with a strong sense of community.

• To help our students gain lasting friendship, great memories and experiences for life.

OUR MISSION

“OSL will be a platform for Clubs, Socs and the Students’ Union to foster an environment which enhances the life of every student and enables them to unlock their full potential”

CLUBS & SOCS HQ This year Clubs and Socs HQ has evolved into a more productive and welcoming space.

Meetings, inter soc events, the SLC and CLC, clubs and socs staff dealing with queries and signing up new members every single day; it all happens here. If you have any questions on how to set up a club or society, or any queries on your

existing club or society, this is where you go to get them answered. Or alternatively you can also email clubsandsocs@gmail.com.

Our Clubs and Socs assistants are here to help!

NEW TICKETING SYSTEM Shea McNelis, Office of Student Life Events Co-Ordinator writes: “This year saw the introduction of our new ticketing software. This has given us new information that can only improve our events, the scanning has also helped process the crowds quicker so that everyone can enjoy the night even more. We look forward to bringing you more events and have some great plans for the coming weeks and semester 2.�

ENTS CREW

*

The Ents Crew is a group that the Each person has a Office of Student Life employs to work at for big events on campus such as the designated job for the night ranging

Christmas Ball and Summer Ball.

Caoimhe O’Carroll, new ENTs Crew member writes: “As part of the crew, you could be doing a multitude of things from moving hoarding and cow gates to stewarding to hanging decorations and making the place look pretty for each ball.

We work alongside the NuBar staff to make sure the ball can be the best it can possibly be and always have a few laughs while doing so!

from sick-bay, to roaming and making sure the bathrooms don’t get too packed!

John O’Sullivan, ENTs Crew Manager says: “Working for the Events Crew has to be one of my best decisions since starting in DCU. It’s a fantastic opportunity for students to learn various things like stage setup, lighting, sound and how to run an event generally! It’s also really handy to earn yourself some extra money throughout the year to keep you going.

At the end of the day, I would definitely recommend getting involved, as it can open up many doors for you in the future!

/// OPPORTUNITIES ///

GIVE IT A GO WEEK ‘Give it a Go Week’ provided all DCU students with an opportunity to get involved in something new. From Monday to Wednesday the Hub was filled with over a hundred different clubs and societies, trying to get students to join for just €4. The wide variety of clubs and societies provided all students with an opportunity to try something new, from circus arts to football!

Clubs and Socs Days were organised so students could have the opportunity to give different clubs and societies a go. Clubs from rock-climbing to GAA were in the Sports Hall showing what their club had to offer.

All students were given the opportunity to join one club or society for free enabling them to learn new skills, make new friends and have great craic all year. It was their opportunity to give club and society life a go!

From the different clubs and societies, to volunteering there is something for everyone to get involved in, in DCU.

VOLUNTEER EXPO For day four of Give it a Go Week, the SU worked with the Inter-faith centre to bring you the DCU Volunteer Expo. This is an annual event for students to meet local and international volunteer organisations to learn how you can make a difference through volunteering.

Students found out how volunteering can help you develop the confidence and skills which employers are on the hunt for.

Lorna Finnegan writes- “This was a great event for the SU to get involved in and help organize, as volunteer encompasses many elements of what we stand for as a Students’ Union > Community, Help, Support, Change and Representation.”

Photo by DCU Media Crew member Eimear Phelan

MEDIA CREW

“I’ve been given a great opportunity to photograph the likes of Coolio. ”

Aidan Broletti writes: The DCU Media Crew is a great place to build your portfolio and gain experience. You get to cover some really great events.

I started out covering small events and now photograph the larger events organised by the SU. The chance to shoot a variety of different events helps develop your ability, and you get some great advice and tips! I've found it really beneficial, plus meeting Coolio was pretty cool. Don't be shy about getting in contact either, looking back I am so glad I sent an email enquiring about it.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to build their media portfolio, and develop their skills in whatever media form they enjoy."

James McInerney: “I’m a first year Multimedia student in DCU. I joined the Media Crew during orientation week. Since then I've been given a great opportunity to photograph the likes of Keywest, Britain's Got Talent contestants 'Duke', Daft Funk and iconic rapper Coolio.

After only 6/7 weeks into my first term I have learned so much about photography, and getting to also enjoy the ambiance of DCU's campus events! Other Media Crew members have been so helpful a I have learned a whole lot more about flash and night time photography. On a more personal level my confidence has lifted as I would consider myself a shy person at times, yet I have no worries about going into a crowd now with my camera and doing something that I love to do and seeing people having a good time! It has only been the first half of my very first semester in college so I look forward to working with DCU SU's Media crew through college.”

If you’d like to be part of the Media Crew- email nicola.leddy@dcu.ie

UANEEN

Eolann Kitteringham writes: “I am taking Uaneen Module as an extra non-contributory module for my degree in studying Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences. To me, Uaneen is a way to demonstrate credit for the work I have done outside of my academic studies for the past 4 year. Within DCU I have been a class rep for 4 years, volunteered with the electoral committee, been secretary of DCUSU Class Rep. Council and have been DCU Canoe Clubs secretary for 2 years among other things! Outside of DCU I am a sea scout leader and an active youth member of Scouting Ireland. As well as this I am an active kayaker and am a qualified instructor. Uaneen to me is a way to showcase and look back on my last 4 years in DCU.

Matt Gorman writes: I’ve been involved with Global Brigades since coming back from an amazing Micro finance Brigade in March 2012, since then I’ve been PRO, and as we are only a little society, my main aim is to promote what we do around campus, tough job but every extra member makes a little difference.

Being involved in Global Brigades has given me some of the best experiences of my college life. I’ve made lasting friendships, developed my key employable skills and had a great time along the way.

The great thing about the Uaneen module is that it allows me to focus on my studies but also remain committed to my responsibilities as a committee member. My advice for anyone who is thinking about getting more involved in ANY club or society next year, is go for it.

You won’t regret it.

The SU

Aaron Clogher, Students’ Union President talks about being a Sabbatical Officer at DCU SU. “This has been the best first job I could have imagined. I have learned so much from being employed here in DCU by the Students’ Union and the opportunities that the role has presented to me have been both challenging and enjoyable, but definitely something that I would hugely recommend to anybody with an interest in helping to better the student experience.

in that room. It is an unbelievable privilege to hold our positions and something that most of us will never replicate in our working lives.

Apart from being part of a vibrant, fun and ever-changing work environment, its also important to note that you are consistently under the spotlight, with every decision made and word uttered likely to be taken very seriously. You also get the opportunity to travel, network, meet lots of people more interesting, talented and no-doubt intelligent than yourself, and this for me is the main thing In what other set of circumstances could you I will take away from being a sabbatical officer, imagine your first job including sitting on high that I was consistently surrounded by amazing level committees, affecting decisions that people who are doing wonderful things and impact on the education and experience of that there is no situation I would rather find almost 12,000 students, and knowing that you myself in than that. are these people’s main representative voice

CLUBS AND SOCS

David Atkinson talks about the opportunities students can have being active in a society.”

This year I was fortunate enough to be appointed the Deputy Station Manager of DCUtv, a wing of DCU Media Production Society. MPS is one of DCU’s larger societies boasting over 750 Members with a wide base of active members that contribute every week.

On a personal level DCU MPS has taught me so much already and I know that it will only continue to do so. So far I’ve learned skills such as floor managing a live event with a full camera crew, steady cam and camera jib operation. These skills are vital to the industry I’m moving into. MPS has taught me, someone who had little experience in Media, skills and knowledge that I would certainly never have learnt alone.

Meghan Barriscale, Chair of the Club Life Committee talks about the experience she gained in her position: “When I went for my INTRA interview at the end of second year, they were most interested in my involvement in Clubs in DCU. Easily 50% of the interview was spent talking about my role on the CLC. They were blown away with the amount of responsibility given to students and the impact that the committee can have on club life. Talking to my employer a few months into the job, they told me that they hired me because they could directly link my work on the CLC to real life scenarios in the office, such as budgeting and allocation of resources.

It has opened my eyes to how much work goes into making DCU Clubs & Socs possible, there is so much behind the scenes work that I never even knew about! I know that without the CLC I never would have been exposed to all of these new people and departments within DCU. It has given me a great insight into how an organisation operates on a daily basis and I think this is definitely something you can’t learn in text books, you have to experience it.

SHAG WEEK Media Crew member Adam Kilbride writes: “SHAG Week ‘13 kicked off on Monday, the 14th of October, taking DCU by storm with a particular pair of penis piñatas. “Know the facts, have the Fun” was this year’s slogan, promoting sexual health awareness on topics such as STI’s and STD’s as well as the ever-important use of protection. The week emphasized the effects these diseases could have on someone, long term and short term, providing the facts and figures as well as useful advice on how to avoid them.

The SU continued the SHAG tradition of booking acts that simply weren’t to be missed. Sexpert, Siobhan O’ Higgins made a reappearance this year with her no-shame talk about all things sex, followed by a free lunchtime comedy gig to the Old Bar with hilarious all-frills, Al Porter. An interesting event was of course the unveiling of the Sexpression board where the students themselves had submitted the good; the bad and the ugly of their own sexperiences. Thankfully none of them involved bad puns. The week ended on a chaotic note as the Nubar filled up for the ever hectic Speed Dating, giving the chance to all the students to put their newly found information to good use, as well as a few other things they had acquired over the course of the week.

Lorna Finnegan, the Welfare Officer for the Student Union highlighted the importance of SHAG week to all of the DCU community, “Having SHAG week as our first campaign week was significant, particularly to first year students - they can be overwhelmed about how open people are about their sexual health when they begin at third level and it was important for us to get rid of any stigma associated with speaking about sexual health”. Summing up the enormous success that was SHAG week, Lorna simply said, “all in all it was a fun and exciting week whilst promoting an important message -which should be the basis of every campaign week!”

///AWARENESS///

SAFETY WEEK

DCU SU’s Safety week 2013 began on Tuesday 29th October and was the second of DCU SU’s campaign weeks, following SHAG week. Lorna Finnegan, Welfare Officer says: “Safety week was relevant to the time we launched it, for a number of reasons. Our first event was a demonstration from the Dublin Fire Brigade. This was relevant to students as for many it is their first time living away from home - accidents can easily happen, and it was important for

us to highlight the procedures around home fires. We also launched The Road Safety initiative where we gave out free Hi-Vis jackets to people walking and cycling to college as the evenings get darker with the time change over the Bank Holiday weekend.

It was also important to highlight personal safety.

We achieved this through Self Defence classes kindly run by DCU Karate Club & Tae Kwan Do.”

“Don’t be THAT Person.”

The final, and most important element to the week was Alcohol safety and awareness. We tied this into our Zombie theme of Halloween week - “Dead Drunk?”. It was a way to catch students’ attention whilst also promoting safe and responsible drinking. The campaign slogan highlights the consequences of over - indulging in alcohol at events in the college. Students are asked to bear in mind that drinking too much too quickly can result in you ending up in the “chill out” room. This room was put in place where students can safely sleep off drunkenness- however we have to remind you that this implies huge costs every year hiring medical and security staff. We are hoping that in the future we won’t need a chill-out room. Please drink responsibly!

Don’t be THAT person this Halloween.

Drink Responsibly, The Chill-Out Room’s Zero Craic.

MENTAL HE

The theme of this year’s Mental Health week was in conjunction with the Irish campaign and charity “Walk In My Shoes”. Staff and students were invited to wear odd shoes for the week to highlight how people suffering from mental health issues feel like the odd ones out. By taking part in this action, we expressed that people dealing with their mental health issues are not alone. The highlight of the week was the Stamp Out Stigma Wall and the UV Wall on Wednesday.

Students were encouraged to “Stamp Out Stigma” by dipping old shoes into brightly

coloured and vibrant paint and stamping it over the stigma written on the board. The key meaning behind this was to show that we are actively trying to stamp out stigma associated with mental health illnesses.

Another element to the week was asking students their Peak & Pits of the day/week/ semester. This was a reflective session which allowed people to reflect on the good and bad elements to their day, but to also realise that other people are going through similar highs and lows on a regular basis.

EALTH WEEK

“Walk For Change”

Guest speakers Alan O’Mara and Briefne Earley also spoke openly about their own experiences in a way which was very easy for students to relate to. Throughout the week we promoted positive mental health with such events as Laughter Yoga and a FRIENDS marathon.

The UV Wall was unveiled after the suicide awareness “Walk For Change” on Wednesday evening. Participants walked from darkness into light created from the UV Wall. This emphasized how even when in darkness, the light can always be found once you seek change.

The main thing is that, we want you to know that you’re not alone. There are a number of services in DCU that are here working for you!

Email Lorna at welfare@dcusu.ie if you have any questions or need to know who to get in contact with.

CHARITIES OF 2013 SMILES FOR SHAUNA Smiles for Shauna’ is a charitable organisation set up in memory of Shauna Fitzpatrick, who tragically lost her battle with cancer in 2011 at the tender age of 16. Her mother and founder of the charity, Ann Fitzpatrick writes:

patients just like Shauna. Our hope is that it will provide a comfortable haven for patients to relax and get better.

As well as this, we hope to raise awareness of the needs of teenagers with cancer.

We are so happy and so honoured to be chosen as one of DCU’s Students Unions charities. We know that this will raise awareness of our charity, which is still very new. Thank you all! ‘Keep on smiling’.

“While Shauna was ill and receiving treatment in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, she received the very best of care. But as an older patient it was hard at times to relax and recover from procedures while in the company of younger patients.

At the moment, the primary aim of our fundraising is to help fund and furnish a recreation room in OLH for teenage

///COMMUNITY///

CARI

CARI provides childcentred therapy for children and adolescents and support for their parents, carers and families who have been affected by child sexual abuse. CARI also provides counselling to children, a National Lo – call Helpline-1890 924567 and provides a court accompaniment and support service for child witnesses in our adversarial courts..

Patricia Townsend, Development Officer in CARI Fundraising & Events writes “CARI is delighted to be chosen as one of DCU’s Charities for 2014. Charitable donations have been very badly affected by the recession and new supporters are priceless. In addition it will offer the opportunity to raise awareness of the issue of child sexual abuse and the poor level of services in Ireland for today’s victims amongst the student body. We hope that some students may become long-term supporters of CARI and campaigners for full national services for children along the lines available for adults who have experienced abuse.

Income from DCU Charity of the Year relationship will be used to support CARI’s Therapy, Court Accompaniment and Helpline services. Furthermore, money raised will go towards taking children off our waiting list and into healing therapy, restoring broken childhoods.

HEADSTARTS HeadstARTS is a social enterprise which empowers people with intellectual disabilities through the arts. Liam Redmond, one of HeadstARTS founders writes: “We provide weekly sessions in the arts (dance, drama and art) for our members throughout the academic year.

It is an honour and a privilege to be chosen as one of the DCU Student’s Union charities.

DCU is engrained in HeadstARTS life: HeadstARTS takes place in DCU each week and all the volunteers are DCU students.

The money will go towards developing HeadstARTS in DCU by expanding the range of activities we provide - which will ultimately empower our members’

lives even more! Since February, our numbers have increased two-fold, and it is integral that we continue to expand and grow to care for our members’ needs. Thank you for allowing us to do this!

8X8

FILM FESTIVAL The 8x8 Documentary Film Festival was presented by DCU Suas Society and the Office for Student Life and featured ten award winning films about the issues shaping our world today. It included Oscar nominated films that have featured at Sundance, Tribeca and Cannes Film Festivals.

Suas Volunteer, Carmel Sayers writes: The Office of Student Life and the Students Union were remarkably supportive to us throughout the planning, organisation and implementation of the 8x8 Documentary Film Festival. On behalf of the Suas team, we would like to thank everyone for all their efforts to make 8x8 the success that it was. In particular we would like

to thank Shea McNelis, Nicola Leddy, Aaron Clogher, Lorna Finnegan and Ciarån O’ Connor for their support in promoting the festival and organising the venue. On behalf of Claire Petersen and I, we would like to thank our army of brilliant volunteers as well as DCU Media Production Society for their help in promoting our screenings to its members.

We were delighted with the response in DCU. The week saw 2500 students attend our range of screenings. We also had some really great feedback and a number of students remarked how they feel challenged to find out more about particular issues shown in the documentaries.

SHH! CAMPAIGN DCUSU launched its SHH campaign in October which was in response to information gathered at local residents meetings. It encouraged students to be mindful of their own behaviour on the way home from late night events.

Aaron Clogher writes: “We do continue, although in ever decreasing numbers, to receive complaints about our students behaviour around the wider DCU area.

We are always looking for new ways to address this issue. We will continue to promote respect when travelling to and from nights out. I would ask you all to help us with this, and to ensure the future of our events and student bar are kept on campus”

ZOMBIES WILL HEAR YOU! (Also, you don’t want to disturb your neighbours on your way home tonight.

Be sound like).

JERSEY DAY GOAL Jersey Day came to DCU SU this semester where we encouraged all students and staff to wear their favourite sports jersey for the day, and making a contribution to GOAL’s work in the developing world.

Jersey Day benefits the poorest of the poor in the developing world, as the funds raised go directly to GOAL’s projects. We had a hand from GOAL’s patrons the Brogan brothers, which made the day a great success!

COMMUNITY WEEK

“Improving the sense of Community here in DCU was an important part of my manifesto when running for election”.

Photo by Nicola Leddy

Lorna Finnegan, Welfare Officer writes: “We felt students volunteered to help clean up the local the Community spirit around the campus had community and help out local neighbours. fallen in previous years and it needed reviving.

At the beginning of the year I contacted the clubs and societies and requested that inter society events would be hosted during that week.

Another initiative for the week was to raise The Dance Society hosted their Best Dance money for our chosen charities throughout the Crew which is a great example of the thriving week. We decided to turn DCU Campus into community spirit in DCU; clubs and societies the best known community amongst students; battle it out in a shameless dance competition Craggy Island! Charity events such as Jumper cake raffles, Father Ted quizzes and 5-aside bringing students from all areas to the event.

In the outside Community, RAG soc ran an soccer took place and raised well needed initiative called ‘Santry’s little helpers’ in which funds for our chosen charities.

“cRAGgy Island”

GIVE BLOOD DCU Media Crew Marissa Doherty writes: “Each year thousands of people in Ireland require blood transfusions and yet only 3% of the population gives blood. DCU SU aimed to promote this cause during Week 7. The Venue opened its doors to DCU’s Blood Donation Clinic.

Cancer patients, car- crash victims new born babies and patients post major surgeries are among those that require blood transfusions.

But only 5% of the population eligible to give blood does so. It is an issue that people should be mindful of, and it’s fantastic that over 600 students gave blood during this week.

A representative from the IBTS said: We’re very encouraged by the support and response at DCU,” The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has been working in conjunction with DCU SU for a number of years now and it is hoped that To put it into context; on average 1,000 people support for the cause will continue to grow year require blood transfusions each week. This on year. Giving blood won’t kill you, but it may translates to 3,000 individual donations. save someone’s life.”

However, a donation is only viable for 35 days.

Shea McNelis, Events Officer with the Office of Student Life writes: This year has seen a return to Ents demand that we have not seen in a number of years.

All SU events and Clubs and Socs Ents are seeing a great increase in numbers.

The Orientation Ball featuring the Waylayers, Chris Haze and The Original Rude Boys saw great numbers while the Freshers Ball sold out well in advance. It was great to see the 4 rooms running to

capacity, with Coolio and El Divino in the main venue, Daft Funk and Deadmau5 in the Old bar and the Silent disco and Nubar Cheese all heaving with the 1800 strong capacity. Neil Delamare sold out and all the Well Wednesday gigs have been full. The demand for the 1350 Halloween tickets was so great that it sold out days in advance. All in all the SU couldn’t be happier the way we are moving.

///EVENTS///

Photo by Nicola Leddy

DCU Media Crew member Marissa Doherty writes: “The SU launched a new series of events this year called Well Wednesdays. Every Wednesdays a different act

performs live on campus. The first Well Wednesday saw Comedy Hypnotist Michael McCoy fill the Venue which was followed by acts such as Keywest, The Raglans, Mickey Harte, This Club and Eoin Glackin.

The initiative is very positive. It supports Irish acts, and provides free entertainment all in the name of wellness!

Photo by DCU Media Crew member James McInerney

FRESHERS’ FORTNIGHT

Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the semester, Coolio took to the stage at the sell-out Freshers’ Ball.

DCU Media Crew member Marissa Doherty writes: with laughter as Neil presented Freshers’ Fortnight returned to DCU this ordinary, everyday year from the 22nd of September to the 4th events in a hilarious manner, of October. It got off to a great start with the from getting his house cleaned to Larkfield BBQ. Hundreds of apprehensive taking his granny to the hospital. first years filled the square, unsure of their surroundings and neighbours, each of them The Orientation Ball brought The Original Rude eager to kick off their first night as a DCU Boys, The Waylayers and Chris Haze on stage in the Venue. Students dressed in black and fresher. white in homage to Arthur and enjoyed another County Colours was a great opportunity for fantastic live gig in the Hub. Freshers’ to settle in and what better way than wearing their home colours. There were The Freshers’ Ball was definitely the biggest high fives for Dublin, laughs at Mayo and bear event of Freshers’ Fortnight. The Venue had hugs for Donegal, who seemed to make up 60 everything American from the Statue of Liberty to Burlesque and Can-Can girls. Every room percent of all of the freshers! was open, hosting a wide range of events from The most entertaining event of Freshers’ a silent disco to a massive dance floor where Fortnight was Neil Delamere, who was live at performers such as Coolio and a Deadmau5 The Venue. Some brave audience members tribute entertained the freshers who were participated as Neil Delamere handed over insistent on having mad craic in every room they visited. the microphone. The whole room was crying

HALLOWEEN BALL DCU Media Crew member Marissa Doherty: “The DCU SU Halloween ball took place on Wednesday the 30th of October and no one wanted to be caught dead without a ticket! Selling out well in advance of the event, it took place in The Hub and attracted zombies, ghosts, witches and all kinds of characters alike. The Venue was the centre stage for the night with a live DJ performing all night. The event was a great success and certainly got people in the spirit of Halloween before the big night itself!

Photo by Nicola Leddy

BIKE WORKSHOP

DCU SU supports sustainable modes of transport to and from our Campus!

We held a bicycle workshop in the old bar in the HUB in conjunction with The Rediscovery Centre. The centre provided a bicycle maintenance service and advice on how to maintain your bicycle. We intend to run the workshops every month/six weeks over the semester depending on demand. If you’d like to find out when the next one is keep an eye on our facebook page www.facebook.com/dcustudentsunion

CARSHARING Lorna Finnegan, Welfare Officer writes: “The idea of carsharing was something I had mentioned in my manifesto when first running for the position of Welfare Officer. Basically it was an idea to allow students to share lifts with each other which would, a) help save money on transport and b) get people talking and introducing themselves to more people that lived in their locality attending DCU. We chose the website carshare.ie as our forum base and any DCU or St. Pat’s student or staff can join the forum and share lifts with each other. As it is still in it’s initial set up we hope to provide complimentary car parking spaces to those who make use of the service in the coming weeks to encourage more staff and students to utilise the service. You can find our forum on www.carsharing.ie/dcu

///HELP & SUPPORT///

ACCOMMODATION DCU Media Crew Member Aoibheann Diver writes: The SU continues to provide excellent help and support to students with accommodation issues. “This year there were so many students who found it hard to find a place to live,” Lorna Finnegan, Welfare Officer said. “It was particularly difficult for international students to find accommodation, as many of them are only staying for one semester. Most landlords will only let to students who will stay the full year.” At the start of summer, the SU put together a database of accommodation, for both digs and housing. They set up a forum on Facebook, which is still in use, for people to advertise accommodation and talk to other students looking for roommates. You can find this by typing DCU Accommodation into Facebook. On the SU website, a list of relevant contacts such as daft.ie and rent.ie was posted. Lorna concludes: “We have created and maintained a good relationship with letting agencies, which will help with our plans for the second semester and even bigger plans for next year.”

MINDFULNESS SESSIONS

Mindfulness practice has shown itself to be effective in a number of areas, for example: Concentration, Motivation, Productivity, Stress, Anxiety, Personal Wellbeing etc. The Mindfulness Stress relief sessions were started by counsellor Helena Aherne which returned this year.

This 6

weeks programme aims to increase your awareness, knowing that the more tuned in you are to yourself and the world, the wiser your choices, decisions and actions will be.

Lorna Finnegan says: The Mindfulness workshops are a great way to learn how to clear your mind, which is something I believe every student should make use of at some stage in their 3-4 years in DCU. With exam times approaching and assignment deadlines nearing it is easy for students to lose the balance in their lives which in-turn can affect their studies. I think it is important for students to take time out, be it one hour in the week to focus on themselves and their own mental and physical well being.

Photo by Arts Bursary Recipient Christina Prendergast

ARTS BURSARY The Arts Bursary is a financial award to Francine Kwan, Treasurer on the DCU Dance recognise and reward your participation in the committee also received a bursary this year.

Arts. The award aims to help students aspire “I am going to use my bursary to attend towards high levels of artistic achievements. workshops in Back Street Studio and Liffey Christina Prendergast, Communication Trust Studio. Back Street brings in an Studies Year 2 received the bursary this year- international choreographer. Kerrie Milne runs “I’m using the money this year to put towards her workshop every Thursday in Liffey Trust a new camera and also to help towards setting Studio. My goal is to audition for Canvas Crew up my own exhibition. Last year my own and to be picked in the Crew. camera was stolen, so this bursary means a huge amount to me. With the new camera, I’ll It will help me to improve my movement and be taking photographs for the exhibition that appreciation of dance by attending workshops.

I’ll be holding in the New Year in DCU. This will also help me with Choreography for the Glee show 2014.

Without the Arts Bursary, I wouldn’t have dreamed of being able to hold my own I love the idea of the Arts Bursary because it exhibition. The people involved have been recognise and supports the Arts as there are extremely helpful and I’d strongly encourage no other grants or sponsorship that I know in any students who feel they could benefit from terms of dance grants!” the scheme to apply.

CLUBS AND SOCS TRAINING

Siobhan Byrne, Clubs and Socs Development Officer writes: “Training/Workshops were organised for all Clubs & Socs committee members at the start of the year. These covered skills such as marketing and event management. We hope that this training and development will help committee members to achieve their individual goals as well as

Photo by DCU Media Crew member Aidan Broletti

their club/soc committee goals. Our own goal is to assist in developing leadership skills, motivation and encourage teamwork and team spirit. We were very happy with the level of participation at all of the workshops so far this year and look forward to the Clubs and Socs awards next semester!

SUSI

Lorna Finnegan, Welfare Officer writes: “As there had been many issues with the SUSI system last year, we felt it was a crucial service to improve on. The key element to improve in our opinion was communication. We hosted a SUSI clinic on campus, which we felt was a good way to improve the break in communication that was felt the

year before. Students were able to come up to the Students’ Union and speak with a representative from SUSI. With this, they were then able to get an update on the status of their grant. This is definitely a service we hope to continue and develop when demand heightens in second semester.

HELPDESK

BINDING & FAX SU EVENT TICKETS BOOK MEETING ROOMS SU MERCHANDISE & LOADS MORE.....

Email Us: suhelpdesk@dcusu.ie Call Us: 01 700 5392