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Young people “passionate about resolving issues” a force to be reckoned with By Áine Kenny
College campuses around the globe have long been hot-beds of political movements, from Kent State’s anti-war protests to more recent marriage equality campaigns in Irish third-level institutions. Graduate historian, academic researcher and associate lecturer Dr Steve Conlon has completed academic research on the history of the Irish student movement and its role in the public sphere. Ahead of NUI Galway Students’ Union elections this week, he explained the powerful political role students have played to effect social change in Ireland to SIN. “Students get involved in political issues because they care. Young people are not apathetic, they are passionate about resolving issues,” said Dr Conlon. “What I found while doing my research is that students want the groundwork done while they are in college, and they want to enter an ‘adult’ world where there are not as many injustices.” Dr Conlon also detailed how important the individual unions are as a platform of discourse and discussion, dismissing claims that campuses no longer foster an environment of debate “The Students’ Unions offer a platform for people to discuss issues on campus. This can be done through debates, guest speakers and fundraisers. The debates can be political or
academic, and the guest speakers can be people who are personally affected by the issues,” he said. “Referendums organised about the stance a students’ union should take on a social issue gives a legitimacy to the campaigns. Also, they are very important in allowing people to dissect an issue and to engage in debate. “There is a sense nowadays that colleges have become a place where beliefs cannot be challenged, but I don’t think this is true,” he added. However the former DCU lecturer had a few sticking points about the student movement, admitting that sometimes they overshadow others who are also striving for social change. “Students are given a disproportionate platform compared to their peers who are not in full-time education, perhaps because they are louder. Student movements need to recognise that privilege - a lot of youth groups who engage in politics are not deemed as ‘legitimate’ as students, they are viewed with a type of suspicion,” he explained. “There are also a lot of youth groups doing great practical work out there, like Christian youth groups combatting the homelessness crisis on the ground, which shouldn’t be ignored.” Dr Conlon also thought that the student movement needed to listen to “dissenting voices” more at times.
“The movement needs to take a step back and listen to dissenting voices. However, if a referendum is held on campus about a social issue, the losing side cannot just cry wolf. Once two sides engage in this political mechanism, they have to accept the result.” “There might be students who have to work after class, or they may have to go home to care for a sick loved one, and their voices are not heard,” he pointed out. He believed that the privilege of being involved and active in student politics should not be overlooked. The researcher also warned against the further disenfranchisement of those with opposing views, as current social justice issues will not be on the agenda forever. “In the next two years, the student movement will suffer an identity crisis, because there will be no more referenda for them to campaign about,” Dr Conlon warned. “Student movements also educate young people about social injustices while they are studying, then they graduate from college and move on,” he said. “But that empathy won’t leave them, and they will end up supporting these causes in the ballot box. It isn’t just about the here and now - the younger generation will eventually become that older generation who vote.” However Dr Conlon acknowledged that Students’ Unions were very successful in registering their students to vote in recent years.
“In the early 2000s, student movements were less successful in getting students registered as times were good because it was the Celtic Tiger, there was no reason for them to engage, but now that there has been a referendum on marriage equality and there will be one on reproductive rights, students are registering,” he said. “Whether they turn up to the ballot box on the day, that is hard to know. I think the biggest challenge for student activists is making sure their students are continuously engaging with these issues.” However things look positive in this regard according to Dr Conlon reflecting on the student effort for marriage equality in 2015. “The USI ran a very professional campaign, they were highly organised, made submissions to the citizen’s assembly, and they spoke to the media,” he said. “There was a strange attitude at the time towards young people’s participation in politics, a lot of people though they would sit this one out… this wasn’t the case with students.” He predicted that this would carry through into the vote on the Eighth Amendment. “In the marriage equality referendum, students probably brought the Yes vote up a percentage point or two, but that referendum was won quite comfortably. “However, the referendum on the Eighth will be a lot closer, so that could make the difference, and students will be significant if they turn out to vote.”
SU ELECTION SPECIAL 2018
FORLÍONADH TOGHCHÁN CML
STUDENTS' UNION PRESIDENT
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SU ELECTION SPECIAL
Ashwin Ravichandran Why are you running for election?
I like to lead and manage things and I thought to modify and implement changes for the students being a common student I can’t do that.
What is the one thing you want to achieve over everything else?
I would like to create an accommodation team. The Students’ Union will be the middle person between landlord and student tenant to save students the hassle of searching for accommodation by themselves, creating contracts with landlords and local agencies.
Briefly outline the other key points in your manifesto.
No more than one repeat exam per day, free snacks and tea or coffee for students studying long hours, free mentors for first and second year students, and bring back Christmas Day, our day.
What is the main issue for students on campus in your opinion?
Accommodation is the major challenge for students. I am working with accommodation office and have sorted it out
for 30 to 40 students. I have shared my number to accommodation office to help students
How do you intend to spend the budget given to you for student services?
Depends on the important and requirements will plan in advance.
Anything else you would like to add?
Students can directly call or email me at any time, I am more than happy to help.
Megan Reilly Why are you running for election?
The simplest answer I can give you is that I am really passionate about representing students and I think I can do a really great job of it. I’ve been in the union for the last few years and know it inside out, but I have to say I am not unaware of its flaws and where the union could do better – so that’s what I wanted to bring to it. The other thing is that I’ve managed to achieve so much this year but I feel that I am not finished. There was so many opportunities this year where I wanted to be able to continue it, and I still do, there is projects I’m working on and a lot of the stuff from what I see is coming from a leadership point of view, so the things I could do if I was leading the union.
What is the one thing you are hoping to achieve as President over everything else?
The thing that I would hope to strive towards is to create a better sense of community on campus among students. I think it is great as it is but we could make it friendlier and we could make it more open to students who are on the fringe of it, and that includes physical and intangible things as well.
Can you briefly outline the other key points in your manifesto?
Something I am working on at the moment, which I think might take a while because sometimes university processes are quite slow, is to get better seating on campus. This was a part of my manifesto last year
as well to get nap or recreational spaces as well, so it would be to make the campus a bit less cold. You see people sitting on the floor and things like that. What we did this year was secure additional funding to put in more sofas and things like that, but I know recently Maynooth University got some nap spaces in their library through an innovative fund, so I have identify places we could do it and in a way have started working on it. It isn’t specifically worded as nap spaces on my manifesto, it’s recreational places, because as I said people sit down on the ground in the concourse, and have nowhere to relax. The other things that are part of my main three are part-time jobs for students and accommodation. The part-time job aspect is that in the Students’ Union, people come to us looking for jobs, so I think we should have a database and be the ones to ensure that people on campus are hiring students as much as possible, or just helping students find jobs in the city. Then the accommodation crisis in the city, we all know how bad it is, I’ve seen it first-hand this year as Welfare Officer. The course there is to have a forum where NUI Galway students are able to discuss their problems, and just to make sure everyone is aware of their rights so if a landlord has broken the law or done something really bad to them, they have an avenue to bring it towards, and basically work with the university to alleviate the problem as much as possible. Another thing for me is Irish in the work of the union. I’m not a fluent Gaeilgoir myself but I think with every themed week that we do and we are great at the marches, there is always so much Irish included in it, but I don’t see why there couldn’t be an Irish Mental Health themed event or a SHAG Irish event so I’d love to see that included. Then something I was talking about with a community of students on the fringe, so for Access and part-time students, making
sure they’re more aware of what is going on in the university, and that they know and feel included in the community. The last bit I will mention is better food options on campus, because it is difficult to get food on campus after 5pm that is not pizza. I think that a lot of people are staying late on campus for a number of reasons and I think we should be working through the SU commercial services to provide healthy, good alternatives for more people other than pizza and cold food.
What is the main issue on campus for students in your opinion?
The one I see as the most pervasive is the financial strain put on students to attend college and I’ve seen it so much this year through being Welfare Officer, with people who can’t afford to live basically, or they’re forcing themselves to do too many hours in their part-time job and it’s affecting their studies. I think it is two-fold. So I have stated in my manifesto that I’m against the contingent-loan scheme, and I will continue to lead a union that fights for funding for public education, and on top of that pushing for an increase in student services. If the university wants to up the intake of students from non-traditional and international backgrounds, we need to make sure that that is matched euro by euro with student services and resources for those student who need support. That would have been a big one for me this year, just not seeing the support for students when they’re trying to up the intake of students.
How do you intend on spending the budget given to you for student services?
The union have a lot of ongoing services and some that Lorcán has only started newly, but maybe they need to be refreshed a little bit. Like giving out free condoms and tampons, we need to continue doing that. I think the union could give out more information on various things, like doing different guides on
mental health or equality issues, and also using the budget to let people know that we are a listening and referral service, and that we represent all the students, no matter where they are or what they are studying, and they can come to us in their time of need.
How will you encouvrage people to interact with the Students’ Union?
I have a lot of feelings on this issue. I think not every student is going to interact with the union in the same way, like obviously; you might have someone who walks in the door once ever to get an SU card or a locker, or you might have someone who is at the Welfare Crew every week. I think that is ok. My feeling about the union is you don’t have to be, I don’t want every student banging down the doors, but just that people know we are there in the background, sitting in fancy university meetings in the quad fighting for them, or reminding the high-up management of the university that it is all about students or that the majority of this university is made up of students. I’d always like more engagement and I think the social media this year has been really great and I’ve really enjoyed being a part of that, like the Snapchat and Instagram, and how we can get real-time feedback from someone who is just on their phone on a platform on which they are already interacting, they don’t have to do anything different or approach us. Everyone’s own way of seeing the union is ok but to know that we are always there in the background working away.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
It is always one that people do but just to encourage people to vote, it’s the time of year you get to hear what people want to do on campus and see change, and choose who they want to lead. It’s a great opportunity and I’d just encourage everybody if they can look at the candidates and vote.
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Fiachra Mac Suibhne Why are you running for election?
The reason I am running is that I helped out Diarmuid Ó Curraoin last year with his campaign and found talking to students I saw the issues students were facing and I felt that I was in a position to help them. I wouldn’t be a traditional Students’ Union head, I’d very much just be a normal student, and I just really am passionate about making students’ lives that bit easier.
What is the one thing that you are hoping to achieve as President over everything else?
Without a shadow of doubt, if I could reform the approach the university, staff, students, the entireuniversity as a whole takes to mental health. At the moment if you have a physical ailment you can go to the health unit and you’ll be seen very quickly, within half an hour, it’s a brilliant service for physical ailments. But the services for if you have an issue with mental health aren’t nearly as good, and it isn’t approach on the same level. So I would absolutely love to reform that entire system, not only expand the services that you’d be seen a lot more quickly, and expand on the attitude about mental health, that it will be a common thing for students to say, “Yes, I’m struggling with this but I’m going to counselling for one day a week and will be fine in a few weeks,” and the same as saying “I’ve a broken ankle”. It’s even to break the stigma – although stigma is the wrong word because there isn’t the same stigma around it as there was even three or four years ago. But just to push it forward and really reform how everyone thinks about it, to offer Assist training to everyone and to push that the suicide prevention training so that it’d be a common thing you have, almost like saying I got my pool lifeguard cert when I was 15 or 16, a common thing like I got my Order of Malta first aid training in T Y. Saying “I got my Assist training” wouldn’t be a very common thing to say, even though it is a normal thing.
Can you briefly outline the other key points in your manifesto?
One of things that came up a lot last year when I was engaging with stu-
dents, I found out what was annoying them the most. That is just the most important, what annoys students. One thing that came back an awful lot was that there is not an awful lot of places on campus for you to sit around without having to pay for something. In the Bialann, you have to pay for something, the college bar you have to pay for something, Friars, Zinc, everywhere you have to pay for something. There is not enough places that you can just talk, or go on your laptop or sit on your phone, or just chill out for ten or 15 minutes. At the moment, the lobby in the library is where most people hang out and that really isn’t good enough. I’d like to expand with chill-out rooms and the like. The next point then is that we absolutely have to look at the repeat fee for exams. An awful lot of colleges like Maynooth, if you fail one exam you pay €80 and that increases then, you pay by exam. Whereas in NUI Galway it is a flat fee. If I was lucky enough to get elected, if students choose me as their president, in my first meeting with University President I would raise that with them, saying, “look, listen, if this is the system you want to approach, if it is not something that can be changed, we need to offer more support to students to pay for this, a flat fee for 295 is just not good enough and not fair. If one person has one bad exam, they fail an exam by one or two percent, or if someone fails seven or eight exams, they pay the same and to me that just makes no sense, that is just baffling to me. Capping is standard across universities, but the flat fee is absolutely not standard. When it was announced it was said this was in line with other universities, and that is just untrue. I know the Students’ Union this year managed to expand the library opening hours at the weekends around exam times. I don’t have the data to hand exactly what the uptake was on that, but I would love to expand the opening hours during the week, nothing too drastic just another hour or two in the evening. Come 10:30pm or 11pm exam week, the Reading Room is wedged you can’t get a seat and there is a demand for it. So even just an hour or two in the evening would make an enormous difference to students.
What is the main issue on campus for students in your opinion?
This one is a tricky one, because it is subjective to each and every student, each and every student would have a different issue given your course, where you’re coming from, or if you’re living at home or accommodation. So what I’d love to do with that is to engage with students to figure out exactly what the issue is for different groups of students, it is not enough that the issue would just address the needs of the extremely academic, or those who like to go out a lot, or living in accommodation. It sometimes can be a little bit like that, so I’d like to have a more inclusive kind of union where every different type of student, even those who wouldn’t traditionally engage with the union at all, wouldn’t know where the Bailey Allen is, I’d love to get talking to those students too to find out what kind of issues they’re facing. Normally, people say not enough parking spaces, not enough plugs in the library, these are things that come up. But what really drives me is talking to students who aren’t shouting about their issues, who wouldn’t engage with canvassers, they wouldn’t snap the SU or go on our Instagram. I’d really love to get students who don’t come in or are only here to get their degree, I’d love, love, love to talk to those students and hear what their issues are.
How do you intend on spending the budget given to you for services to students?
One of the main things I’d love to do is expand Mental Health, and at the moment there is a massive budget for the Health Unit and that should remain as it is, it is a brilliant service. Having said that, I’d love to expand the budget for the Mental Health service. At the moment there is only a small place on Distillery Road and get more services for those kinds of students, for students who would need it. I know the SU this year did enormous work getting two extra microwaves in Smokey’s and one up in the Engineering building and theyre getting a second one. But they haven’t got one in Friars yet, so we would keep lobbying Friars, and if it did require that a purpose microwave unit had to be built I would like that to be done, because it is not fair on those who spend all their time in the Cairnes building.
How will you encourage people to interact with the Students’ Union?
The first thing is that Lorcán, Andrew and Megan did incredible work with the Snapchat and Instagram and that has been 100pc getting more students to engage. Even last week because of the snow, every single student found out about that, and it wasn’t from e-mail or Facebook, but it was from Lorcán updating the Snapchat and Instagram videos. Great work has been done on that and I’d like to keep expanding on that, pushing on that. Having said that, one initiative I want to bring in is that every Monday or Wednesday, given time, that the three sabbatical officers whoever they may be would have open office hours, and bring their office down to Smokey’s between 2-4pm and have a massive sign up saying “What annoys you most?” And have students have come up and say the one thing that annoys them and then that can be addressed. Even among my own classmates and friends, I hear them say a gentle “Oh that’s annoying” or “that’s frustrating” but they’re not sure what the avenue is. So if every Wednesday 2-4pm the officers are their to listen to your complaints or about what is making you angry, I think that is a way to find out what on-the-ground, normal students are thinking or feeling. Once you know what those issues are you can engage on that and sort out those students, get their e-mail and follow up with them.
Anything else to add?
A big thing I’d like students to know is I am not a traditional SU head at all. I’m very much a genuine, normal student and I’m just trying to make students’ lives easier, that is what I am passionate about, I wouldn’t have been big into SU politics, didn’t have a clue what the SU was when I was in First Year, and I am just a normal student and I’m passionate about making students’ lives easier.
STUDENTS' UNION PRESIDENT
FORLÍONADH TOGHCHÁN CML
STUDENTS' UNION PRESIDENT
10
SU ELECTION SPECIAL
John Molony Why are you running for election?
One of the big reasons is that I am from Cork and I had never been to Galway when I was younger, so when I first came here everyone was so friendly and I really fell in love with the city straight away. That is something I wanted to give back and I feel I really engaged with the student body when I came here. It would be a great opportunity to represent the people as well, seeing as I feel like I’’m from the city now and give something back to the city. Another thing is I never really felt connected with the Students’ Union as a normal student until the elections and that, but I feel they find it difficult to reach out to the student body. So I want to bridge that gap and make the Students’ Union more established than just something above the students themselves because at the end of the day we are all students working in there. I’d like to shed light on the darkness there, and just make us more familiar to everyone else.
What is the one thing you would like to achieve over everything else?
One thing I really want to achieve is more mental health awareness. Although the NUIG services are very good as it is, I think everyone could agree they could be better. I have seen the effects of mental health first-hand and I’d love to be the president who would make a dent in the problem in the college and reduce the stigma a bit really, just by hosting events. It kind of ties in with my point earlier with engaging the students and the Students’ Union together, getting more involvement and participation in these events. There is a statistic that one in four adults have experience mental health problems this year, and another one that 500 people a year in Ireland on average actually commit suicide, and that is three times more than road deaths in Ireland. The highest rates of that are men between the ages of 20 and 24 – it’s
a ridiculously high statistic and it is quite scary. I still feel in the college a lot of people have mental health issues, so just to reduce the stigma a bit, and saying it isn’t a big deal to go talk to someone about it.
Can you briefly outline the other key points in your manifesto?
I think Lorcán and his team did brilliant this year and full credit to them, with the water fountains and more microwaves, and the library hours. A big thing for me is promoting healthy living, so number on that is more microwaves. I have been informed that there is only one in the Engineering Building and the queue for that at lunchtime is ridiculous. Just for engineers, a lot of them wouldn’t leave the engineering block or venture into the Bialann, so having more facilities for them so they can cook their own food at home, which would be bringing healthy meals in, so for them to be able to bring their food in would help. Also I’d like more loyalty schemes for healthy options in the college. For the salad in the Bialann having a stamp system for a free one in five or a discount. The SU give out free condoms and that but what about free fruit? I feel that every now and then there is fruit left in the RR, but it could be something to promote healthy living. I feel that the sports facilities and gym membership aren’t really good enough. In the Kingfisher you’re only able to get 12-month membership and for a lot of people it doesn’t suit them and we are only here for nine months. The big universities like UL all have free gym membership but it is over €250 for the year for the Kingfisher for a facility that is always over-crowded. I feel it really doesn’t encourage them to join the gym having to pay up front, instead of monthly which could be €25 or something like that. Lorcán has made some ground on keeping the library open a bit longer so I’d like to hammer the nail in there and
have it open for even longer. My friends in UCC say their library is open until 12am. It might not suit everyone to go to the reading room and there is only a limited amount of seats. Also computer labs only open until 10pm which might discriminate against students who don’t have their own laptops, or even if their laptop is broken. As well as that, more seating and more beanbags, there really isn’t enough for 18,000 students. There isn’t enough facilities to relax and have a chat. Then of course repeat fees. They went up to €295, and that is almost a 50% increase, and I think every can agree it is very unfair when you look at universities and they pay by module. A friendlier repeat system would go back to my mental health point as well, as mental health is often affected by repeat exams and I know the college promote mental health awareness so it is kind of unjustifiable when it is the repeat exams that stress people out mentally. Reducing the waste in the college is another thing, they are really bringing it in and just more of that and go an extra step further than that.
What is the main issue for students on campus in your opinion?
It’s kind of like asking a mother who her favourite child is, there isn’t just one issue for every single student. Everyone is going through something different, whether it is fees or going to work after college or a transgender person campaigning for rights, everyone has a niche so I can’t really specifiy what the main issue is because there is just so many. I would be willing to lobby any issue as best I could.
How do you intend on spending the budget given to you for student services?
I can only compliment Lorcán and his team how they managed the budget this year, the essential services are running very smoothly. I suppose there isn’t one thing specifically but carry on the
services there at the minute, but try to be efficient and maybe make savings, putting ourselves in a position to expand.
How will you encourage students to engage with the Students’ Union?
A big thing I said earlier is that I feel the average student may not engage with the union but what they may not realise that they are students themselves and they are lobbying for students constantly and representing the students. A lot of presidents focus on just winning the election and going from there but my focus is to continue campaigning after the election, not for myself, but for the union and the students of NUIG. I want to increase the invisibility of the union and that they will be a familiar face who a student can turn to when they have a problem. So a big thing would be more of a turn out at charity events and things like the Teddy Bear hospital and showing that the SU is not just a big organisation but they are there to help students, and even for student elections less than 10pc turn out for elections, so to try get students to engage more. I feel there are a lot of shadows over the SU and not
a lot of people know what is going on, and I think Lorcán has done a really good job with the Snapchat. There is an e-mail sent out every week, but how many people read it? I want to bridge that gap.
Anything else you would like to add?
The housing situation is quite dire, rent is going up and not many houses are nice to live in. But a lot of students don’t want to complain if there is mould on the walls etc, and landlords kind of put the fear into students. They don’t want to take the risk of being evicted so a big thing I’d like to introduce is if a student has a problem with a landlord, they could approach the SU and then the SU could approach the landlord, and lobby in a more professional manner. There is just one more to do with the health unit. You have to go there and book an appointment and then come back. I think an online portal would be a good system, so someone who is sick can log on online and it gives them their appointment instead of leaving and coming back. I is unfair if a student is sick or has a lecture they’re not sure what time they have to come back at.
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Louis Courtney Why are you running for election this year?
I am running for election because I believe I will be able to make a difference. I know that’s a very cliché thing to say but I do mean it. I’ve seen firsthand my friends, my fellow students who are under exam stress, financial issues and I just think it’s terrible. I have been under the pressure of being on the verge of not passing an exam and it’s not nice. I truly believe I have some valid points and some great ideas that will relieve some massive pressure from the guys and girls in NUI Galway and I will make it a better place. So I do feel very strongly about this. I am studying medicine and when I began I did so with the intention of learning from the lives that surround me so I feel as though this is my calling, not just the post itself but the ideas and values behind it. I feel that I’m a good person for this role.
What is the one thing you are hoping to achieve as Education Officer over anything else?
The main thing I want to do in this role is I want to do what they do in the likes of the Dublin colleges, such as UCD. Here you have to repeat another year of college if you fail by a percent or two, for example some people get an average of 48% in my course, when 50% is the pass mark, that’s what I’ve seen. You can’t just carry it over to next year,
so they fail you for the year. But what I want is that if they do fail a subject, I want them to be able to repeat it the next year with their new subject also.
Briefly outline the other key points in your manifesto?
I would like to reduce the repeat fee definitely, I think, 295 euro I believe it is, is an exorbitant figure. No-one should really have to pay that. What also doesn’t make sense to me is the fact that if a student fails one subject they have to pay the full sum and those who fail maybe three or four have to pay this also. I’m not saying that the latter student should have to pay more, but I’m saying that there should probably be a set fee per exam failed. I’m talking more along the lines of maybe 30-40 quid per exam as this would pay the extra fee of printing the paper, this would also pay the person who has to correct the exam. I’m looking for efficiency. The other key point in my manifesto is that I’m going to get rid of having more than one exam on any one day. How many times have we heard a student panic telling us that they have their two hardest exams on in the one day. We’re meant to be looking after the students. I understand that there is a set exam period but allowances should be made. I know from personal experience that I’ve had my most two feared exams on in the one day last year and I passed the two of them by the skin of my teeth.
I do question whether or not I would’ve gotten a higher grade in them if they had been separated. I’m interested in having an extra two exam hours in the day - so having an exam scheduled from 6-8. The fourth point in my manifesto is to improve the relations between the educational officer and the students
How will you communicate with students who may have problems with their course or with their grants?
Well, obviously social media is a huge part of everyone’s lives today. I would have a Facebook profile, a Twitter profile and an Instagram profile. But I believe that it should be more personalised as well. I believe that people will see myself on the internet but I’m a very social guy, I have no issue with meeting up with people regularly to discuss any issues they have, organising sessions each week where we can meet faceto-face, it would be much like a walk-in place or if they want to meet more quietly, I’ll meet them in a different place to deal with their certain issue. I would be setting up a network to discuss problems with course administrators directly. I’m going to meet all the heads of faculty within the first two weeks of college next year so when a student comes to me with a problem, I should already have the answer. I would also organise talks at the beginning of the year, so everyone knows their student
campaigners. There would be events also so that students would know that I’m there. Some students don’t even know the role exists. I actually do know that because a few of my mates had financial difficulties and they didn’t even know there was someone out there campaigning for them. Students who need financial aid are obviously key. I really believe that some of them have the heart and passion for learning and something like that shouldn’t be a factor in them packing it in. I want the right amount of funding for the right people, so I’d be giving a speech to every lecture hall by the first two three weeks. I want them to have a face to the name, I don’t just want them to see my face on the internet, which they will do. But I want them to see my face and they’ll actually know my voice.
How will you strengthen the communication between students and their lecturers and encourage students to express issues that they may have?
My answer is basically everything I’ve said in response to the previous questions.
Do you have any opinion on the BA Connect where a full year of college, including placements and modules, doesn’t go towards final
grade students receive?
From what I’ve read about it, it does seem to be an interesting enough endeavour. I assume it’s supposed to give a student a taste of what will be involved with a career. So I do think it’s a good idea but I question the fact that they don’t really gain any merit from it with regards grades etc. I would certainly be looking into giving some sort of percentage validity in the exam essence. I would like to reward the students who perform well on this BA Connect with a 30-40% overall on their grade.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I’m very excited for the campaign and I’m putting my heart into it. This matters to lots of people and I would encourage them to vote for who they see would be the best candidate for them. I’m very glad I’m here for I believe that it’s me but I would be lying if I didn’t say that if I hear the other candidates on what they hope to achieve, I want what’s best for NUI Galway.
Stephanie Koennecker What is the one thing you are hoping to achieve as Education Officer over everything else?
Well, I would say the one thing I am hoping to achieve is to help improve the quality of teaching and the academic and educational facilities in the university.
Why are you running for election this year?
I’m running because academics and education is something I feel strongly about and I also think it would help to enhance my career prospects. I have a lot of experience in the university with a number of personal setbacks which upset my education so I’m hoping that my experience will help and that I can pass on my experience to students.
Can you briefly outline the other key points in you manifesto?
From talking to a number of students on the concourse, some of the issues they brought up concerned a proper qualification for fully-trained lab assistants, and more power sockets in the library, particularly on the top floor. There’s the need to look into the situation of off-campus exams and exam buses; I have been told by a number of students that while the buses are available, you have to pay for them and they can
be overcrowded and this can be a problem. I want to investigate more into the BA Connect scenario which I will touch on later.
How will you communicate with students who may have problems with their course or with their grants?
Well I have been on this side myself with a number of personal issues and so if a student came to me with an issue to do with their course, I would arrange to meet with them and discuss it with them and advise them in every way that I can. And if necessary liaise with their lecturer regarding personal problems. I would take every issue that would come to me, that they bring, seriously and I would look into it.
How will you strengthen the communication between students and their
lecturers and encourage students to express issues that they may have?
I would promote the importance of encouraging students to talk to lecturers and to make people aware of it. Perhaps arrange staff and student liaison meetings across different departments. And I would also pass on the message to class reps to encourage people.
Do you have any opinion on the BA Connect where a full year of college, including placements and modules, doesn’t go towards final grade students receive?
I don’t think it’s good that a full year doesn’t count towards the final degree grade because work placements are very important for students to gain work experience that could lead to a job upon gradu-
ation. So it doesn’t seem fair to me that a whole year of college, including work placements and modules does not count towards the final grade.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
This might be of relevance - I was a mentor to first year students for two years so I am aware of the number of many issues that students face during the course of their education. Particularly with first years adjusting to college life. The transition from school to college must be the big one and many students can face a number of issues so as a mentor, I was often asked questions by students on various issues. I’ve also experienced a number of setbacks in my own education which had an effect. As the Education officer I hope I can bring this experience to help with their own education.
VICE PRESIDENT: EDUCATION OFFICER
FORLÍONADH TOGHCHÁN CML
VICE PRESIDENT: EDUCATION OFFICER
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SU ELECTION SPECIAL
Cian O’Shaughnessy hoping to achieve as Education Officer over everything else?
Why are you running for election?
A: I’m running for Education Officer to represent the students in NUIG and for the changes that I see would benefit them and that I hope they would like to see. I started studying Law because I have a passion for education and I would really like to fight on the behalf of the students in NUIG and for their interests. I understand the financial hardship that is student life. I know many students have to deal with many issues regarding exams and find no solutions, I have as well. I want to represent those people and I want to solve these problems and help in any way possible. I am more than capable of doing this.
What is the one thing you are
Well, I know students that are in our university, I know them personally, who suffer financial hardship. You have a case where requirements remain the same year-on-year, but the cost of living is constantly rising. I’d like to help those who fall through cracks to find support. It’s not only what they need but what they deserve. If a number of children in a household is factored in usually, why isn’t it for this? Two students, I can think of in this circumstance, are in two different situations because of the course they did, what they studied. I know it would be difficult path but that’s what I would pursue. Year-onyear our student life is growing more and more difficult and I hope to fix this.
Can you briefly outline the other key points in your manifesto?
I want to highlight the role of Education Officer and create a dialogue between various bodies and the university such as the colleges, the various schools, and even to inform students as to where one of the best places are to discuss their issues. Say from my own experience, I broke my nose going into the exams at semester
one this year - boxing in Dublin - and so I went to the college doctors and I was told I could either defer all of my exams or be able to sit them as a temporary special needs. I chose the latter and after I’d sat the first exam, because I wasn’t sleeping with the pain and I was on some painkillers, my result was just terrible. I went to the lecturer and asked if I could re-sit the exam and I was under no allusions that I had done shockingly bad. But I was informed that I could take it up with the Head of Law school and then the Head of Law told me that if I failed the exam they could help me but seeing as I didn’t fail it, I couldn’t re-sit it, but if I’d gone to them beforehand, they would’ve shown me flexibility and I would’ve been just been able to defer that one exam which would have been ideal. I’d like to highlight this. As well as that, I’d like to continue the line of the current Education Officer in opposing fee increases. Everyone should get the same education, regardless of background or financial issues and situations.
How will you communicate with students who have problems with their course or with their grant?
As far as grants go, for students who
experience financial issues I would inform them of the working funds available to them; SUSI, financial aid fund, the Tús scheme. Those searching for a job locally, as far as getting work goes I would direct them to the career development centre and certain facilities that are open to them that can ease problems. I just don’t think this relationship is being highlighted enough.
How will you strength communication between students and their lecturers and encourage students to express issues that they have?
I know, in person, that approaching a lecturer with an issue can be daunting. There is a go-between for the student and the lecturer, the Class rep, and I would encourage and promote this relationship further. From my own experience, I feel that since I find approaching even class reps would be hard, research is needed to improve this. I would encourage students to avail of who represents them and foster the relationship between the class rep and the lecturer, and their schools.
Do you have any opinion on the BA Connect where a full year of college,
including the placement and modules, doesn’t go towards the final grade?
Looking at it from an outsider, I understand that students would want to see results from their efforts and the efforts they put into something. They may feel frustrated, but in terms of placement, would anyone really feel comfortable with a company or business body, with no experience, grading a student’s work, because in doing so it could go one of two ways? Although I feel that students can get something equally important from that work which also looks good on a CV. That being said, I’m not in that situation, I’m not close with anyone who’s undertaking those courses. I would be open to hearing from anyone with this issue, I am always open to listen.
Is there anything else that you’d like to add?
I would just like to say I take this role seriously. I’ve represented many things in my life. First of all I’d say is my country with boxing for Ireland abroad. From that experience, I consider I would do all I could to represent students to the best of anyone’s abilities. Furthermore, I would encourage every student to vote, regardless of candidate. If they’re so willing, vote Cian!
VOX POP: What do NUI Galway students expect from an SU President? By Connell McHugh
‘If the president could boost engagement I think that would be a really positive thing’ It’s that time of the year again. On Thursday 8 March, the Students’ Union elections will take place. The position of Students’ Union President is always highly contested with nominees making several different promises to secure the votes of the student body. Every student holds different values and wants different
things from an SU president, ranging from more activism, to more student events and realistic manifestos. SIN looked to the students of NUI Galway to gauge their expectations for the incoming president.
events on campus would be a good thing too if they could organise them.
Dave Hughes, MSc Applied Behaviour Analysis student
Rachel Moran, Nursing student
Louis O’Hara, Public and Social Policy student
An SU president should be friendly and approachable and they should be easy to get in contact with. There’s a real problem with accommodation at the start of each year so they should be able to help that in some way. They should also respect how students have voted in previous college referendums. More
they need to just be able to represent the students in a way that we can all be happy with. It’ll be hard for them to make everyone happy, but they need to try their best. They have to try to stand up to the college if they want to make any changes that will affect us too.
Jack Leech, Arts student
As a nursing student, I would want them to somehow help out with any issues regarding placement. Some people are given really short notice about where they are going for placement and it can be really inconvenient. Other than that, I would just want them to be able to follow through with whatever they say in their campaigns. If they have ideas that obviously aren’t going to happen, then there’s no point in saying them just for votes.
Most people on campus don’t really care about the students’ union or student politics, so if the president could boost engagement I think that would be a really positive thing. The government will have to tackle student fees soon enough so that is something that the president should be able to handle and tackle properly.
Kate Brennan, Commerce student
I’m not really sure what I expect from an SU president. No matter who it is,
I expect a students’ union president to be capable of representing the entire student body. They need to be active with students in finding out their concerns and they should voice these concerns appropriately. Communication is essential between the president and students.
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Clare Austick Why are you running for election?
I am running for the position of Vice/ Welfare and Equality Officer because I’m driven quite strongly to help provide care for others and I’ve been involved with the Student’s Union for a number of years now. I’ve been a class rep for two years and as a current part-time equality officer on the committee, I’ve loved everything that they’re fighting for and representing students, voicing their concerns and initiating campaigns. I’m determined to be a voice for change for all students by making their NUI Galway experience as meaningful as possible for them.
What is the one thing you are hoping to achieve as Welfare & Equality Officer over everything else?
There are so many things I’m hoping to do next year, but I want to continue
to support all students through emotional, academic and financial services. I want to implement and I will continue to build on the promotion of sexual and mental health while highlighting visibility through campaigns. I will continue the campaign for universal desire for learning which is making learning tools more user-friendly, more accessible for all students, in particular for those who have a hidden or physical disability, a mental health condition, students whose first language isn’t English, mature students who are getting back to education and for students who are parents who have missed classes due to family commitments. I want to create a clothes bank initiative for students who cannot afford new items of clothing - any surplus items of clothing will be donated to the homeless. I want to create a food bank initiative where students can receive food donations from local shops, supermarkets. I also want
to create a handbook with the relevant details and information on all aspects such as; services, contact details, clubs, societies, facilities, and so on.
Briefly outline the other key points in your manifesto.
Care and accessibility are my other main points. I want to care for students by promoting self-care and personal well-being, and reaching out to them. I want students to know that they’re not alone and they can always ask me for a helping hand. Sometimes life gets a little tough, we all have struggles, we’ve gone through a difficult time in our lives, I want to distribute empower cards around campus. Have a more relaxing waiting areas, more beanbags in the library foyer, and all around campus. I also want to hold more de-stress activities around exam time and this semester such as more pet farm and puppy days. I will continue to be accessible to eve-
ryone whether they are on the main campus, a smaller one off-campus, on placement, or erasmus. I want to establish an online forum welcoming suggestions and ideas which will then be answered.
How will encourage people to see you as someone that they can approach with any problems?
I would make sure that any important information or services is accessible to every student. Let them know that I’m always there to listen and talk. I will go the extra mile to be any kind of help. By making myself accessible, so that students know that their Welfare & Equality Officer is there to provide a confidential listening and referral service as well as providing advice and soliciting information such as accommodation, childcare, study, health, finances and personal well-being.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I’ve learned a lot this year in my role as Equality Officer. I truly understand the issues students encounter on a daily basis and this role entails long hours of hard work and dedication. I am willing and fully prepared to commit to making NUIG welcome and inclusive for all students. I want everyone who’s reading this to know they are not alone. You are strong, you can do anything. You have value and you are so so important. I want to build strong, empowering communities so that we can reach our goals and I want to do this all together.
Aisling Fallon Why are you running for election?
I am a Masters student currently studying on the MA in Culture and Colonialism and I would be absolutely honoured to be your next Vice President/Welfare and Equality Officer in NUI Galway Students Union for the upcoming academic year. I am running for this specific position because our student’s welfare and the promotion of equality across campus here at NUIG is particularly close to my heart. As a student studying here since 2010, when I first began the Access Programme, a vital initiative which provides students who, for various reasons didn’t make it to third level through the traditional route of the CAO, I have gratefully experienced first-hand the transformative effect that receiving an education at NUIG can have on one’s life, but I have also experienced how tough the journey through academia can be. Throughout the first three years of my study I suffered with crippling anxiety and my academic and social life suffered hugely. However, four years on I am the strongest and most confident I have ever been; I am the current Auditor for the Philosophy Society, am one of the founding organizers of the mental health campaign “Couch Conversations” kindly funded by PleaseTalk.org, and I have immersed myself within numerous volunteering opportunities across campus which has allowed me to communicate
with students and understand the issues that students encounter on a personal level. This shift in the trajectory of my life and student experience, is due to the pivotal moment of when I decided to reach out to services within the college like the SU and ask for help. Particularly due to my own personal background then, I am a huge advocate for education but I am even more passionate about helping other students with the non-academic problems and issues that might arise for them throughout the course of their own academic journeys. We are all human, and by that very fact it is inevitable that life will often present us with that unwanted hand of less than ideal circumstances, and I believe that due to my own first-hand experience with welfare issues and because I am so driven to help our students, to listen to our students, and to fight for what our students actually need, I am a worthy candidate for the position and I would be delighted to help our students in any way that I can during times of difficulty or uncertainty.
What is the one thing you hope to achieve over everything else?
One thing that I hope to achieve as Welfare and Equality Officer over anything else is to bridge the ongoing gap between student and services. Albeit, we have some outstanding support systems here on campus, that I myself have benefitted from first hand, such as: The Student Counselling Service, the Disability Student Service, the Chaplaincy, The Student Assistance Fund, to name but a few. However, from speaking with students across campus I have learned that within these student services there is still often a discrepancy between what student’s need and what they actually receive. My role
as Welfare Officer will be to support our students and to connect them with the appropriate services that can help them during times of difficulty. Therefore, it is paramount for myself as Vice President/ Welfare and Equality officer to ensure that the services we have in place on campus are equipped to provide students with the necessary resources that they actually need, so that we can adequently support them during the selection of their programme and throughout their stay at NUIG. Intertwined within my aim to bridge the ongoing gap between student and services, is not only to improve on the resources that we currently have, but I also hope to create a clearer and more vivid awareness of the services that are already in place. After having spoken to many students across a wide variety of disciplines, I learned that many of them sometimes weren’t aware of some of their entitlements as students of NUIG, and often weren’t aware that some of services were entirely applicable to them. Ultimately, I believe that working closely with the student services to ensure the availability of adequate services for students during times of distress and also working to further the awareness of the services currently available to our students, will allow our students to have a more enjoyable and meaningful student experience here at NUIG.
Briefly outline the other key points in your manifesto
As mentioned above one of my main aims as Vice President/ Welfare and Equality officer is to bridge the ongoing gap between student and services. There is however two particular services that I will work tirelessly to make significant improvements within, namely the Student’s Counselling Service and the
Student Assistance Fund. Firstly, the Student Assistance Fund provides our students with what is often an elementary source of income that allows us to continue our studies a little more comfortably. However, over the duration of the last 5 to 6 years the rate of assistance has reduced significantly and has had negative and stressful effects on many of our students. The pressure of nnecessary Finance issues and concerns that our students deal with is unacceptable. As Vice President/ Welfare and Equality Officer I will have the opportunity to sit on the Financial Aid Fund Committee and I will fight on behalf of our students until this is changed. The Student Counselling Service is a vital service on campus and it does great things for our students, but after having spoken to students and representatives at NUIG about their experience with using the SCS I believe that it is still lacking due to inadequate funding. Mental health and well-being is a huge issue across campus and I am committed to reducing the SCS waiting times and also to changing the policy on the SCS appointment system which I believe are currently capped at a certain amount of visits. It is hugely important that when looking at such vital and important services such as the SCS and their appointment policies we remember to always take into account the individual and their particular circumstances, generalizations of appointments and the like really isn’t good enough. It’s impossible to correctly pre-estabilsh a student’s needs in these circumstances and so I will work tirelessly to change that. Finally, I don’t believe in extensive manifesto’s that provide students with hugely false promises before the candidate has had adequate time to learn
about the student’s actual needs, and so I propose a listening tour should I get into office. This will allow me to visit different departments and to find out what the student body actually needs, rather than making any unnecessary assumptions on something so personal. Your voice matters! I promise to listen to the student voice always, and fight tirelessly on your behalf.
How will you encourage people to see you as someone they can approach with any problems?
Proximity is Power. That is to say, proximity as described as “nearness in space, time, or relationship”. What I mean by this is that, should I be elected, throughout my time as Vice President/ Welfare And Equality, I believe strongly in the power and necessity of proximity, I promise to be present and immersed within the student culture at NUIG, so that during my time in Office I will always remain true to your essence and voice your concerns. The closer in proximity I remain to the student body, will allow them to get to know me and I to know them on a more relational and personal level. Through this exchange of real communication I believe that the students will be able to see how willing and more than delighted I am to help and to listen to them with any problems that they might have.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I would just like to offer students my email address so that if they have any current concerns or visions of how the SU should approach the upcoming academic year please contact me. I would be so delighted to hear from you! A.fallon10@nuigalway.ie
VICE PRESIDENT: WELFARE OFFICER
FORLÍONADH TOGHCHÁN CML
VICE PRESIDENT: WELFARE OFFICER
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SU ELECTION SPECIAL
Colman O’Connell
Georgia Feeney
Why are you running for election?
Why are you running for election?
I have been in this university for four and a half years, and my goal would be to try to give back to the university. My goal would be to make the university more accessible for the average student, especially the Students’ Union, encourage people to get interested and involved in the Students’ Union, and see what we can provide for the average student.
What is the one thing that you are hoping to achieve as Welfare and Equality officer over everything else?
One thing I am very passionate about is the services we provide to students. I would love to improve the mental health services and disability support services. There has been an increase in numbers for the disability support service, there is a large number of students increasing their involvement in it and so increasing the amount of services they need. However the university hasn’t provided funds or staff to accommodate these students. My goal is to work with the university to improve the services in disability services and mental health.
Can you briefly outline the other key points in your manifesto?
One thing I want to focus on is women’s rights. I want to focus on the Ask for Angela campaign. I feel we should offer courses to bar staff to be aware of what Ask for Angela means, and teach the female student body, so they can be ready if they’re in a difficult situation. I also want to work on the situation with spiked drinks which has become prevalent. A test to check if your drinks has narcotics in it only cost €1.50 but yet no pub in the university or in Galway sells them. My goal would be to have a campaign and work with the board of commerce to come up wth a policy to convince bars and restaurants to sell these packets at the bar with drinks. So if you’re a girl or a boy who is uncomfortable with your drink, while buying a drink you can also buy a packet, and I hope it would be used as a deterrent and reduce the amount of drink spiking that occurs. Another passionate one I am proud of is blood and bone marrow drives. A blood drive was on during RAG week and we all know what happens during RAG week. So I think as we have a large student population of healthy men and women, that we should be con-
tributing more. I think we should have more blood drives in the university, one every three months. I am hoping we can give back – we already have many students doing medicine – we could give back to the health services in this country. I also think we should take a step further. I think a great contribution would be to have a bone-marrow drive once a year. Individuals can sign up and have DNA samples taken from their cheek and if they want they will be put on a register, and they may be called upon to save someone’s life with a blood disorder. Not only would this be a great charitable deed you would also get financial incentive of €400 so I am hoping it would encourage students to participate and I am hoping it would make NUI Galway contribute to saving them.
How will you encourage people to see you as someone they can approach with any problems?
I feel like as Welfare & Equality Officer I think it is a big responsibility and I’d make sure to have opening hours, which the Welfare Officer already does, but maybe take initiative to run workshops and visit societies and clubs, ask the student body what they are interested in as I am the treasurer of a society myself, Impact, I completely understand that I need to take more initiative with minority groups in the university.
Anything else to add?
I am proud that equality is part welfare. It will give the officer more background to improve the standards in the university to make sure people are happy and that they will be supported.
For the last couple of years I have been yur regular student, and then I have also volunteered with the SU. Then this year I also started working with them at the SU desk and I think from havig all those experiences I have been able to see how things work in terms of how students are well-represented and well-supported but also where we ccould be doing better. So I think there are areas we can improve the student support and I want to take what I’ve seen and learnt and apply it and I want to apply this to help the students and being a leader the students need, I want to be there solely for them and for their needs, even if it is just continuing traditions we already have, running fun events to campaign positive health and sexual health. It may just be making these more regular. As well as that giving more attention to students who don’t feel like they’re a part of the campus or feel a little bit ignored.
What is the one thing you want to do as Welfare and Equality Officer over everything else?
Nearly every single student is involved in extra-curricular activities, if they’re in a club or maybe a society committee, or do volunteering whether it is on or off campus. Everyone is doing something outside of their course, but we are not getting the same recognition for it. You could have a student that requires 40 or 50 hours a week and then are still maintaining 25 hours of being in their club or going to matches, or working on a society committee as an events manager and organising events. I want to get these students recognition so when they finish college and go into a job that there is recognition of that work that they’ve done. I want to work with the college to set up and ECT accreditation system to award students for the hours they have contributed, and even though this might take a while, I still think we can start it by adding an added page to their transcript, where it documents the hours the hours they’ve done, giving students support while they’ve done all that work through college and having them recognised for that.
Can you briefly outline the other key points in your manifesto?
One thing that I’d love is to bring to spiking test kits into the union. These would be strips or straws that people can use on a night out, and you pop them in a glass and it changes colour if you have been spiked with them. It ensures the safety of students on a night out. Spiking unfortunately has increased in Galway and even in other parts of Ireland, and these would be free to all students. I would also like to bring in a Welfare vending machine. From working at the desk, I’ve
seen that students don’t like to come up to ask for free things like condoms or Tompax, so I’d put a vending machine either side of campus where students could go to the discrete area, scan their SU card, and still get a free pack.
How will you encourage people to see you as someone they can approach with any problems?
I think the biggest thing s about these students, especially Welfare and Equality, it is someone students can go to talk and get support. It is a listening and referral services, but sometimes people don’t want to come to you because you are the person upstairs in the office. So my biggest thing, which I hope to show during election week, is visibility. I am the type of person who is always on campus, I practically live there, and I’d like to think if people see me in Smokey’s with a cup of tea that they can come over and stop for a chat, that I am that approachable person. I am that person they can put a face to the name.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I think it is important that the Welfare and Equality Officer is someone students feel has their back. They will be the one to the financial aid committee and fights for you to get your grant, theyre the ones where to go when you fiind yourself in a crisi situation and get you the help you need. They are the ones you go to when you think everything is falling apart and they can help you put the pieces back together. They can help you get life back in order. You need someone who isn’t biased, someone you can trust, and is approachable and these should be are the things that people should be considering when they choose their Welfare and Equality Officer. It isn’t always about the fun events, the President can do those, but this is a supportive role and it is important that people feel they can trust that person.