Election Special

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER C

E

C&

SU ELECTION SPECIAL

ATION C U D

TOM MONAGHAN

STEPHEN CROSBY

G

KEVIN BRENNAN

DUATE A R

NIALL TORRIS

W

CHRISTINE BROWN

PRESIDENT

AMY CREAN

E R A F L E

BREIFNE O’BRIEN

BARRY MURPHY RYAN OAKES

JULIET MCFADDEN

KYLIE ROCHE

JOHN KERR

ROSALEEN ALJOHMANI

MELISSA PLUNKETT

March 2018 | VOL. XXIV | universityobserver.ie

ELECTION FAQ With year on year confusion about how the elections work and why we’re voting, here are some frequently asked questions and less frequently given answers.

What is Student Council?

Student council meets on a Monday about every two weeks. It is led by an independent chair and consists of sabbatical officers, class reps, college officers, the campaigns coordinators, and some members of the Ents crew, as well as a secretary who is a student. Any student can attend council, but they must sit in a separate area to those elected and they do not have speaking rights. At each council, motions are put forward for the approval of the council. Any member of council can propose a motion and students can ask a member of council to put forward a motion on their behalf.

What is voting down the ballot?

UCD voting is carried out similarly to Irish political elections in that there is proportional representation. This means that you can vote 1,2,3 etc, down the ballot. If your number one choice does not gain many votes, then your vote may be transferred to the candidate you put down as number two. Voting down the ballot ensures that instead of just voting for one candidate you are ensuring that the kind of candidates you like are likely to get elected and the kind that you don’t like, have less of a chance. This means that there is no such thing as a wasted vote as unlike in American elections if you vote for an unpopular candidate your second vote will still be used.

What is RON?

RON stands for Re-Open Nominations. This vote is treated like a candidate. If you do not like any candidates for a race, you can vote RON number one. If you really like some candidates and greatly dislike others, you can vote for the ones you like, followed by RON, and then the ones you dislike in order of preference. This way your vote is likely to go to the candidates you like and is highly unlikely to go to the candidates you do not like and if it does it will go to the candidates you dislike the least.

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What does the Students’ Union President do?

According the UCDSU constitution the President is the “CEO, First Officer & Chief Spokesperson of the Union and shall be responsible for the administration of the Union. All staff of the union shall be ultimately responsible to the President.” The union, however, also has a Chief Operating Officer who is a full time paid member of staff and, not a student, who deals with the day to day running of the union.

What does the Students’ Union Welfare Officer do?

The Welfare Officer is “responsible for issues that relate to student welfare.” This includes counselling services, mental health, disability services, sexual health, LGBT+ issues, and many more. The Welfare Officer handles a lot of student cases but is not a counselling service and must refer students to the relevant services.

What does the Education Officer do?

The Education Officer is in charge of “issues of academic interest” including fees, exams, library services, etc. The Education Officer also handles personal cases and must, like the Welfare Officer, keep those cases confidential.

What does the Graduate Officer do?

The Graduate Officer deals with “issues relating to the education, welfare, and student experience of graduate students.” They also handle a lot of student cases. They must maintain office hours at the Blackrock campus “at least one day per week.”

What does the Campaigns & Communications Officer do?

The C&C Officer is in charge of campaigns. They coordinate the running of SU publications such as Wingin’ It though they have no part in the running of the University Observer which is editorially independent from the union. While the President is “responsible for the provision of events,” the C&C Officer is chairperson of the Ents forum. The C&C Officer is responsible for the upkeep of the website and SU social media.

C&C

TOM MONAGHAN As a veteran class rep, Tom Monaghan believes that his experience, knowledge and ability make him the ideal choice for Campaigns and Communications Officer.

Tom Monaghan, 21, is a 3rd year Social Science student who is running for the position of Campaigns and Communications Officer (C&C) in the upcoming UCD Students’ Union executive election.

He lavishes praise on previous C&C officers, Luke Fitzpatrick and Cian Byrne, whom he clearly admired.

Monaghan has vast experience as a class rep, and he intends to use his class rep experience to succeed if elected as C&C officer.

Indeed, he wastes little time getting to the crux of what he sees as the reasons for the union’s recent struggles. “Last year the SU tried two fresh faces in the SU corridor and those two faces are no longer in the SU positions that they campaigned for.” There is “no more room for error” and it is his belief that, in his hands, the office of C&C will be restored

to its recent glory. He lavishes praise on previous C&C officers, Luke Fitzpatrick and Cian Byrne, whom he clearly admired. He cites their energy and passion and feels that he has similar characteristics, “I would like to think of myself as very friendly, approachable and a relatable person.”

In the right hands, he believes that the role of C&C, still relatively new to UCDSU, is “the most integral role to the UCD union,” and in particular, is instrumental for repairing the union’s damaged reputation. Monaghan believes that as the primary go-between between the students and the union its “mainly down to the C&C officer” to rebuild the union’s reputation.

He does take a realistic stance however, noting that “it’s not going to be repaired overnight.”

One of the primary ways in which Monaghan proposes to do this is to reduce the anonymity of the union. Monaghan suggests a weekly update, available on the UCDSU website, which would allow for the uploading of videos/podcasts/Snapchats from SU events “at the end of every week.” All of this content would be archived, so students could check and look back on what the “union is doing week-to-week.” He admits, perhaps highlighting a flaw

in this model, that this would only work for “the students who are interested,” as it would only reach students who visit the SU website and would require emails or other prompts to reach less-engaged students.

One of Monaghan’s biggest manifesto ideas, which he is most enthusiastic and engaging about, is the abolishment of the Ents crew in favour of Ents reps. Instead of a simple sign-up, where “200/300 sign up yet only 5-10 reply to an email” there would be “an application and interview process” where students who “are passionate about events management and music” can be recruited and given responsibility to the company. In this way reps would be discouraged from missing events amid fear that they could lose “their title.” If people weren’t “pulling their weight” they would simply be asked to leave, “for the good of the company.”

This business-like approach to dealing with reps also cropped up during Monaghan’s discussion of the current class rep system.

Currently if “they miss council, there’s nothing done about it” he says, “that’s not the way it should be at all.” He believes that class reps are “obliged to go to union council” as they’re “representing

[their] course.” According to him, sanctions should be introduced to encourage class reps, as the most important factor for communicating with students, to fulfil this responsibility: “I’m very much of the opinion that if you’re missing union council, I’m sorry you’re not allowed reap the benefits of being a class rep.”

Another of Monaghan’s leading manifesto points is his advice scheme, which he has dubbed “MATE” (Mature Advice to Everyone). Under this scheme “mature students can give life advice” to other students. As students “we’re preparing to enter working life and listening to and respecting our elders applies now more than ever.” He believes mature and post-graduate students represent an “untapped fountain of knowledge” in UCD and younger students should have a forum to avail themselves of such advice.

Although Monaghan himself is enthusiastic and receptive to such advice (“I could listen to that all day”) it remains to be seen if the majority of students would allow themselves to be condescended to by mature/post-graduate students, or even if, with their hectic schedules, such mature people would be willing to offer such advice.

I’m very much of the opinion that if you’re missing union council, I’m sorry you’re not allowed reap the benefits of being a class rep.

Although keen on creating new schemes such as this and revolutionising UCD Ents, Monaghan’s manifesto is very light on student campaigns. Although he says he wants to represent “students on national and local issues” he confines himself to a small paragraph on consent, a reticence which is reflected in his interview. He focuses on the effect he can, as C&C officer, have “down the campus” aiming to “talk to 20 students a day.” While undoubtedly creative and enthusiastic, it remains to be seen if Monaghan has the determination to continue and reinvigorate long-standing campaigns.

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C&C to engaging with students. One of his most simple yet impressive ideas would use Snapchat: “Every day, I get each Officer to say what their plan for the day is, to show that they are actually doing stuff for the students... it will literally only take 20 seconds each.”

His take on reform of the Ents forum is to follow similar tactics as have been deployed in recent and highly successful, class rep recruitment campaigns. “I can’t see why we couldn’t tie in the Ents forum into the class rep campaign.” He thinks that the lack of campus-wide representation on the forum is for a simple reason, “I don’t think a lot of people know anyone can be on the Ents forum.” He also has ambitious, yet well-reasoned plans to reinstate weekly music events on campus, along the lines of the old “Trad Tuesday.”

Brennan obviously keeps abreast of campus news (he was aware of both the UCD Ents rebranding and the main points of other candidates’ manifestos), which could only help him if elected as C&C officer. While clearly honest, humble, and willing to learn, it remains to be seen whether his lack of clear plans for leadership, of both the campaigns’ and Ents forum, will lead to a dilution of the role of C&C officer.

KEVIN BRENNAN Using his marketing experience, Kevin Brennan hopes to increase the accessibility of the Students’ Union, by bringing the union to the student body.

Kevin Brennan is a politics and sociology student who is seeking to be voted in as the union’s next Campaigns and Communications Officer (C&C).

One of Brennan’s most persuasive arguments is in the area of consent and sexual education.

Brennan feels that he is well equipped for the C&C role due to his experience in PR, campaigns, and marketing. Although he has never formally been involved in the union as a class rep or college officer he has worked extensively on previous students’ union referendums and campaigns. Notably he was at “the first meeting for UCD for Choice, getting things together and making posters” and has worked on, and managed, the successful SU campaigns of Luke Fitzpatrick and Robert Sweeney.

One of the features of Brennan’s ideas is his willingness and desire to diversify the activities of the Students’ Union and in doing so, look to collaborate with “any society

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that would be willing to work with the union.” He aims to increase the “the amount of daytime, commuter friendly, and non-alcoholic events” as well as looking to decentralise the union’s activities away from the Student Centre itself. He wants to “target each faculty” and ensure each has “different events on weekly.” Expanding on this point he notes that students are more likely to engage with the union and attend events if they’re “still able to get [their] 5 o’clock bus home.”

On the point of student engagement, he notes that “looking to increase student engagement is said every year,” so much so that it is not really a valid campaign promise. He prefers the term of “increasing accessibility” through “communication... showing what we [the Union] are, where we are and that we are here to help.”

Brennan concurs with several other candidates in looking for “notice boards... in every building,” saying that “every building should have an SU point to show what the Union is doing.”

Although it does not feature on his manifesto one of Brennan’s most persuasive arguments is in the area of consent and sexual education. Acknowledging that the majority of Irish sexual education is inadequate and heteronormative he wants to bring the

issue of consent “back to basics.”

According to him we “need to make it a casual conversation. It’s not a casual thing I’m not saying that... but a lot of people when you mention consent kind of step back.”

Nevertheless, as with many of his strong overall goals he seems to lack, as he himself admitted, any concrete plans on how to establish and run long-standing campaigns. When asked how he would tackle the waiting lists for counselling services, for example, he replied broadly, “A mental health campaign showing that there are issues.” He acknowledges that he does not “have all the ideas for these campaigns” but is determined to work together as a Students’ Union to solve issues: “we should all work together because we’re all students, we’re all fighting the same problems.” His honesty and modesty in admitting these shortcomings however is an encouraging sign.

Where he is more specific however, is in his clear comfort zone, discussing how details of the Union’s day-to-day activities would be shared with students.

He describes how he has “worked previously... [with] social media both in college and outside of college” and how he believes that “continuing to work with the trends” is important when it comes

C&C ANALYSIS Tom Monaghan and Kevin Brennan both have relevant experience to the role of C&C Officer.

Their ideas for increasing recruitment for the Ents crew are both feasible and could get results.

However, Monaghan’s ideas of punishing members of the Ents crew and class reps who do not fulfil their roles may not prove popular.

While Monaghan is passionate about the union he does not appear passionate about engaging with students who are not already interested in getting involved. His idea for an archive of SU updates could not prove as popular as posts on Facebook.

Brennan has more ideas though he has not investigated them thoroughly. He appears approachable and honest and this could certainly help in the role. He has run successful campaigns in the past and could carry on these skills to future endeavours in the union.

What separates these candidates most is Brennan’s desire to connect with more students by keeping up with trends and making the union more accessible compared to Monaghan’s desire for a union of harder working members.

While Brennan may have a friendlier manner, Monaghan’s experience in the union could win him the election.

GRADUATE

NIALL TORRIS Running for the second time, Niall Torris wishes to focus on getting a Post-Graduate Student Advisor, a Seanad vote campaign and contraceptives for the Smurfit campus.

Niall Torris, aged 25 was previously studying a higher diploma in Psychology and is now running to be Graduate Officer again.

Before he became Graduate Officer he was Mature Students Coordinator for the Union.

Torris suggests that most issues with supervisors could be handled by a Post-Graduate Student Advisor.

As he is already a member of the sabbatical team he knows the inner workings of the union well.

He talks a lot about what he had experienced this year as Graduate Officer and the issues that he had experienced with post-graduate students who do not get on with their supervisor.

Torris suggests that most issues with supervisors could be handled by a Post-Graduate Student Advisor. Currently such a position does not exist in UCD. Torris believes that the role could take a lot of the work from the

Graduate Officer. He spends the majority of the interview on this topic, managing to bring it up in response to most questions and saying the words “post-graduate student advisor” 13 times.

He does not believe that this position would render the full-time role of Graduate Officer obsolete.

He says, “I see it as freeing up a lot of the graduate officer’s time from work that’s probably not exactly appropriate for an elected officer to be handling.” He also says that it would give him the time to have a more community-based role, focusing slightly more on social opportunities and student engagement. He states that having a post-graduate student advisor would allow “the graduate officer to be the full-time role that it ought to be and not the one that it needs to be currently in order to fill a gap that’s been left by the university.” He also adds that having a post-graduate student advisor would mean that there would be some consistency in the treatment of and services available to post-graduate students even when a different Graduate Officer is elected.

Torris would like to extend a month-long campaign he ran to get post-graduates students registered for the Seanad vote.

Any person who has an NUI

degree can sign up to vote for the Seanad. Torris says that in that month he managed to get 111 people registered. He would like to roll out this campaign for the full year by handing out and collecting forms in post-graduate lectures throughout the year.

At the beginning of the year. a rep from the Smurfit campus pointed out in council that Torris was not doing weekly office hours in Smurfit. “When we got to the first council I think it was two or three of the five weeks I had kept office hours.” He apologised and rectified the situation immediately.

He explains that “the reality of it was that we were going through the issues with the Wingin’ It handbook with Katie and stuff like that and sometimes it felt impossible to leave the corridor and to leave that problem behind.”

Torris lists things wanted on the Smurfit campus, pregnancy tests and condoms are on his manifesto, and he adds a kettle, for broken laundry dryers to be fixed, and for there to be more social opportunities. He says that he is investigating some of these.

Torris was previously in support of joining USI but says that being in the role of graduate officer has changed his mind. He says that for graduate students it seems that “they don’t do a whole

lot.” He says that “for undergrad students it’s probably a good idea” but adds that as they do not have a specific officer for post-graduate students and it is very expensive to join that he could not advocate for joining USI. Torris would support a boycott of Aramark on the UCD campus and when speaking on the possibility of a motion on the issue passing in council he says “I’d also be personally delighted to see it happen.”

Torris admits that he has not done what he said he would do on last year’s manifesto but says that the new manifesto is born from experience and knowledge of the position.

Torris endorses Barry Murphy as a candidate for president as he knows what it is like to work with him and believes that that knowledge would be helpful in the role. He also says that Christine Brown and Stephen Crosby are great candidates for Education Officer.

GRADUATE ANALYSIS Torris’ interview featured a surprising amount of waffle. He raised a lot of issues but did not come up with many ways of combating them. His Seanad campaign does appear achievable. His focus on getting a PostGraduate Student Advisor to take on some of Graduate Officer’s work raises questions about his workload and how the role of Graduate Officer would change if a Post-Graduate Student Advisor were introduced. He put a lot of motions through in the most recent union council, and few before then, which makes it appear as if he has been sitting on a lot issues without tackling them in a timely fashion. Torris might be addicted to union roles after being President of Carlow College’s Students’ Union.

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EDUCATION

STEPHEN CROSBY Stephen Crosby wants to make the role of Education Officer more accessible to students, as well as making changes to how the Students’ Union is funded.

Stephen Crosby, who has had previous dealings with UCDSU as a class rep, is running for the role of Education Officer. Crosby believes that “the point of the Students’ Union is to be the first point of contact for students when they have issues. It’s representing students on all issues, whether it be academic, social, financial, just purely someone you can go to.” He has no criticism of the current Education Officer Robert Sweeney, and wants to continue his work on trying to cap resit fees and improve student engagement with the SU.

The ideal system would be not to have any repeat and resit fees.

Speaking on resit and repeat fees he says, “the ideal system would be not to have any repeat and resit fees.” However, he favours a gradual approach, whereby UCD agrees to cap resit fees, and then the SU can begin to lobby for their removal. “I would dedicate as much money as possible to just having them abolished, but I would

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like to think that if you can get the university to agree on capping them, which is something they’re more inclined to do, then you can pile on the pressure and say listen, you’ve capped them now, we can show you an argument for getting rid of them.”

He believes that placing a cap on the resit fees is possible. He did not go into detail with relation to at what price the cap would be set, but he did express concern over Trinity College’s new €450 cap, claiming that it was far too much money for students.

Crosby is dissatisfied with the way UCD treats students who are falling behind in modules. “There is a problem in UCD at the minute that if a student starts to slip up or falls behind or encounters a situation where something outside of the university is causing them stress, there’s a six-week waiting time for the counselling service.”

Crosby is against grade capping on repeat modules, and advocates for the “driving test model,” whereby your past failure does not affect the result of your resit or repeat.

When asked if this would be unfair, as students who repeat would have already studied the material, he said that it is not unfair, and that the goal should be to ensure that students absorb and learn the

information, not to penalise them for failing.

Crosby is against grade capping on repeat modules, and advocates for the “driving test model.”

On the subject of funding, Crosby believes that the SU could come to an arrangement with the UCD Foundation, to raise money on a more consistent basis. When pressed for details as to how exactly this would work, he says that he has not contacted the UCD Foundation with this idea. He also wants to raise funds to enable students to go on Erasmus. He is aware of the existing grants for Erasmus students, saying “there are rent allowances and that sort of stuff, but I haven’t looked in depth at the numbers.” When asked if he had contacted the International Office about this idea, he says, “I have not, as of yet.”

Crosby believes the SU should do more for students who are on

placement. He would like to think that the union is trying its best, but he thinks more could be done for, for example, nursing students who are getting paid below the minimum wage.

One of his stated goals is the establishment of an “alternative careers fair,” whereby students would be able to explore and find out about career options that they had not considered before. “The whole idea is choosing a path that may not necessarily be in tune with what is expected,” he says, but stresses that he is not avoiding focusing on the usual career paths, but just wants to offer students more choice.

On student engagement, Crosby believes that there should be bi-monthly meetings held between class reps and sabbatical officers, so that they can be kept in the loop, and that any problems can be dealt with as they arise. He also wants to establish an undergraduate showcase, whereby the Union would display research and work done by undergraduates. He describes it as a passion project of his and says that he believes it would help foster a sense of pride.

EDUCATION provide academic support as grinds to students from lower years. The system would mainly be volunteer-based, as she believes there are “a lot of people in UCD… willing to give a hand.”

She envisions introducing small incentives for volunteers, such as coffee vouchers or pizza. Brown believes that the system would also “foster a more welcoming environment in UCD.” She points out that “in the constitution the Education Officer is mandated to look after the Grinds file,” which she states currently does not exist. She is looking at creating a digital alternative to the file.

Brown also intends on introducing up-skilling workshops to improve student employability.

The workshops she is currently considering include a “Safepass training course, basic first aid, and a barista course.” She believes that the Union would be able to offer a discount to students interested in the workshops by paying for a part of the course with funds from the Education budget.

CHRISTINE BROWN If elected Education Officer, Christine Brown would like to see the introduction of a student-led grinds system to combat fail rates, as well as publishing a UCD Education Guide.

Christine Brown is a twenty-year old Archaeology student who is looking to build on her previous engagement with the SU as a class Rep and use her experience of being auditor and treasurer of the Archaeology society for the role as UCDSU Education Officer.

Brown would like to create “a comprehensive” UCD Education Guide.

One of the main things that Brown would like to improve is the approachability of the SU. She recalls having to inform first-years that they are, in fact, allowed enter the SU corridor. She believes that the way the SU communicates with the students needs to change. She notes that while “the most important purpose of the SU is to represent the student body, it can be hard to do from the confines of a single corridor.” One of the main ways she believes better approachability can be achieved is through Education breakfasts held in the beginning of every semester in each faculty. She also wishes to place more emphasis

on announcements on social media and lecture-addressing.

Brown would like to create “a comprehensive” UCD Education Guide. She comments on the fact that the current “Winging it” guide does not include sufficient information on education, which she acknowledges is not the main purpose of the guide. She believes that there needs to be a detailed education equivalent that would provide “information on everything from how to change an elective after online registration closes, to what to if [a student] realises [their] course isn’t for [them].” A factor that is important to Brown is making the guide easily accessible online.

Brown believes the current university fees “need to be significantly reduced,” because there are many people at present that cannot “afford to go to college.” When asked what her view of the SU’s work regarding university fees so far has been, she comments on the fact that the turn-out for this year’s “March for Education” was not as high as it was the preceding year, stating that it was impacted by the impeachment.

To make sure that students have the best financial support available, Brown is looking at

introducing SUSI registration drives “to give students the best chance at receiving the SUSI registration grant and answer their questions about applying.”

She mentions the importance of students knowing the details that might affect a student’s qualification for a particular SUSI bracket from year to year.

When asked about the work of the current Education Officer, Brown says she thinks he has “done quite a good job,” acknowledging his extensive work on the lowering of the re-sit and repeat fees. She explains she does not address lowering repeat and re-sit fees on her manifesto because she feels that the SU “is already working towards capping” if not “significantly lowering the rate… that is the way I should continue it.” Brown acknowledges re-sit and repeat fees as “one of the biggest concerns to students.”

She also aims to work towards lowering the fail rate in UCD by “empowering Class Reps through Staff-Student Liaison Committees” and ensuring that lecturers provide both positive and negative feedback to students on exams and assignments.

As Education Officer Brown would implement a system for students from higher years to

EDUCATION ANALYSIS Education is probably the toughest race to call with both candidates showing experience, enthusiasm, and plenty of ideas.

Both candidates wish to create education guides, to reduce resit and repeat fees, and want to introduce events for upskilling.

Brown’s idea of a SUSI registration drive could prove very helpful to many students. Increasing opportunities for grinds and reducing fail rates would be great if it is possible.

Crosby’s ideas of an alternative careers fair and supporting students who are on placement are interesting ideas that could also go well or poorly.

Brown’s manifesto fails to mention resit and repeat fees. She states that this is an important issue and that she will continue on from the previous Education Officer’s efforts in this area. While she wishes to focus more on fail rates this is not an issue to be brushed over.

Crosby mentions the UCD Foundation and the International Office on his manifesto but admits that he did not contact either. His ideas for working with them while great if feasible, need to be discussed with the relevant people.

Ultimately, both candidates appear knowledgeable, honest, and friendly, and both could be good Education Officers.

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WELFARE

JOHN KERR John Kerr is a Psychology student who plans to use his experience as auditor of the Psychology society in the role of Welfare Officer.

John Kerr is a final year Psychology student, and the current auditor of the Psychology society. When asked what the role of Welfare Officer entails, Kerr says that “broadly speaking” it is “to promote physical and mental health throughout campus in whatever way possible.” He believes that one of the best ways to “engage with students … is by bringing in little things that will make a big difference on a practical level.” He would like to extensively focus on such aspects of student welfare as mental health, inclusion and accessibility, and health and safety if he is elected Welfare Officer.

In regards to mental health, Kerr would like to introduce “Meet Your Student Adviser” events in the beginning of each semester to ensure students are more aware of the support systems available to them. He believes that there are currently too many students who do not know who their Student Advisers are. To ensure that students are more aware of the support available to them and of the Welfare events taking place, Kerr would also like to launch a separate UCDSU Welfare Facebook page and a weekly “What’s up in Welfare” email.

Kerr would like to hold Mental Health Week in the third week of

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the academic year. He envisions the week including such events as mindfulness, CBT, and mental health first aid workshops with organisations like Jigsaw and Mental Health Ireland, as well as puppy rooms and talks on mental health. He would also like to run informed information campaigns on lesser-known mental illnesses like Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder throughout the year.

There is a big need to educate students with heteroprivilege and with cisgender privilege about things that might not necessarily affect them directly.

To improve student experiences in college residences, Kerr will look to provide better training to

Residential Advisers (RAs), as he believes they do not currently receive sufficient training. He would also like to host pop up SU Welfare Clinics in each residence across the semester. He will also put up SU notice boards “with information on mental health services, financial supports, and consent.”

In his work to make UCD more inclusive Kerr wants to focus on improving LGBTQ+ events to promote a better understanding of LGBTQ+ issues across campus. He hopes to achieve this by coordinating with other societies on events like Rainbow week, dedicating a day of Mental Health week to LGBTQ+ mental health, and including an LGBTQ+ day in SHAG week. He would also like to make International Transgender Day of Remembrance a campus-wide event. When asked if he is aware of the main events of Rainbow week, he admits to not knowing the stand-out events “as a cisgender, straight, white man,” which he sees as “a problem” that needs to be addressed. He acknowledges that he is not a target student for the week, but believes that “in addition to LGBTQ+ students being celebrated throughout campus, […] there is a big need to educate students with hetero-privilege and with cisgender privilege about

things that might not necessarily affect them directly” and on “ways in which they can better celebrate and promote LGBTQ+ life on campus.” He expresses intent to work on those issues closely alongside the LGBTQ+ society.

To improve the experiences of students with disabilities Kerr would like to “bring back the Black Spot campaign to mark areas on campus lacking in accessibility.”

In regards to health and safety Kerr is looking to “provide supplies of tampons, pads, and dental dams in the SU in addition to current provisions of condoms,” as well as “ensure that free tampons are available in every female and gender-neutral bathroom on campus.”

These items can already be sought from the SU corridor. He would work with the Societies Council “to provide welfare training and first aid,” as well as “practical knowledge of substance abuse” to committee members. Kerr will also “work to install nap pods in libraries and nap rooms during exam periods.” He will discuss with UCD the implementation of a module on consent that students will be awarded full academic credits for, as well as holding Consent Week once every semester. He will promote services like WalkSafe and Nightline.

I’m not pro-life!

Kerr wants to make student health services more accessible by working with “the relevant UCD authorities … to accept the HSE Medical Card,” as he believes that “people who are entitled to medical cards” should be able to use them “especially in university.”

Kerr opposes UCD rejoining USI and even campaigned against it in his first year of college. He points out that UCD has the largest student population and is doing well on the national level on its own, but notes that he “would be open to listening to other opinions.”

Kerr wore a Repeal t-shirt to his interview. When asked if this was to offset people’s view of him as pro-life he loudly interrupted the interviewer saying that this was not the case because “I’m not pro-life!”

His change of opinion on the issue is suspiciously timed though he says that it was a gradual process and that from talking to friends he has changed his mind and is now firmly pro-choice.

WELFARE

too embarrassed to ask for the products, Plunkett does not see that as an issue, “At the moment, they are in the union office, so you still have to come in and ask for them anyway.”

On the topic of Residences and Residential Assistants (RAs), Plunkett strongly believes that RAs are in need of more training.

“I know that they get basic first aid. I believe senior RAs are ASIST trained, but I believe that is something all RAs should have. So, SafeTalk is one thing, but I think if they are going to be the point of call for students on residences when there are no other supports, ASIST training is essential.”

Plunkett believes it should be the responsibility of UCD to provide this training, Plunkett is willing to “shame UCD saying ‘The union will provide it if you don’t.’”

MELISSA PLUNKETT Currently in her third year of midwifery, mature student Melissa Plunkett wants to introduce online counselling services and bring SHAG week back to basics.

Melissa Plunkett is a third year midwifery student and is Mature Students Coordinator for the Students’ Union. She is running for the role of Welfare Officer.

As Mature Students coordinator, Melissa Plunkett has focused on reinstating the childcare grant for student parents in the past year. “I’ve done a bit of work with the Mature Students’ Society, in just coaching them in how a society runs and how to keep it going, and I think they’ve done a really good job this year. I’ve been in talks with Eoghan and Barry about the crèche and trying to get that grant up and running again, just for them to be aware that there is a crèche there, that there are student parents and they do need support.”

Plunkett is well versed in the many duties and boards the Welfare officer sits on, “such as ESHTE, the Eradicating Sexual Harassment in Third-level Education. They sit on GA, quite a few officers sit on GA, Governing Authority. They have a role with health in UCD.” Being an active member of the Students’ Union council, she has formed opinions on mandates that have been passed through council over the years. When asked about UCD joining USI, she responded, “I

think it’s suited towards smaller colleges and universities. I think it costs an awful lot of money to rejoin USI. I believe it’s like, so I’ve been told it’s like €100,000 to rejoin. I think this money could be better spent in providing services for UCD.”

Plunkett wants to offer ‘Welcome Packs’ which would be sent out to students before they start attending UCD.

Part of her manifesto focuses on incoming students, Plunkett wants to offer ‘Welcome Packs’ which would be sent out to students before they start attending UCD. “I think the union can put together something just informative, getting information out there of what the union is, who the people are, and what they can do. That is a step in the right direction of getting people engaged.”

If elected Welfare Officer, Plunkett would be responsible

for the running of Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance (SHAG) week in UCD. Critical of how the week was run in the past, she outlines that the focus should not just be on STIs. “I’ve realized that people don’t actually understand the basics of safe sex. So, the basics of contraception, what kind of contraception is available, why contraception works and doesn’t work. So, I think there is no point in telling people what can happen, when they don’t understand the very basics of sexual education.

We need to start with the foundation before we build upon it.”

Open to including all groups as part of SHAG week, Plunkett has been speaking to members of the LGBTQ+ society about providing LGBT-focused events during the week but has yet to form a concrete idea.

Another issue Plunkett wants to address on campus is the provision of free condoms, dental dams, and feminine hygiene products after hours to students in residences. “My plan is not for them to be free-range… What I would like to see, is that the RAs that are on duty would have them, then if somebody on residences needed them, they could access them.” When asked if she was concerned students might be

On the topic of Residences and Residential Assistants (RAs), Plunkett strongly believes that RAs are in need of more training.

Having no mention of accommodation in her manifesto, she still believes it is a huge issue which not only affects UCD students but affects everybody. “Unfortunately, prices are ridiculous, landlords are taking the mick, but I do not have a magic wand to fix accommodation, it is definitely an issue, it is definitely going to be highlighted.”

One of her main focuses, as detailed in her manifesto is to introduce ‘Video Docs’ and online counselling to relieve the long waiting lists to see a counsellor on campus, “We must remember that this service is being provided by medical doctors and are licensed to practice in Ireland.

They are fully trained, competent doctors and I think they would provide a valuable service. I think they would relieve some of the strain that is on our health centre at the moment.” Addressing the current system of counselling on campus, Plunkett states, “I think that online counselling is fantastic for students that want to do it in the safety of their own personal space, their own bedroom, whatever it is. I would be in favour of it and I know at the moment the union are in talks with the Health Centre about it.”

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WELFARE

KYLIE ROCHE Running on a campaign of supports for LGBT+ students and those dealing with mental health issues, Kylie Roche wishes to be a fresh face in the union.

Kylie Roche is a Social Science student running for Welfare Officer. Something of an outsider to SU politics, her experience comes from taking calls for the ISPCC and as an access leader in the UCD Access and Lifelong Learning centre, as well as seeing “first hand the effects of a lack of mental health resources on people, families, and entire communities.” She sees the role primarily as an advice and referral service, and hopes to focus primarily on case work. “I don’t want to be a political candidate, I want to be a person that helps the students, basically,” although if elected she will attend marches and protests organised by the union, and has some ideas on campaigns she would like to run.

Roche was unaware of who the president of UCD is, or what constitutes union council. As she explains “I haven’t done anything in the Students’ Union so a lot of people will find that refreshing and that I’m not just going to say stuff that I don’t mean.” She is not alone as an outsider, and she believes that many first years find coming to UCD intimidating, “particularly for those who don’t know anyone.”

To help first years with this, she plans on running workshops and other, less formal, events to inform

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them of how to get accomodation, where to get cheap food on campus, and what services the SU provide.

I haven’t done anything in the Students’ Union so a lot of people will find that refreshing and that I’m not just going to say stuff that I don’t mean.

On Roche’s manifesto she promises to campaign to ensure “free, safe and legal abortion in Ireland,” although as the referendum will have occurred by the time she takes office she will be dealing with the aftermath. Roche explains “what I wanted to do... is to advise people on what they can do from there… [on] whether they can get an abortion in Ireland or whether they can’t.”

To keep her somewhat ambitious manifesto promise that she

will “ensure no UCD student will ever be left waiting for support, guidance and treatment,” Roche proposes bringing in external services. She says “I do know of some very good counselling services outside of UCD that just let you pay what you can pay, so you can pay €5, or €30 or whatever. They can discuss that with you when you go there, and the waiting list is about a week.” Roche would consider “anything that would alleviate the waiting list” for counselling services.

Roche wants to fully support “the LGBTQ+ community and its members with their specific needs.” She has promised to give her full support to the UCDSU LGBTQ+ campaigns team, though she has not yet met with the current LGBTQ+ campaigns coordinator. On the topic of what still needs to be fixed in UCD for LGBTQ+ people, Roche said “I think just engagement with the LGBTQ+ community, to let them know that it’s not just the [LGBTQ+ society], it’s accepted overall.” To help achieve this, Roche plans on having union nights to the George and PrHomo.

On the topic of consent classes, Roche believes that “consent classes should be the norm in UCD and other universities, that

they should be optional, as it could be difficult for victims of sexual violence to sit through them.” By “the norm,” Roche explains that she means to run consent classes “not just in September and the end of January...but to have them randomly all over term time instead of once a semester.” By making consent classes optional, Roche is aware that the attendance may be quite low but she believes she could propose solutions to encourage people to go. Roche thinks “humour would be better to get people in the door, because throwing [serious and upsetting topics] at them straight away would be a bit daunting. I would not want to go myself if that was the case. So I think humour is the best way and if we can get interest in the consent classes, have a more serious tone after that.” She also proposes having a more accepting tone, by targeting the classes at men and women, and “making sure they know that this isn’t us pointing the blame at them. They’re not going to be judged if they go to the consent workshops. They’re just there to engage.” Roche would also like

Roche wants to fully support “the LGBTQ+ community and its members with their specific needs.” to offer free food, tea, and coffee for those attending. In her manifesto, Roche also pledges to support victims of sexual violence “from counselling to reporting the crime to supporting victims in the courtroom.” She has not yet spoken to the current Welfare Officer about progress on consent this year, nor on any of her manifesto ideas.

WELFARE WELFARE ANALYSIS Battling for the role of Welfare Officer, we have Melissa Plunkett, currently an informed union coordinator, John Kerr a society auditor with a good understanding of the union, and Kylie Roche, the outsider to this race.

It is Roche’s lack of knowledge and experience with the union which could cost her the race. Her understanding of the role of Welfare Officer is solid, and her intentions are good, but her manifesto and ideas lack planning. Roche wants to improve the main areas associated with welfare: mental health, LGBT+ issues, and consent, but she has no solid ideas and her inexperience within the union could be a drawback to her achieving anything.

Roche’s main focus appears to be dealing with student cases and while this is important other more political issues should not be avoided. Roche does appear approachable and friendly but it is unclear how she could deal with counselling waiting lists or student protests. It is helpful that she has, as stated on her manifesto, already experienced applying for grants and extenuating circumstances but this experience may not be enough for the role.

Roche and Kerr both offer slightly misguided approaches to helping LGBT+ students on the UCD campus. LGBT+ issues take up a significant amount of space

on Roche’s manifesto. Roche’s wish for SU nights out to the George and Prhomo might attract students who are not involved in the LGBTQ+ society and could help LGBT+ students feel more a part of their union. Nevertheless, like other campaign promises it does not quite feel like enough.

Kerr, on the other hand, appeared to make a large effort to engage with LGBT+ issues but the way he discussed them showed his distance from them. Some of his ideas about making LGBT+ people more accepted on campus focused more on the feelings and knowledge of cisgender straight people than on LGBT+ people.

Also, people who are not already informed about LGBT+ issues are less likely to engage in LGBT+ events, even if they are targeted at them.

While Punkett says less about LGBT+ issues, unlike Kerr, she sounded like she has LGBT+ friends and was not simply attempting to sound educated on the issues, and unlike Roche, she had more ideas about inclusion and showed more interest in working with the LGBTQ+ society.

Plunkett and Kerr have extensive manifestos with clear planning and lots of ideas, even without considering union experience, this gives both candidates the edge in the race over Roche.

Plunkett is mature students’

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Therapy sessions are a possibility.

Making consent classes into a 5-credit module seems unlikely to be possible, and unlikely to engage students who might need the classes most, i.e. those for whom consent is not an issue and see blurred lines.

It is Kerr’s switcheroo stance on abortion which could be difficult for voters to stomach.

The timing of his declarations of being pro-choice coincide a little too nicely with the elections, and his assurances that his change of view has nothing to do with the campaign might not be sufficient to persuade voters of the integrity of that viewpoint. That he chose to wear a ‘Repeal the 8th’ t-shirt to his interview with the University Observer does little to help persuade anyone that his stance is not a campaign tactic.

Ultimately, the race for Welfare Officer seems to mainly be between Plunkett and Kerr.

Their management experience and awareness of campus issues, and ideas on how to target those issues give their campaigns a level of professionalism which Roche does not have. Unfortunately for Roche her campaign§ appears more like a spur of the moment decision when compared to her competitors.

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coordinator in the SU and is also a mother of two young boys. From this position Plunkett sees the need to reintroduce financial assistance for childcare for parents looking to return to education.

Plunkett is vague on how this can be achieved however, although she mentions that it would happen somehow through the Affordable Childcare Act. Plunkett’s idea of utilising online resources to combat the waiting list for counselling services in UCD has the potential to work but is dependent on the system being monitored to ensure providers have the necessary credentials.

It is also unclear how exactly those services would be accessed through the union as opposed to students simply googling ‘free online counselling.’

To make feminine hygiene products, dental dams, and condoms available in on campus residences after hours is a good idea, but it is questionable whether students would be likely to contact RAs to access such products.

As Kerr is auditor of PsychSoc, it is no surprise that mental health is one of the key areas Kerr wants to target. He wants to host a variety of mental health focussed events throughout the year, but has not talked to any of the organisations he wishes to collaborate with, so it is unclear if workshops such as Cognitive Behavioural

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PRESIDENT

RYAN OAKES By improving events hosted by the Students’ Union, Ryan Oakes hopes to increase student engagement with the union, and to improve its reputation amongst the student body.

Ryan Oakes is one of six candidates in the unusually crowded race for UCDSU President.

Following a turbulent year, Oakes, a 21 year old, final year Law with Social Justice student, wants to “make students proud of their SU” by focusing on engagement, Ents and events, food, and the ‘little big things’ that he believes will improve campus life.

I think that the President has to take an active interest in Ents.

After four years of SU engagement, Oakes says that he has seen “highs and lows” and that this year was “one of the lowest lows I’ve witnessed.”

“I think it’s a situation not like anything I’ve ever heard of… you hear all these different stories from throughout the years and there’s never been anything like this and it’s a very difficult transition, and the current president is doing a lot of work to balance new duties and old duties from the vacant C&C office.”

Oakes believes that his understanding of and experience with the SU will help him in rebuilding

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the damage wrought on UCDSU’s reputation in the last year.

Speaking of “the former glory of Ents,” Oakes states that the office is currently “in a transition period” after the departure of Paul Kilgallon, the Union Events & Marketing Manager who had over a decade of SU and Ents experience.

“I think that the President has to take an active interest in Ents and has to encourage the whole team to take an interest in Ents, because in my experience, when that happens is when the best events have occured.”

This transition period, he believes, has also affected the running of this year’s RAG (Raise And Give) Week. Stating that it would have been a “huge loss for the Union for it not to occur” as a result of Kilgallon’s departure. Oakes points out that, three years after the return of RAG Week, there are “no traditions, [there are] no kind of consistent events that people can point to.”

“Anyone who’s familiar with RAG Week in NUIG knows about Donegal Tuesdays and I think that RAG Week is certainly something that could be improved by a longterm vision.”

Oakes argues that Ents is a particularly important aspect of

student life, stating that “you have to accept that some students are fortunately never going to have to avail of things like the Welfare Officer… for some students, their engagement with the SU will be Ents.”

Speaking about the rising cost of off-campus accommodation, Oakes states that the “lip service line would be to say that, ‘Oh, we will lobby the government.’ I think that’s the bare minimum that the SU should be expected to do.” He states that there are “discussions that UCD mightn’t necessarily be privy to because of not being in membership [sic] of USI.” When asked about his opinion on the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), Oakes states that it “can seem like an attractive idea” but that “there’s often a lot of negativity around it.” Rejoining, he says, depends on whether USI is willing to facilitate any demands that UCDSU make. He draws parallels between the campaigns that USI and UCDSU have run separately, which have both had “success on national level.” Ultimately, the particular “iteration of USI” will have a bearing on whether UCDSU rejoins.

Oakes has identified a lack of knowledge surrounding what students are actually interested in as an obstacle to student

engagement. To make students proud of their Union, he says, the SU must “[identify] what students are interested in.” “[In] reality, there’s not enough data on what the students are interested in…I think the SU needs to do more work rather than reaching halfway across the gap and wondering why students aren’t taking their hands.”

Oakes questions how effective ‘long text posts’ are at communicating to the UCD body, and wants the SU to move towards producing more, high quality media content. “Untapped potential” in UCD should be brought in, Oakes says, to produce media content around the day-to-day running of the Union as well as to introduce the Officers.

He also believes that information on the Union, and on student life generally is not readily available. “A big part of my manifesto is making people aware of the services the SU provide, what it can and should be doing.” “[For] students who aren’t even on campus as well as people on Blackrock campus, people on placement, people on erasmus who are returning, all the information on SU services should be [on the website]... I think they should be able to find out more easily than they currently can.”

Oakes supports, in principle, the campaign to remove Aramark from UCD campus. While commending the group on their initial organisation and near-ubiquity on social media, he also states that, with regard to the situation of Aramark staff members, he is “cognisant of where both sides are coming from” and hopes that he would be able to “act as a happy medium between both parties.”

Without stepping on anybody’s toes, Oakes seems to focus on expanding the role of Ents, creating a long-term vision for the SU and managing expectations when it comes to movement on the ‘Big Stuff.’

PRESIDENT

ROSALEEN ALJOHMANI Currently a College Officer for Arts, Rosaleen Aljohmani has big ideas for the union to work on if she is elected President.

Rosaleen Aljohmani is a French and English student competing for the position of UCDSU President.

Her interview features extensive questioning on the six-page manifesto she provided to the University Observer. Key aspects of Aljohmani’s manifesto are to improve student engagement, ‘internships for all,’ increased library spaces, and a more diverse selection of on-campus food.

To Aljohmani, the role of President means “numerous things… you sit on a lot of boards and… you lead the SU in the direction that you feel is best.” She mentions FRAMC as one of the boards the President sits on, but is unable to recall what FRAMC stands for.

When asked how she would rebuild UCDSU’s damaged reputation, Aljohmani states that “[the] way to do that is to engage and inform [students] of who the SU is, who the sabbaticals are and what we can do for you… the way to fix reputational damage is to represent [students] and improve services as well as improve their day-to-day life.”

Aljohmani claims that the a lack of student engagement can be fixed at council level by encouraging class representatives to attend council and through more

social media engagement in the form of vlogs. “[Getting] College Officers to have their own nights out and events within their college councils and within that, they’ll be more likely to come to council [sic]... actually knowing what council is and explaining mandates and stuff, that’s something I really, like, went into this year [sic].”

Aljohmani would like to see a more diverse food selection on campus. When asked why she mentioned burritos and spice bags in her manifesto rather than halal or vegetarian foods, Aljohmani stated that “‘spice bags’ means Chinese foods, and ‘burritos’ means Mexican,” and so these items would be bringing a diverse range of food options with them. Aljohmani believes that her campaign for a more diverse food selection would not be hampered by her desire to have Aramark removed from UCD campus. “They’re just a catering company. Once they leave there’ll be other restaurants there… I don’t think it would stop us from increasing food variety.” When asked whether Aljohmani would work with Aramark-catered or Aramark-owned restaurants, she states that it depends on whether a motion for such was passed at council. She further stated that

she would support a motion to boycott Aramark-related services.

Aljohmani states that she does not have any experience of internships, and claims that she would only need experience of managing events, for which she has “quite a big CV.” Aljohmani believes that internships are currently limited to “two or three people per course” and wants to create “interchangeable posts within organisations.”

She acknowledges that an issue would be the need to train in a new intern every two months and states that SU-run workshops and seminars at the beginning of the semester is the answer. When asked how the ‘Internships for

All’ programme was accessible for students doing part-time jobs or with full weeks of 9am to 6pm, Aljohmani suggests that they partake in part-time internships on the weekend. When pressed for a type of company that would offer meaningful internships on a weekend, she says “I have 12 months to look into this.” Aljohmani further states that the internships would realistically be unpaid, while claiming that startup companies are “begging for interns.”

Aljohmani states that she does not have any experience of internships, and claims that she would only need experience of managing events, for which she has “quite a big CV.” When asked about ‘Solidarity,’ a one-day event to promote inclusiveness and integration which Aljohmani was in charge of running and which never took place, she states that “honestly, other events were prioritised.” A presentation shown to UCD Societies and uploaded online stated that the event was to hear from speakers such as President Michael D. Higgins, UCD Chaplaincy, The Young Turks host, Cenk Uygur, and former-Glee actor Iqbal Theba.

Although Aljohmani states that SHAG Week and RAG Week played a part in the cancellation of her event, neither of these events were held in the same week in which Solidarity was to be held.

“You had SHAG Week and RAG Week and all these other weeks, my event was on 20th February, planned from the start, and it was cancelled.”

When asked whether she had communicated to the societies involved that the event was no longer taking place, she states “I wasn’t allowed to email [the societies], it had to be a sabbatical, and they were meant to email.”

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PRESIDENT

AMY CREAN Final year Law with Social Justice student, Amy Crean aims to lead the union towards greater activism if she is elected SU President.

Amy Crean is probably best known to the UCD student body as the woman who led the campaign to impeach former UCDSU President Katie Ascough. Where other presidential candidates focus on a mixture of improving the union and Ents, Crean focuses entirely on activism. She believes the point of the Students’ Union is “to lobby for better for the students. One of the reasons why I’m so passionate running is I think the union isn’t achieving what it’s supposed to.”

Crean sees room for improvement “in terms of its political function and lobbying for better, whether that’s housing and accommodation or exam repeat fees.”

Regarding more effective lobbying, Crean would like to see the SU teaming up with lobby groups such as “Dublin Tenants Assocation. They’ve done a lot of work in the past few years, and in particular they fight against landlords who aren’t treating tenants fairly.” Crean has not spoken to this group about working together but would see it as an option that could be raised at one the group’s meetings which take place every second Tuesday.

Talking about the House Hunterz campaign the SU ran last summer Crean thinks it was not enough. “I think the idea was

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there, to highlight that housing is a problem we need to tackle, that’s not tackling it… We’re students, we know there’s a housing crisis… I would have liked to see teamwork with other housing organisations, and lobbying.”

Currently a Senior Residential Assistant, Crean thinks UCD is letting both RAs and students living on campus down by not providing adequate funding to mental health services. Crean explains that RAs are not equipped to “deal with students in severe difficulties.

We’re not qualified counsellors, so not only are we out of our depth [when it happens], but we’re also not being given supports afterwards.” Crean believes the way to tackle this problem is to lobby the university to invest more in counselling services. “The university sees this as a health issue, and they’re saying they’re not going to invest more in counselling, but they need to.”

Crean wants to see social media utilised to promote motions that will be discussed at union council to encourage students to attend. “So on Facebook a post saying ‘have you lived on UCD residences because we’re going to be discussing fees next Monday, or the role of RAs.” Acknowledging that students who attend council

have no speaking rights, Crean says that if a student contacts a member of council beforehand, they can have that member’s speaking rights passed over to them if they want to share their viewpoint on an issue being discussed.

“It’s something of a concern, but I’m not going to let the fact that I’m away for the race restrict me from going for it, because I genuinely believe in changing the union.”

The impeachment brought bad press to the union, and damaged its reputation, but Crean believes the impeachment “was a democratic issue, and I would like to see it viewed in a positive light…

There are six people running for president this year… I think the impeachment got people engaging… It was an opportunity to get students listening again because there was a really high turnout for that referendum.”

Crean does not believe that she would be an ill-fit choice for president following her role in the impeachment campaign. “The impeachment was separate to me running for pres, I didn’t impeach to take that position. I would hope that it just demonstrates that I’m passionate about what unions are for, and what they should do.”

Crean was previously LGBTQ+ coordinator in the SU, and at the same time was auditor of the LGBTQ+ society. Due to Crean’s mismanagement of the society, committee members sought her resignation and she stepped down from the role. Crean says, “There were a variety of issues contributing to the fact that that was poorly managed on my behalf that no longer are issues,” and she believes her management ability has improved since then.

Part of the problem for Crean at the time was she had too many commitments, and the same could be said for her now, as she is currently in the USA, on a debating tour as a result of winning the Irish Times debating final. Crean will not be present on campus for the week of the elections, which falls after the two-week break and is the only period of campaigning that candidates will have.

While her absence from campaigning may be criticised by some, Crean does not feel she is at a disadvantage in the race for SU President. “It’s something of a concern, but I’m not going to let the fact that I’m away for the race restrict me from going for it, because I genuinely believe in changing the union.”

“This affects the race, it doesn’t affect the presidency. I would come back to the presidency with the experience of giving speeches and engaging in debates on a range of issues across the States.”

PRESIDENT

BREIFNE O’BRIEN Breifne O’Brien is a 21 year old Agri-Environmental Sciences student and is currently the Ag, Food, and Vet Officer.

O’Brien offers ambitious ideas such as reducing fees for students on placement, making the bar serve cans, and reducing on campus accommodation costs.

He says to challenge the issue of fees for students on placement “you’re going to have to get on to the people that are in charge of fees.” He admits that making the bar serve cans is “not something that you’re going to do in your first couple of weeks of presidency.” The cost of accommodation on campus is not set by UCD so UCDSU does not have a say on the costs though they could protest.

O’Brien has done some of his research and could name UCD’s finances committee. Nevertheless, he appears to have made an error along the way. He mentions the “University Management Committee” and has “UMC” scrawled on his hand but this board in UCD is actually called the “University Management Team” or “UMT.” It is one of the most powerful boards in UCD. When asked about academic council O’Brien avoids the subject and complains that the UCD SU website has not been updated.

O’Brien does not know what the campaigns forum is. He cannot name any of the campaigns

coordinators, even after he is given the hint of gender equality coordinator. As Ag, Food, and Vet Officer O’Brien sits on student council along with all the campaigns coordinators, class reps, and sabbatical officers.

While most election candidates did not have a clear stance on Aramark, O’Brien does not support boycotting the company.

He does not know what “SHAG” in SHAG week stands for.

He says that he wants to reduce the stigma around mental health. He says that “It’s all about talking, not to authorities… it’s just about talking, even to friends, encourage and promote talking.”

He thinks “coffee mornings are great and all that but I suppose coffee morning is just kind of like

brushing it aside like you have to take it on, tackle the issue head on.” He agreed that he would work with PleaseTalk on the issue. It is clear however, that he does not know what PleaseTalk is as he did not realise that it is run by students.

Speaking on the student centre levy he says, “it’s going to good causes.” He says that he does not know if the continued increases in the student centre levy are feasible. He suggests that one thing that could be looked into in relation to the student centre levy is “if you could maybe look into the feasibility of pool membership as well.

I suppose students wouldn’t mind paying a slight bit more for getting more for their money.” Students can currently pay €99 on top of the student centre levy in order to extend their membership to cover access to the pool as well.

While most election candidates did not have a clear stance on Aramark, O’Brien does not support boycotting the company.

He says that being asked about whether or not he supports the boycott is being asked “do I support the potential loss of 50 jobs on campus?” He does not support this potential loss. He states that if a motion to support the boycott was passed through council he would then support the boycott

as the constitution states that he must support all motions passed through council.

O’Brien says that gender neutral bathrooms “should be welcomed.” Nevertheless, he has one worry on the issue. “The only thing about gender neutral bathrooms is we need to be sure that they’re wheelchair accessible… and that there’s still sufficient a number of bathrooms available for that are wheelchair accessible. [sic]” A post on O’Brien’s campaign facebook page mentions this and features a photo of him smiling with someone who appears to have a disability.

Wheelchair accessible bathrooms on campus are already gender neutral and will not be affected by the introduction of gender neutral bathrooms.

When asked if the handing in of student council reports as Ag, Food, and Vet Officer had been flagged as an issue he responds, “I’m not sure, because I do [hand in reports].” O’Brien has not handed in all of his reports in advance of student council and in one student council he said that he would take his report as read but it was confirmed that a report had never been received.

When asked if he had made homophobic comments he says “not in a serious manner” but admits that a meeting had taken place between himself and sabbatical officers over remarks he had made.

He says that it is “absolutely not” acceptable to make homophobic comments in a non-serious manner and “I can’t understand why these allegations were made against me.” He refers to the conversation where the comments were made and says that a “rural person” was “encouraging debate,” it is not clear if he is referring to himself or someone else. He says that he would attend Dublin Pride with the union.

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PRESIDENT

JULIET MCFADDEN International student, Juliet McFadden hopes to educate students on university policies and environmental issues, and host regular SU events in collaboration with societies.

Final year German and Politics student, Juliet McFadden is running for the position of Students’ Union President. McFadden is promising to promote engagement with students and the SU. “We need to be lecture addressing, we need lecturers to inform students about what the union does. We need to ask societies to talk about the union and collaborate with them.” As an international student, McFadden does not feel that she will be unable to represent the interests of the entire student population, “I don’t think it should be an issue, if anything it’s a benefit. I have the benefit of fresh eyes coming in.”

McFadden campaigned for UCD SU to remain separate from USI, and says, “it doesn’t prevent us from working with the USI, but I think it’s best if our union to stay out of it and focus on internal issues. That’s not to say in a couple of years we might want to revisit it.”

Running with the slogan: “It’s time for less talk and more action,” McFadden is focused on the “student experience.” However, McFadden’s knowledge of the boards the SU president sits on is lacking.

The hosting of more SU events features prominently in McFadden’s manifesto. When

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asked about how she intends to host more regular events, she replies, “I think the focus has to be holding weather-appropriate events, not holding events outside in February and March. Instead to be having things in Astra Hall and the other big rooms, utilising the bar to hold events and collaborating with societies so that we can achieve that.” She further explains her intentions to reach out to students with disabilities, “one small and easy step we can be doing is putting on our Facebook posts, putting on our posters, putting on our websites when we’re holding an event, if you have a disability, we are going to be disability friendly. We’ll have accommodations for you, and if you have a worry about it, you can send us a message, and we’ll help you.”

Another issue McFadden wants to address as President is to educate students on the Dignity and Respect policy in UCD, mainly “how it works and reporting procedure.” Feeling that students are not aware of this policy when they first enter college, McFadden believes the union should “be educating people on how [they] can take control of their own bodies… and if there are problems in it [the policy] then we need to take a lead in fixing it.” When asked about the

procedure for reporting through the Dignity and Respect policy, McFadden answered, “There is online, it gives you a step-by-step, but I’m pretty sure you have to go to the advisors of your faculty and they take it from there. It’s also supposed to be relatively quick, but from what I’ve heard, it can get drawn out. There is a set process that comes from that.”

McFadden also stated, “whether it’s holding support groups, for people to know that there are other students going through similar things is really key there.”

Whether it’s holding support groups, for people to know that there are other students going through similar things is really key there.

In her manifesto, McFadden aims to bring greater awareness of recycling to UCD. She admits that it seems redundant to be

educating students on what can and cannot be recycled without the facilities on campus. “It needs to start with greater access to recycling and then an education campaign.” McFadden has tried to contact the campus estate services to inquire about the lack of facilities but had not spoken to the Green Campus committee.

McFadden is focused on educating students with disabilities and students from disadvantaged backgrounds about the services available to them, especially those who do not qualify for the SUSI grant. “I met with the disability coordinator for the SU, and some of what she was talking about was that students don’t understand that even if you don’t qualify for fee reduction if you have a disability, [that] doesn’t mean that you are kept out of the Access centre.” McFadden also wants to show under-represented groups of students, such as mature students, “that the union isn’t just for students who are coming in from secondary school.”

A universal problem that students are facing is rising tuition fees. On this subject McFadden wants the union to protest for lower fees and to be “pushing students to think more critically about who they vote for, whether or not their elected representatives support lowering fees. Giving them information they need to make educated decisions that will benefit them.”

As a student living in on campus accommodation, McFadden would like to see more information provided to Residential Assistants (RAs) on mental health and more full-time staff employed by the university, to take the pressure off of RAs. “We’re expecting students to act like counsellors and police and security when they are students and that’s not what they should be doing.”

PRESIDENT

BARRY MURPHY Current Students’ Union President Barry Murphy hopes to use his experience to maintain pressure on university management to achieve union goals if re-elected.

Barry Murphy, an Environmental Biology student, is the current president of the Students’ Union, and he is running for a second term as he believes the union needs someone experienced in the position.

Last year, Murphy ran for the role of Campaigns & Communications officer on a platform of environmental issues, he has only been in the position of President since November following the by-election.

I try my best to get around to hoovering the floor of the office, and that keveps me grounded.

“The role of President is of leadership. It’s about guiding a team of staff and sabbatical officers, a team of college officers, class reps, and campaign coordinators, and the Ents forum.

It’s about being that person that people look up to.” As President, Murphy says he has been trying to not get in the mindframe of being “the boss.” “I do a thing on a Friday where I try my best to get around to hoovering the floor

of the office, and that keeps me grounded… and I don’t think I’m above anyone else.”

On his manifesto, Murphy focuses on his experience, and his achievements this year, citing the ‘House Hunterz’ campaign where the union brought attention to the housing crisis, recruiting “the largest number of class reps in recent history,” and working on consent and the Repeal the 8th campaign.

Murphy says on his manifesto that the union has restored its reputation following the impeachment last semester. To continue repairing the reputational damage, Murphy wants “to make the union relevant to students’ lives… by showcasing the work we do, showing people that you can get involved, from highlighting the crisp sandwich-making workshop to knowing about the casework we do… At the moment, the vast majority of students here in UCD do not feel part of their Students’ Union.”

As a returning sabbatical officer, Murphy believes he would be able to maintain pressure on UCD management, and achieve his goals more readily, as he thinks in the past management stop taking sabbatical officers seriously in semester two. “In June, when you become a sabbat, university management listen to all your ideas and your agenda and they look at your manifesto and they promise you the world. They say we’ll achieve this for you and that for

you, we’ll set up this committee to get that over the line… I’m already starting to witness since February they’re starting to drop initiatives brought by the other sabbats and by myself, because they know a new team is on the way.”

If re-elected president, Murphy’s main plan is to continue maintaining pressure on management to achieve affordable on campus accommodation, and other union goals, but he has few new ideas to implement. One idea is about the counselling service in UCD. Regarding the long waiting list, “what I see as the solution… is creating a triage within the mental health service. What I’ve learned about what slows down and holds up the waiting list is that sometimes students get counselling appointments that may not need to see a counsellor.” Currently, when students sign up for counselling, their first appointment is with a counsellor.

The triage Murphy explains, would be a “highly-qualified person,” who Murphy believes would be “the most important person in the counselling service. “They’re not a diagnoser, but they would figure out who the student may need to see” whether that means a counsellor, student adviser, the Education officer, or going to their programme office.

When asked if he supports a boycott of Aramark on UCD campus, Murphy says “yes, but there are conditions attached to that…

There are 24 people working in the global lounge restaurant.

Some are UCD staff, some are Aramark staff. UCD has no obligation to rehire the Aramark staff.”

While running for president in the by-election last semester, Murphy had said he would not run for the role of President in the current sabbatical elections. At the time, some viewed his running as linked to the impeachment, with the view that he campaigned for impeachment, so he could be President. His opinion at the time was that he would be happy to leave being able to say: “I have set this place up with a team, that there is an energetic and passionate team of staff and sabbats...

Our reputation is revived, that we can go forward.”

I was so tired of being in newspaper articles. I was so tired of having that much attention on me and being scrutinised that much.

Murphy is asked what’s changed since then, and if his change of mind might be viewed as disingenuous to the student body. He responds saying, “I hope students can appreciate that that was a different time. We had come through a period where we were in the eye of a storm, and I was so tired of being in newspaper articles. I was so tired of having that much attention on me and being scrutinised that much. At that time, I wanted to do my best as President for the rest of the year.

Now, Murphy says he is enjoying the role. “This is a completely different time, I now see my ability to do it. I now see what I can achieve going forward.”

For students who are less trusting of Murphy’s intentions, and who may seem as power-hungry, Murphy hopes he can “win them over, just by telling them my side of the story.”

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PRESIDENT

PRESIDENTIAL ANALYSIS The race for President consists of six candidates and is not only the largest in this year’s sabbatical elections, but also the largest race in recent years for a sabbatical position.

In interviews with the University Observer, all candidates were asked what the role of President entails, their answers included the usual buzzwords in this race: “face of the union,” “CEO of the union,” and “someone to represent students.” It is the final item that is the most important. The President sits on the highest boards within UCD including FRAMC, the Finance Remuneration and Asset Management Committee, on which they do not even have a vote, but they can give a voice for the student body.

The SU President needs to know who is making decisions that affect students and be able to negotiate those decisions. Current SU President Barry Murphy was the only candidate who was able to give an accurate rundown of the boards the President sits on, and their role on those boards.

Certainly, Murphy’s knowledge and experience of the role leaves him well prepared to re-enter the position next year, however students may have a hard time voting for someone who appears this power hungry. Last time he ran for President he said that he would

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be happy not to run again. Now he is going back on this, leading students to wonder if he was being genuine before.

Amy Crean’s vision of an activism-focused union is appealing but does not take into account how students engage with the union.

Currently, students are engaging with the repeal movement, which is led by UCD for Choice, not solely by the union, and unionled activism such as the March for Education, has had much less student involvement. In her interview Crean offered no solutions for getting more students involved.

Crean’s poor management of the LGBTQ+ society while auditor could be a concern. While Crean says that things have changed since then, and she no longer has the problems she had at the time, can students trust her management ability given her record?

Additionally, that Crean will be in the USA during the lead up to the elections may lead some to wonder how much she wants this role.

Rosaleen Aljohmani’s manifesto offers big ideas, but with little thought, and few actually seem feasible. Aljohmani’s ‘Solidarity’ event, which was going to be a one-day festival to celebrate diversity and promote inclusivity never went ahead despite Aljohmani contacting societies to get involved, and setting a date

for February. Aljohmani’s failure to accept any responsibility for the event not taking place, or for not contacting societies to inform them it was cancelled shows a real lack of leadership and follow-through.

Ryan Oakes has been a consistent feature of the union throughout his years in UCD and in his campaign for President, he is attempting to juggle the Ents and activism nature of the union. It is in Ents where Oakes could potentially make the most difference while his ‘activism conference’ idea is lacking. Running it like an activism Freshers’ tent may not be inspiring enough for students who will have already been bombarded in the actual Freshers’ tent.

Juliet McFadden is the outside voice in this race. She has no knowledge of the boards on which the President sits, and says that she will learn that on the job.

While McFadden wants ‘less talk and more action’ from the SU, as President her job will mostly be talking on behalf of students.

Her manifesto has good ideas for improving events and campaigns, but some of her ideas lean more towards the role of C&C Officer rather than President.

The final candidate in the race is Breifne O’Brien. As current College Officer for Agriculture, Food, and Veterinary, O’Brien’s conduct this year has been called

into question by those at student council. Although O’Brien denies it, he did not submit his college officer reports to council at the times when he was supposed to.

As SU President, O’Brien would at times be required to submit proposals to boards, and if they are not received, a cause may be lost for the union.

It is O’Brien’s attitude towards the LGBT+ community that is most concerning. While praising the introduction of gender neutral bathrooms he raises concerns that they could replace disabled access bathrooms. This is not what is happening under the recent proposal and shows a lack of research at the very least. In semester one, O’Brien was called into a meeting with sabbatical officers regarding homophobic comments he had made. O’Brien says he has not made homophobic remarks “in a serious way.”

With six candidates in the race, the counting of votes will end up taking a long time as second preferences and third preferences are transferred. This is a race where voting down the ballot will make a difference, and students would be prudent to research each candidate before giving them their number one, two, or three preference.

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL The last time we had a Presidential race in the sabbatical elections, students voted for a President who ignored the union’s pro-choice mandate and was impeached. This time round, let’s not make the same mistakes.

Listen to concerns people raise about candidates’ ability to do their duty as President to the best they can, research their manifestos, and talk to the candidates or members of their campaign team to find out more about them.

The President race will be the most divisive and the order of preference you give to candidates while voting down the ballot is going to make a difference. This means you should have a clear idea, not only of who your top

choice is for President, but also of your second, third, and fourth choices. Vote down the ballot in a strategic manner, do not just randomly assign people numbers.

If there is a candidate (or candidates) who you think should definitely not be President, put them at the bottom of the list, and you can even put RON ahead of them.

The race for Graduate Officer remains uncontested, again, and the sole person running is the current Graduate Officer whose black and white, ill-designed manifesto makes it look like Niall Torris couldn’t care less about the race, and why should he if he’s the only one in it? The lack of Graduate student engagement with the union is the likely cause behind

this disinterest in the position of Graduate Officer, something which is the job of the Graduate Officer to improve. If a Graduate student advisor is brought in then maybe Torris could focus on organising union events and campaigns for graduate students, or maybe the position would just become redundant.

With fourteen candidates running for sabbatical office, it is anybody’s guess what the union team will look like next year. There is a wide range of candidates running, some who raise concerning questions.

Is Niall Torris addicted to union positions?

Did John Kerr become prochoice as a campaign tactic?

Is Barry Murphy re-running for President for the good of the student body or his own ego?

Did Rosaleen Aljohmani use her position as a college officer to profit from the app Circle?

Has Breifne O’Brien made homophobic comments?

Whatever the answers, it is you, the students of UCD, who will decide the next sabbatical team of the SU. Make your choices wisely and vote down the ballot, although if you’re not happy with who you get you can always have them impeached.

If you can’t make up your mind on the day, vote RON for the hell of it.

then Larry, stop running.

We have Juliet Dignity-andRespect McFadden. It’s nice to see that someone read about ol’ ******.

Nobody can forget Rosolidarity Aljohmani who’s frustratingly long, ridiculous, and unreadable manifesto has us seeking a nice app to pay for society events.

Amy CreanTM is making her swift return to Scum Union politics. Talley is sure she is currently debating why the hell she would join these asshats.

Old man Breifne O’Brien assures the pests of UCD that he is not homophobic in a serious way.

Don’t worry Breifne, hints of homophobia do not hurt the chances of presidential candidates in this hellhole.

Don’t forget we also have Ryan I-heart-UCDSU Oakes.

Maybe he could get his head out of the SU’s hairy arse and supply some free caffeine.

For Cocks & Carelessness we have two rats. If you’re looking for someone who shouts and does not smile O’Brien’s little brother Tom Ents Monaghan is your man!

If you want a nice fella to bring home to your mam you’ve got best dressed Kevin Brennan.

In the crawl for Welfare we’ve got Kylie Cockroach. Nobody’s

sure how she got here. Melissa sweet-mother-of-two Plunkett is in a death match against John NOT PRO-LIFE Kerr.

For Education, we have Christine no-more-failing Brown and Stephen alternative-careers Crosby. Who actually cares?

There’s some yob running for Graduate Officer. Talley fails to recognise this chap but believes his name to be Taurus.

If you’re looking for a prediction on who’s going to win, you won’t get it here. Talley does not give a flying flute.

TALLEYRAND Ahoy hoy vile vermin!

Welcome to another issue of UCD loves elections. Talley can’t wait for when this disgusting excuse for an institution and the cockroaches within it realise that nobody here is capable of running a union and that promises such as “internships for all” are just as realistic as “I will not let my views get in the way of the running of a pro-choice union.”

Lining up for the chop, in the race for impeachment we have Barry I-never-want-to-seea-polling-station-again Murphy.

Murphy says he’s fed up of media attention. Piece of advice for you

Volume XXIV SU Election Special Phone: (01)7163835 Email editor@universityobserver.ie

EDITOR Aoife Hardesty DEPUTY EDITOR Ruth Murphy DESIGN EDITOR Joanne Olivia

TALLEY OUT!

CONTRIBUTORS Dylan O’Neill Brían Donnelly Gavin Tracey Katia Gillen Nathan Young Rory Clarke SPECIAL THANKS Katia Gillen Fiachra Johnston

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CROSSWORD Across 2. The shop-worker who dreams of C&C (5) 5. He who hoovers the office (9) 7. This candidate is NOT pro-life (4,4) 8. A former SU President, but not in UCD (6) 9. What do we want from the bar? (1,3,2,4) 14. Watch out for this Hen Step (7)

Across: Kevin President John Kerr Torris A bag of cans Stephen

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Down: Circle Cake Waterford Thomas Acorn Amy Crean Mother RON USA

Down 1. An app used for organising events (6) 3. What Christine Brown brought to the impeachment referendum (4) 4. The middle of nowhere according to Roche (9) 6. Not from Monaghan, from Mayo (6) 9. From what do big trees grow? (5) 10. She studies Law (3,5) 11. Full-time midwifery student, mature students’ coordinator and __________ (6) 12. Who you should vote for (3) 13. A big country (3)