Student Independent News Students’ Union Education Officer steps down
NUACHTÁN SAOR IN AISCE VOL.20 Issue 02. 25 SEPT 2018
“The positive comments and feedback I have received will sit with me for the rest of my days.” By Martha Brennan The NUI Galway Students’ Union Vice President for Education has stepped down from his role on the executive committee. Louis Courtney, who spent four months in the role, made the announcement on 10 September – the first day of lectures for most undergraduate students. Courtney was elected to the Union last March on the first count of votes, where he won by 1600. He succeeded Andrew Forde as Vice President and Education Officer. He cites the reason for his resignation as the wish to continue his undergraduate studies in Medicine. The three executive roles on the Students’ Union call for a full commitment, thus a year out of study is deemed necessary for anyone elected. Both the President of the Union, Megan Reilly, and the Vice President for Welfare, Clare Austick,
have finished their degrees. The Union made the announcement via Facebook, where they posted a ‘letter of goodbye’ written by Courtney. “This was a huge honour for me,” Courtney writes. “For the last four months I have worked with this Union and I have seen the great work it does for the students of this college...I have made many, many lifelong friends within the confines of my small office.” When addressing the issue of the reasoning behind the resignation, Courtney states; “When I ran for a position on this Union, I ran on the premise of not taking a year out of my Medical Studies. However, on reflection, I have decided that I need to prioritise my education and focus on my dream of becoming a doctor.” SIN spoke with Courtney following the news:
“It was a really tough decision,” he says. “I felt that I just had to prioritise my education and it wouldn’t be fair to try to balance the two and not fully commit myself to the Union.” “I feel that I did what I could during my time to help as many people in every way that I could. The hugely positive and grateful responses that I have received both publicly and privately from the students of NUIG has been truly touching.” Of the backlash he has faced since the announcement, Courtney says; “If certain people wish to make personal and inaccurate statements, that is their prerogative, but I don’t feel that such assertions deserve a response.” “The reception I have received from the students of this University during my time as Education Officer, and after stepping down, has been incredibly heartwarming. I have been deeply moved by this. The positive comments and feedback I have
received will sit with me for the rest of my days.” “I don’t want this to take away from the new candidates who are running for the position, and I wish them, and Megan and Clare, all the best of luck with the year.” Students’ Union President Megan Reilly also spoke to SIN following the announcement: “While it is a stressful time for the Union, we’ve a great team behind us here, and we’re looking forward to bringing on board a new member, along with a new Ethnic Minorities officer.” The elections will be held on the 27 of September and until a new officer is elected, Reilly will be splitting the extra workload with Vice President Clare Austick.
Further registration furore: BA Connects still unable to register By Graham Gillespie and Áine Kenny Several BA Connect students were forced to wait until after the start of the academic year to register, SIN can reveal. Some students were only able to register in the first week of college after classes already began, while others still can’t register at the time of writing 18 September. The issue is affecting multiple BA Connect courses. Much like the film studies students who were also forced to register late as reported in issue one of SIN this year, the students were supposed to register on 22 August, only to find out they couldn’t. The affected students were thus prevented from choosing their preferred modules in subjects such as English. The listed deadline by the university for undergraduate online registration is 17 September. Again, like the film studies students, it is understood the registration problem arises from an issue regarding the processing of some Erasmus grades from last year.
Naoimh O’Hare, a final year Arts with Creative Writing student, said that she was only able to register on Wednesday 12 September by which time college had already begun. This prevented her from getting some of her first-choice modules in her two other Arts subjects, English and German. “We got the last pick (of modules) below repeating, deferral and regular students,” said Naoimh. She also said that at least five students in her class had to wait until that first week. However, not all students in the course were affected. Naoimh then explained that she received misinformation when seeking to address the issue. “I tried to register on Wednesday 22 August at 10am, like other Arts students, and couldn’t register. So, I rang the registration office and was told that because I was on Erasmus I couldn’t register, even though it says on the NUI Galway website that Erasmus students can register provisionally if they haven’t got their grades back,” she said. “Then I argued that that wasn’t true because I had friends on Erasmus who were able to regis-
ter OK that morning. Then they said that it was because I did Creative Writing and no one in my class would be able to register until the following Sunday, 2 September, which is when repeat and deferral students register.” “I found out then that that wasn’t actually true either because there were students in Creative Writing who had been able to register without a problem.” According to Naoimh, the reason why she was unable to register may have had something to do with when she finished her Erasmus; “I finished (my Erasmus) quite late, so anyone who finished in maybe June or July had problems trying to register.” Naoimh was then told she would be able to register for final year on Tuesday 11 September, but on this day was instead incorrectly registered as a student repeating third year (all BA Connect courses are four years in duration). “It turned out on the Tuesday I was registered as a repeat student, as were two others in my class, to repeat third year, which you can’t even do. You
can’t repeat Erasmus. Then, I had to go back to the registration office on Wednesday and I had to meet with the coordinators of English and German and I tried to sort out modules.” “I couldn’t sort out my English seminars at all because they weren’t very lenient about that. And then I eventually got to register on Wednesday (12 September), and didn’t really get the seminars I wanted obviously, because all the ones I had wanted were full.” “I was lucky that seminars in English don’t start until week two because I was stressed I would miss the first week of them if I wasn’t registered by the end of the week.” Two other students in Naoimh’s class also had to wait until that Wednesday to register. Since similar situations have occurred for BA Connect students in the past, Naoimh felt the university was being “dishonest” and that the system for Erasmus students needs to be modified. Continued on page 2...