COLLEGE TRIBUNE CELEBRATING 25 VOLUMES
Volume XXV 3rd April 2012
Issue 11
INDEPENDENT STUDENT MEDIA SINCE 1989
collegetribune.ie
Internet Addiction: A growing concern
Eating Disorders : The unfortunate reality in Ireland Page 10
Page 8
Mystery surrounds SU’s Missing Million Donie O'Sullivan Chief Reporter
- University denies responsibility for supervising its employee -SUPresident-elect claims SU and University are both responsible for €1million debt that axed student services -Full accounts to be published on 12th April -Accounting investigation only goes back as far as 2007 -USI one of UCDSU's major creditors The Students’ Union may be over €1 million in debt when accounts are published on April 12, with claim and counterclaim surrounding who is responsible for, and who will be funding, the debt repayments. Neither the university nor the current SU President, Pat de Brún, could confirm what university staff member the Union Administrator – a university employee who played a role in managing the SU’s finances– reported to. SU President-elect, Rachel Breslin said that she believes both the Union and the university must share responsibility for the debt problem, which has led to the axing of
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services for students. The current investigation into the Students' Union's accounts by McNally Business Services only extends back to 2007. The Union of Students in Ireland is understood to be one of UCDSU's major creditors. UCDSU are expected to apply for a loan when accounts are completed in the coming weeks. Pat de Brún, current SU President stressed that it would be the Students' Union who would be paying off the debt but said he expected the university to be “very supportive” of the Union. De Brún did not rule out an increase in funding from the university that would help with loan repayments. De Brún cites poor structures, that he claims, were “not conducive to proper financial practices” as a key cause of the accumulation of the debt. Some of the university and Union's reporting structures are unclear, particularly those pertaining to the position of Union Administrator. The Union Administrator was a university employee, who both the SU and university say was under secondment to the Students' Union. The Administrator played a role in managing the SU's books. The position was abolished recently with the ratification of a new SU constitution as part of an overall reform of the Union. The Union Administrator did have other administrative responsibilities other than their role in the SU. The former, and final, Union Administrator, Continued on page 2
Relay for Life, in aid of the Irish Cancer Society, which took place last week was a rousing success with hundreds of students taking part in the twenty four hour event.
De Brún backs low cost model for student bar Conor Fox News Editor
P
at de Brún, President of UCD Students’ Union, has stated that he is working with the Student Club committee on solutions for the future of the bar; including hiring a bar industry consultant to assist in the creation of a long-term business plan. De Brún states that while the members of the committee are working extensively with the current bar staff “unfortunately [we] don’t have
the time required to put into the bar on a day-to-day basis, so we felt that bringing in an external resource would be prudent”. The consultant is preparing a proposal to present to the committee in the coming week; his fees will be included. The committee plans on examining every aspect of the bar’s activities in an attempt to make it profitable again. Students have complained in recent years of the price of drinks in the bar. 2nd year student, Maria, in-
forms the College Tribune that it’d “be better if the €3 drinks were more often ... it’s much cheaper to just predrink at home.” The SU President acknowledges this feeling, stating that “students are now more inclined to get their alcohol in an off-license and drink at home instead of the bar. In order to be competitive, I feel we need to reduce prices in line with the economic realities we’re faced with.” He argues that there is potential in the Student Club as “it is a members’ club that
is there to serve the needs of the [students]. That gives me faith that we can turn it around into a bar that students want to spend time, and money, in.” De Brún’s aim is to deliver a lower-cost model “in time for the beginning of the next academic term, although it is undoubtedly a challenge, i think it would be fantastic to be able to re-launch the bar completely from the first week back.” The new Forum bar should also be open in time for the beginning of the forthcoming academic year.
INSIDE Neil Jordan / Summer Festival Guide / UCD Noughties Orchestra