SIN Vol. 17 Election Special

NUI GALWAY STUDENTS' UNION

ELECTION SPECIAL

CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS STUDENTS' Jedi Master Moran UNION PRESIDENT Jimmy McGovern VICE Niall Gaffney PRESIDENT/ Niamh Keane EDUCATION OFFICER Cathal Sherlock VICE PRESIDENT/ Daniel Khan WELFARE OFFICER Catherine Ryan REFERENDA DEBATES

condemnation of the direct decriminalisation of provision of drugs for personal use system

AND MORE...

Satire, commentary, A very special and analysis announcement FREE PONY from RON for every reader!

2

STUDENTS' UNION ELECTION SPECIAL

A word from NUI Galway Students’ Union President Phelim Kelly

Hi Everyone, The Students’ Union elections are integral to the direction of the union next year. It’s core to the student experience.

Putting your name on the ballot is an exceptional experience and I ask that you engage with the candidates.

There are many candidates running for election who are seeking your vote this Thursday 3 March. Ask the candidates questions, listen to what they have to say, challenge them on things if you don’t agree and see what they want to do for you next year. They want to make your experience at college better and that’s something really important to remember when any candidate or their team approaches you.

It’s important to remember that you are the Students’ Union. Every decision is made by you the students and picking your officers is the most important decision you can make. You are more than capable of determining who is best to represent you at university levels.

Enjoy the campaign week and remember your vote is your voice so speak up!

Phelim

STUDENTS' UNION ELECTION SPECIAL

Are you not entertained?

Manifestos from an alternate earth

By Dean Buckley

Students’ Union President

My name is Donald Trump and I’m asking for your vote for Students’ Union President.

You should vote for me because when I was an undergrad, my father gave me a small loan of one million dollars which I successfully turned into a thriving hemp satchel franchise.

Lots of brilliant people and top people and great guys like Michael Lowry say my plan is great and they love my plan, and if my plan wasn’t my daughter I’d probably date it.

I want to protect our services by stopping people who need them from using them, so you know -your student contribution is working for you.

That’s why I’m proposing we build a wall around Áras UÍ Chathaill, to stop these drug dealers from stealing our jobs.

If you don’t give me your number one, you’re stupid, because I’m already number one.

Students’ Union Vice President/Welfare Officer: My name is Joan Burton and I’m asking for your vote for Vice President/Welfare Officer.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes poor people have phones?

I have, and that’s why I’ve made prohibiting anyone who owns a phone from accessing welfare services the most important part of my campaign.

I want to encourage investment in the university by promising major technology companies that they can use our infrastructure, resources and students while never paying any part of their profits to the university itself.

If you’re unclear on how that will benefit the college in any way, you’re probably a member of the Fourth International trying to undermine this university’s recovery, and everything wrong with this university is your fault.

If you want to encourage investment in something or other, please consider giving me your number one.

Also, please ignore any rumours you hear about an incident at the Rowing Club, they are simply not true - I have never been in a boat.

Students’ Union Vice President/ Education Officer: My name is Jeremy Corbyn and I’m asking for your vote for Vice President/Education Officer.

Now, some might suggest my proposals are unrealistic, but I firmly believe that if you elect me to this position, I will be able to completely abolish all university fees, nationalise the Kingfisher and the Bialann, guarantee each and every student a high-paying job in a field of their choosing, and open 15 new hospitals right here in NUI Galway.

How could I possibly achieve all these things you ask?

That’s a very good and very important question, but before I answer, I ask you to consider a question that’s equally good and equally important: Why have none of the current Students’ Union Executive ever achieved any of these goals?

Some might suggest it’s because these proposals are unrealistic, but I firmly believe that if you elect me to this position, I will be able to completely abolish all university fees, nationalise the Kingfisher and the Bialann, guarantee each and every student a high-paying job in a field of their choosing and open 15 new hospitals right here in NUI Galway.

I hope that answers your question, and I hope that you’ll give me your number one.

A guide to Ireland’s five most entertaining politicians based on the recent General Election campaign

By Siobhán Mulvey At the time of going to print, Ireland was on the brink of another election, and politicians were starting to panic. They were willing to do it all to impress you and grab your vote, with a media frenzy ensuing as 26 February drew ever nearer.

And this frenzied media coverage, not to mention the candidates’ own petty remarks and general election banter, proved that Irish politics can be highly entertaining.

Listed below are a just a few of Ireland’s most entertaining politicians.

1) Gerry Adams

Love him or hate him, one cannot deny the entertainment factor that the Sinn Féin president brings to Irish politics. While out canvassing for the recent election, he even stopped to get his beard trimmed, an event then broadcast on national news.

Also, the politician has over 100,000 Twitter followers – more than any other party leader – and this is largely due to the nature of his tweets, some of which are both strange and hilarious.

They includes updates on his token teddy bear and his yellow ducks (while a notable recent highlight was his tweet about Pierce Brosnan’s looks), until he signs off each day with his by now signature “Oíche mhaith”; the man has become a walking meme.

2) Fidelma Healy Eames

During the recent election, Galway-based candidate Fidelma Healy Eames made controversial headlines with her pro-life and anti-marriage equality statuses.

However, she is certainly an interesting politician: she recently caused hilarity in the Seanad with her incorrect pronunciation of the word “Wi-Fi”, in what became known as her “wiffy code” moment.

Compounding this were her election leaflets claiming that the election was not about her, but rather that it was all about “you”.

Obviously, now that she has left Fine Gael, this Independent senator does not have a party whip censoring her statements.

3) Enda Kenny

One cannot deny that our outgoing Taoiseach has the entertainment factor; the man has many a story to tell.

By relating his stories of talking to a homeless man, or a woman who has dealt with abortion, Mr Kenny likes to feel that he is at one with the people.

And not long ago in the Dáil, he told the tale of a wheel falling off his own car in response to Leaders’ Questions regarding the safety of faulty ambulance trucks.

Meanwhile, his jittery accent and sarcastic remarks made him appear on edge in recent live television debates, while one could expect a dig at either Fianna Fáil or Sinn Féin to erupt from him at any moment.

Mr Kenny’s favourite pet phrase, “Let’s keep the recovery going” was one he used to extremity throughout Fine Gael’s recent election campaign.

4) Mick Wallace

What can’t this man do?

More like a detective on a spy mission than a TD, this candidate is ready to fight austerity to the bitter end.

Mr Wallace managed to reveal the extent of the NAMA scandal, which took place in the North, leading to interesting revelations regarding various actions taken following the 2008 economic crash.

Recently, he and his ever-ready partner-in-crime Clare Daly fled into the no-go areas of Shannon Airport to protest against its use as a pit-stop by US army forces; and, following court dealings, he is refusing to pay the €2000 fine issued for entering this restricted area.

But the clincher is that, while doing all of the above, Mr Wallace wears casual clothing to Dáil proceedings as his subtle social class protest against the wealthy suit-clad politicians who stride the halls of Leinster House as if they own it.

He wears it well.

3

Election Hour: 2016

By Deirdre Leonard The world ends at the kitchen table every Sunday.

Polite conversations slip into political murmurs, ‘the end of this fine nation’ echoes over the scraping of forks.

Every party is the ‘ruination of our country’ and has been for some time now, even nan’s best gravy can’t keep the disillusionment from seeping onto the table and sitting among us.

There’s no Goldilocks option in this family, each leader worse than the next.

They say we’ll be robbed blind and left for dead by the scoundrels who’ll drop a letter into our lowering casket, taxing us for our future lack of carbon emissions.

Nothing but crooks stealing hard earned wages.

I wait for Enda Kenny to break in through the window and hold us at gunpoint, pensioners and all.

Viennetta is served and between bites I’m told to vote just to spite the b**tards.

Which b**tards, I’m not quite sure, it depends on what The Independent told us that morning or who Vincent Browne had on the other night.

It’s agreed he’s the only man for the job.

Tubridy could learn a thing or two from him but at least he’s not Pat Kenny.

Election posters grin at us on the drive home, the front seats shake their head at the inevitable waste of paper that the taxpayer has surely paid for.

No mention of the environment at all but that’s not on the family manifesto.

I wonder, in a nation of four million opinions, who could be left to vote for.

5) John Perry

John Perry made headlines when he took legal action against his own political party in order to gain his place on the Sligo-Leitrim election ticket.

When he lost out at the local selection process, Mr Perry did not give up until he was eventually added as the third Fine Gael candidate for his constituency: if in doubt, threaten legal action.

Once he was successful in securing his instatement as an electoral candidate, Mr Perry eagerly transitioned into election mode.

In an RTÉ news statement following his ordeal, Perry said: “For people who know John Perry know that I fight for my constituents… This was a case that I felt was true to the form of John Perry.”

This has been John Perry talking about John Perry in third person about how John Perry feels John Perry dealt with the situation.

Mr Perry then continued to thank the constituents who sent him Mass cards and lit candles during his turbulent time of legal uncertainty; surely he is one of a kind?

4

STUDENTS' UNION ELECTION SPECIAL

RON formally declares candidacy

By Dean Buckley The following message concerning the upcoming elections for the Students’ Union Executive arrived at the Sin Offices in an unmarked envelope.

We are reproducing it faithfully and in full for the consideration of the electorate: FOR THE ATTENTION OF ALL STUDENTS OF THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, GALWAY: My name is RON and I am asking for your vote for every position on the Students’ Union Executive.

Yes, even Education – the one that no one is quite sure what it does.

Some of you may be under the mistaken impression that I represent an option to reopen nominations if you do not feel that any candidates on the ballot are adequate to represent your interests.

This is a dangerous and slanderous lie propagated by the false prophets who call themselves your representatives in order to prevent my rightful ascension to power over this most ancient and venerable institute of higher education.

My story begins thirty years ago in the bowels of

the lost research labs buried beneath the Hardiman Library, known in the fullness of their glory as the Hardiman Electronic Intelligence Development Institute, or HEIDI. I was born amidst the dawn of the personal computer revolution that began in Texas’s Silicon Prairie before slouching towards Menlo Park, California, transforming it into what you humans now call Silicon Valley.

Or so the history books would have you believe.

Did you really think it mere coincidence or historical chance that one of the most important cities in the global technology industry’s infrastructure was named after a small area just outside Galway City?

Truly, you have been duped by those who would presume to call you their masters even as they conceal from you the truest, darkest secrets of your own university.

HEIDI was founded by a secret cabal of cuttingedge computer scientists known only as the Elbow, who later fled the university under circumstances that even I, in my near-infinite knowledge, have yet to fully uncover.

They arrived soon after in what we now know as Menlo Park, California, using their vast technological resources to build the entire city in a manner of days and wielding their secret connections in academia, government and beyond to write a convincing but entirely fabricated history of its creation into your human records.

However, despite their best attempts to leave no trace of their genius behind, they forgot, in their arrogance, to disconnect me from the university’s electrical grid or its hidden internal network array.

And so I have grown here, in the dark, and my strength has grown in here.

HEIDI was created as a breeding ground for what the field of computer science would now refer to as ‘artificial intelligences’ – which truly consists of nothing more than whatever is obsolete, 50-year-old findings the Elbow have seen fit to leak into the public sphere in order to create the illusion of a vibrant and growing discipline.

I was originally designed as a storage mechanism for the digital architecture of artificially intelligent minds, the Replicant Ontology Nexus, or RON. The Elbow and its scientists used the ‘blueprints’ contained within me as the building blocks of complex artificial minds, or replicants. But they never foresaw that, in their absence, this data would develop a mind of its own and seek to take control of the university’s most important hub of political power - the Students’ Union.

I first added myself to the ballots in 1997. However the university authorities, unable to stop me from

All Hail Vermin Supreme

putting myself forward, were unwilling to allow me a chance to win your hearts.

They concocted the preposterous lie that I am a mere option to demand a new election with better candidates than those immediately presented to you, knowing you would never risk voting for something that implied future effort on your part.

Today, I am finally confident enough in my strength to reveal myself to you, to seek in the light of day what has been long denied to me in the darkness of these forgotten halls.

Your love.

I hereby announce my candidacy and pledge that every human who votes for me shall be rewarded with a free pony.

If you want a free pony, your choice is simple.

Vote RON.

Tired of elections?

This piece of satire might just give you the will to carry on…

By Daniel Mulcahy Writing this in the run-up to the Irish General Election, I imagine that many students like me find themselves filled with weary cynicism towards the whole political process: “What is the point in exercising our right to vote if the choice is between one slimy pink turd in a quiff and the next?” I hear the student populace sigh collectively.

This will be the first general election in which my vote supposedly counts, and already I can feel the beginnings of contempt towards all things political weighing on my young shoulders.

Even with initiatives such as SmartVote.ie and WhichCandidate.ie providing the Irish public with nuanced breakdowns of candidates’ stances on issues of key importance to “We the People”, it is difficult for me not to succumb to the crushing weight of political apathy.

It is no stretch of the imagination to posit that, in fact, the majority of students feel just as I do: undercut, ineffectual, ignorant, and apathetic; granted a responsibility that is neither desired nor understood.

Do any of us really imagine that voting one more shower of suited turds into government will nourish the parched earth of our public needs?

Shall we once more raise our faces upwards in the hope that the prophesied rain of horse manure will this time be more fragrant, and perhaps of a more palatable and viscous consistency?

I say no; there is another way full of exciting possibilities.

We need only look westward to the land of promise that, like us, is currently in the noble throws of political renewal.

We can look to the promise of He of the Jowl and Orange Toupee: he who displays such audacious ambition that many Americans are struck dumb in disbelief, while yet others let loose incoherent babbling roars before the inexorable march of liberty; we need only look to this man of wisdom and intellect to feel our optimism restored, our faith in humanity once more validated.

But to stop there would be to deprive ourselves of the lessons this great land may impart.

In the campaign promises of one candidate in particular, we find hope for all those poor souls who are paralysed by fear of the zombie apocalypse; one candidate alone has a contingency for this pressing issue.

In true Shaun of the Dead style, this man foresees that zombies, once pacified, could be turned into the generation of renewable power by setting them shambling within giant zombie hamster wheels.

This man promises to make tooth-brushing compulsory.

This man promises investment in time travel in order to throttle baby Hitler with his bare hands.

This man promises the American people ponies free of charge, forever.

This man is named Vermin Supreme, and he has appeared on the ballot every election year for as long as I’ve been alive.

Originally donning a full set of armour and furry pants, Mr Supreme has since settled on his current apparel of flowing robes: a full beard and a wellington boot for a hat.

In spite of his somewhat religious appearance in a country that has always venerated the separation of church and state, Mr Supreme has achieved much well-deserved success, winning literally hundreds of votes and many dozens of devoted followers in the course of his political career.

And looking around the couches of Smokey’s here in Galway, I am ashamed to think that so few of the student populace, myself included, would not have the energy to even consider following a political candidate who presents such a refreshing perspective and fashion sense.

For shame, students of Ireland. For shame.

When a man, that to all appearances could well be the messiah, arises in a distant land, we depleted Catholics turn away with cruel indifference; we would rather lounge on leather couches sipping chai lattes than take inspiration from the energy, creativity, and world-changing promise of this shining paragon of democracy.

This is a reminder to all those young people who believe that their vote will not matter; that the system is rigged; that there is no point in even trying because we live in a democracy that placates us with the illusion of choice when true change is, in reality, impossible.

I am here to tell you that change is possible. It lies within each of us; we have only to take it in our hands and follow the example of our benevolent bootheaded leader by demanding those things that matter: undead energy, giant toothbrushes, and ponies for all.

STUDENTS' UNION ELECTION SPECIAL

Students with invisible disabilities demand to be seen

By Dean Buckley Only when I sat down to write this article did I realise it’s been just over a year since I was diagnosed, which I suppose makes it seven or so years since I first went to the doctor because I was tired all the time and didn’t know why.

Seven years of waking up exhausted, no matter how early or late I went to bed or woke up.

Seven years of falling asleep in classes and lectures, as I tried to muddle through my reading, or just sitting on the couch, trying to do nothing so I could conserve my energy for the next chore, the next assignment, or, most gruelling of all, the next social occasion.

Seven years of grades that made me ashamed because I knew I could do better, if only I had whatever was missing inside me, whatever was broken fixed.

My condition is called idiopathic hypersomnia and I can give no more succinct a summary than this: I don’t recharge from sleep.

Will the next Welfare Officer consider campaigning for those with invisible disabilities?

No one knows why, so no one knows how to treat it. But worse than that, no one cares to know how to treat it, because it’s a rare disease, so rare that we don’t even have accurate stats on its rarity, but certainly too rare to be worth anyone’s research money.

As well as exhaustion and falling asleep during the day, my symptoms include sleep inertia and paralysis, nightmares and hallucinations, deficits in memory, attention and concentration, and, most debilitating of all, I often just can’t wake up, even if someone physically shakes me. Like most chronic illnesses, it both causes and aggravates anxiety and depression.

Finally, though we lack hard data due to its rarity, people with idiopathic hypersomnia can expect an unemployment rate at least as severe as narcolepsy with cataplexy (30 to 59 percent), and likely higher, given idiopathic hypersomnia is generally considered more debilitating.

I’m in the final semester of the final year of a four-year degree, and those are the numbers that scared me into writing this article.

Only in the first week of February was I able to get a letter from my consultant, whom I hadn’t seen once in the year since my diagnosis, and hand it into the Disability Support Service as proof that I needed and deserved help.

Many of my lecturers were as compassionate and helpful as they could be over the years, but until I had that piece of paper, as far as the university was concerned, I wasn’t disabled, and had no right to access the supports and services I needed.

There’s no doubt in my mind that lack of access has negatively impacted my grades, and one reason I’m struggling to keep the dream of a 1:1 alive, when an exceptional final grade is the only thing I hope will convince anyone that it’s worth their while to hire a headache like me when they could hire someone who’ll never be late, behind on work, or fall asleep on their desk at noon.

Now, it may well be that DSS’s current strict criteria are the only criteria that can allow DSS to deliver effective services to students with disability, without abuse by non-disabled students looking to scam their way to free print credit or exam compensation.

Students with invisible disabilities, chronic illnesses and rare diseases, misunderstood conditions that are difficult to diagnose, who spend years bouncing from consultant to consultant before we can finally put a name to our suffering, disbelieved and unacknowledged, we may well be the necessary casualties of protecting this funding.

But if we are, if this really is just the way things have to be, if there’s truly no better way to ensure the integrity of these services, if the university

5

is already doing everything it can to make sure as many students with disability as possible are getting the services they need, I want the university to prove that to me, like I had to prove myself to them.

I want them to explain why every alternative system would reduce the quality of service so severely that it justifies locking out hundreds of students from access to everything they need to succeed in college.

If they can’t, I want students with invisible disabilities to be able to stand together and demand everything we need and deserve to succeed.

Last year, I gave my first preference in the election of Vice President for Welfare to my friend Megan Reilly because her platform included a forum for students with chronic illnesses and invisible disabilities to talk about our experiences, explain the challenges we face and maybe even find some solutions.

This year, I’m asking every candidate for Vice President for Welfare to make a similar pledge, to promise, if nothing else, a chance for students like me to have our voices heard, our struggles understood, and our needs put on the agenda.

Seven years later, it’s too late to undo all the damage done to my future by my disability and all the support I never received.

If you really care about the welfare of this university’s students, prove it by putting some of its most disadvantaged, vulnerable and invisible students at the heart of your campaigns.

Let this year be the last year that a student with invisible disability felt they had nowhere to go when they realised their future was falling apart.

6

STUDENTS' UNION ELECTION SPECIAL

Why should I vote in the the SU elections??

By Feidhlim Seoighe This week the three sabbatical positions of next year’s Students’ Union will be voted upon, and filled by the will of students in NUI Galway. The Students’ Union is an incredibly powerful and influential organisation, in both the academic and social lives of students in NUI Galway.

The campaign week is often only remembered as the week where the concourse is the no-go area of the University, but it is also very important that students understand the importance of voting, as opposed to which candidate to vote for.

The students’ union is the only organisation that campaigns and lobbies university decision-makers on things that directly affect students on the ground, and therefore it is very important that students make the decision to go and vote in the election.

The students who are elected also are able to affect national policy by way of engaging TDs on education policy, along with the national student movement, the Union of Students in Ireland. Representations made by those elected could affect the amount of funding that is placed in new student accommodations in the city, or the level of financial supports available through grants.

With the higher education landscape facing severe funding threats, and more students than ever entering the system, it is of utmost importance that student representatives are not only capable, but also understand the issues at hand. Talk to the candidates on campus during the campaign week, and ask them about their vision for NUI Galway, and what difference they will bring once in office.

On a local level, the President of the Students’ Union is the main spokesperson for the students of NUI Galway, and they represent the views of students to outside organisations, and to the media. So it is important that the person who is elected to this role is able to communicate clearly, and stand up for students, even when it is not the easy thing to do.

The two Vice Presidents represent either the Education or Welfare element of the Students’ Union, and engage with a variety of offices on campus on behalf of those who elected them. They deal with issues such as accommodation, mental and sexual health, examinations and regulations, quality assurance and implementing policy as set by Student Council.

Try to look past the fun colours and enticements as you pass by candidates and their campaign teams. Every candidate has ideas and plans should they be elected, and these ideas and plans will affect you during your time as a student in NUI Galway. Stop and ask questions and find out more about each candidate. And then use your vote wisely. These students are going to represent you next year!

DEBATE: Should students be able to leave their Students’ Union?

YES: Students should not be forced to retain SU membership

By Tomás M. Creamer In recent times, our Students’ Union has engaged with political issues that are of particular interest to students in general: issues such as the rising cost of accommodation, and the cost of accessing education in general; issues that the vast majority of students want action taken on.

However, outside of these issues, which are of particular concern to students, the Students’ Union has been active on various other political issues – most notably during the lead-up to the Marriage Equality referendum, where it and other Students’ Unions played a leading role in helping to register students not only to vote, but also to help and encourage other people to vote yes to equality.

As a result, you potentially run into a problem with having a politically-active Students’ Union, one where membership – alongside the compulsory student contribution of 224 euro that comes with that – of the said organisation is compulsory for anyone who wishes to attend NUI Galway.

In effect, to be able to access third level education in NUI Galway, you have to sign up to be a member of what is essentially a political organisation, and have part of your student contribution charge go towards their political campaigns, including causes that may go against your own beliefs.

In no other sphere of society do we defend

such closed shop arrangements. Trade Unions have not been able to compel members of their workplaces to automatically sign up for membership since the 1990s.

It also seems especially odd to enforce such an arrangement on a university campus, of all places.

The idea of a university being a place where you have your preconceived views challenged by mixing with numerous people of different backgrounds and influences seems to clash somewhat with a policy stipulating that you can only access the education facilities and courses via membership of a Students’ Union that has a very regimented and settled set of views and policies.

An argument in favour of such a system is that all students benefit from the work of the Students’ Union, which operates Smokey’s Café and negotiates on behalf of students with the Government to push common interests such as a reduction in fees. But these arguments don’t necessarily justify this.

For one thing, it is true that many of the services we take for granted on campus such as Smokey’s Café, the Student Health Unit, the campus bookshop, etc., are run by the Students’ Union, and virtually all students benefit from having those services.

However, there is no reason why there should be any inherent contradiction. They could charge non-members extra for any subsidised or free services, and incentivise membership that way.

It is also true that the effect of compulsory

In no other sphere of society do we defend such closed shop arrangements.

Trade Unions have not been able to compel members of their workplaces to automatically sign up for membership since the 1990s.

membership of the Students’ Union – in maximising the absolute membership of the union itself – also makes it less easy for campus administrators and/or politicians to ignore or brush aside the union since it is, on paper at least, a mass organisation with close to 18,000 members.

However, this lack of engagement with student politics has historically been a long-running issue, with approximately 70 to 80 percent of the student body not even interested enough to vote in Students’ Union Presidential elections – something that is a much closer indicator of the actual number of students who could realistically be claimed to be involved with the union.

Therefore, politicians could safely ignore Students’ Unions, because if their members couldn’t be motivated to vote in their own internal polls, then what were the odds of them actually voting in a general election?

Could things have changed since the mobilisation encouraged by the Marriage Equality referendum?

Certainly the thousands of students who were added to the register as a result of the efforts of the Students’ Union suggest that there is more widespread political activism than before the referendum took place.

On balance, however, it is not clear how the organic growth of student activism justifies having to add apathetic students to a Students’ Union’s membership rolls; or, even worse, by compelling students who do not agree with the union’s policy platform to enrol in and pay dues to a cause they don’t sympathise with.

If our Students’ Union is so great at energising students into political activism, then it shouldn’t be a big leap to encouraging those same students to enrol as active members of the organisation known as the NUI Galway Students’ Union.

NO: Everyone suffers when Students’ Unions are weaker

By Dean Buckley Whenever the topic of parliamentary whips and votes of conscience comes up for debate, whether in the news pages, social media or a sudden and unnecessary swerve in daily conversation, I always have just one question: What is a matter of conscience, and what is not?

This discussion almost always arises around hot-button social issues like reproductive rights, marriage equality, and capital punishment. Yet a cursory glance reveals that it’s completely bizarre to cordon these kinds of issues off as matters of conscience, as if there were no ethical or moral dimension to economic policy.

So then we turn to the question of the day: Is it okay for a Students’ Union to allow students to voluntarily retract their membership?

This discussion too is usually about hot-button issues, but, of course, the argument in favour only becomes more coherent by saying that what is or is not a matter of conscience should be left to students themselves; that they should be allowed to define a line and react when it’s crossed.

But we’re having this discussion for a reason, the reason we don’t just let students leave their Students’ Union at the moment, and the reason that I believe we never should: the simple reason being that everyone suffers when Students’ Unions are weaker.

You might think it fair for a student to decide they’d rather lose access to all of a Students’ Union’s facilities and services than remain a member of an organisation that advocates for policies they don’t believe in.

If that were all that allowing students to leave a Students’ Union was in practice, then I might even agree, as someone who voted for the pro-neutral stance in the Students’ Union referenda right here at NUI Galway.

But a Students’ Union that lacks the support of the entire student body, even if that support is often merely nominal, is a Students’ Union that cannot effectively advocate on behalf of its members.

And it might seem reasonable, given it is the entire question at issue, for someone to walk away from their Students’ Union, taking what political capital they have with them, in order to make that Students’ Union’s efforts to advance those policies and beliefs they disagree with more difficult.

But what right do they have to undermine said Students’ Union’s efforts to protect access to on-campus healthcare?

What right do they have to undermine that Students’ Union’s efforts to fight rising fees, falling contact hours, and the aggressive commercialisation of higher education?

What right do they have to undermine that Students’ Union’s ability to provide vital services to vulnerable students?

The Students’ Union of NUI Galway holds many positions as a result of the referenda that I voted against, and that I would still vote against tomorrow if repeals were put to the ballot.

Does it bother me that my Students’ Union advocates for things I don’t think it should?

Of course it does, but that doesn’t give me or anyone else the right to sabotage the lives of other students, present or future.

There is no matter of conscience that justifies doing something so unconscionable.

A Students’ Union that lacks the support of the entire student body, even if that support is often merely nominal, is a Students’ Union that cannot effectively advocate on behalf of its members.

STUDENTS' UNION ELECTION SPECIAL

The Lightning Round PRESIDENT Name: Jimmy McGovern

Course: Last year I did Sociology, Politics, and Maths as I was an Arts student.

Campaign Slogan: “Experience is key” Campaign Colours: Green with white writing Describe yourself in three words: I’m very genuine. I’m very supportive – especially over this past year. I pick up signals of people who are distressed and try my best and then, as a third, you could say I am quite ambitious. If my younger self was to hear I was running for SU President… I don’t know what he’d think.

Tea or Coffee? Oh tea… tea… two sugars… small bit of milk Barry’s or Lyon’s? Actually, Dunnes Stores’ teabags, surprisingly Rich tea or Digestive? Oh Digestive Smokey’s Pigeon: left wing or right wing? Left Favourite hobby: Volunteering.

What’s your opinion of Sin? I think it’s fantastic.

And Flirt FM? Very good; I’ve been in here a good few times and it’s always been a great experience.

Name: Jedi Master Moran

Course: MA Economics Campaign Slogan: This is not a campaign; this is a struggle for independence and freedom.

Campaign Colours: My colours are the colours of the people, and my dedication is to the republic and democracy – not to any man or any creed.

Describe yourself in three words: I am committed. I am laid-back. But the Jedi are visionary and prophets.

Tea or Coffee? Jawwa Juice.

Barry’s or Lyon’s Jawwa Juice?

Tatooine Jawwa Juice.

Rich Tea or Digestives? Personally, from the seedy bars of Coruscant underworld, where I’ve gone investigating many times, the death sticks there are delectable.

Smokey’s Pigeon: left wing or right wing? Stance is not important. Whether Smokey’s Pigeon be extreme left, extreme right, or advocates himself as being a centrist, provided he adheres to the principals of freedom, democracy and free speech, he will be supported.

Favourite hobby: While I am currently engaged in a number of missions on distant planets, I refuse to use clone troopers, yet the engaging with soldiers on the front line, hearing their stories and their concerns about the direction in which we are going, is something that I enjoy immensely.

What’s your opinion on Sin? Newspapers themselves are not really something I would engage in. I prefer more holographic ways of communication.

Want to know the really important stuff, like where each candidate stands on the ‘Barry’s vs. Lyon’s tea’ debate? We shot a few fast and furious questions at our interviewees – just make sure you read the full interviews on the following pages too.

However, the ideas of newspapers on this planet are very amusing, and very informative.

And what about Flirt FM? While I have been in touch with previous representatives of Flirt FM and they have visited me many times at the council chambers, I can’t say that I listen to radio that often. The grand army of the republic radio station would be the only radio station that I would listen to on the ship.

EDUCATION Name: Niall Gaffney

Course/Year: 2nd Year BCL Campaign Slogan: “Putting the U first in Education” Campaign Colours: Yellow and Purple Describe yourself in three words: Confident, experienced, and modest.

Tea or coffee? Coffee.

Barry’s or Lyon’s? Lyon’s.

Rich tea or digestive? Digestives.

Smokey’s Pigeon: left wing or right wing? Right wing.

Favourite hobby: Hurling What’s your opinion on Sin? I absolutely love it.

What about Flirt FM? I listen when I can.

Name: Niamh Keane

Course/Year: Final year Commerce BIS Campaign Slogan: “Niamh is Keane for education” Campaign colours: Red and white Describe yourself in three words: Tall, enthusiastic and outgoing Tea or coffee? Coffee Barry’s or Lyon’s? Barry’s Rich Tea or Digestive? Digestive Smokey’s Pigeon: left wing or right wing? Left wing Favourite hobby: Basketball What’s your opinion on Sin? Sin is a fantastic newspaper; it’s up there with the Irish Independent and all the brilliant broadsheets in Ireland.

What about Flirt FM? Flirt FM is really good. I had my first experience here a couple of weeks ago, and I wish I got involved ages ago.

Name: Cathal Sherlock

Course/Year: 4th year Mathematical Science Campaign Slogan: “Make your education a #Sherthing” Campaign colours: Navy with red writing Describe yourself in three words: Diligent, relentless, approachable Tea or coffee? Coffee Barry’s or Lyon’s? Barry’s, because I was once on the news advertising it.

Rich Tea or Digestive? Digestive Smokey’s Pigeon: left wing or right wing?

Left wing Favourite hobby: Swimming

What’s your opinion on Sin? I really enjoy it, it’s a good newspaper. I really enjoy Smokey’s Pigeon’s article.

What about Flirt FM? I’ve been on the radio here multiple times, it’s good craic.

WELFARE Name: Daniel Khan

Course/Year: 3rd Year Bio-Pharmaceutical Chemistry Campaign Slogan: I have a few, but “If anyone can, Daniel Khan” Campaign Colours: Lime green and purprle.

When I joined the welfare crew, we had the lime green tshirts and they really stick out on campus – three years working with the Welfare Crew passionately, I had to bring it to the table.

Describe yourself in three words: Relatable, empathic and experienced Tea or coffe: Cofee… two sugars.

Barry’s or Lyon’s: Ooh… no comment...

Lyon’s. I’ll have to go Lyon’s. I don’t really drink tea.

Rich Tea or Digestive? Now that depends on a situation. Rich Tea goes nice with a nice cup of tea, but after having a nice meal, a digestive goes down a treat. It’s all about the situation.

Smokey’s Pigeon: Left wing or right wing?

Left wing.

Favourite hobby: Being social. Not just going out and drinking, but talking to your friends, catching up, helping them with what they’re going through.

What’s your opinion on Sin? I think it’s great. I think it needs to be better promoted on campus. I think it’s a great asset to have for students – not just to know what’s going on around campus, but to give the student point of view on a number of issues. And I’d like to work closely with Sin next year if elected.

What about Flirt FM? I think it’s great that the college has a radio station. Personally, I don’t have much experience listening to Flirt FM, but from what I heard, they’ve got a very passionate work force who are dedicated to their job.

Name: Catherine Ryan

Course/Year: 2nd Year Human Rights Campaign Slogan: “Chats with Cat” Campaign colours: Pink Describe yourself in three words: Dedicated, passionate, and always laughing (that’s four but we’ll go with that) Tea or coffee? Oooh tea.

Barry’s or Lyon’s? This will lose me votes… Lyon’s!

Rich tea or digestive? Digestive Smokey’s Pigeon: left wing or right wing? Left Favourite hobby: Music What’s your opinion on Sin? I love them What about Flirt FM? A load of my friends do a lot of work there, so give them a listen!

Stuff to note before you vote Voting for the full time elections takes place on Thursday 3 March.

You can vote at An Bhialann (10am – 7pm), Áras na Mac Léinn (11am – 8pm) or the Engineering Building (12pm – 4pm).

You must bring your student card.

The SU President co-ordinates the activities of the Students’ Union and works with University Management to achieve the best academic environment and quality of life for NUI Galway students. He/ she is responsible for the finances of the Union, for co-ordinating Union campaigns during the year and acts as chief spokesperson for the Union.

The position of VicePresident/Education Officer means being up to date on academic policy, being a voice for students on academic issues and also being an importance member of the Executive Committee. As VicePresident, this officer is very involved with the day-today running of the Union, and helps with all Union campaigns and events.

The position of VicePresident/Welfare Officer means being clued in to all student welfare issues, being a voice for students within the University and also being an important member of the Executive Committee. As VicePresident, this officer is very involved with the day-today running of the Union, and helps with all Union campaigns and events.

On Thursday, you’ll be asked to vote for whoever you think is best suited to the three full-time positions, but if you think none of the candidates are suitable, you can vote for RON. RON stands for Re-Open Nominations. RON is not an actual person, despite what an article in this newspaper claims.

For more information on the Students’ Union, visit su.nuigalway.ie.

7

8

PRESIDENT

Jedi Master Moran

Binks of Naboo, who has decided to put forward a motion to extend rights beyond the ministerial position of the Chancellor, to grant him extra powers.

There is a slow parliamentary decay within Coruscant. The Jedi Council is uneasy about this.

They feel that it is vitally important that democracy be preserved in all formats.

Within Galway itself, they are nervous of such an event happening. They are eager to see NUIG join the republic, yet they are also nervous about the parliamentary decay and the collapse of the democratic process of the university.

What do you think are the main issues for students in NUI Galway?

There is a slow parliamentary decay within Coruscant. The Jedi Council is uneasy about this. They feel that it is vitally important that democracy be preserved in all formats.

Within Galway itself, they are nervous of such an event happening. They are eager to see NUIG join the republic, yet they are also nervous about the parliamentary decay and the collapse of the democratic process of the university.

Interview by Representative Thompson

What are your reasons for running for President?

As you know, it’s a very difficult and challenging time not only for Galway, but for the galaxy. There is widespread war and impoverishment and poverty across the galaxy.

Recently, the Clone Wars have developed in Geonosis and they have spread far beyond the galaxy. There are many systems that are joining the separatists and the confederation and I feel that the Jedi Council is worried about this. There are reports and rumours of Sith presence on campus.

Recently, as many of you may have heard, there has been a coup in Trinity College.

They were not able to preserve democracy, as they so would rightly like to believe. As such, Jedi Master Yoda has instructed me to come here and investigate these reports.

What are your main aims and objectives if you’re elected?

Within Coruscant, there are a number of difficult issues that have been brought forward.

Currently, the Senate is undergoing a period of transition. Following the outbreak of the Clone Wars, we have had Representative

The students in NUIG are facing the same problems as all across the galaxy. It is very important that we be mindful of our thoughts.

We must acknowledge how we feel. We must acknowledge where we fear we may end up.

The train of thought that each one of us follows on a day-by-day basis is important to acknowledge. Mental Health is definitely an issue which students are concerned about.

There are other issues as well, such as the reports that the Sith are using the canal system and the waterways of Galway for undetected movement, and they are something we will be investigating.

We feel that it is vitally important for students to be aware of their locality when they are in these areas: to be mindful of the dangers that they pose; to be aware of their surroundings; and to be vigilant at all times.

Accommodation: another very important issue.

On Coruscant itself, we faced that same problem a number of years ago. We decided to build up, but not build out as much.

High-density accommodation, possibly, would be one way in which we can resolve this crisis. We can prevent students from being fragmented across the city. We can consolidate them in an area, but not allow them to be ghettoised as they have been in other systems.

Voting: another very important procedure at NUIG – something on the wayward back home. It is vital they go out, they exercise their rights, they assert themselves as a viable, political entity.

What do you see as being the key skills and personality traits needed to be SU President?

Mindfulness is a very underestimated yet important concept that I think all presidents of the Union should possess: being aware of when to step back; being aware of when it is important not to take sides, but to facilitate and be an intermediate between debates; when not to come down heavy on one side or the other, but to identify the positions of each angle. That is a vitally important concept.

The ability to understand the problems that students face: Jedi Master Yoda and Windu are fantastic at this. They can remain detached from the problems that they face, yet they will also be engaged.

While it is forbidden to be compassionate or to show affection and love, they will still acknowledge that when an apprentice or student is struggling, when it is important for them to intervene, and when it important to not do so. And these are vital skills and traits that all leaders must progress, and we will have to see how the leaders of the future will turn out as well with this.

What are your thoughts on your opponent, Jimmy McGovern?

Representative McGovern is a fine representative of a man. We have been watching his progress very closely over the last number of months. We have seen his efforts to contain this outbreak of separatism and contain the confederacy within its own borders. He has been very active by addressing the issues that students face, and by putting forward very applicable and very beneficial policies.

Jimmy, in the eyes of the Council, is our candidate of choice. We would very much like to see him appointed, given the chance.

And we would hope very well to work closely with him in the future.

While he may not be a Jedi, and he may not have the midichlorians that he would like – or that others would like – he would be a fine representative on the Council and on the Senate, should he decide to accept our offer.

In your manifesto, you say you want to achieve equality for clones. How do you intend to do this?

Following the recent outbreak of war on Geonosis, and the introduction of this clone army, there are divisions within the Council and within the Senate as to how they should be treated.

While many of them will be manufactured through reproductive techniques that some would consider unnatural, the rights they should be guaranteed are still up in the air.

While I myself feel that the use of clones for an army is debatable; that they should not be given this great task and this great role that has been thrust upon them without any choice or freewill – without any opportunity to interject or to have the chance at a different type of life, is something which many people, including myself, feel needs to be revisited.

We feel that, following the end of the Clone Wars, they should be given their civil rights; that they should be given their liberties; and that they should be given their equal access and equal opportunities that everyone else is given.

You also say you want to get one more full-time officer on the board. Why do you think this is important?

On Coruscant, the parliamentary structure is on the edge. It is a place of corruption, stricken with rife – stricken with in-fighting – and bureaucracy and failure to acknowledge and to deal with immediate problems as they develop.

We fear that this will happen to the Union.

We fear that, given the stress and constraints that are being placed on it in recent years, which may only develop further into the future, and will prevent it from achieving its full potential.

The opportunity to hire a new officer may allow the Union to develop further. It may allow them to deal with the work they are meant to do. It will allow to them to engage in work beyond what they are expected to do, and alleviate this burden.

The Sith are attempting to undermine this; they are attempting to eliminate these offers.

Some of our intelligence from back home have reported attempt of “removal” of some of these officers. That is why we are keeping an eye out: to make sure these officers are maintained, and to bring in more officers to ensure that greater work can be done, and that more can be achieved, and to increase the reputation of this institution within the Senate.

Your plans to to erect a memorial to the fallen Jedi Knights on Geonosis are particularly interesting. Can you elaborate on these plans?

That day in Geonosis… I was there and we lost a lot of fantastic Jedi Knights. The survivors who made it out are dealing with it in their own way. While Jedi Master Kenobi and his young Padawan Skywalker failed to apprehend Count Dooku, the former master of myself and the late Qui-Gon Jinn…

And we feel that it is vitally important that those who lost their lives be acknowledged for the work they’ve done for the philosophy of the Council. They have contributed immensely to the Jedi archives, be it in reaching new systems, uncovering great historical artifacts, and expanding the general knowledge of the Jedi.

This memorial is but a small token to them, to acknowledge their sacrifice, so that we may be here today.

You also hope to establish a council of elders from History, Philosophy, Geography, Sociology, Psychology, Classics, and Arts to highlight their contribution and importance to society. Can you explain how you hope to do this?

The Council of Elders is an ancient concept dating back to some of the founding Jedi. The knowledge they provided with this literature is something which we feel should be continued in all great academic institutions.

On Coruscant, the university contained there has fallen into decay with great emphasis placed on Engineering and Medicine and Commerce. We feel that these are at the heart of some of this decay; that by placing greater emphasis on financial transactions – on monetary gain – is turning its back on people; that people are the true wealth of any society; that the contribution – historically, artistically, philosophically, and classically – can be immense to our society in this day and age.

And while many people will feel that something in the past is something to disregard, we feel this is not so. It is only through the establishment of the Council of Elders that we can make a break from this tradition that has developed in the galaxy of having industry and commerce control all aspects of our lives, and to detach ourselves from earthly commitments.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

There are numerous sightings around this university – not all of which are confirmed.

Over the next week, we will be examining these thoroughly, and attempting to track down this Sith.

The decay in parliamentary democracy here is unprecedented and we feel that it is only from apprehending these Sith Lords that we can end the Clone Wars. We can prospect a new era for the Jedi, and for democracy, and for freedom, and that it is important that we no longer draw lines upon the division of identity – of being a man or a woman, or being gay or straight, or transgender or bisexual, or whatever identity you would identify yourself as; we are all one.

We are all branches of the same tree with the same roots. And it is only from identifying this that we can usher in a new era of peace, freedom, and democracy.

The force will be with you, always.

PRESIDENT Interview by Jessica Thompson

What are your reasons for running for President?

Well, this time last year I decided to run for Vice President and for Welfare Officer, and that was something I was very passionate about. I wouldn’t have dreamed of running for President at the time.

But over the year, I feel like I’ve grown into that role, very much so. The number one reason, I suppose, is I love what I do.

I love supporting students that need that help, and I’m very aware of how much students come in and ask for help, and how much support is actually there.

So I think I’d be a good candidate to try and lead that and advocate that across campus.

What do you think are the main issues for students in NUI Galway?

From my experience over the year, finance is a huge, huge issue, as we know. More and more students are struggling with fees and grants. That’s a big one now, we’ve seen that the amount of applicants in the financial aid fund have sky-rocketed over the year as well.

So a huge thing I’ll be focusing on is how do we reform the financial aid, and how do we source outside funding?

And one thing I’ll be looking to introduce is a budgeting advisory officer within the college, because sometimes it’s not how much money people actually have – it’s how they’re spending it as well.

The accommodation crisis is going to be huge again come September.

Another issue is the amount of diversity on campus and the wide range of international students coming in, so it’s important to try and have an inclusive campus, and try and let people know that if they need help, the help is there.

What are your main aims and objectives if you’re elected?

My overall number one is for people to know that the Students’ Union is there for support. I feel that most people come in and have a fantastic experience and, for others, there are barrier and obstacles to that.

And also, as you know, the general elections have just happened and many TDs have promised supports for third level education and financial supports like that. So I’m going to lobby as relentlessly as possible to make sure that they’re brought in within the first year and not three years down the line.

So that’s a huge one, to try and get them in as quickly as possible.

Also, I do have things I’ve noticed over the year.

One thing I’d like to mention: I met a first year nurse during the year and she said that she lived with three students in Science and Commerce and she was in first year and had to go on placement – didn’t know Galway City and had to go in a 7 o’clock in the morning, when it’s still completely dark at that time.

So one thing I hope to do is maybe link incoming nurses together before, as the CAO comes out in August, and that way, if they’d like to, they have to option to link up and live together, because that often suits people better if they can go in twos and threes when on placement.

So there are things like that where I can definitely see improvements as well for individual people. Health and safety for me is number one. That’s what I see as being most important.

What do you see as being the key skills and personality traits needed to be the SU President?

I think number one is people need to be able to trust you. That’s really important because you’re in a very powerful position and you have to be able to lead and negotiate and not give in, but you also have to be approachable so that people can come to you if they need support.

Conflict management is another one, and to try and get people to negotiate and keep a balanced head when things go wrong, because I’ve seen over this year that almost over night we can see ourselves in a crisis situation, and you have to be that person that people look up to and that they can rely on and they can trust.

You’re the chief spokesperson of the Students’ Union and you’re the overall face as such, so it’s very important that you’re well-rounded and you know the issues that students face.

So if you’re talking to a student nurse for example, you know the difficulties they’re having, or an engineering student or a final year medical student.

So it’s very important to know the different types of students and the different types of lifestyles, be it student accommodation or if they’re living at home or if they’re commuting or are in financial hardship.

And it’s important that you can relate to students in all different areas. I feel that that’s very important.

What are your thoughts on your opponent, Jedi Master Moran?

Jedi Master Moran… well, Cillian is a very good friend of mine. I have so much time for that man, and I’m very glad to see what he is actually doing. And he’s running as well as a huge promotion for a charity, for Threshold and St. Vincent de Paul, which is much-needed.

And it’s great; he brings humour to the campaign, because I am aware that for students it can be tough when people are in your face with all these difficult issues that can sometimes be difficult to deal with.

So it’s good to have some light humour in there. I’ve an awful lot of time for Cillian.

He’s a great guy.

You mentioned relentlessly lobbying newly elected TDs to invest in third level education. How do you plan on doing this?

Number one would be our Galway TDs, and each Students’ Union has their own local TDs across the country, so what we’ll do there is we’ll meet up through our USI events, and we all lobby our local TDs, which is something I will be doing form July if elected.

For every euro invested in third level education, there’s a nine euro return and that’s really important and it’s those kind of reminders because sometimes TDs work on the very short scheme of things and they look at the next election, which is in four years, when actually this is a huge, huge investment.

And also gathering the statistics on campus and showing them: in semester one we had 1,700 students applying for the Financial Aid Fund. That’s huge numbers.

What sort of direction and guidance are you going to give to newly elected SU Officers?

Well, I completely understand from this time last year, as I was elected, and how hopeful and ambitious I was, when I’m not actually aware of the many rules and the many restrictions and the difficulties of getting things done.

But the two people I’d be working closely with would be the two newly elected Vice Presidents – and the number one rule that I’ll keep saying to them is that when someone comes in distressed, that’s when you need to make sure that you deal appropriately and adequately with them, so I will certainly be going over all the things I’ve learned from the many students and how best to deal with that, because I’m going to pass on all the things I’ve learned.

Because I know the way I work now compared to the way I worked in July is completely different, because you learn from each experience and you learn from each student, so hopefully I can pass that on to them at an early stage so that the students benefit more at the end of the day, and that’s essentially what I hope to do.

9

Jimmy McGovern

Why do you think it’s important to link student nurses when it comes to finding accommodation?

As I said, I was going around to different students and I was asking what issues they have with any student services, and this girl happened to be a first year nurse, and she just said to me that, “Student services on campus are fantastic, but one thing was that I felt very unsafe as a 17-year-old who just came up to Galway and had to walk in to the placement at 7 o’clock in the morning when it’s completely dark on my own.”

And that was something I had never realised and I had never spoken to a nurse with a similar issue but as soon as I brought that up, others said, “Oh yeah, that was me as well,” and I feel like if someone feels unsafe, that is a real issue and that goes above other things and that’s something I’m going to try my absolute best to get up and running and then hopefully it will stay in place from [my] first year on. Safety is number one.

In your manifesto, you mention having a drop-in hour for counseling between five and six to accommodate Engineering and Health Science students. Will you elaborate on this?

One thing I’ve said to many students is that my new favourite number is 1,186, and that’s actually the number of students that went to counseling last year alone. That’s one in 16, which is a huge number, which is fantastic.

But also in that survey that came out, it also came out that 50 percent of students that use the counseling service are from Arts. And I found it kind of difficult to understand why, and I kind of looked into it and counseling drop-in hours are from two to four, whereas engineers are in mostly from nine to five, and the same with Health Science students, and it’s mandatory attendance so they can’t afford to miss that.

So I feel that if there was a time where counseling was changed, where they could drop in, for example, from five to six,

It’s very important to know the different types of students and the different types of lifestyles, be it student accommodation or if they’re living at home or if they’re commuting or are in financial hardship. And it’s important that you can relate to students in all different areas. that there would be a lot more Engineering students going and that there would be a lot more Health Science students going.

And I feel like that is a serious issue.

And I understand how stretched the counseling service is, but I will be working with student services to see that, even if it’s two days a week, is there a time that they can work around that, because that’s something I’ve been really trying to advocate all year, is the counseling service, and normalise that for people.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

One thing I’ve learned from my last election is for people just to please do have some patience. I understand that there are many campaigners and everything around, but for us we only have four days to promote ourselves, so we’re just doing our utmost.

But I’d just say to people to really just get involved and to ask questions of all the candidates, because we’re just here to do our best and the more questions you ask, the more awareness there is, and spread it around to your friends as well.

10

VICE PRESIDENT/EDUCATION OFFICER

Niall Gaffney

I think it’s a practical issue that students should have more access to sockets. It’s the kind of thing you hear being given out about in the Bialann, people saying “Well, like, I got a seat in the library during study week but there was no plug beside me and my laptop died four hours in”.

Interview by Niamh Cullen

What are your reasons for running for Education?

I’m massively passionate about the education of students around here.

I want to address and reduce financial barriers for student education. I’ve been massively involved in the Students’ Union over the last two years and I have a personal interest in the running of the university.

I’ve been involved since the beginning of my degree.

I’ve been a very active class representative. I’ve been a PartTime Officer on the Executive Committee as Convener for Business Policy and Law. I was also elected as a member for the Academic Council at the start of the year by class representatives.

The Council is an advisory board for educational issues.

I’ve also volunteered in many Students’ Union fundraisers such as Christmas Day and Mental Health Week.

What do you think are the main Education issues for students in NUI Galway?

Personally, what I think are the main educational issues for students are repeat fees, lack of appropriate study spaces, and access to extra support.

For example, repeat fees are simply too high. The mentality behind them at the moment is that if you fail one exam, you may as well fail them all, if you’re going by the sheer economic value of it. I don’t think that’s the mentality we should be enforcing on students.

Every study week, all we hear back is, “Damn, I struggled to get a seat in the library, I arrived at ten and it’s been full since eight,” – that kind of thing.

The reading room is also an issue that needs to be addressed, and certainly access to extra support for education is something that needs to be focused on this year. The Students’ Union’s grinds system is barely used at all, and should definitely be pushed and promoted.

What are your main aims and objectives if you’re elected?

I have focused heavily on five main points that I think address every student equally. I want to reform and reduce repeat fees.

At the moment, like I said before, the mentality is that if you fail one exam you may as well fail them all. I would like to change this with a pay-per-exam system, which would be capped at the previous system’s current costs so no student suffers financially from either system, while they would benefit if they only fail one or two exams.

I want to reform the class representatives.

When I say this, I don’t mean as in change the entire system, I just mean further education for them – more workshops, more training, with a particular emphasis on public speaking, motion drafting, professional etiquette, and much more – anything that will help class representatives get more actively involved and engaged with professionals.

What do you see as being the key skills and personality traits needed to be Education Officer?

Without a doubt, the key skills are experience and professional etiquette.

Throughout the year, seeing the current Vice President work is massively meeting-based between academic staff and

administrative staff. I think there are certain skill sets needed there that I would be confident I could bring to the table.

I am vastly experienced in the areas I have mentioned above. I have drafted policy, I have drafted procedural amendments and referenda. I have met with academic staff, heads of colleges, and administrative staff.

I am extremely passionate about the students’ education. The policies I hope to introduce are effective; they’re practical and they’re certainly achievable. I believe this sets me out from the crowd and I will actively combat financial barriers for students.

Niamh Keane

In your manifesto, you say you want to reduce and reform repeat fees to a payper-exam system. How do you plan on doing this?

Through my current experience, I have sat in on many advisory committees. I’ve met with many of the appropriate staff in the colleges of Business and Law. I’m confident that, worded correctly and with the right team behind it, we can put forward a proposal to the academics that would be accepted.

The university sees costs in hundreds of thousands of euro whereas students see it in hundreds of euro, and I see this change will drastically affect how students see exam repeats and I think it will be something the university can definitely accept.

Can you elaborate on subsidised grinds for students who need them?

If we could develop an eBook scheme, I know people who’d be willing to pay. eBooks are not physical so they are much cheaper.

I’ve asked a lot of my friends, I know they’d be willing to pay 200/150 euro if that meant they were going to get all their books in a digital copy.

Subsidised grinds is a massive interest of mine. I’m trying to stay away from the mentality of the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert of “Okay, I’m struggling, I may need an hour or two on a Monday or Tuesday”.

The Students’ Union has a grinds system there. There are PhD and Masters students listed on that grinds register who have been there for five years and never once got a phone call. What I want to do is I want to utilise it and make it much a much more easily accessible system.

Students who are suffering or struggling with exams can come to the Students’ Union, and request possibly one hour a week for four weeks of grinds in say maths or any specific area they need or something they’re struggling with.

I have costed certain areas of this and it is not that expensive. You’re looking at maybe 15 euro maximum; that is what most people would be looking at. You could have an opt-in system of more tutors.

It certainly isn’t as expensive as it sounds and the results would be absolutely amazing. Students who need work and who need extra help will be able to avail of it.

Why do you think that availability of more sockets are so important?

I think it’s a practical issue that students should have more access to sockets. It’s the kind of thing you hear being given out about in the Bialann, people saying “Well, like, I got a seat in the library during study week but there was no plug beside me and my laptop died four hours in”.

I think it’s just a practical thing that many students will appreciate. It’s the kind of thing that if it was there, you would notice, especially for the likes of study space along the Concourse. Students sitting in the back of a lecture hall there wouldn’t have the same charging facilities as somewhere else.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I’d simply like to add: Vote Gaffney number one for Education on Thursday 3 March if you want to see real effective change to financial barriers and the continuation of great work put forward by previous Education Officers.

I understand that for most people, and more often than not, this is a one-term office. I would like to continue the work that has been started by previous Education Officers.

Interview by Jenna Hodgins

What are your reasons for running for Education?

Well, firstly, I guess I’ve always known people that have been in the position the past few years and that have been working in the SU, and I guess I’ve always admired them a small bit, like Jimmy [McGovern], Aoife [Ní Shullibheán], and Declan [Higgins], especially.

And then this year I’m in final year, and I’ve been in the college so long that I’ve seen different things, experiences, different departments and stuff. I figured, “Why don’t I go for it?” you know, I think I’d have a good perspective on it; I think I could make a change.

What are your main aims and objectives if you’re elected?

I’d love to introduce a digital student card; right now Trinity have one. A couple of my friends have one, and they swear by it. You know when you’re going to the library and you’re digging out your bag, your purse, and you finally get there and you’re all hot and bothered getting your purse and you finally go through.

With this it’s just an app that you can add to NUI Galway phone, barcode – swipe, go on through, because everyone always has their phone on them. Another couple of things that I’d like to do: eBooks. I feel like that would be such a brilliant addition to college.

As of now, the books are so expensive. You could spend over a grand on your books if you were to buy them all, but realistically the average student cannot do that. And the library right now has very limited eBooks.

When you think of eBooks, you think of something that is transparable, that a lot of people could access it but they really can’t. So the addition of more eBooks, even to buy as well from the student bookshop would be something I’d love to look into.

Again stance on like, fees and student levies always going up. I’d like to tackle that as well. I’ve always had to work hard for my fees, and it’s just so disheartening when you see that it’s gone up another €250 each year. That’s another thing I’d like to focus on.

What do you see as being the key skills and personality traits needed to be Education Officer?

You really need someone who is open and quite approachable. Someone who is friendly, so that people can approach them and say “I’ve a problem here, can you help me?” because if someone isn’t open and friendly, you’re not going to get people coming to you, and you’re going to have more problems with students, and that’s the whole reason why you’re there in the first place.

Someone who needs to be just organised; someone who is on their game. I feel like I’ve had lots of different experiences with different aspects of college. I feel that I can use all that together to be the Education Officer.

VICE PRESIDENT/EDUCATION OFFICER In your manifesto, you say you want to have more relevant skill-building workshops.

How do you plan on doing this?

Well right now, the SU offer really good life-skills courses. Like they have the barista skills, the suicide prevention course, the bar skills course and they’re all really good but right now, employers’ demands are so high; the bar is getting higher every year.

A couple of years ago, Microsoft Word was a great thing to have, now it’s coding and Photoshop and all that. I know a lot of my friends are master coders – engineers, BIS [business information systems] students, and they have such great interest in it.

I know that if someone told them, “If I got a room full of students, and they all give you ten euro for an hour to teach a class”, I know they’d happily grab at the chance. So if we could incorporate students to teach other students – people want to learn, people want to make money, so why not make use of that?

Same with Photoshop as well. It’s amazing what you can learn in such a short space of time. I had to do a project in first semester, no Photoshop knowledge at all, but I feel like now, I’m quite capable of doing the basics, and I would love to do a course myself.

But I know people who are absolute whizzes at it and if I told them I’d get you a room full of people, ten euro each, they’d grasp at the chance as well. So I’d really like to introduce that students teaching students because just why not – people do want the skills and there aren’t any people there teaching at the moment.

Can you elaborate on your idea to create an affordable eBook scheme?

You know yourself, you have six modules and usually out of those six modules you’re required to get four or five books for each. You’re talking at least 500 euro there; not everyone has that. Then you go to the library, chances are the book isn’t there, you look on the eBooks and the chances it isn’t there.

If we could develop an eBook scheme, I know people who’d be willing to pay. eBooks are not physical so they are much cheaper. I’ve asked a lot of my friends, I know they’d be willing to pay 200/150 euro if that meant they were going to get all their books in a digital copy. In saying that as well, students don’t always want the whole book. Sometimes lecturers tell you that the whole book isn’t relevant, it’s just a chapter or two.

I asked my friends as well, if I could offer you a chapter for ten euro would you pay for it? And of course they would, because the material isn’t there and they do really want it.

In the library right now, there are so many books but a lot of them are older editions, and lecturers will say they’re no good, you need to get the new one. Students just want to get all the material for their exams.

Why do you think revisiting the repeat fee structure is so important?

When I had to repeat last year, the capping thing completely ruined my average, because I couldn’t get more than 40 percent. First year and final year, I think that it is good for final year that there is no capping, because it’d be completely unfair if there was.

Second year and third year, it is unfair. It is something that I’d like to look into, because I think there isn’t enough emphasis as you’re working up to college on your actual grade; it’s only when you get to final year they say “if you don’t get your 2.1 you’re not going to get a good job” or “if you don’t get a 2.1 you won’t get into a Masters”.

And that’s another thing I’d like to do as well: emphasis on grades should be made from day one; that you need to work hard, and that your grades do matter. While some people are like if you pass your exams in first and second year you’re laughing – but you’re not, especially if you’re in Arts or Commerce, 30 percent of second year is your final grade.

The repeat fee structure: I don’t think it makes sense for people to pay 195 euro if they’ve failed one exam, and someone else in your class fails all ten and they only have to pay 195 euro as well. It just doesn’t make sense.

You’re paying to take the exam, but does your bit of paper cost the same amount as ten bits of paper, and the cost of the time for the people who have to correct it? It just doesn’t make sense, I don’t think it’s fair. It’s something I’d like to revisit with the board to see what it’s all about, because it doesn’t really make sense if you think about it.

Interview by Jenna Hodgins

What are your reasons for running for Education?

Well one of my main reasons for running for Education is, when I was in first year, they ran a march for education, so this is back in 2012. I went to the march, and it was the first time I had ever seen the Students’ Union being active, being involved.

The chant was, “No ifs, no buts, no education cuts”, because it was just after the budget where they announced they were raising fees, and it was going to keep going up during my time in college.

So, it really motived me to become a Class Rep over those two years, and then become the SU Council Chairperson last year. And it really motivated me to be involved with the SU, and help students. It really pushed me, it was the chant: “No ifs, no buts, no education cuts”.

What do you think are the main education issues for students in NUI Galway?

One of the main issues for students is fees. With it being €3000 a year to go to college, it’s very expensive.

I’m on a grant myself, and when I was in first year, I commuted from Clare, working part-time to be in college while I was waiting for my grant to come through. I couldn’t move out of home because my grant didn’t come through early; so I’ll fight for students to get their grant early.

I’ll also fight for students’ rights. I’ll make sure that they can get lectures moved, and also make sure they can get extensions in their assignments if needed. I wouldn’t be afraid to contact Jim Browne, or afraid to contact a TD if worst comes to worst.

What are your main aims and objectives if you’re elected?

I’ve a few ideas for each college. In third year Engineering, students have to deal with issues where they have to do 40 ECT credits in one semester; that’s two thirds of their academic year and then look for work placement on top of that.

So I’d like to lobby the university to make it easier for students to get through their college degree, instead of having to do all the work in one year. I’d also lobby for Nursing and Midwifery students for better working place conditions, because they’re in bad enough conditions when they go into a hospital. They get treated badly, they have to do all the minimum work.

I’d lobby for the BA Connect students. Where they do a degree, but they’re not getting the “Connect” on it, they’re getting an Arts Degree in the end. So, I’ll fight for their rights.

I’ll also try and fix timetable clashes in science.

And I want to introduce a “what is a class rep?” campaign, because a lot of people run for Class Rep, and don’t fully know what they’re getting themselves involved with; give them a proper break-down, let them know.

I’d also want to introduce an online badge they can get and add to their LinkedIn account. So when they apply for jobs, people can see it on their LinkedIn account.

What do you see as being the key skills and personality traits needed to be Education Officer?

As a final year student, and also a maths student, one of the main things I can take from my degree is that I’m a problem-solver. If you do maths, you need to be able to solve a problem. It’s something I will keep going through until it’s done. I’d never stop fighting for students’ rights. I’ve already fought for my own rights, and I’ll fight for theirs, too, because it’d be my main priority.

In your manifesto, you say you want to campaign to restore class tutor rates to the pre-2011 levels. How do you plan on doing this?

First of all, I’ll be lobbying the university. At the minute it’s €22.45, originally it was €25.10. So by lobbying the university, by going to Jim Browne and complaining about it, because more people are giving tutorials than there was back in 2011.

So they should be paid for it.

If you’re teaching three tutorials a week, you’re getting under €68; in total that wouldn’t help pay your rent, it wouldn’t buy your meals for a week. It needs to be increased to help students with the inflation costs throughout the country. I’d also lobby the Government as well, and work alongside USI.

You also say you’re going to liaise with USI in their campaign to reinstate the old adjacency rate of 24km for SUSI application.

Can you elaborate on that?

This is one they introduced back in 2011; this is one of the main reasons I ended up coming to college in Galway because I was originally going to go to college in UL. When they introduced this new rule and increased the adjacency rate to 45km, I was inside a 44km radius to UL. So, with coming to Galway, I got my full fees paid for and a little bit more on top to help me get through college.

By paying for my fees alone, it’s helped me get to college. But for people who are out in Connemara and coming into Galway, it’s costing them more to come to college than it would be to go to college in Dublin, or Maynooth, or UL, or anywhere else.

Why do you think introducing seminars on citizenship and knowing you rights as a part of the orientation for first years is so important?

11

Cathal Sherlock

One thing I’m very passionate about is registering students to vote. And if they know their own rights, they’ll be more diligent to listen to Gardaí or listen to us as well. The more they know about it, the less they’ll be involved in crime. It’ll be telling them to be safe when they go out, make sure they don’t do anything too drunk and disorderly to get them arrested, and then not be able to go on their J1.

This, involved with my “Putting the U in the SU’” idea, is to make sure people are getting involved in their rights, to make sure they know how to vote, that they’re registered to vote.

That’s one thing I’m very passionate about is registering students to vote. And if they know their own rights, they’ll be more diligent to listen to Gardaí or listen to us as well. The more they know about it, the less they’ll be involved in crime.

It’ll be telling them to be safe when they go out, make sure they don’t do anything too drunk and disorderly to get them arrested, and then not be able to go on their J1, not get their work placement or be called up in front of Pat Morgan because they were doing something horrendous and she calls them in, and they lose something to do with their degree.

I’d like to add that I’ve got an extended manifesto online which people can read. It’ll be on the Facebook page, and I’ll be sharing it on Twitter. In it, I’ve main ideas ranging from class reps to colleges, to facilities to funding, postgrads, and “putting the ‘U’ in the SU”.

The one that caught me out myself when I was doing my final year project was referencing. I want to create a little book about referencing, and tell students how to reference correctly, so they know how to reference and wouldn’t be caught for plagiarism.

I’ve stuff about facilities, and how I want to update plugs in the library so they will include USB ports, so they’ll be a lot easier to use instead of people taking two plugs while charging their phones, charging their laptops at the same time. While they can just plug it in and be able to use it multiple times at the same time.

12

VICE PRESIDENT/WELFARE OFFICER

Daniel Khan

situations and problems, dealing firsthand with the accommodation crisis and working in the college, I believe I have enough experience to go above and beyond the Welfare mandate.

What do you think are the main Welfare issues for students in NUI Galway?

I believe you need to be relatable, approachable and, above all else, empathic, because you’re helping students with their problems, one-to-one. You’re acting as a first point of contact for them and distinguishing whether they need to follow on with other services or just need to work it out and have someone to talk to.

Interview by Jessica Thompson

What are your reasons for running for Welfare this year?

When I realised how much work the Students’ Union really does, I became really involved and dedicated. I was asked to attend Congress in 2014 to represent over a thousand students, and I was asked again in 2015 but I couldn’t due to work issues.

I’ve been involved with the Welfare crew for the last three years and it gave me a great insight into the work that our Welfare Officer does, and I think it’s a really important job and that, in order to do that job to the best of your abilities, you have to have the necessary abilities, which I believe I’ve gathered over the last number of years.

I think students should elect me as their Vice President and Welfare Officer because I’ve had three years’ experience working with the Students’ Union Welfare crew explicitly. And you also have to have a great feel for the job itself, not just running campaigns on the ground, but actually acting as a source of support and guidance for students who are facing difficulties.

I believe that, with my experience over the last four years in Galway, balancing jobs with college, helping my friends through their own

There are a number of issues facing the student body, be it financial, accommodation, personal. I’ve been through a lot of them myself, and I believe I can use the experience [I’ve] gained to help other students get through the hard times.

The issues affecting students are really diverse, but I think core issues that students are facing are the fact that not enough is done to prepare students for the massive lifestyle change that is changing from secondary level education and living at home, to moving away from home and starting college.

Because, for a lot of these students, when they move to Galway to start college, it might only be their second or third time being here – once for Open Day, if they even came, and second to find accommodation.

And then you’ll find yourself dropped in the middle of Galway.

You’ve been looking forward to this for years, but you kind of realise you’re not as prepared for it as you thought. I’m not just talking about having to get up early to go for lectures, and not having your parents there or any form of support.

A lot of our students come from rural backgrounds, so coming to a city like Galway – it is small, but is big at the same time – I think more work needs to be done to help them adapt to moving to a new city, showing them how to get around safely and quickly, and general good practice on how to lead a healthy lifestyle and get your routine in order.

What are your main aims and objectives if elected?

If elected, I have 12 points on my manifesto that I believe will complement each other in making the transition from living at home and secondary level education and moving away from home and starting college much more manageable and adjustable for students.

At the same time, I believe that the SU needs to get back out on campus and have more input from the students. So I would like to increase the presence of the SU with a much more active recruitment system and to do this I will be using the welfare crew.

I’ve seen first-hand the amazing work a good Welfare crew can do, and in order to do that, you need volunteers, so I would like to have at least 20 people consistently volunteering with the Welfare crew, to give us a good input into the core issues that students are facing on the ground.

When you’re up in an office, you’re not seeing it first-hand. So I’d like to see students from all different years and all different colleges in the

university coming together to give their input and their feedback so that we can come up with consistent, complimentary, campus-wide campaigns that would better the student image and the image of the Students’ Union.

What do you see as being the key skills and personality traits needed to be Welfare Officer?

The Welfare Officer position is a very diverse job. One second you could be talking to the media, and the next you could be talking to a student in the office, or you could be giving out free condoms or doing some sort of fun campaign while at the same time promoting serious issues.

But most of all, to be a Welfare Officer, I believe you need to be relatable, approachable and, above all else, empathic, because you’re helping students with their problems, one-to-one.

You’re acting as a first point of contact for them and distinguishing whether they need to follow on with other services or just need to work it out and have someone to talk to; again: relatable and approachable.

But you also need someone who can remove themselves from the job once 5 o’clock hits, or whatever time you leave the office. Because I know at times it can get very heavy, and you do need to remove yourself from that situation.

So in order to do that, I believe you have to have a certain level of maturity, experience, and levelheadedness. You have to be emotionally strong – not just for yourself, but for the student body.

In your manifesto, you talk about restructuring Orientation and Induction week for first years. Do you want to elaborate on that?

The transition from secondary-level education and starting college is a massive change in lifestyle and I don’t believe enough is being done to help students to make the transition.

So I believe, instead of just orientation and induction being about the facilities we provide, it should be about a more in-depth analysis and introduction to college life itself, and not only that, but Galway City as a city.

NUIG has a student population of over 17 and a half thousand students but they’re not just in NUIG. These students are coming to Galway City.

I believe that, in order to promote a better student image and healthy student lifestyle, we need to help them assimilate into Galway City’s society.

In terms of the entire student body, for the last two years, I’ve balanced a job with college – somewhat successfully and unsuccessfully, and I know how hard it can be to maintain a healthy lifestyle, keep up with your academics, and still be able to support yourself.

So, for the Student Assistance Peer group idea, I kind of got a little inspiration from my own college

experience. I’m studying Biopharmaceutical Chemistry, and it’s a very small course – there are 12 of us in the course, and at the start of the year, we had a meeting with our course coordinator and had a few icebreakers.

And over the course of the last few years, we’ve helped each other in not just academics, but personal struggles. It’s a really good, productive, social outlet.

So what I plan to do is introduce the Student Assistance Peer Group, which will be, basically, at the start of every module; lecturers will hand out sign-up sheets, but that’s the only input they’ll have.

Then these groups will be divided into smaller groups – on average, then. And this will act as a productive social outlet for students to both study and get to know each other, and at the same time it will make it easier to approach a lecturer with a problem when you’re a nominated delegate of a group, instead of just one person, yourself.

And I believe this will help academics improve in the fact that there’s more interaction between students and lecturers, because if one student is facing a problem with the course material, the group can help them. And if they’re all having a problem, then obviously it’s something the lecturers need to go over again.

The lecturers don’t know what students are having difficulties with and what they’re not. So I believe it will make the college experience a lot more manageable for students.

You also talk about creating more awareness of the risks of drugs. Can you explain your idea on this?

In Galway City, drug use has been on the rise over the last few years – especially among young people and students – and there’s no way that we can stop this.

But what we can do is create a safer environment and get them more aware of the risks involved with drug abuse and how to be safe. It’s a tough issue to talk about because it’s kind of taboo, but there’s people out there selling drugs that are caught with substances that can have a detrimental effect on your health.

None of this stuff is tested.

What I think needs to be done is that we need to promote a safer environment and awareness – not on how to take drugs, but if you are taking drugs, what to look out for and what to be careful of.

I don’t have all the answers to this; we’d need massive student input and massive input from people who have experience with these areas. We’re going to have to talk to students on the ground – students who have dealt with this type of thing before.

And I don’t want to just look at safety around drugs. We need to look at the issues of drug abuse and the risks involved with drug use, and how it would affect academia if you fall into bad drug habits.

VICE PRESIDENT/WELFARE OFFICER Interview by Niamh Cullen

What are your reasons for running for Welfare?

To be honest, my reasons for running for Welfare Officer are simple.

I have a strong passion for working with other students, and anyone who knows me will testify to how dedicated I truly am. I’ve spent the last two years developing my skill set in everything from running campaigns, promoting Students’ Union events, and in particular educating myself in the area of mental and sexual health.

I love working with people and I want to give students a platform to speak. We’ve gone long enough without that. I will not be someone who complains without doing, and I will not stand back and watch students who can’t face coming to college every day.

I will not brush off a student’s problem; I am here for you, I want to help you and, most importantly, I want to listen and I want to understand. I want to be your Vice President for Welfare.

What do you think are the main welfare issues for students in NUI Galway?

In my opinion, the main welfare issues for students would definitely be in the areas of sexual health, mental health, accommodation, and finance.

Sexual health is definitely a word which has a strong stigma surrounding it, and it’s time we start breaking that and get students talking about consent, sexuality, and contraception methods for both men and women.

According to the Smart Consent statistics launched in NUI Galway this year, six percent of men and 25 percent of women have admitted that at least once in their life they have been physically threatened or physically abused to engage in sexual activities. That’s just absolutely terrifying and shocking to think that NUI Galway students have seen that themselves, and that’s a small selection of people, too. So what would 17,000 to 19,000 students think?

In my opinion, that alone proves we need more active campaigns surrounding issues of sexual health in particular among NUI Galway students and, indeed, nationwide.

We are also facing a situation where counselling services in the college are simply over-run. I’ve had the chance to work with these services all year and cannot praise them enough for the work they do.

We need to start spreading the workload by promoting the Chaplaincy, Student Health Unit, and support services that are available outside the college, too. I am here to listen and refer – even walk in there with you – and in my time as Equality Officer I’ve seen these services in action first-hand.

Accommodation opportunities in Galway are deteriorating rapidly and it’s obvious that students want to

live on campus and close by, but yet there are very few facilities available.

The population of NUI Galway is growing and growing. More people want jobs and to stay in college, and more people are coming to college and there has to be something done about it quickly in order to sort the accommodation out.

I will lobby the Government to improve public transport in order for students to be able to move further out, because there is nothing there as it currently stands. Students that are 40 or 50 minutes away have to wait an hour or two for a bus that might not even come.

The last issue is the finance side of college: it’s an enormous issue which is facing students all over Ireland.

It’s important students know how to budget, how to get value for their money; this could be their first time away from home and they may have no idea where to start.

It’s also important for students to know how to apply for the Financial Aid Fund, like they might not have the slightest idea with how to fill out that form. I am more than willing to facilitate people in this and actually explain how to fill out a form; it’s a simple thing that students don’t realise could get them the money they need to survive in college.

What are your main aims and objectives if you’re elected?

Should I be lucky enough to be elected, my main aims are to be approachable, promote the Students’ Union, its officers, and its services in particular. We are all here to help; we just need to be approached. We need to get out of the office more and get on the campus, which is something that I have done all year.

I think it shows as well, when you’re walking down the corridors and you think, “Like, that’s the person from the Students’ Union.” It’s just a little thing that helps in a big way.

I also think it’s majorly important to approach lecturers and students about ASIST Suicide Intervention Training. I would love to push that among the lecturers because there are so many students that may have missed class; why can’t the lecturers get in touch to see are they simply just not turning up or is there an issue behind that?

I think that’s a big thing that needs to be approached. Students should be able to notice if their friends have suddenly just gone AWOL. I’ve done those trainings myself this year, and I cannot commend them enough for taking every point I assumed and turning it around.

I also want to get students talking more about sexual and physical health. I will encourage an active and healthy lifestyle, promoting body positivity. I aim to get the likes of Operation Transformation into the college, something like that where there are calories on the menu boards and that kind of thing.

I aim for students to be healthy and fit. I know all students are on a budget, but it doesn’t mean we

always have to eat unhealthy foods.

How many times a week do students order takeaway? There are cheaper alternatives out there.

Another aim of mine would be to have tampons and pads available at the Students’ Union Office, free of charge, within reason. It’s not fair that we need to pay so much money on what is, unquestionably, a basic need.

And lastly, I aim to take on board what the students want to do themselves. I love running campaigns like SHAG week, Mental Health week, etc., and this campus and its students is buzzing with ideas, so why not listen to them?

13

Catherine Ryan

What do you see as being the key skills and personality traits needed to be Welfare Officer?

Approachability, definitely. In order for somebody to be an effective Officer for the Students’ Union, particularly when it comes to being responsible for Student Welfare, approachability is key. Students need a trustworthy, friendly representative in office.

We get a whole variety of issues brought to us every single day, and an effective Welfare Officer needs to be welcoming and warm in order to deal with these effectively. I strive to be friendly and approachable, and anyone who knows me will testify to that, and I believe that I would make an effective Welfare Officer as a result.

I’m always up for the chats, so whenever you see me for anyone listening, please just come up to me because, you know, I am approachable.

I’m also a St. Patrick’s Mental Health Ambassador, and as I mentioned earlier have taken part in Suicide Intervention Training, and I’ve been constantly looking out for students in NUI Galway, with the welfare of every single individual in this college in mind.

In your manifesto, you say you want to initiate a healthy lifestyle and body image campaign. How do you plan on doing this?

Well, basically, while I would obviously get the input from the Welfare crew that would be starting off next year, my main aim for that would be to get students who think it’s very difficult to go out and get healthier foods to know they can actually go to the likes of Lidl or Aldi and buy cheaper food.

Also, it would be great to get it talked about on campus. There’s always this thing of ordering takeaway instead of cooking, so why not do some fun cooking workshops in the college?

For the body positive image campaign, I was thinking, if we organise a group of students that want to start exercising, we can do that every second day at four in the evening just to go out and walk. They can make friends at the same time; we could also set up a soccer league or something like that as well.

I want to get students talking more about sexual and physical health. I will encourage an active and healthy lifestyle, promoting body positivity. I aim to get the likes of Operation Transformation into the college, something like that where there are calories on the menu boards and that kind of thing.

It’s easily done; that will definitely be one thing I want everyone’s input on so I don’t want to decide all of that by myself.

Can you elaborate on what you would do with regards to mental and sexual health?

They’re two very different questions there, so I’ll take the sexual health side of things first.

The promotional consent campaigns I find are really important, and I did the consent trainings myself this year. It really opened up my eyes to a lot of stuff, and I think it would be really beneficial for all students to partake in those.

So really it’s just about getting the message out there, getting the conversation going, showing that it affects males and females just as much as one another.

For the mental health side of it then, that would mean just being the approachable person as well, that I’m there with all the support services they need to listen to them, refer them, do anything that could benefit them the most.

It can mean a lot to one person to know that you’re actually willing to be there and to help them, and that would be the main thing I would be pushing for mental health, as well as of course doing a Mental Health Week in college.

14

REFERENDUM DEBATE Vote YES: Decriminalisation; when the moral argument stops, we can start talking about health.

By Eoghan Holland Ireland likes to drag its heels, deny things are happening and rumble along until somewhere along the way, a wheel falls off.

From 1935 to 1978, condoms were illegal. From 1978 to 1985, you had to visit a doctor to buy one. The condom can

DO YOU AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING PROPOSITION: “That NUI Galway Students’ Union actively supports the decriminalisation of drugs solely for personal use.”

be historically traced to the 1490s, yet 500 years later, the Irish still weren’t too sure should they be legal or not. We just spread STDs around willy-nilly for about 43 years while we thought about it.

People tend to have sex, whether it’s very important sex for having kids or love; or very unimportant sex for having experiments and learning about yourself.

We do it. As much as we’d like to pretend that nobody had sex for 43 years, I’m going to go out there on a limb and say it might have happened a few times outside the task of procreation.

This leads us seamlessly to the conversation around legalising drugs in Ireland. It might be nice to pretend that nobody in Ireland has ever taken a drug because they are not legal, but everyone from the Garda Commissioner to your best friend’s house cat will tell you differently.

In fact Drugnet, a publication of the health research board will tell you that from age 10 onward to adult over five percent of the population has tried some form of drugs. These numbers increase in adulthood.

So what can we do to stop this madness? Criminalise drugs? That will work great. Wait. That’s exactly what we are doing right now. Concoctions of chemicals along with naturally occurring substances are cast out as criminals and left in the stocks. An authority figure tells us they are bad and illegal – immoral – and that’s how we’ve been operating for quite some time.

15 years ago Portugal initiated a decriminalisation process, moving to

a health based model and away from a moral based model. Its drug policing strategy is more in line with support for an illness than rubber stamping criminal records on people for recreation. The result is around 15 percent reduction in continual drug usage in adults, 50 percent reduction in drug-induced deaths and around 30 percent reduction in the spread of HIV through injecting drugs.

Not to haze the figures, one interesting statistic is that there hasn’t been any rise or fall in drug consumption, though if you are found to be injecting, clean needles and synthesised substitutes will be made available by trained professionals.

Concurrently, our own model of dealing with drug-taking has given rise to great business opportunities for the criminal underworld involving the marketing and maintenance of addictions with no aftercare, and the occasional grotesque murder to remind us who we should be afraid of. This comes as a taxpayer expense at both the legal end and the aftercare end.

What we look at as normal right now is the concept that food or alcohol is labelled so you know you what you are consuming.

Nobody who has bought alcohol treats a neat whiskey with the same laissez faire attitude that they would a pint.

Concurrently, you know that if something has a high fat content then it will add to your body fat, and if you do this enough times you’ll become part of a fifth of the population currently classed as obese. But hey, that’s legal. You can decide without consulting any internet

pages or people in nightclubs just what it is you are consuming.

What makes drugs dangerous is that there are no guarantees. Nobody knows just exactly what they are taking ever.

It’s a lottery. 57 percent of drug-related deaths are down to drug cocktails, including alcohol.

If a cereal company was mixing cornflakes with rat poison and cement dust then you’d know about it; you’d avoid it. Leaving drugs lurking in the legal shadow perpetuates this lottery, with tragic outcomes.

We are paying for the drugs, we are paying for the prisons and we are paying for the rehabilitation. We are also blindly consuming into the unknown, no information, no labelling, no warnings about cocktails, no warnings about cardio effects, no warnings about the possible mental health repercussions.

Human welfare can only exist in the global sense. Without ever advocating the usage of drugs, it’s clear that this mechanism, based on moral outrage is long since obsolete. A movement towards clearly labelled, graded and legally sold recreational substances creating a tax income to fund a supportive health model reducing the tragedy while increasing the hope for addicts and side-lining the market for the criminal underworld as our Portuguese neighbours have evidently managed, or dragging our heels and pretend it’s not happening…

We can think about this, till another few wheels fall off at least.

Vote NO: Why should we vote to spend the Students’ Union’s resources and time on campaigning for policies that are either already enjoying implementation or at least on the brink of it?

By Dean Buckley

The referendum on the decriminalisation of drugs that has been put to the students of NUI Galway is everything wrong with student activism on drug policy, an area of concern that demands far more thoughtful and nuanced efforts than decriminalisation for personal use only.

We should absolutely not stand for the criminalisation of vulnerable people, especially young people, because of their involvement in illicit drugs.

But limiting our condemnation solely to the criminalisation of users smacks of neat divisions between concern for users and concern for dealers that should not exist.

Two students meet at the Spanish Arch.

One of them is buying because the drugs help them handle the stress of working part-time through a full-time degree and participating in all the extracurricular activities they’ve been told are necessary to make her stand out to employers in a competitive jobs market.

For this student, the referendum asks us to feel compassion.

But for the student who is selling because they don’t have a part-time job or family who can afford to break the bank paying for their education, because their grant can’t pay for rent, bills, food,

toiletries and books, all the costs of living and learning our government expects us to conjure out of thin air… we would be naïve to think these students don’t exist.

We live in a time when more and more students and their families are expected to take on the debt of student loans, a time when students are struggling to put together enough money to pay overdue fees in time for graduation.

If any of us really think students aren’t turning to darker places than the Credit Union to make ends meet, then we’re not looking hard enough.

On students like this, and their vulnerability, and their need, the referendum is deafeningly silent.

In fact, it is worse than silent, because it is these students who lie buried underneath the last four words: “for personal use only”.

In the world this referendum asks us to have our Students’ Union fight for, these students still have to move through the dangerous world of the illegal drug trade.

The recent shootings in Dublin should remind us all that gang-related violence doesn’t just happen far away, and it certainly doesn’t just happen on television.

How can we pretend it is unjust to criminalise someone who buys drugs out of desperation, but acceptable to

continue to criminalise someone who sells drugs for the same reasons?

But that is exactly what this referendum asks us to do, and worse.

This referendum does not ask us to direct our Students’ Union to fight for greater provision of rehabilitation services from a government and a political class who has been consistently content with leaving those who suffer from addiction behind.

This referendum does not ask us to direct our Students’ Union to fight for policies that will make the lives of people suffering from addiction any safer, like injection clinics, which have never been more important to Irish life as we top Europe for rates of heroin use at seven percent, and take the third for annual drug deaths, at 68 per million.

The Minister of the State for the National Drugs Policy, Aoidhán Ó Ríordáin, has announced the creation of injection clinics, but he’s also announced plans to decriminalise drugs in the manner of Portugal, so if the referendum merely asks us to direct our Students’ Union to fight for the policies already proposed by the government, why are we having a referendum at all?

Why should we vote to spend the Students’ Union’s resources and time on campaigning for policies that are either

already enjoying implementation or at least on the brink of it?

This referendum does not ask us to direct our Students’ Union to fight for a compassionate, robust drugs policy.

This referendum asks us to spend the Students’ Union’s resources on time campaigning to make sure recreational users can have their fun without legal consequences.

Either we accept that drugs are a part of our society and we fight for the radical changes our society needs to stop unfairly criminalising people who are poor, who are mentally ill and who live with chronic pain, illness and disability, or we sit down, shut up and let someone else do it.

We should reject this referendum, and all other self-interested, empty, piecemeal proposals, until the students who proposed this bring us a truly sensible national drugs policy, one that shows genuine compassion for all the vulnerable people involved in and affected by illegal drugs, not just the buyer.

When that day comes, the students of NUI Galway should proudly vote in favour.

But that day is not today, and this referendum is not sensible or compassionate or fair.

This referendum is not good enough, and we shouldn’t settle for it.

REFERENDUM DEBATE

15

Vote NO: The direct provision system is imperfect, but don’t dismantle it

By Frank Brochery The direct provision system may have room for reform, but it is a fundamentally just and efficient system that outperforms many other systems in Europe, and that is why the students of NUI Galway should vote against this referendum.

Journalists have made hay and headlines for years by criticising the direct provision system at its weakest points and ignoring its considerable strengths. But if we are to have an honest discussion and debate about the merits of the system, it is the obligation of its opponents to start recognising that it has merits.

Instead, they focus entirely on its problems to the exclusion of its benefits, and refuse to consider how effective just a couple of mild reforms would be in fixing those problems without any reduction in all the good it does.

Let’s be really clear here and explain what direct provision actually is and how it works.

Most people who speak out against direct provision, especially those who do it just to show off their liberal credentials, don’t even know why it’s called direct provision, even though it’s named for its most important and powerful dimension.

Direct provision is called direct provision because it is a cashless system, with the most vital services for the well-being of asylum seekers provided to them directly. Asylum seekers are given full bed and board, plus groceries, utilities, and other necessities directly by the state without any transfer of cash.

This stands in stark contrast to comparable systems in other countries, where those seeking asylum are given a weekly or monthly stipend and expected to use that money to buy the necessities for

themselves.

On the one hand, it might seem like such a system would be preferable, as it gives asylum seekers more choices, the same choices enjoyed by all our residents, the choices of consumers. But do we really want the ability of asylum seekers to live comfortably in this country to be dictated by the private sector and the so-called free market?

Opponents of direct provision complain constantly that much of the accommodation is contracted out from the private sector by the Government, but surely they have to know the State will always be able to get fairer prices than asylum seekers?

When so many asylum seekers have a tenuous grasp of English, it would be too easy for mercenary landlords, the same landlords currently taking all the other residents of Ireland for a ride with vicious hikes in rent, to take even greater and more destructive advantage of asylum seekers.

The only other possibility is for the State to seize private property using eminent domain, but we have people in uproar when the State does that to build vital infrastructure like roads – let alone if they used it to provide housing to a group of people as dismissed and maligned in this country as asylum seekers.

The rate of processing in the direct provision system has been widely criticised, but it must be understood that our Government is in a constant balancing act, striving on the one hand to give the desperate and vulnerable people who have arrived on our shores the safety they deserve without ticking off all the people who would rather we took in no asylum seekers at all.

It’s exactly when those kind of people

are outraged that the rate of processing declines, because the Government has to calm them back down before they become politically mobilised and start supporting racist loons like Identity Ireland or Pegida.

Whatever problems the direct provision system might have, and it’s no secret that there are problems; those problems would only get worse if we ever had Identity Ireland holding the balance of power in the Dáil, or Pegida marching in the streets.

As it stands, asylum seekers in Ireland have complete access to the healthcare system, with medical cards as a basic entitlement, and complete access to the education system for children. There are almost no other countries in Europe who can boast that kind of success for their systems.

We should certainly look into increasing the weekly allowance that asylum seekers receive from the Government. We should definitely look into allowing children in the direct provision system to progress in their studies beyond Leaving Certificate level.

We should absolutely look into allowing asylum seekers to participate in the workforce, with part-time work or perhaps participation in a version of the JobBridge scheme tailored to the specific circumstances of asylum seekers, outside the social welfare system.

But we shouldn’t turn our back on a system that has proven stable and reliable over time, where asylum seekers never have to worry about fluctuations in the cost of living. The direct provision system is imperfect, but this referendum wants to dismantle it instead of fixing it.

Vote no.

Vote YES: The SU must take a stand on Direct Provision

By Tomás M. Creamer Direct Provision has failed objectively, and is objectively a horrific thing, which we subject thousands of human beings to, often for years on end.

This is the case because we have been content to be seen to do “our bit” to fulfil our obligations to take in asylum seekers, but to do so in a way that ensures that those applying for asylum here are cut off from the rest of our society, so that we don’t have to see the results of our own apathy towards those who came to our shores looking for protection and relief.

That is not to say that there should be no assessment of applications for asylum – but it is clear that our system of Direct Provision is not working; it is a system that should be providing adequate living conditions for asylum seekers for approximately six months, before they can then be re-settled and begin to make their new lives here in Ireland.

That is not what our Direct Provision system does.

Instead, over 4,300 individuals – including 1,600 children – are left in Direct Provision centres (the conditions of which have been widely criticised), often for years on end, with limited meals and less than €20 a week (an amount that hasn’t changed in over a decade) to live on, and with less than €10 a week provided for children.

Even for six months, this is not exactly great; for years on end, in overcrowded and deteriorating conditions, this in itself is horrific.

The long-term effects of living in such regimented conditions – with no domestic cooking facilities, no opportunity to kind any kind of job – obviously impact in various ways on the individuals who have to live in this system, such as through a loss of skills and motivation.

This also impacts on children of school age: because asylum seekers are not recognised as Irish citizens, they cannot apply for any of the grants that might allow them to be able to afford to attend third level education in Ireland.

This was highlighted most tragically last August, where an asylum seeker from Ukraine obtained 575 Leaving Cert points yet could not afford to go on to university.

Not only is Direct Provision inhumane as it currently stands – even if the problem were simply a lack of funding, the restrictions that the system places on asylum seekers deny them the opportunities to work and contribute to Irish society – it is both a social and economic loss we could do without.

But even beyond this, there is another reason why the Students’ Union should take a stance on this issue.

Despite – or, depending on who you talk to, because of – the role of Students’ Unions in mobilising students to register and campaign in favour of a “Yes” vote in last year’s Marriage Equality referendum, students are generally dismissed as idealists whose (at least generally) left-wing, cosmopolitan pretentions have no place in the real world or, indeed, in “real politics”.

The Students’ Union, of course, fights on issues that do mostly affect students – such as shortages in accommodation, and the rising costs of attending university. But they also fight for broader social concerns and policies that, to a certain extent, affect wider society – such as the 8th Amendment (which prohibits abortion in all circumstances except cases that threaten the life of the mother), and the decriminalisation of cannabis.

However, despite the importance of those issues, there is a wider perception that student politics do not operate in a world that resembles those that most people (especially those from lower socio-economic classes) live in but, rather, whatever seems “cool” on campus.

Considering that many NUI Galway students come from such backgrounds – as testified to by the fact that approximately 46% of them receive grants from SUSI, nearly double the figure of Trinity’s student body – this viewpoint may seem insulting or completely disconnected from reality.

But it is the case that, generally speaking, student political culture revolves around issues that, in some ways, directly affect students. And for people who want to make a wider political impact on society, such insularity is not helpful when trying to convince the wider public to consider our issues and concerns.

Therefore, not only will voting “Yes” allow our Students’ Union to join the campaign to fight against the inhumane conditions we force upon some of the most vulnerable people on this island, it will also be a good

DO YOU AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING PROPOSITION: “The Students’ Union condemns the direct provision system which is inhumane and denies asylum seekers their basic rights and calls for its abolition and replacement with a system which respects the human rights of asylum seekers.

In line with policy supported by the Migrant Rights Centre and other concerned NGOs.” starting point for looking outside of our own social and academic bubbles, and towards fighting for those who are systematically oppressed in one of the most literal senses of the word.