CIT Students’ Union Magazine Volume Seven - Issue Four
Sod Turned on €2.5m Spor ts Facility
T he Battle of The Sexes
Conferring Pictures
Lots of Prizes & Competitions
expliCIT editorial CIT Students’ Union Rossa Ave, Bishopstown Cork, Ireland. Telephone: 021 493 3120 Fax: 021 454 5343 Email: info@expliCIT.ie
expliCIT Staff Editor - Caitriona Foley Design & Advertising - Philip O’Reilly Contributions Michael Loftus Catriona Foley Tolu Eoin Deane Patrick Tuilte Barry O’Sullivan Self Help Africa SUAS Society
Michael O’Connor Michelle Bouse Miriam Deasy Stuart Donaldson Andrew Dineen Niall Danton Floppy Soc Fine Gael Society
CIT Students’ Union President - Jeremy Ó Murchú (supres@cit.ie) Vice President Education - Michael O’Connor (sueducation@cit.ie) Vice President Welfare - Sinéad O’Connell (suwelfare@cit.ie) Entertainments Officer - Charles Daly (suents@cit.ie) Projects Officer - Wesley Kiely (suprojects@cit.ie) Communications Officer - Caitriona Foley (sucomms@cit.ie) Print Barnaville Print & Graphics LTD Freshford, Kilkenny. Advertising Opportunities CIT has almost 17,000 full and part-time students with over 1,500 supporting staff. Why not use expliCIT to promote your business to this large audience? Copy deadlines, advertising rates and technical specifications are available from our website www.explicit.ie or upon request from the Publications Office. expliCIT magazine is published monthly by CIT Students’ Union. The views expressed in the magazine are those of their authors and are not necessarily those of CIT Students’ Union. All articles and pictures are the property of their respective owners and should not be reproduced without their permission.
We Need You! If you would like to contribute to expliCIT please contact Philip in the main SU office (C143) or email: info@explicit.ie
Hi boys and girls, (Hmmm…I was thinking about this opening line recently, and the connotations that come with the words ‘boy’ and ‘girl’, especially now that we’re all consenting “adults”. Well, it occurred to me that maybe you all don’t like being called boys and girls, so if I have offended anyone with this phrase please take as an apology the article which you’ll find inside…hope you like it! And if you recognise the phrase from a certain kid’s program, it’s out on DVD. Go Bosco!) It’s December! It’s time for me to start singing ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham yet again. Well done all, you’ve survived your first term of the year. I hope everyone enjoyed Arts Week as much as I did last month, and before I say anything else I must of course give my congratulations to our new Entertainments Officer, John Grant - well done and good luck with the next few months. Christmas Day went very well here with lots of thrills and spills all over CIT, and it was a great way to unwind before those lovely Christmas exams that are on our doorsteps. A big thank you now to all the people who have started sending us submissions for explicit (finally!), and we’d really appreciate getting even more stuff for the magazine. Remember, you can send us anything - articles, jokes, photos from college events, artwork, and reviews on anything from CDs to programs about fishing, if that’s what floats your boat. So keep them coming, it’s a nice feeling to know that thousands of people will read your opinion or see how talented you are! E-mail submissions@explicit.ie with your work or for more information. Now I know I usually give my recommendations for the month here but instead we’ve put a gift guide for those of you who still haven’t started your Christmas shopping on our website (Yes, of course I have all my presents already…ahem). Check it out on www.citsu.ie. So from all of us here at the Students’ Union, have a brilliant Christmas, Winter Solstice or Hanukah, or whatever your direction may be, make the most of your holidays and mistletoe, and best of luck with your exams! See you in 2006 Jingle bells, Caitriona
CIT Bursary Awards to Highlight Achievements of CIT Athletes “..It is hoped that the recognition will encourage them to continue to train at the levels required and to continually strive for excellence in their chosen sports. While also hoping that it will act as a further encouragement for them to continue their academic studies and realise their full potential...” Cork Institute of Technology awarded their annual Sports Bursaries and Munster Council GAA Scholarships at a largely-attended function in the Imperial Hotel, South Mall on Tuesday 22nd November. These awards were instigated eight years ago to highlight the achievements of the young athletes attending CIT. It is hoped that the recognition will encourage them to continue to train at the levels required and to continually strive for excellence in their chosen sports. While also hoping that it will act as a further encouragement for them to continue their academic studies and realise their full potential. The Guest of Honour on the night was Donal Óg Cusack, All-Ireland winning Cork Hurling Goalkeeper. You could hear a penny drop as Donal in an inspirational speech, encouraged people to “go for” their chosen sport and let nothing stand in their way. Other speakers included Donal O’Rourke, Chairman of the Governing Body of CIT, Eithne Lydon, Sports Officer, Sean Fogarty from the Munster Council and Brendan Goggin, Registrar of CIT. The citations detailing the outstanding achievements of the recipients were read by Sports Officers Miriam Deasy and Louise Cavanagh. Among the recipients were GPA “Hurler of the Year” John Gardiner, fellow Cork team-mate Martin Coleman whose home club Ballinhassig are currently
involved in the Munster Intermediate Hurling Club championship, Cathal Naughton who has played with the Cork minor hurlers for the past two years and continues to play a pivitol role for Newtownshadrum in their quest for the Munster Senior Club title, Bryan Sheehan who recently won an AIB Kerry Senior Football championship medal with South Kerry and along with fellow county team-mate and recipient Darran O’Sullivan won Munster Medals with Kerry Seniors this year, Colin O’Reilly who plays basketball with UCC Blue Demons and this year scored an Irish record of 52 points in a national league game, Christopher Kelleher of the Sundays Well swimming club and currently a member of the Irish Senior squad, Andrew Gray who has represented Ireland in hockey at U16, U17 and U18 level, Donna Hosford who is the current National Senior long jump champion, David Ryan who has represented Munster at Youths, U19 and U21 level, Revelin Minihane who was first in the 1720 Sailing Nationals and bowman on the Antix- “Irish boat of the Year”, Conor O’Brien who has represented Ireland in the World Junior Championships in Poland. A large gathering of students and staff of the Institute, parents, team-mates and coaches of the recipients enjoyed a very pleasant evening and were very optimistic for the future success of sport in CIT considering the wealth of talent and achievements of the students being honoured. Miriam Deasy, Sports Officer. (see page 6 for more photos)
CIT PhD Awarding Powers Signed into Effect At a ceremony on Monday, November 7th the Chairman of the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, Professor Ciaran Murphy, and Chief Executive Mr Seamus Puirseil, granted to Cork Institute of Technology the authority to make its own awards up to and including PhD level. Authority to make awards at the top level of the National Framework of Qualifications followed a rigorous evaluation by an international panel and places Cork Institute of Technology on a par internationally with universities.
The Chairman of CIT's Governing Body, Mr Donal O'Rourke, congratulated the staff and students of the Institute saying that this achievement was a recognition of its excellence. The signing took place prior to the conferring of 150 Graduates of the Crawford College of Art and Design and the Cork School of Music, constituent colleges of CIT.
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What’s the Frickin Point in Studying? “...Day by day further stories are emerging of academics and public appointees holding qualifications from PWU, and the existence of other unrecognised online bodies that refer to themselves has also been uncovered...”
My 20yrs of life-time experience in seeking Global Domination, coupled with the $800 fee, was all I needed to obtain my Phd!
Revelations in recent weeks that the Government's Chief Science Advisor, "Dr." Brian McSweeny, had received his PhD from an online institution called Pacific Western University, has now escalated with further investigations into top officials and academics’ credentials. US authorities have described the University as a diploma mil and according to an official US probe, almost 500 government employees there were found to have dubious qualifications from three unaccredited universities, including PWU. Mr McSweeney has since been moved sideways to a newly created post as research co-ordinator in the Department of Communications. He will retain the €120,000 salary that he presently earns. He has maintained throughout this controversy that he had no inkling of problems concerning Pacific Western University's standing. He said he stood over the work he submitted to gain his PhD title. The Tánaiste defended the Government's decision to appoint Barry McSweeney as the Government's chief scientific advisor. Mary Harney said a doctorate was never a requirement for the post. The Labour Party says many questions are still unanswered, among them the manner in which Barry McSweeney was appointed. Fine Gael has called it an “embarrassing debacle”. It says the Government clearly did not check their facts when making the appointment. University College Dublin (UCD) is to review its procedures following revelations that one of its senior academics and a former part-time lecturer received a PhD from the Pacific Western University. Recently, the Irish Examiner newspaper revealed the second most senior member of UCD’s School of Physiotherapy, Dr Mary F McAteer, obtained a Doctorate from California-based Pacific Western University (PWU) in 1987. In addition, a former part-time UCD lecturer and current Institute of Public Administration (IPA) lecturer, Dr
Cedric Chau, also received a PhD from the same place in 2001. Both academics defended the qualification saying they had done nothing wrong. Despite calls for an audit of all universities recently, the Department of Education ruled out the measure saying, “It would not be possible to definitively investigate all online awards available throughout the world.” Another well-known holder of a doctorate from the unaccredited Californian institution was Mr Con Power. In his time, he has been chairman of the Financial Services Ombudsman’s Council, vice-chair of Irish Nationwide building society, and chairman of the National Roads Authority, director of economic policy with employers’ group IBEC and a director at the Regional College in Sligo. In justifying his doctorate from Pacific Western, Mr Power argues that he had five years of solid academic work behind him. Labour Education spokesperson Jan O’Sullivan called for an immediate investigation into the “legitimacy or otherwise of all third-level qualifications awarded by online institutions”. “It is clear now that the furore surrounding the legitimacy or otherwise of the degree held by former Government Chief Science Adviser Barry McSweeney from Pacific Western University was not a one-off. “Day by day further stories are emerging of academics and public appointees holding qualifications from PWU, and the existence of other unrecognised online bodies that refer to themselves has also been uncovered,” Ms O’Sullivan said. Ms O’Sullivan said the continuing revelations were doing untold damage to the Irish education system and the reputation of those who work within it. “The Government cannot sit complacently on the sidelines. They must ensure that the public has full information in relation to all institutions that award academic qualifications so that Ireland’s excellent reputation in this field can be maintained,” she said.
Email us your Letters & Comments. submissions@explicit.ie or you can drop in directly into the SU office in C143
Cork Scoops Both Awards at IT&T Research Conference! “...Olivia Brickley from CIT won 'best paper' award out of 24 presentations for her research paper on Enhancing QoS WLANs...” (L-R) Paul Walsh, Conference Chair presenting the award for Best Paper to Dirk Pesch, CIT accepting the award on behalf of his student Olivia Brickley
CIT and the Tyndall National Institute were awarded prizes at this year's annual IT&T research conference. Paul Walsh, chairman of the IT&T Conference, announced the winners for best paper and poster at the National Maritime College in Ringaskiddy, Cork on 27th October. Olivia Brickley from CIT won 'best paper' award out of 24 presentations for her research paper on Enhancing QoS WLANs and John Buckley, from the Tyndall National Institute, took 'best poster' award from 30 posters displayed. Officially opened by Dr Brendan Murphy, Director CIT and Eugene O'Leary, chief executive TecNet, over 120 delegates from 3rd level institutes and industry attended the event which took place in the impressive surroundings of the National Maritime College, Ringaskiddy, Cork ( 26-27 October). Olivia's paper entitled 'Enhancing QoS in IEEE802.11e WLANS Using Cell Breathing' was well received by judges and fellow presenters. Her supervisor Dr Dirk Pesch, CIT, was there to receive the award on her behalf. Olivia's presentation will be available shortly on the IT&T conference website. The role of research was top of the agenda this year with keynotes such as Lawrence Cowsar, executive director Lucent Technologies Bell labs, highlighting the importance of research to the growing economy. The panel discussion which involved Dr Tim Creedon, director of IT Tallaght, further discussed the rel-
evance of research to economic development and the role of the government in making the research career an attractive one. Nuala O'Shea conference organiser with TecNet said ''we are delighted with the turn out at the event, it's great to see researchers so enthusiastic about presenting their work. The programme featured something for everyone and the introduction of an industry track session was highly regarded.'' ''The conference provides researchers with a forum to present their results and to be peer reviewed is important to them in order that their work is recognised and published.'' ''Researchers meet with a view to collaborating with the industry sector. The whole driving force of the conference is the fact that it provides a congenial meeting point. This is important especially in light of government policy which focuses on research and development with both sectors working in conjunction with each other. The conference differs to other national conferences which tend to focus on either ICT or Telecommunication areas or else they tend to be international. This conference provides a national forum catering for all areas'' said Ms.O’Shea. www.tecnet.ie submitted by Michael Loftus
USI Urges Ministers to Think Big with Future of Education in Budget In November the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) published "An Agenda for Education in 2006", and called on the Minister for Education to seek additional funding for students and institutions before Budget Day (Wednesday 7th December). USI's proposals include the expansion of options for part-time study, reform of the maintenance grant system, capital investment in third level facilities, support for migrant workers and immigrants within higher education, and a realistic level of day-to-day funding for universities and colleges across Ireland. Tony McDonnell, USI President, said: "This Government has a chance to utilise its substantially increased income for the benefit of present and future students. Rather than continuing with inadequate levels of funding for our students and our third level institutions, they could choose to make sound investments in the future social, economic and cultural successes of our nation, by implementing real reforms in further and higher education in time for the next academic year. "The Estimates published last week are tame and fail to provide anything close to the investment third-level institutions are desperately in need of. They do not represent a forward-thinking approach to education and research. Challenges like fixing the shambles that is the grants system or ending the delay in providing much-needed buildings and facilities have been swept under the carpet. Students are today calling on the Ministers for Education and Finance to 'think big' and to incorporate our proposals in the upcoming budget".
USI's proposals include: · Part-time tuition fees to be abolished for low earners and incentives to be introduced for part-time and distance education, including improved tax breaks and State funding · Reform of the maintenance grant schemes, including the adoption of a fairer assessment model, along the lines of the new medical card system (i.e. looking at all the circumstances of an applicant, not just income) · Improved support for migrant workers and other non-EU citizens who wish to study in Ireland Phasing out of the means-tested student registration fee, which · currently stands at €775 · Implementation of the 'Kelly Report' proposals on capital investment in third level institutions · Investment in teaching as well as research and development · Better provision for support services, which assist the most vulnerable students to complete their education · Realistic current funding of higher education institutions, with a target of 2% of GDP (in line with many other European states) The booklet entitled An Agenda for Education in 2006 can be downloaded from the USI website (www.usi.ie) in pdf format. The contents of the document is divided into ‘supporting students’ and ‘developing our institutions’ and will be distributed to colleges across the country.
WIT to make case for change to University status Senior academics and management at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) Are chasing university status for the college. A submission will be made within weeks to Government, to the Minister for Education & Science and to the Higher Education Authority, the body which has responsibility for planning and development in the higher education sector. The submission will set out the return-on- investment to the Exchequer.
Bright Future for CIT Sport as Sod turned on New €2.5m Sporting Facility Minister for Arts, Sports & Tourism, Mr John O'Donoghue T.D., officially turned the sod for the new €2.5m sporting facilities building at Cork Institute of Technology. The building will include Dressing Rooms, Ancillary facilities and a viewing stand for 400 people. Ancillary facilities in the building will include referees changing areas, storerooms, first aid rooms, weights room, meeting rooms and warm up area. The new building will be located adjacent to the Institutes GAA Pitch and will provide much needed facilities and services to over 20 teams competing for the Institute. Guests at the ceremony included members of the Cork County Boards of the GAA, Camogie and Ladies Football, the Munster Branch of the IRFU,
the Munster Senior League, Horgan & Lynch Consulting Engineers, Architects RKD, CIT Governing Body and the officers and coaches of Sports Clubs in CIT. This new facility will also help to service the two of the five new playing pitches in Rock Farm (across the Curraheen River) which have come on stream this year, the remaining pitches are due to come on line in September 2006. "We are delighted with the commencement of this construction”, said Senior Sports Officer, Eithne Lydon, “it is testament to the Institute’s ongoing commitment to the development of sport for our students, we are developing the facilities in CIT to ensure that they are among the best in the country".
Andrew Gray, Hockey,Donal ”g Cusack, and Billy Lynch, Hockey
Club Na John Gardiner, Hurling, Home r Donal ”g Piarsaigh; and Guest of Honou eper Goalke Hurling Senior Cusack, Cork
Miriam Deasy and Louise Kavanagh, Sports Officers, making a presentation to Paddy Oldham, Senior Caretaker, on the occassion of his retirement
Caroline Hayes, Badminton, at the CIT Sports Bursaries & CIT / Munste r Council Scholarships 2005 / 2006 ceremony at the Imperial Hotel
John Gardiner, Hurling, Miriam Deasy, Sports Officer, Eithne Lydon, Senior , Sports Officer, and Donal ”g Cusack
Donal Cusack, Cork Senior Hurling Goalkeeper; with Rugby Bursary recipients David Ryan, Batt Duggan and Timothy Ryan
Deirdre Delaney, Camogie, Home Club Freshford, Kilkenny; Donal ”g Cusack, and Brenda Hanney, Camogie, Home Club Killimor, Gal way
Pics: Neil Danton / News Digital & Miriam Deasy
College board chairman, Redmond O’Donoghue, said. “A key economic strength of our argument is that the campuses for a regional university in the south-east already exist and there are not anything like the same costs associated with an upgrade of Waterford Institute of Technology as there would be with the provision of a greenfield site that involved very costly land acquisitions, planning and construction. In addition to the exceptional facilities at our Cork Road and College Street campuses, we have a 150acre land-bank at Carriganore, where an enterprise campus is already taking shape.” “The additional cost to the Exchequer of designating the institute as a university will be a relatively small fraction of the return that can be expected to accrue to Government and Irish society over time”, Mr O’Donoghue added. Goodbody Economic Consultants estimated in their August 2005 report for Waterford Chamber of Commerce that if WIT were to become a university, it would generate over 700 new direct and indirect jobs. The university would also generate nearly €100 million for the regional economy, equivalent to the location in the south-east of two new large-scale high-end industries, the report added. Mr O’Donoghue said the case for the upgrade is clear. “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind and, importantly, in the minds of numerous external reviewers from this country and overseas who have examined the institute in forensic detail, that Waterford is ready for the transition to a university. Indeed, a key strength of the argument for a regional university in the south-east is the existence of an established institute with a strong earned reputation; an institute that competes successfully with existing universities despite the unique restrictions placed on it”. Education Minister Mary Hanafin has described WIT as “the jewel in the crown of the IT sector” but said there are no plans by the current administration to change its status. Locally though, Transport Minister Martin Cullen has described the case for a university in Waterford as “clear cut”.
CIT Students’ Union President Christmas is nearly here and I know some of you have started exams already so hope the exams are going well for you and best of luck with the rest of them. There were some great events staged in CIT since my last address, especially Christmas Day. Christmas Day was a phenomenal success in all campuses, everyone enjoyed Wallmark,Santa and the Snow Ball in Blu Bambu. Well done to Mick and the entertainments crew for a fantastic day enjoyed by all here in CIT and Bishopstown. Congratulations to everyone who graduated on the 14th and 15th November. Hope everyone enjoyed the Graduation ball in Silversprings. In the past month we have finally seen the first stages of construction of the main courtyard floor in the Student Centre. In last month’s edition I mentioned that the Students’ Union was seeking ways to pay for the under floor heating of the courtyard floor, since apparently there was no more money available for the Centre. At the Union’s AGM, the student body gave approval for the Executive to fund the heating and furniture for the building. Finally progress has been made so we hope to move over to the new building after Christmas. CIT has always had a proud tradition in the computing and engineering field but there has been an influx of complaints in relation to the computer facilities around the college in the past month. These complaints have ranged from lack of access to computers to lack of printers. This current state of the computer facilities around the college is a great concern to us as a Union and has
remained an unaddressed issue for many years. If any student has any problems please come and advise us of them. We are currently dealing with the issue. The students of Crawford College of Art and design CCAD are still waiting for an announcement from the Minister for Education and the Director of the Institute on whether the CCAD will be relocated to another location in the city. Lately the impression that the Institute are giving to the students and staff of the college is that, YES it will be moving to another location. Well if that’s the case we the Students’ Union are categorically opposed to any such move which in turn will see a major reaction from the students of Crawford and the whole of CIT alike. I believe that the Institute has an obligation to the students of CCAD to facilitate their interests as art students. The Institute must understand that student’s education will be dramatically effected if moved from their current location, simply due to the fact that students need to be in close proximity to city Centre and art galleries which collectively contribute to the inspiration and education that they need as art students. The Institute does not seem to comprehend the hardship that students in CCAD face everyday due to substandard facilities that exist there,so it is because of this hardship and a belief in the preservation of a college that has contributed to heritage of Cork for the last 150 years that we, the Students’ Union, will be escalating our campaign to save Crawford. Jeremy
CIT Students’ Union Vice President Welfare Hi everyone, I hope that you’re all keeping well and that the City supporters out there (me included) are well recovered after the Derry game. Just the Drogs next and hopefully another insane night of celebrations
Please feel free to call to the SU prefab should you need any advice or even a quick 021 4933123 chat over tea.
Moving on to something to do with my job, the office has been busy enough, as per usual the main complaints are related accommodation issues. Remember that if you’re not happy with where you’re living you can always give your 28 days notice and go, it’s well within your rights. With the Christmas season almost totally on top of us I have a bit of advice, everything in moderation. It can be very easy to
overspend, over drink, overeat and overindulge this time of year, listen to the angel on your shoulder. For those of you that don’t know (and those that do and are trying to keep it secret!) there’s a shuttle bus service to the bus station that leaves the bus stop behind the new Tourism building every Friday at fifteen minute intervals from 1.00 pm, this is a free service for all those getting connecting buses. Until next time have a great one! Sinéad
CIT Students’ Union Entertainments Officer Hi, my name is John Grant and I was recently elected Entertainments Officer at the annual AGM. I'm looking forward to working in the Students' Union for the forthcoming year and I will do the best I can for you guys to improve and maintain the great events in CIT. If you have any ideas or want to have a chat, feel free to stop me when you see me. It's been a hectic couple of weeks with the three cups (Cork Ladies Football and Camogie, Cork Men's Hurling) visiting Rafters a few weeks ago and fire dancers in Redz as well. Christmas day was a blast that few will soon forget; great
laughs during the day and the Red Hot Chilli Feckers rocked the house in Blue Bamboo. Kudos to Wallmark for putting on a great show that day. Like all good things these days come and go in a blur of fun and music but fear not all the bars have great parties coming up before college breaks up for Christmas. So enjoy yourselves lads and if you get a chance check out the Prodigy's new remix of Voodoo People (Pendulum Mix). John
CIT Students’ Union Vice President Education And the days just roll on by. It’s almost Christmas time again and the 25th will soon be here, Santa has stiffed me over the last few years but I’m hoping my good work in the Union will soften old Father Christmas’s resolve and he’ll finally give me what I want. I had the pleasure of graduating this year and I’d like to thank everyone who made the day possible. Donal Dempsey, Barry Leach the stewards and the rest of the conferring committee. Well by now most of us are about to delve into the seedy underworld of examtime, just remember, “Don’t PANIC”, the Students’ Union is at hand to help you through. If you feel the pressure you can always call into us for advice, never forget that its never too late so if you’ve slipped up, you can still salvage valuable marks by getting the head down now and sealing yourself off from distraction. I wish you the best of luck and I hope that you’ll all get the results you deserve
programmes, masters be it research or taught, now is the time to start showing interest and getting to know what’s available. For information on the opportunities available to you call into me here at the prefab or into the excellent Careers and Counselling Office. Christmas Day was a great laugh; I really enjoyed it from start to finish. As always respect to the crew and the Ents Office for the great job they did. Blu Bamboo played host to the Red Hot Chilli Feckers and in true style they blasted into the night. I might add that I saw someone kissing Santa but it wasn’t my mammy and I think Santa may have been taken advantage of, I saw him some time later holding onto a lamppost for dear life. I hope we haven’t ruined Christmas for all the kiddies. So here it goes, enjoy Christmas eat, drink and be merry. Spend time with your loved ones and recuperate the energy for the months ahead. I can’t wait for Christmas it’s my favourite time of the year, the smell of home cooking that lingers in the house for days on end just tantalises the taste buds. Plus it’s the only season where having a few extra pounds is ok. Yes Christmas at long last bring it on I say. With that I bid you adieu.
The initial H-Dip deadline has now passed, good luck to all of you who applied; those of you who haven’t can still apply until 6th of January. However there is an increased fee to be paid. Anyone who is thinking of applying for graduate
Mikey
CIT Students’ Union Projects Officer It’s me again! Before we start off I want to congratulate John Grant on getting himself elected as our new Ents Officer. He’s only at the job a few weeks and he’s already done a lot of work, keep it up. Right here we go, God almighty, Christmas day, what can I say about it? Some day for one day. Too much excitement for one person to handle. Where do I start? Personally Santa arriving in the helicopter was the best part for me, but that was only the beginning. After arriving, Santa met all the little kiddies from the local schools, and proceeded to hop onto his scooter and tore into the college. He then entered his grotto where he spent most of his day meeting and greeting the happy, joyful, “young at heart”, students of CIT. If that wasn’t enough, Wallmark were in the west atrium shaking the walls off our fine Institute and left the crowd, as every good entertainer should, wanting more. After we had all stuffed our faces full of the gorgeous food, which the lovely people in the canteen provided for us, the local watering holes began to fill to beyond capacity with festive CIT students. A big thank you to The Outpost, Btown Bar and our new arrival The Loft for putting up with us. Then if you managed to survive the pubs, we moved onto the Christmas Day Ball aka “The Snowball” in Blu Bamboo where the Red Hot Chilli Feckers rocked the Club to its foundations. A great night had by all, BRING ON THE NEW YEAR. As always my hat must go off to the fine work of Mick and John and the rest of the Ents team. I was delighted that we met up with our brothers and sisters from NMCI, CCAD and CSM for the celebrations also.
OK now guys you’ve had your fun, as always its time for the serious stuff. Just a few small things for you all to note, if you look carefully you will see brand new cigarette bins outside the Library and external door of the college. I want the Tourism and Catering students especially to notice the bin outside their building. Please use them lads, the place looks really bad with fag butts all over the place, it’s the little things that make a huge difference in the long run. As well, try and throw your chewing gum into the bins too. OK, now I’ve said it in every address since September, yes you’ve guessed it, it’s the Canteen again. I cannot understand why people can’t just pick up their tray when finished and put it in the tray racks provided. I mean seriously, there is nothing worse than looking for a table in the canteen and the only one table that is free is covered in dirty plates and food, it’s disgusting! I’ve even seen people eat around the mess. It’s crazy. Next time when you’re done pick up your tray and put it in the racks, if you see someone leaving without doing it, ASK THEM TO. If this situation is not sorted in the next few weeks, lads, action will be taken by the college and it’ll be totally out of our control. Consider yourselves warned. Now, on a completely different matter guys, I just wanna let ye all know about one major role in my job. Organising strikes. OH YES, I hear you say, strikes! Now, we have the possibility of major strikes happening in the near future, I need people who I can call on to come out and dedicate their time to the cause, whatever it may be. If you are interested email me suprojects@cit.ie, or just stop me in the corridor. Or if you have an issue which you feel may need Strike Action or even an Awareness Campaign, EMAIL ME. OK that’s it, if I don’t see ye, have a great Christmas and an only OK new year! Get yourselves ready for the Society Balls when your back and dare I say it…. RAG WEEK! Good luck in your exams, Wez
Would you like to get involved with expliCIT? info@explicit.ie or you can drop in directly into the SU office in C143
Careers and Counselling Launch Website The following are some methods, which can be useful when learning those awkward bits of information. Just bare in mind that there is no point spending two hours thinking of an acronym when you could have covered half the topic for the exam. Acronyms and Acrostics: (for information involving key words). An acronym is an invented combination of letters. Each letter is a cue to an idea you need to remember. Example: BRASS is an acronym for how to shoot a rifle-Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze. An acrostic is an invented sentence where the first letter of each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember. Example: EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FUN is an acrostic to remember the order of G-clef notes on sheet music--E, G, B, D, F. Rhyme-Keys: (for ordered or unordered lists). First, memorise key words that can be associated with numbers. For instance, bun with one; shoe with two, tree with three, door with four, hive with five, etc. Next create an image of the items you need to remember with key words. For example, if you had to remember the four basic food groups- diary products; meat, fish, and poultry; grains; and fruit and vegetables- imagine cheese on a bun, livestock with shoes on, a sack of grain suspended in a tree, and opening a door to a room stocked with fruits and vegetables. The Method of Loci: (for approximately twenty items). Select any location that you have spent a lot of time in and have easily memorized. Imagine yourself walking through the location, selecting clearly defined places- the door, sofa, refrigerator, shelf, etc. Imagine yourself putting objects that you need to remember into each of these places by walking through this location in a direct path. Again, you need a standard direct path and clearly defined locations for objects to facilitate the retrieval of these objects. The Image-Name Technique: (for remembering names). Simply invent any relationship between the name and the physical characteristics of the person. For example, if you had to remember Shirley Temple's name, you might ingrain the name in memory by noticing that she has "curly" (rhymes with Shirley) hair around her temples. Chaining: (for ordered or unordered lists). Create a story where each word or idea you have to remember cues the next idea you need to recall. If you had to remember the words Napoleon, ear, door, and Germany, you could invent a story of Napoleon with his ear to a door listening to people speak in German.
The CIT Careers and Counselling Service is pleased to announce that its dedicated student website is up and running. The site will contain the most up-to-date employment opportunities available to students/graduates, as well as a News Section, Library Referral, Company Listings, FAQ sheets, as well as other relevant data. Dan Collins, the Head of the Service, would appreciate it if people spread the word about the site and he encourages CIT students to keep visiting to see the most up to date vacancies, news etc. Users should feel free to send feedback using the Feedback Form located on the site. www.careersandcounselling.com
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CIT Graduation Pictures 2005
pics:
Barry O’Sullivan, Audio Visual Dept. CIT
pics@expliCIT.ie Email us you pics of class parties to be printed here!. Please send all pics in high resolution BEWARE OF OUR CAMERAS IN CITSU CLUBS!
“...A woman will dress up to: go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage, answer the phone, read a book, get the mail. A man will dress up for: weddings, funerals...” Prepare to read an article, which will have you nodding your head and murmuring “So true”. And remember ladies, if you’re ever in a situation you really can’t get yourself out of, take a leaf out The Simpsons and bat your eyelashes while saying, “Don’t ask me, I’m just a girl!” Maturity Women mature at a much faster rate than men. Most 17year-old females can function as adults. Most 17-year-old males are still trading baseball cards and giving each other wedgies after gym class. This is why school romances rarely work. Groceries A woman knows how to shop for food. She makes a list of the things she needs, and then goes to the store and buys these things. A man does not shop on a frequent basis. He waits until the only items left in his refrigerator are an opened can of Bud and an odd smelling piece of chicken. Then he goes food shopping. A man buys everything that looks good. By the time a man reaches the checkout counter, his cart is packed tighter than the Clampett's car on the Beverly Hillbillies. Of course, this will not stop him from going to the 10 items or less lane. Magazines Men's magazines often feature pictures of naked ladies. Women's magazines also feature pictures of naked ladies. This is because the female body is a beautiful work of art, while the male body is lumpy and hairy and should not be seen by the light of day. Handwriting To their credit, men do not decorate their penmanship. They just chicken scratch. Women use scented, coloured stationary, and they dot their "i's" with circles and hearts. Women use ridiculously large loops in their "p's" and "g's." It is a royal pain to read a note from a woman. Even when she's dumping you, she'll put a smiley face at the end of the note. Bathrooms A man has 6 items in his bathroom: a toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving cream, a razor, a bar of soap and a towel that they “borrowed” from a hotel. The average number of items in a typical women's bathroom is 437. A man would not be able to identify most of these items. Going Out When a man says he is ready to go out, it means he is ready to go out. When a woman says she is ready to go out, it means she will be ready, as soon as she finds her other ear-
ring, makes one phone call and finishes putting on her makeup. Mirrors Men are vain; they will check themselves out in the mirror. Women are ridiculous; they will check out their reflections in any shiny surface, mirrors, spoons, store windows, toasters, or sometimes, bald men’s heads. Offspring Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and soccer games and romances and best friends and favourite foods and hopes and dreams. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in his house. Directions If a woman is out driving, and she finds herself in unfamiliar surroundings, she will stop at a petrol station and ask for directions. Men consider this to be a sign of weakness. Men will never stop and ask for directions. Men will drive in a circle for hours, all the while saying things like, "Looks like I've found a new way to get there." and, "I know I'm in the general neighbourhood. I recognize that Spar." Dressing Up A woman will dress up to: go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage, answer the phone, read a book, get the mail. A man will dress up for: weddings, funerals. Toys Little girls love to play with toys. Then when they reach the age of 11 or 12, they lose interest. Men never grow out of their obsession with toys. As they get older, their toys simply become more expensive and silly and impractical. Examples of men's toys: little miniature TV's. Car phones. Complicated juicers and blenders. Graphic equalizers. Small robots that serve cocktails on command. Video games. Anything that blinks, beeps, and requires at least 6 "D" batteries to operate. Finally, for the artists among us… Cameras Men take photography very seriously. They'll shell out 4000 quid for state of the art equipment, and build dark rooms and take photography classes. Women purchase Kodak Disposables. Of course women always end up taking better pictures. Adapted from: www.arkworld.com by Caitriona Foley
The Driving Test by Michelle Bouse “...I can do this, I told myself over and over but then my imagination ran riot on me and images of crashing the car or knocking a cyclist down floated around my mind...” The nerves were beginning to develop within the last twenty minutes before the test. My fingers agitatedly tapped the steering wheel and the butterflies were prancing around my stomach. “I can do this”, I told myself over and over but then my imagination ran riot on me and images of crashing the car or knocking a cyclist down floated around my mind. BEEP! BEEP! My reverie was interrupted by a last minute “Good luck” text message. Ten minutes to go now, I gave the windscreen one blast of the wipes and wiped the windows furiously with a cloth and then it was time to sit this nerve wrecking driving test. In the waiting room the nerves could be sensed. A woman in her early thirties sat in the corner crossing and uncrossing her legs clutching her bag tightly, a young guy slouched against the wall and another woman who was taking her test on a motorbike annoyingly paced the floor. A tall balding man came to the door and called my name. “Let the fun begin” I joked with the other waiting candidates. He asked those expected rules of the road questions and then it was time to hit the road. The driver tester slipped into his high visibility vest and followed me to my beloved Opel Corsa (Okay, it mightn’t be a Ferrari or anything but it’s MY car and I love it). In his stiff voice he told me to turn left and off we went heading towards Sarsfield roundabout. The silence in the car killed me, I mean I wasn’t accustomed to the absence of sound while driving usually I had the radio blaring. In my mind all I could hear was my driving instructor saying “Mirrors, mirrors Michelle, observation is crucial”. I felt like a programmed robot looking to my right, to my left and looking up to the back mirror and then I did the unthinkable, I didn’t look in my left mirror when I was switching lanes on a roundabout. I cursed myself as I could see the tester marking an X on that dreadful colourful sheet they have.
The rain pelted down as the wipers swished from side to side. My three point turn was excellent as was my hill start (If I do say so myself) but the one I was dreading the most was the reversing around the corner. I had a nasty tendency of always catching the kerb. I took a deep breath and reversed like a snail around the corner (remembering my observation) and as I steadied up I could see that there was enough space between me and the kerb to fit another car, oops! Another bout of cursing myself in my head followed. I pulled back into the testing centre I was relieved it was finally over. He told me he would give me the result inside. I couldn’t understand why he couldn’t just say the four lettered word instead of dragging it out longer than needed. I followed him in with my head bowed low trying to calculate when I could take my test again if I applied immediately. I perched myself down on the seat across from the driving examiner awaiting the news. He took off his jacket ever so slowly (probably on purpose) and commented on the bad weather. It reminded me of “Romeo and Juliet” (remember that from school) when the nurse arrives back from a meeting with Romeo to an eagerly awaiting Juliet who had no interest of hearing of her aches and pains but only of what her lover had to say. “I didn’t pass did I?” I blurted out unable to handle the suspense. He laughed gently and told me I had passed. “WHAT I passed! Are you sure?” He smiled at my disbelief and gave me a form to sign I quickly scribbled my name and skipped towards my car. As the rain poured down on me I peeled my hated “L” plates off and jumped into my car. “I passed” I had to tell myself again. I couldn’t believe that I had actually passed. Several text messages were sent to spread the good news just before I zoomed out of the testing centre no longer a learner driver. Michelle Bouse
Would you like to get involved with our magazine expliCIT? We are always looking for students to submit articles and photos for our magazine. If you are interested in submitting news, reviews, feature articles, photos, sport or societies info then please get in contact with us now! Email: info@expliCIT.ie Tel: 021 4933124 Meet: SU Shop - C143
CD Review:
Levitation Mark O’Leary Guitar,Tomasz Stanko Trumpet, Billy Hart Drums
Leo records 445
The Best Things In Life Are Free CD Review: The Prodigy “Their Law” by Michael O’Connor It was 8.00 pm on Saturday evening when the phone rang, and my buddy John asks ”Do you want to go to The Prodigy tonight?”, “You’ve tickets?” I bumble; “offered by the band themselves, just served them in the bar” he replied. Can you imagine the look on my face? “They’ll put us on the guest list” said John. . .what a glorious creation, the guest list. “Hell yeah” was my response. John, Colin and I can’t believe our luck, Christmas has come early. Fifteen minutes later all three of us were in a car speeding towards Millstreet in a state of pure glee, how sound are these guys, absolute legends. The curtains were due to go up at 9.15 pm on the button and the opening was supposed to be incredible. We had a time schedule to keep and by God we kept it, pulling into the Green Glens Arena at 9.10 pm. We raced towards the doors and ‘politely’ asked the first steward where the guest list was to be found Once inside we approached the info desk and with a triumphant smile released onto the world “we’re on the bands guest list”. We were guided to our seats and sat with moments to spare. The crowd was thick with anticipation knowing the moment drew nearer as every second slid by. At once the stage blinded us with light! Smoke flowed from the ground and then The Prodigy bounded onto stage. The crowd erupted as a sea of people tossed and rolled up in front of me, within minutes I was amongst the crowd moving ever forwards and ever closer to the stage. The
sound was surreal a sense of euphoria oozed from every note as we became ever more entangled in the spiders web. Each of their hard-nosed classics beating out from the roof mounted speakers to the fans below. This is the “Their Law” tour; the album comprises all the singles from 1990-2005. I was surprised at just how energetic the performance was by the band, each member hardly stopped moving over the entire two hours. Each song charged out over the crowd, every blast of strobe sent people into frenzies and the pure emotion could be tasted in the air. I have been to a lot of gigs but I must say there was something different, maybe it was the fact I didn’t have to pay, maybe it was the fact that every person there came to see The Prodigy, I don’t know, but whatever it was the band felt it too. The following morning when recovering over breakfast the band commented to John who worked in the hotel they stayed in “that the crowd last night were brilliant” and that it was the best of their Irish gigs to date. Here’s to The Prodigy, real salt of the earth legends. If any one doesn’t believe me I have their autographs to prove it. “Their Law” Special 2 CD Edition is on Play.com for €16 Inc P&P. It’s an ideal stocking filler for any prodigy fan.
Levitation suggests a floating and free sense of music and emotion. The latest contemporary jazz release from Irish guitarist, Mark O’ Leary, in collaboration with world-renowned trumpeter, Tomasz Stanko, and drummer, Billy Hart. This fourteen-track compilation takes the listener through a sonic voyage where each track holds true to the idea of the title with different emotions and thoughts expressed through fluid improvised dialogues. With tracks such as a theme I used to play with its ethereal ending of floating chords against a terse drum groove and the title track Levitation where the guitar gives a discourse on modern contemporary improv juxtaposed with virtuoso trumpet and polyrhythms. The lyrical explorations of this contemporary improv terrain Is very articulate and will surely reach out to vast array of music listeners. The insert allows a deeper meaning of interpretation of the tracks, each one comes with a back story such as the title track Levitation, ‘Even if we have no direct experience of defying gravity through levitation, the desire to rise above circumstances is a common feeling most of us experience from time to time.’ It is this quote, which shall sum up this c.d. as it demonstrates the artists need and will to be free and allow a totally unbounded creative flow to emerge through out each individual track. With close dialogue between the trio and fusing a wealth of influences they shift moods from day to night with a technical precession while keeping the spontaneity of the musical idiom to portray their message. This cd is the consummate eclectic mix, with a wide ranging dynamic that will engage the discerning jazz listener. The instrument combination is not unique, but the way the music is carefully presented and crafted, with some beautiful moments of contemporary improvisation, coupled with vivid imagination is inspirational. The music Levitates. Patrick Tuite
New Team New Ideas by CIT Young Fine Gael “...Enda Kenny was in fine voice. Exuding an aura of authority, he was in good spirits throughout proving very popular with the grassroots...” New Team, New Ideas, the theme running throughout the Fine Gael, National Conference 2005 held in the Green Glens Arena, Millstreet. This conference was attended by over 3,000 Fine Gael members and delegates to discuss party policy and to get the troops revved up for the upcoming General Election in 18 months time. And revved up we certainly were by the time Enda Kenny and the other speakers were finished.
many a chance to meet friends old and new from other branches, and enjoy a pint or two while stealing, furtive glances at the disastrous Irish rugby match.
The members of CIT YFG were in attendance, from early morning well into the night. After meeting up in the city centre, the branch members went on to the Silver Springs Hotel where many enthusiastic party members boarded buses to the venue, somewhat delayed by some of the YFG members cycling to the event to raise money for charity, a bit too early for such exertions for some of us!
Introducing various party members and a roll call of FG local authority leaders and reviewing our recent electoral successes. Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Deirdre Clune, got a rousing welcome. As to the very apt tune of; Send In The Clowns, a series of photos and video clips of various FF/PD cabinet members, doing what they do best, one more devastatingly hilarious than the next. All this got the crowd warmed up and raring to go. Enda Kenny, finally appeared to rapturous welcome.
The day was structured in a series of workshops or sessions on various topics. These sessions were designed to outline new party policy and to hear from experts in each area. ‘Irish Agriculture- A growing Business?’ addressed by Denis Naughten TD, spokesperson on Agri. and Food, followed by a question and answers session. ‘Healthcare-First things first’ addressed by Dr Liam Twomey TD, spokesperson on Health and Children. Improving the health service will be a key challenge facing the next government, Dr Liam Twomey TD, outlined his vision for primary and secondary community care, promising free GP services to the under fives, a critical time in any child’s development. A full and comprehensive National Screening Programme for Adults, something promised but not delivered by the current regime. A strategy to tackle the GP manpower crisis and other key areas in the health service. The keynote address was given by Richard Bruton, Deputy Leader and finance spokesperson. This man knows his finance brief backwards, putting many a dent in the governments armour, most notably over the wastage in public spending after exposing the bungling failed PPARS and PPP’s computer system. He promised to not increase personal, corporate or capital taxes and to try and reduce all the 32 stealth taxes introduced by FF/PD’s, to increase the powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General and to rebalance the inequality in our tax laws where the richest pay none, while 47% of ordinary workers are in the highest tax band. Other areas addressed were Childcare with significant advances proposed in these areas, €3,500 assistance for the first years of a child’s life, increased parental leave and proper training for childcare professionals. Future Energy, the party was informed of many of the tough new actions needed to avert a future energy crisis. Also there was a talk on anti-social behaviour measures, addressed by Corks own, Bernard Allen TD and a very entertaining and informative speech given by the ever popular Jim O’ Keefe TD.
Of course the climax of the day was the keynote address made by Fine Gael Leader, Enda Kenny. With delegates settled in their seats, Mairead McGuinness MEP, kicked off the evening with some entertainment.
Enda Kenny was in fine voice. Exuding an aura of authority, he was in good spirits throughout proving very popular with the grassroots. His speech outlined for the nation the contents of the party’s policy as addressed during the day, highlighted the failings and ineptitude of the current government, cementing the pact with Labour offering a viable and vibrant alternative and sounding the starting shot of the next election for the party faithful. Enda definitely nailed the party’s colours to the mast here, less could be said for Fianna Fail who couldn’t even fly the right flag at their Ard Feis, I hope Bertie doesn’t think he’s leader of the Ivory Coast. The real Republican Party, I don’t think so. FG under Enda Kenny has built up a momentum and is now a serious contender for government something most felt impossible three years ago. The party’s steady showing in the opinion polls has given members more self confidence and a realistic hope that a return to power is clearly coming within the party’s reach. Enda Kenny also outlined the key role YFG have to play in the upcoming battle. YFG nationwide is celebrating the success of its largest ever recruitment campaign, which has raised membership to over 4,000 members. That’s a 600% increase since 2002 and an increase of 600 college members since 2004. The eye-catching poster campaign featuring the slogan ‘Political Party Animals, received a great response from over 20 third level Institutions. This success is evident in CIT, where membership is dramatically up from last year. We are in the process of organising many fun, social and important events for the year. If you are interested in joining our branch contact any of the members at underthebridge@eircom.net or andrewdineen1@eircom.net, come along to any meeting, Wednesdays 7.30pm B251 or log on to www.yfg.ie. We are always interested in hearing from our fellow students, so if you have any issues or problems you would like highlighting or assistance with, don’t be afraid to ask. We might be ‘Political Party Animals’, but we don’t bite, normally! By Andrew Dineen, CIT Young Fine Gael Secretary
Naturally the day wasn’t all about these serious and weighty issues. It also gave
JOIN SUAS AT CIT
Self Help Africa Fashion Show 2006 Too early to plan your social calendar for 2006? NEVER! The jingle bells of Christmas have just about started to ring and Santa is approaching his most hectic time of the year. The party season is about to swing into action, as are you; and at this busy time we ask just of one little favour from you. All you have to do is focus, remember the date we give you, store it in your head and keep it free for what promises to be one of the best nights of 2006. March 15th: Remember the date. March 15th: Keep it free. March 15th: Your chance to help those less fortunate than ourselves (they won't have Christmas), while having some fun yourselves. Of course there's the added benefit of seeing lots of gorgeous people strutting their stuff on the 'catwalk for charity'.
an effort to find the perfect summer outfit to show off those lithe bodies we are all going to attain following the excesses of Christmas. TEMPTED... You should be! March 15th promises to be a night of fun, fashion, festivities and frolics. Help others to help themselves and play your part in working for long-term change in Africa. This is a very worthy cause and all the people involved in this fashion show are doing so on a voluntary basis. Self Help is an Irish charity that focuses on long term famine prevention. This charity works with communities to promote sustainable and lasting change by helping Africa regain their independence and become self-sufficient. Please support this very worthy cause by keeping March 15th free and joining us at the Silversprings Moran Hotel, Cork. Every little helps.
Clothes from many of the leading fashion shops will be on display that night and what better way to herald the eagerly anticipated long hot summer of 2006 than to see what styles are on offer for the next season.
Have a happy, peaceful Christmas and a prosperous 2006 and let your number one New Year resolution be to join us on March 15th in the fight against poverty.
Saves you on all that pounding of pavements in
Thank you and see you all there.
Suas is the Irish word for ‘up’ and is the name of a new society at CIT. Suas is a youth and education focused organisation, which gives young people the opportunity to address educational disadvantage in Ireland and overseas. Through our various programmes and activities, we aim to foster a strong sense of global citizenship. Suas is a secular registered charity and has a network of societies throughout Irish colleges. Four key themes run through all of our activities. ·
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Realising potential: Investing in young people to fully realise their potential to create a better future for themselves and their communities. Service to others and Social engagement: ‘We get the society we earn’. We promote the involvement of individuals in creating a better society – locally and internationally. Global citizenship: We believe that we live in an interdependent world in which we share rights and responsibilities as citizens, and a common future. Leadership: Developing the commitment and the capacity to make a positive difference.
In other words, Suas hopes that young people will channel their commitment to help others through involvement with our activities at CIT. We run fundraisers, are organising a homework club for children in disadvantaged areas and send students on voluntary placements to India and Kenya each summer. We will also be participating in the “make poverty history campaign” this Christmas. We need you to get involved! Suas meets every Wednesday at 1.15pm in B227. All welcome! For more info on Suas go to www.suas.ie.
The Management & Staff of the Rochestown Park Hotel would like to wish all new and returning students to CIT the best of luck with the year ahead. Thank you for once again making us your number 1 Ball Venue for 2005
Rugby Review CIT Senior 2 vs NMCI/CIT Senior (43 - 33)
by Eoin Deane
“...The Mariners threw everything at CIT and were very unlucky not to break the CIT defence in the opening minutes...” Today was a day which showed how far rugby has come in the last two years here in CIT Two teams, that only a year ago never existed, contested an All Ireland league Division 2 game on the CIT Rugby pitch that was also only made available to us this year after a long long ......... far too long exile. The day was perfect for a free flowing game of rugby as harsh weather of late had now been long forgotten and the Sun peeked its way through the frosty looking clouds at the far side of the pitch. The two teams ran out onto the pitch raring to go .... in my opinion there is nothing like the first 10-15 minutes of a game between two teams from the same club. It can be a ferocious affair sometimes but mostly it is just a real genuine effort to dethrone the perceived better team. This is exactly how the game started as The Mariners threw everything at CIT and were very unlucky not to break the CIT defence in the opening minutes. A marker for their effort was that it wasn't until the 15th minute that CIT got into the Mariners half, but unlike NMCI, CIT came away with 3 points from the boot of Colin Corkery. Bouyed by this CIT attacked again straight from the kick off and were in under the posts through Peter Martin after two quick phases. This was again converted by Colin. The Mariners tried to rally but were hit badly when, while on attack, Colin Corkery intercepted and then offloaded to John
Caughlan who raced away for another try under the posts again converted by Corkery. Just before half time Peter Martin got in for his second try, which Corkery failed to convert. HALF TIME CIT 22 NMCI. 0 The second half started as the first finished with The Mariners putting in a huge effort to get themselves back in the game, however their only reward for some really hard endeavour was a penalty from the boot of Dave Harmon ten minutes into the half. CIT then upped the tempo and scored three more tries from Colin Corkery, Alan Jennings and Paul Memory (whose name I almost forgot J). All these tries were converted by Colin Corkery to leave the FINAL SCORE CIT 43 NMCI 3 Alas, none of these players may merit a bursary but through their endeavour and the enjoyment they achieve from playing sport at this level in CIT bodes well for not only the coming season but for the future growth and success of Rugby in the Institute Eoin Deane Team Manager
Rugby Match report on NMCI Rugby Carlow IT 9 - CIT/NMCI 8 Game Played 2nd November - NMCI Game Reporter: Stuart Donaldson Early in November CIT/NMCI took to the field for a competitive sporting fixture for the first time ever when the newly formed NMCI RFC took on Carlow IT in ICRU Div 2. Faced with the long trip to Carlow and the fact that a number of players pulled out on match day through injury NMCI pulled out an excellent performance and were very unlucky not to win. At a windswept Oak Park NMCI opted to play into the wind in the first half. Carlow started the brighter of teams and put a number of phases together before a stray hand in the ruck gave them a penalty chance, which they converted. Five minutes later they scored another penalty to leave it 6-0 and that was the way it stayed until half time. Other than penalty chances Carlow rarely threatened the NMCI line in fact they only managed to get into the NMCI 22 on three or four occasions throughout the whole match. The NMCI pack had the Carlow scrum under fierce pressure for the whole day winning five or six balls against the head, while the lineout was a bit of a mixed affair. The scrum gave a good platform for the backs, which allowed centres Stuart Donaldson and John Keeshan to make good ground. Testament to NMCI's defence was the fact that Carlow had to replace five players after hard but fair tackling by both forwards and backs alike. In the second half NMCI scored early though a beautifully struck David Harman penalty. He also used the wind effectively with his kicking from hand, which gained NMCI huge ground. Carlow defended well in the second half and repelled a number of attempts on their line. David Harman was unlucky
with a second penalty attempt midway through the half, which just shaded the right hand post. The wind had dropped at this stage which enabled Carlow to quick another penalty to leave the score 9-3. With fifteen minutes remaining NMCI had a lineout ten metres outside the Carlow 22. An excellent maul by the NMCI forwards led to Jason Losty driving over the line in the left corner. Stuart Donaldson was unlucky to miss the resulting conversion. NMCI attacked with fervour for the last 15 minutes so much so that Carlow nearly broke away out wide bar for an excellent try saving tackle by full back Don Quinn. In the dying minutes NMCI won a penalty on the halfway line out on the left. A huge kick by out half David Harman rebounded off the crossbar and Carlow cleared it away. Just minutes later the final whistle went. All in all NMCI can be very proud of their first run out, for a team that has very little time or training together they did well. In the dressing room afterwards the Carlow captain said his team couldn't believe they had won. Bodes well for the future of NMCI rugby. Team: 15. Don Quinn 14. Barry Shaughnessy 13. John Keeshan 12. Stuart Donaldson (c) 11. Gavin Lynch 10. David Harman 9. Donal Keane 8. Jason Losty 7. John O'Riordan 6. Jason Clohessy 5. Stephen Stack 4. Aedán O Huallacháin 3. Adam Rahilly 2. Rob Coneely 1. Daithi Magee Subs: 16. Victor Murphy 17. Ian Power
Would you like your Society or Club Here? submissions@explicit.ie or you can drop them directly into the SU office in C143
007 Ball 1st Feb 2006
Hello from the FloppySoc, CIT Computer Society. It’s been a mad year for us so far, we organised a great Halloween Party on the 26th October and also had a very successful Soccer Tournament (more about that later). We also revamped our website, http://www.floppysoc.com, and included a new gallery and forum. The gallery is already filling up with hundreds of embarrassing photos. The FloppySoc, Business & Accounting Society and the Architecture and Interior Architecture Society will, combined, have organised the biggest event this month in CIT. We hope to see you all at our Christmas party in the Bishopstown Bar on Wednesday 7th of December where you can visit Santa and tell him if you’ve been a naughty girl/boy. You may also be lucky and pick up one of our many spot prizes on the night. If the last party at Halloween was any thing to go by, it’ll be a great night. There’s plenty of proof of a scary night in our gallery on the web site, which you can find at http://www.floppysoc.com and selecting the gallery link. See do you recognise any faces in the gallery. You can also add your own pictures after you register. Another important date for your social diary is the James Bond themed, 007 Ball on the 1st February 2006 in the Rochestown Park Hotel. Society Balls are often the most memorable and enjoyable college events, as you may remember from the extremely successful Masquerade Ball last year. Hope to see all the new 1st years and everyone else there. No doubt there will be plenty of Pierce Brosnan look-alikes. This year we’re pleased to announce that Blue Moose will be playing for the Computing & Chemical Engineering departments. We’re also looking forward to organising a good laugh around this year’s theme; leave your view on the forum. Once again, the annual FloppySoc Soccer Tournament was a great success for all involved. In the end it was ‘Bob the Builders’ who won the tournament following a very controversial semi final against DCOM4. A dismal refereeing performance by Willy Power marred the occasion and he had to be escorted from the pitch by armed Gardaí. Former Eurovision representative (for Croatia) David
Collins was a shining light in the DCOM defence, however it was retired actor, Padraigh O’Herlihy who picked up the player of the tournament and his prize of a lifetime supply of Cadbury products. Many thanks must go to the Bishopstown Bar for a great night after the final and already there are rumours that Mike Bassett’s Dream Team are already in training for next year’s tournament. Upcoming events include a paintballing trip, PS2 Pro Evolution Tournament and a table quiz so keep an eye out. We also plan on running a competition for 1st years during rag week (6th -> 13th February) called RoboCode. Details on the competition can be found at http://www.floppysoc.com, but basically Robocode is a program that enables students to program their own battle tanks, and battle them against each other. Robocode features cleverly programmed graphical tanks that manoeuvre, search and destroy other robot tanks on screen. The human programmer makes the tanks smart enough to fire intelligently and evade fire quickly. In a series of 30-second battles, the tanks drive around an arena without any kind of manual control. A special forum has been set up on the FloppySoc forums to help the students involved and for anyone else who might be interested in RoboCode. Everything you need to start up can be found in the RoboCode.zip file. We plan on organising a few seminars in the New Year so keep checking the website for the latest FloppySoc information. Feel free to sign up to the increasingly popular forum, and keep up to speed with any future events. Also provided on the new webpage are useful links to programming tutorials and past exam papers, which, before we know it, we’ll all be looking for. Regards, FloppySoc Committee
Self Help Africa Society FAIRTRADE Week, 7TH-11TH of November During the week of the 7th-11th of November a Fairtrade week was undertaken by the members of the Self Help Africa Society in the college in association with the Chaplaincy. The main objective of this Fairtrade week was to create awareness throughout the college of Fairtrade and what it stands for. A Fairtrade promotion stand was set up at the beginning of the week, on which extensive information was available on Fairtrade, it’s products and the Self Help Africa Society itself. Many people in Third World countries are not poor because they do not produce anything, but because they often receive little of the retail price value. This is why Fairtrade works for fair wages and decent working conditions for farmers in Africa. These farmers produce crops such as coffee, tea, cocoa and bananas, which are exploited by multi-national companies and sold cheap in the Western World. This results in farmers in Africa attaining prices for their crops that no longer cover production costs. On the stand, set up during the week, the percentage of what a farmer gets out of one banana was clearly shown. Fairtrade products such as bananas and chocolate were sold at the stand throughout the week, and the chocolate in particular proved a great success with the students. A Fairtrade coffee and tea day was also held on Wednesday the 9th of November in the canteen, which also proved a great success amongst the student body. Our thanks to the canteen for their cooperation in the matter, and in the future we hope to introduce Fairtrade tea and coffee as a permanent product in the canteen.
Poetry Corner Could it be love in the first place? To love is to care . . . To care is to share . . . To share is to love . . . I don't believe in love Cos people just fall in and out of love The only type of love I trust and believe in, is the type I have for my dad, mum, brothers and sisters. But I do believe in care. You just can't stop caring about someone Even when things go wrong You will always and still care, This is what I call Loving-care
by Tolu
REAL THOUGTS
Everyday people fall in love . . . Everyday people fall out of love . . . Could it be real love? Cos love is kind, sweet, gentle, not selfish Love does not look for its own good, Tells the truth, love is not partial . . . True love never ends even after break-ups. So how and why can people who really loved fall out of love, with their loved ones?
Tolu
Fill in the grid, ensuring that each column and row and every 3 x 3 box box contains the numbers 1-9. 1-9. (The row, column (The same number cannot appear twice in any row, or 3 x 3 box box at any time).
rch Puzzle
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/code/BuildWordSearch.asp
This Month’s Prize:
W D Y N N P A R T I E S D S U
H E H Z J Z Y P P A H O A A O
O C H F N W G Y T C T Y N M R
I E Y U D T M Z Y O R H M T A
P M S G N I T E E R G R I S B
S B X O K M P I R K L E Z I F
T E C H N O L O G Y T M S R O
P R I N U E O S U U Y N E H U
Y R T T S S T X T U O O H C M
O O E A E U T I D S W L B P U
V M N S D I T I A N V J S C P
D T A E E S C E C O T B K S W
A J N S N N S O Z I C D K X Z
R T T I U B T I S N O A L Y I
S M Z C X A P S Z U O A Q D X
SEASONS GREETINGS HAPPY CHRISTMAS CORK INSTITUTE TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS UNION DECEMBER PARTIES PRESENTS SANTA SOCIETIES CITSU
Limited Edition expliCIT Rugby Jersey
Competition Closes 5pm Wednesday 15th December 2005 Last Months Winner: Kieran McNamara - DME2
Competition Rules: All Entries to be returned by deadline to Students’ Union Main Office (C143) on official form. Winner MUST be a CIT Student and one entry per person.
CHRISTMAS CITSU CORK DECEMBER GREETINGS