NUI Galway Students' Union Annual Report 2016 - 2017 by SIN Newspaper University of Galway

NUI Galway Students’ Union Annual Report Tuarascáil Bhliantúil Chomhaltas na Mac Léinn, OÉ Gaillimh

Annual

Report 2016-2017

Contents•Clár na nÁbhar

1 3 5 7 9

Presidents Foreword • Focal ón Uachtarán

Mission Statement/Highlights • Ráiteas Misin/Buaicphointí

Executive Committee 2016/17 • Coiste Feidhmiúcháin 2016/17

SU Council • Comhairle an Chomhaltais

SIN Newspaper • Nuachtán SIN

Elections • Toghcháin

Students’ Union Policies • Beartais Chomhaltas na Mac Léinn

CÉIM

Life Skills • Scileanna Saoil

Fundraising • Tiomsú airgid

Entertainment & Events • Siamsaíocht agus Imeachtaí

Campaigns • Feachtais

Students’ Union Services • Seirbhísí Chomhaltas na Mac Léinn

Incoming Executive 2017/18 • Coiste Feidhmiúcháin 2017/18

Jimmy

Presidents Foreword Focal ón Uachtarán

Leading the NUI Galway Students’ Union this year has been my greatest honour, but has also brought to light that culturally the word ‘politics’ is too often perceived as negative and there is a hesitation to engage, despite the fact it is everywhere around us and effects our everyday lives. Our core focus was to allow our members to engage with their institution and the society around them through our campaigns, challenging the current status quo and societal deficits. We believed empowering and encouraging active citizenship amongst our members would serve as the antidote to civic disengagement and negative political culture. In July 2016, one week into our term in office, we were faced with both a unique opportunity and gruelling challenge that ultimately dictated our priority for the entire year - the release of the Peter Cassells Report. Outlining three potential options on how our government should fund Higher Education, 2017 would be a defining year for the student movement, as both Publicly Funded Education and an Income Contingent Loan Scheme were put forward in the report. NUI Galway Students’ Union’s ongoing contribution has been critical and effective when nationally calling on the Oireachtas Committee to choose the fully publicly funded option, as the only option to enable social mobility, break poverty traps and empower the youth of this island. Determined to advocate our belief that every individual is deserving of an education, free of debt, we saw 12,000 Students take to the streets in Dublin (1,000 of which were from Galway City). This was the largest student protest in over 5 years, under the leadership of the Union of Students in Ireland. Our year not only focused on challenging the barriers surrounding access to education, but also: academic supports; gender inequalities; all and any noncompliance towards sexual consent; stigma surrounding mental health and suicide awareness; challenging the 8th amendment; current legislation on alcohol and drugs; the infringement of worker’s rights; the Direct Provision system and standing up for the basic rights of asylum seekers; barriers surrounding LGBT+ issues and ensuring we progress in trans rights; issues that students with disabilities face; reluctance to take responsibility for our planet; ensuring student representation and also ensuring the protection, promotion and respect of the Irish language. All issues of great importance to us. Our

team worked tremendously hard and we made great progress to bring about positive change. Of course all we have achieved would not have been possible if not for many people. I extend my gratitude to the staff of NUI Galway who engaged with us throughout the year - the Academic staff, Student Services and the University Management. Also to our Board of Trustees for their oversight and our very hardworking SUCS Ltd. staff for their services to our students. The successful daily running of the Students’ Union come down to our dedicated and supportive staff – Joanna, Lorna, Amber, Órla and lastly Chris Newell, whose counsel and support has been invaluable throughout the year. Our SU Council and Class Representatives, who have been the real heroes in the progress and success of our year. Voluntarily working to make the best possible academic environment and quality of life for our students in NUI Galway. I see great potential in our Class Reps, most of whom are driven by intrinsic motives, only beginning their journeys of leadership. Lastly I extend the warmest of thanks to our Executive Committee and two Vice Presidents, Cathal and Daniel, who have battled tirelessly to support hundreds of our members in every individual encounter. All we have achieved would never have been possible if not for their dedication and expertise. I am very, very proud of you all. I reiterate that the Students’ Union is a vehicle for social change, a resource and opportunity for students to engage with and influence their Institution and their society. Those around us and those who will come after us, will always need leaders. However leaders need a platform to develop as change agents and make their visions a reality - that is the Students’ Union. Being President of an organisation that provides that platform has been the single honour of my life. Upon my election result, I promised the students of NUI Galway that I would give them my all. I believe passionately that our education system should be thoroughly accessible, respected and protected, and I hope I fulfilled your expectations. I proudly welcome Lorcán and his team and wish them my utmost, in showing continuity in our work and in the new challenges to come. On behalf of Daniel Khan, Cathal Sherlock, our Executive Committee, our staff and SU Council in its entirety, I present with pride the annual report 2016/17 of the NUI Galway Students’ Union. “Tada gan iarracht” - Nothing without effort. With Gratitude,

Jimmy McGovern NUI GALWAY STUDENTS’ UNION PRESIDENT 2016/17

Mission Statement/Highlights Ráiteas Misin/Buaicphointí

NUI Galway Students’ Union was originally established in 1911 as the Students’ Representative Council. This council was short-lived, the re-establishment of the body was proposed in 1913. The council was firmly established by the mid-1920’s, and in the 1960’s was formally developed into the university’s Students’ Union, then known as Comhairle Teachta na Mac Léinn.

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We have progressed in our aims to achieve excellent working relationships with all University staff, ultimately benefiting our students.

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After three incredibly successful years, through lengthy negotiations our CÉIM programme secured €100,000 funding to run in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies.

Founded in 1964 the function of the Union as per the Constitution shall be “to represent its members and promote, defend and vindicate the rights of its members at all levels of society”.

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We gained new student representation on both internal and external committees to the University. Internally, we secured representation on new college boards, a student staff liaison committee in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies, the Equality & Diversity Committee and were notably involved in the process of appointing the new University President. Externally, we gained representation on the Steering Committee of the Western Region Drug & Alcohol Task Force (WRDATF) and the Galway Children and Young People’s Services Committee (CYPSC).

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Through community outreach we secured additional student accommodation (200+ beds) in the midst of a national crisis.

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The REACT (Responding to Excessive Alcohol Consumption at Third Level) agreement was cosigned by the Students’ Union and the University President.

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We successfully lobbied and secured funding for the continuation of our on-campus free STI Clinic for the second year.

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Our Vice President / Welfare Officer also lead our Union in being successfully awarded the ‘Amber Flag’, as recognition of our hard work in stigma reduction, awareness and training surrounding mental health and suicide.

“An injury to one is an injury to all” Highlights 2016/17 •

The Students’ Union lobbied every TD in Galway on multiple occasions regarding the Peter Cassells Report, the societal benefits of Publicly Funded option and the detrimental impact of an Income Contingent Loan Scheme option.

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We campaigned across campus and in lectures for weeks, mobilizing students to travel to Dublin to march for their future. We filled ten fifty seater buses of 500 students, adding to the largest student demonstration in over 5 years,

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After more than a decade of consideration from NUI Galway, The Students’ Union were committed to seeing anonymous marking of exams being finally introduced. The perseverance of our Vice President / Education Officer proved successful, gaining a unanimous agreement from the University’s Academic Council. As the only pilot University in Ireland, we successfully integrated the National Student Engagement Programme (NStEP), where students are seen as partners in decision making - the beginning of a new milestone in our Union’s potential to enhance an environment of academic excellence.

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We introduced ‘Disclosure Training’ run by Galway Rape Crisis Centre to our list of Life Skills Programmes.

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We welcomed the inaugural team of Equality Volunteers, to add to our established Class Representative System and Welfare Volunteers.

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During the uncertainties of Brexit, on request of our members we facilitated a referendum on the unification of Ireland, passing by a three quarters vote.

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SU Council’s agreement to make a constitutional change to our SU Election regulations combined with an incredible calibre of candidates, saw an increase in voter turnout of over 1,000 students.

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We secured funding to upgrade and renovate our Commercial Services, and welcomed a new Chairperson to the Board of Directors.

We continued on from two very successful years of voter registration campaigns on campus, and registered an additional 500 members.

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We worked closely with the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Society to see NUI Galway commit to divesting from Fossil Fuel shares (total of €3.4 million) by the end of 2017.

Vice President / Education Officer, Cathal Sherlock, and Equality Officer, Megan Reilly, were nominated for their work at the Student Achievement Awards Ireland 2017.

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We collaborated with a number of external people to successfully run an in depth Workers’ Rights campaign.

NUI Galway Students’ Union won ‘Best Large Delegation’ and ‘Best Speaker’ (Cathal Sherlock) at the annual USI Congress, with President Jimmy McGovern being elected on the Officer Board of the Union of Students in Ireland.

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We openly challenged the University on its decision to remove the Irish language requirement for the Presidency.

Our Union donated €15,400 to Galway Lifeboat Station / the RNLI and Threshold after a year of charity events.

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The Students’ Union was nominated for three awards in the Online Marketing in Galway Awards – People’s Choice, Best Website and Best Social Media.

We brought our members to Dublin to have their voices heard nationally, on issues regarding access to education, the 8th Amendment, and the Direct Provision System.

Executive Committee 2016/17 Coiste Feidhmiúcháin 2016/17

Vice President/Education Officer Leas Uachtarán/Oifigeach Oideachais

President Uachtarán

su.education@nuigalway.ie 086 385 3658

su.president@nuigalway.ie 086 385 5502

Cathal Sherlock

Oifigeach na Gaeilge

Clíodhna Nic Giolla Chomháill

Vice President/Welfare Officer Leas Uachtarán/Oifigeach Leasa

Jimmy McGovern

Equality Officer Oifigeach Comhionnais

Daniel Khan

su.welfare@nuigalway.ie 086 385 3659

Mature Students’ Officer Oifigeach Mic Léinn Lánfhásta

Postgraduate Officer An tOifigeach Iarchéime

Megan Reilly

Damian Duddy

Colm Duffy

Societies Chairperson Cathaoirleach na gCumann

Clubs Captain Captaen na gClubanna

SU Council Chairperson | Cathaoirleach na Comhairle do Chomhaltas na Mac Léinn

Convenor of the College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies | Tionólaí Choláiste na nDán, na nEolaíochtaí Sóisialta & an Léinn Cheiltigh

su.socs@nuigalway.ie 086 852 3417

su.clubs@nuigalway.ie 089 975 4741

su.council@nuigalway.ie 087 269 7232

su.gaeilge@nuigalway.ie 0044 7534 459 894

Patrick O’Flaherty

Convenor of the College of Science Tionólaí Choláiste na hEolaíochta

Christopher Mc Brearty

su.science@nuigalway.ie 087 656 5387

su.equality@nuigalway.ie 086 228 3856

Caitlin Jansen

su.maturestudents@nuigalway.ie 091 524 810

Aaron Reeves

Convenor of the College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences | Tionólaí Choláiste an Leighis, an Altranais & na nEolaíochtaí Sláinte

Convenor of the College of Business, Public Policy & Law | Tionólaí Choláiste an Ghnó, an Bhearais Phoiblí agus an Dlí

su.medicine@nuigalway.ie 087 768 7892

su.business@nuigalway.ie 087 065 5357

Lorcán Ó Maoileannaigh

Diarmuid Ó Curraoin

su.postgrad@nuigalway.ie 086 275 8527

Ciarán MacChoncarraige su.arts@nuigalway.ie 087 054 4499

Convenor of the College of Engineering & Informatics | Tionólaí Choláiste na hInnealtóireachtaagus na Faisnéisíochta

Tim Murphy

su.engineering@nuigalway.ie 086 026 0500

SU Council Comhairle an Chomhaltais

The Students’ Union Council had another very busy year with a massive 477 Class Representatives elected to represent the students of the five different schools in the University. This year was also the first year of School Reps, which are PhD Students who represent all the research students in their school. There was 33 School Reps also. The Students’ Union Council plays an important role in reviewing and directing the work of the Students’ Union. There were 33 SU Council meetings held during the year gave Class Reps an opportunity to raise issues affecting their class.

All Class Reps received intensive skills training at the start of the year and also got their coveted Class Rep hoodie! Class Reps gained excellent experience during the year to enhance their CV’s and also expanded their network by working closely with other students and University staff members. The Class Reps were also trained up in the National Student Engagement Programme (NStEP) which was being piloted in NUIG Students’ Union along with four other institutions. The SU Council Chair, Aaron Reeves, worked closely with the SU Vice-President/Education Officer, Cathal Sherlock, to ensure the system worked smoothly throughout the year. Each of the five College Convenors acted as chairperson for their College Class Representative Council and made sure that every class had a Class Rep.

SU College Convenors 2016/17 • • • • •

Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies Convenor - Ciarán MacChoncarraige Science Convenor – Christopher Mc Brearty Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences Convenor – Lorcán Ó Maoileannaigh Engineering & Informatics Convenor –Tim Murphy Business, Public Policy & Law Convenor - Diarmuid Ó Curraoin

SIN Newspaper Nuachtán SIN

SIN (Student Independent News) is Galway’s only student newspaper with 12 issues - one per fortnight – published over the academic year and a circulation of 6,000 copies. SIN is student and campus focused, celebrating the achievements of NUI Galway’s students, athletes, artists, writers and staff. 2016/2017 Team: • • • • • • •

Editor in Chief: Sorcha O’Connor News: Cathy Lee and Cathal Kelly Opinion: Eoin Molloy Features: Deirdre Leonard Lifestyle: Kayleigh McCoy Entertainment: Aisling Bonner Sport: Trevor Murray

Special issues were published throughout the year, including a Halloween issue, a Christmas issue, a Valentine’s Day issue and one issue with an Elections supplement in the run-up to the Students’ Union Elections. Each of these issues had its own unique design, with matching graphics and images, courtesy of designer, Shannon Reeves.

2016/2017 Highlights: • • • • •

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Even more volunteers, with over 60 new aspiring journalists joining our ranks in September. This year SIN got a new look, as the team redesigned the layout of the paper. More participation at SIN meetings. SIN moved more online this year with great content to be found on their website sin.ie. An SU Election Special was published as a supplement in issue 10. This included interviews with election candidates, as well as articles that provided all the relevant information on voting. SIN is published in association with the NUI Galway Student’s Union, but retains editorial independence.

Elections Toghcháin

In March the campus was engulfed in election fever for two weeks of elections. Thirty students put their names on ballot papers seeking election to the 2017-2018 Students’ Union Executive. Three polling stations and an online Remote Vote option were available for students to cast their vote. Ken Curtin oversaw the elections ensuring a fastidious adherence to procedure and regulations. SU Council’s agreement to make a constitutional change to our SU Election regulations combined with an incredible calibre of candidates, saw an increase in voter turnout of over 1,000 students. Despite the high number of candidates and one referenda, the voter turnout for part time elections was disappointing. A further review of the election process is scheduled for the coming year to address this issue. The successful candidates in all fifteen elections were:

Position

Name

President Lorcán Ó Maoileannaigh Vice President / Education Officer

Andrew Forde

Vice President / Welfare Officer

Megan Reilly

Oifigeach na Gaeilge Cónall Ó Corra Equality Officer Clare Austick Mature Students’ Officer Eugene O’Flaherty Postgraduate Officer Colm Duffy Societies Chairperson Ruth Sweeney Clubs Captain Conor Ó Beoláin SU Council Chairperson Emily McNamara Convenor of the College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies Sabrina Vaughan Convenor of the College of Science

Seán Guinan

Convenor of the College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences

Sarah Murphy

Convenor of the College of Business, Public Policy & Law

Fiachra Mac Suibhne

Convenor of the College of Engineering & Informatics

Christopher D’Arcy

Students’ Union Policies Beartais Chomhaltas na Mac Léinn

NUI Galway Students’ Union adopts policies on various issues. Policy can be set by the Executive Committee, SU Council or a referendum of all members of the Students’ Union. The following policies have been agreed by referendum in recent years: Students’ Union position on reunification of the island of Ireland - Passed March 2017 NUI Galway Students’ Union supports the reunification of the island of Ireland and calls on the State to hold a national referendum on the question of such reunification. Students’ Union position on the Direct Provision System - Passed March 2016 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. Students’ Union position on the Decriminalisation of Drugs - Passed March 2016 The Students’ Union has adopted a position actively supporting the decriminalisation of drugs solely for personal use.

Students’ Union position on the Legalisation and Regulation of the Cultivation, Sale and Possession of Cannabis - Passed March 2015 The Students’ Union has adopted a position supporting the legalisation and regulation of the cultivation, sale and possession of cannabis. Students’ Union position on the issue of couples of the same gender availing of Civil Marriage Passed March 2014 The Students’ Union has a policy of supporting couples of the same gender availing of civil marriage. Following the national referendum in May 2015, this policy has been fulfilled. Students’ Union position on the campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the State of Israel - Passed March 2014 The Students’ Union adopted a position in support of the campaign of “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the State of Israel” (BDS Campaign) Students’ Union position on the Issue of Abortion - Passed March 2013 The Students’ Union has a Pro-Choice position in support of the national campaign for full reproductive rights, which include a woman’s right to abortion, whether elective or medically necessary. No Platform Policy - Passed March 2012 The Students’ Union is mandated to oppose any invitation to members of various organisations to speak at the University. Full details available on the Students’ Union Website.

CÉIM

Supporting the first year experience CÉIM is an academic peer learning programme initiated by NUI Galway Students’ Union that supports student transition to higher education, health and wellbeing, academic success and progression. Initially piloted in collaboration with the College of Engineering and Informatics with Engineering students in September 2013, CÉIM was offered to BA Law students in September 2015, and was further rolled out to Geography students in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies in 2016/17. CÉIM is based on the well-evidenced Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) or Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) model used in over 30 countries. Student leaders from higher years facilitate weekly study sessions for small groups of 1st year students, creating peer-led learning communities where it’s easy to ask questions. CÉIM in numbers Since 2013: • 1,700 1st year students have been offered CÉIM peer learning • 140 2nd and 3rd year leaders have received intensive leadership training • 920 hours of peer learning have been provided • 6,900 hours have been volunteered by CÉIM leaders • 99% of Engineering leaders have completed the programme • 87% of Arts leaders have completed the programme • 1 in 4 NUI Galway students were offered CÉIM peer learning in 2016/17. • CÉIM won the ‘Student Engagement Activity of the Year’ award at the National Student Achievement Awards 2016.

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85% of 1st year Engineering students and 71% of 1st year BA Law students say that CÉIM helped them settle into university life in 2015/16. 8% average higher grades were consistently achieved by CÉIM Engineering regular attendees in comparison to non-attendees over the period 2013/14 to 2015/16. 98% of CÉIM Engineering regular attendees during the period 2013/14 to 2015/16 passed their first siting exams, versus 89% of non-attendees. 54% of 1st year Engineering students who never attended CÉIM failed the year in 2015/16, while no student who attended 66% or more CÉIM sessions failed.

‘First year can be very stressful for a teenager; CÉIM can help students realise they are not the only ones who feel pressure and it can help them integrate into university life faster.’ 1st year student 2016/17 ‘It has changed my view on college completely and I can’t thank CÉIM enough for the opportunities it has given me.’ CÉIM Leader 2016/17 ‘CÉIM is innovative and invigorating and shows a depth of work and understanding worthy of any project in higher education.’ Tom Boland, CEO of the Higher Education Authority, April 2016

Life Skills Programme Scileanna Saoil

The Life Skills Programme saw the Students’ Union running courses throughout the year to allow students the opportunity to enhance their life skills away from their academic studies and also improve their employability. The programme continues to go from strength to strength with almost 500 students completing 12 different courses. In partnership with Galway Rape Crisis Centre a new course in Disclosure Training was offered to students this year which equipped them with the skills to deal appropriately with a disclosure of sexual violence. Connacht Rugby’s John Muldoon also attended the course. Child Protection Training was offered in partnership with the ALIVE volunteering office. A 20 week free Irish language course was also held by An Cumann Gaelach this year which was hugely popular with students looking to learn Irish or improve the Irish they had. The SU worked with the Emergency Services Training Institute to bring more Occupational First Aid, Manual Handling and Cardiac First Responder courses to Campus. These classes gave students vital lifesaving skills to allow them to deal with emergency situations. In semester one and semester two Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) courses were again run on Campus in conjunction with the HSE to equip students with the skills to recognise the danger signs for someone who is a suicide risk. The SU teamed up with Professional MMA Fighter Benjamin Davis from Shaolin MMA Galway to provide a very popular Mixed Martial Arts for Self Defence course. A series of sign language courses were held during the year which gave students the basic skills needed to converse in sign language with deaf people. The Students’ Union also worked with Galway One World Centre to bring their popular Anti-Racism training course back to campus. Students got to de-stress and improve their flexibility at the SU Yoga classes which are now held all year round.

Fundraising Tiomsú Airgid

NUI Galway Students’ Union ran a selection of unique charity events this year raising €15,400 for our chosen charities: Galway Lifeboats/RNLI and Threshold. Galway Lifeboat Station/The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Threshold works to prevent homelessness and campaigns for housing as a right. Christmas came early again to NUI Galway with our massive Christmas Day fundraiser in the College Bar in partnership with Electric Garden & Theatre in November raising an amazing €11,000 for Galway Lifeboats/RNLI and Threshold. There was a traditional Christmas dinner, Christmas carols, crackers, advent calendars, cheesy Christmas tunes and lots of prizes for the best/worst Christmas jumpers along with a whole lot of other early Festive merriment! In December students got to take part in The Ultimate Study Break again with the Big Fat Charity Cake Sale AND Wooly Ward’s Petting Farm Visit during study week. Campus was invaded by rabbits, gerbils, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, chicks, hens, turkeys, geese, ducks, sheep, goats and Kuzco the Llama. There was also plenty of cake, tea, raffle prizes and tunes from Flirt FM. The event raised over €530 for Galway Lifeboats/RNLI and Threshold. The Gourmet Tart Company, Murrays, BakingSoc and our wonderful volunteers all generously donated tasty treats for the event. SU Officers, staff and volunteers took to the streets of Galway on a cold, wet and windy Saturday in February for their annual Charity Collection Day during which they convinced the good people of Galway to part with their spare change – over €620 worth of it! On a very windy, cold and sunny Saturday in February the brave students of NUI Galway and members of the NUIG Mountaineering Club took part in the SU Charity Croagh Patrick Climb and raised €1,751 for charity. Led by student volunteers a very successful and colourful charity hair braiding fundraiser took place in Smokey’s Café raising another €100 for the SU Charities. Our SU Charity Comedy gig featured comedians Kevin McGahern, Joanne McNally and Fred Cooke in March in the O’Flaherty Theatre with all proceeds going to the SU Charites from a hilarious night. The Science Class Reps generously donated the proceeds from their end of year Science Party bucket collection in Sult to our fundraising efforts.

Other Charity Events: SU Officers and Staff took part in the NUI Galway 8k run in September in aid of mental health charity Jigsaw. SU Officers and staff donned their finery for “Wedding Dress Wednesday” in September to raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society’s Dare to Care campaign. The SU took part in a textbook appeal for refugees awaiting relocation in Greece and students very generously donated many first and second year textbooks to the appeal. NUI Galway students and SU staff members also got up early to take part in the 4am Darkness Into Light Galway 5k walk/run for Pieta House which took place in Salthill in May.

Entertainment & Events Siamsaíocht agus Imeachtaí

Freshers’ September 2016 Freshers’ events this year included another massive week of Orientation which included our Outdoor Cinema at NUI Galway, a Silent Disco, DJs, photobooths, karaoke, Clubs day, Societies day and the ALIVE Volunteering Fair. The Freshers’ Fair was back with student friendly companies, inflatables, freebies and yummy food from market stalls welcoming students to campus. 12,000 copies of the free SU Diary were snapped up by students in less than two weeks! Freshers’ Gigs included comedy hypnosis with Michael McCoy, tunes from Red-Tape, DJ’s, karaoke and the Freshers’ Silent Disco in the Sult. We also hosted Matt Cooper’s The Last Word show which included an NUIG lecturer’s vs student’s quiz. Working and Travelling Abroad Fair The fifth NUI Galway Students’ Union Working and Travelling Abroad Fair took place at the end of January in Áras na Mac Léinn. This FREE Event brought together J1 Visa Companies, travel companies, volunteering/adventure companies, internship and training companies to help NUI Galway students plan their summer. There were also delicious market stalls to keep bellies full as summer plans were hatched! Comedy Over the year NUI Galway students again had a chance to see award winning comedians on Campus at a fraction of their usual ticket price with all gigs just €5! The year’s comedy kicked off with an amazing sell out gig from fabulous comedy hypnotist Michael McCoy as part of our Freshers’ events in September. In October comedian Neil Delamere brought his show to a sold out O’Flaherty Theatre. During SHAG week The Dirty Circus came back to Sult with their own special brand of Comedy, Burlesque, Cabaret and Sauciness! In February one of our campus heroes David O’Doherty returned to play another sold out NUIG SU comedy gig. Our SU Charity Comedy gig was held in March in the O’Flaherty Theatre with all proceeds going to the SU Charites. This joint gig featured Kevin McGahern, Joanne McNally and Fred Cooke who kept the laughter flowing.

Outreach Projects In March the SU organised 30 NUI Galway teams who competed in the Marchathon Challenge. 144 staff and students walked a total of 8.5 million steps during the month with the aim of getting more active. NUI Galway came 4th overall out of the 19 Higher Education institutions taking part in the challenge and two NUI Galway teams finished in the top 10 teams overall – Walking Sucs (3rd Place) and Walkers (8th Place)! Also in March we hosted the hugely popular Vintage Clothing Sale an event we hope to continue next year. We got a new member of the SU team in semester two - Max the Labrador puppy! Max joined us in the office every Wednesday to provide some puppy therapy for students. Many thanks to Max’s owner Grace for sharing the doggo love! In April we hosted the X Factor UK auditions in the SU and loads of talented NUI Galway students sang their hearts out! Rugby NUI Galway Students’ Union partnership with Connacht Rugby continued in 2016/17 with students benefiting from huge discounts on tickets for all of the Connacht home matches throughout the season.

Campaigns Feachtasaí

NUI Galway Students’ Union ran many campaigns throughout the 2016-17 academic year. Ranging from welfare campaigns, mental and sexual health weeks etc. to environmental campaigns, LGBTQ awareness and more. Welfare campaigns included the NUIG #littlethings Mental Health and Wellbeing Campaign in October. It highlights that there are things that you can do for yourself and others that will have a positive impact on how you feel and how you cope. Various events were held on campus to raise awareness and promote positive mental health organised by societies, clubs, the SU and Student Services. Galway mental health services were highlighted to all stuwdents in the event they should ever need them. Sexual Health and Guidance Weeks (SHAG) were run in both the first and second semesters. There were extended hours of the new free weekly STI clinic in the Student Health Unit during both weeks. These campaigns saw many students get actively involved with their sexual health. Students were given information on STIs and how to prevent them. There was also a comedy hypnotist gig and a saucy cabaret by the Dirty Circus during the week. For Valentine’s Day hundreds of Rolo’s and Roses were distributed to students. Consent workshops were also run throughout the academic year by the #NUIGSafeCampus team and Condom Wednesdays continued this year with the Welfare volunteers distributing free condoms every Wednesday. The SU was heavily involved with the Repeal the 8th Amendment campaign throughout the year. In September we brought students to Dublin to take part in the National March for Choice. In October TD Ruth Coppinger attended the Repeal the 8th Chat & Tea event on campus. There was also a free workshop in semester 2 on student lobbying and political engagement in relation to the Repeal movement. NUIG students also took part in the National Strike for Repeal in Galway in March. Led by Diarmuid Ó Curraoin (SU Business/Law Convenor) the SU teamed up with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on a Workers’ Rights Campaign during Equality Week to highlight key issues in the workforce and to educate students on their rights be that in part time employment or beyond. Equality Officer Megan Reilly put together the new Equality Taskforce known as the EqualiTeam who ran a series of great events throughout the year to make NUI Galway campus a more inclusive place. Events included a privilege walk, an ability awareness day, an accessibility audit and the distribution of hundreds of “Tompax” (packages of free tampons and sanitary towels) to students.

Oifigeach na Gaeilge Clíodhna Coyle organized a Seachtain na Gaeilge in March with céilís, quizzes and a ball. The SU worked with students from the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Society on their successful campaign to get NUI Galway to officially commit to divesting from fossil fuel shares by the end of 2017. SU Postgraduate Officer Colm Duffy was the auditor of the CCAFS Society and Director of the Fossil Free Campaign.

Lockers ...Do Chomhaltas, Do Sheirbhísí ...Do Chomhaltas, Do Sheirbhísí