Campaigns Feachtasaí

Comhaltas na Mac Léinn Ollscoil na Gaillimhe ran many campaigns throughout the 2022/23 academic year. These ranged from welfare campaigns focussing on mental health and sexual health to sustainability initiatives, Gaeilge campaigns and more.

Accommodation Protest

In September SU Officers and students marched to Eyre Square and took part in an overnight Accommodation Protest Sleep Out to highlight the cost of living crisis and the lack of affordable, suitable accommodation in Galway for students. Officers also went door to door encouraging homeowners to rent rooms to students.

Mental Health Week

Mental Health Week events took place in October to encourage students to take time to look after their mental health, to raise awareness and to recognise the signs of mental health issues. During the week there were skincare clinics, Walk & Talks, sunrise swims, chances to meet local Mental Health organisations along with free Pilates, meditation and dance fitness classes.

USI Walk Out

In October we took part in the USI national Walk Out protest as part of their Cost of College Campaign. Students all walked out of their lectures at the same time to gather in front of the library and protest the rising cost of living and the student accommodation crisis.

Seachtain Gaelach

The Seachtain Gaelach campaign in November included a Coldvember Swim collaboration, Gaeilge 24 and a visit from the Sam Maguire and Liam McCarthy cups to the SU Office. There was also Flirt FM takeovers, ceol in Smokey’s Café, a Céilí Mór in Sult and an amazing culture night. The week ended with the launch of the Queer dictionary “as Gaeilge” to kick off Pink Training.

SHAG Week

In November our SHAG Week events included free workshops covering topics such as The Best Sex Ever, Kinks, Healthy Relationships and Digital Intimacy. Active* Consent had information stands looking at relationship green flags and we had a delicious cakes and contraception event at Sult where we also gave out free panic alarms. There was also disclosure training with Galway Rape Crisis Centre, free rapid HIV testing with Sexual Health West and our sold out Sex Toy Bingo. To mark Elimination of Violence Against Women day we raised awareness about relationship Red Flags with the #TooIntoYou campaign.

Talk to A TD

In February we held a lobbying session at the SU office contacting TD’s to raise key student issues such as accommodation and hybrid learning.

Consent Week

Our Consent Week took place in February with lots of great events including Galentine’s Day Prosecco + Pancakes Brunch, a Self-Care Sesh, an Active* Consent Workshop, Rapid HIV Testing, Disclosure Training, STI Testing and the ever popular sold out Sex Toy Bingo.

Seachtain na Gaeilge

Seachtain na Gaeilge was held over three weeks in March with a great array of events including community games, coffee mornings, Gaeilge 101 classes, Flirt FM takeovers, trad sessions on campus, talks, workshops and another amazing culture night.

Wellbeing Week

Wellbeing Week was held in the final week of semester two to help students to wind down and take a break. There was lots of freebies, dance fitness classes, yoga classes and a charity rounders match pitting the SU Officers against the University Management Team (which we lost!). There was also a pop up vintage clothes shop, a mental health workshop and we gave out free pronoun badges to mark International Trans Day of Visibility.

Climate Crew

The SU Climate Crew met throughout the year to try to find ways to make the university as eco-friendly as possible. We held lab coat and goggle recycling drives in September and May so that these can be passed on to other students rather than dumped. We joined with Fridays For Future for their Climate Strikes in Eyre Square. We held regular Clean Ups to try to make Galway a cleaner, greener place. We hosted Secondhand pop up shops with Galway Simon Community, NCBI and Clare Haven Horizons during the year. There was a trip to the Museum to look at a Climate Change exhibition, we hosted a Sustainable Development Goals panel discussion and took part in Green Careers events. In November Wasted Week had events like free bike checks, vape recycling workshops, a vegan pot luck and upcycled arts and crafts to encourage students to think green. We promoted the EcoBricks competition and took part in an EcoFeminism Workshop and Global Activism Week. We had a Pass It On Box at Christmas to encourage students to donate items they no longer needed to other students and we held a Galway Simon Community Donation day at the end of the year in conjunction with the Glassary sustainability project.

Other campaigns

We worked with Sexual Health West to hold regular free rapid HIV testing and syphilis testing clinics on campus throughout the year. We also distributed thousands of free condoms, lube, period products, pregnancy tests and antigen tests. We have a hygiene bank in the SU Office for students experiencing hygiene poverty.

We worked to increase the amount of study spaces available in the lead up to exams and participated in the exam jam podcast. We also extended our cloakroom hours and, of course, gave out lots of freebies to get students through the exams.

We hosted regular Education Forums, Clubs Captain meetings and Societies Chair forums during the year to encourage students to make their voices heard.

We took part in protests on issues such as PhD Stipends, Gaeilge4All, the Cost of Living, CATU, BDS Palestine and Ireland4All.