UO the uNiversity observer
ABOVE A PENSIVE DUCK PONDERS LIFE BY UCD’S SECRET LAKE Photo louise flANAGAN
STUDENT PARENTS NAVIGATING THE TRICKY PATH OF BEING A STUDENT AND PARENT orlA KeAveNey P5
March 28th 2017 volUMe xxiii issUe 7 UNiversityoBserver.ie
REFERENDUM APATHY DELVING INTO THE CAUSES OF STUDENT APAPTHY mAtthew hANrAhAN P11
sports clUBs see sigNificaNt fUNDiNg cUts eithNe dodd oNliNe News & feAtures editor THe uCD Athletic union Council (AuC) has stated that it can no longer fund major capital items for clubs. They claimed this was due to the fact the university has not increased the AuC grant in 8 years, in spite of increased membership numbers, activity levels and costs during that time. At an executive committee meeting held last December, the AuC decided to review grant applications received from sports clubs. The AuC stated that from 2017, sports clubs would have to complete a special grant application to the student Activities Committee (sAC). In an email sent out in December, uCD Mountaineering Club were informed that they were ineligible to receive a grant this year, in spite of the fact that they’ve been receiving a grant from the AuC since the club’s inception. Other outdoor-based sports clubs have also admitted that the grant would negatively affect their ability to hold events. However a number were worried that speaking publicly might negatively impact their standing with the AuC. For each member a club has, they pay a €5 levy to AuC, which totalled €2,180 for Mountaineering per year, for which they would receive €5,000 in return. However, they now have to pay the levy and receive
nothing in return, which leaves them down €7,180. Their treasurer, Cillian O’Corrbui, says this greatly limits their means to run events. The changes in the grant system particularly effect outdoor sports clubs that have little or no competitive aspects to them such as the Mountaineering, Caving and Potholing, and Windsurfing Clubs. The announcement was made in an email sent out to uCD sports clubs, during the semester one exam period. O’Corrbui, stated to the observer: “we replied to their email within the day to ask for [an] explanation on why our grant was cut. We instantly got an automated email in response informing us that they were on holiday until the 9th of January. Their secretary offered us a meeting on the 10th of January but…we were on holidays until the 21st if January. [We] were not to receive any news on the grant situation for 6 weeks.” “At this stage we did not anticipate not getting a grant and it’s hard to do a complete plan for all the training programmes we are going to run,” he explained. “usually when we receive a grant this is not an issue as we have enough funds to run the courses ourselves but in our current situation it looks unlikely that the club will be able to subsidise any
training programme which will price the majority of students out of the course.” In January, uCD Mountaineering Club and Caving and Potholing Club had a joint meeting with suzanne Bailey, sports Development Manager at uCD sport, to discuss the changes to their grant situation. Following this meeting the clubs received an email from the AuC executive Committee saying that on the basis of the revised application and grant award criteria, the clubs were deemed not entitled to receive annual grant funding. It was also stated that while the AuC understood that mountaineering and caving clubs needed to travel, the committee would find it difficult to quantify the number of trips allowable. “The criteria was seemingly devised for traditional sports such as rugby, football and GAA,” said O’Corrbui. “As a result [it] makes no sense for an outdoors club. It states that all travel and accommodation will not be covered unless it is for training or competition purposes. This means that sunday hikes and all club trips are not valid in the eyes of the AuC. As a mountaineering club it is absurd not to go outside,” he continued. uCD sport staff were asked for a statement but has not yet replied.
DAVID NORRIS AN INTERVIEW WITH THE SENATOR AND ACTIVIST dAvid moNAGhAN otwo P16
LOOKING FOR SUNDAY INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNER OF THE MAEVE BINCHY TRAVEL AWARD melissA ridGe otwo P5
€50,000 to Be DiverteD froM clUBhoUse Bar roisiN Guyett-NiCholsoN editor A neW fund for student activities is to be set up, following an amendment to the clubhouse constitution. The decision was made at the annual General Meeting of all members of the bar this past January. However the amendment makes no specific reference to investing the funds back into the clubhouse. There were no management committee meetings held in the first semester of this year, although this is in contradiction of the constitution on the governance of the bar. under section 3, part x, the management committee of the bar must meet at “least twice in each academic term”. The AGM was also held outside of the terms governing the structures of the bar, which states that it must be held in the first semester of the academic year. The amendment states that: “where sufficient funds allow, the committee shall have the power to establish a special fund for the benefit of uCD student activities as governed by the Athletic union
Council, societies Council and students’ union. The maximum value of this fund in any one year shall be €50,000. The committee shall decide upon the process and criteria for allocation of this fund”. The amendment to the constitution was placed in the “any other business” section of the agenda at the AGM. This is a section usually reserved for last minute additions to the minutes. This decision has received some criticism from members of the committee. uCD students’ President Conor Viscardi agreed that the manner of passing the amendment was “unusual”, though he did note it was a positive development for student activities. The change was proposed by Dominic O’Keefe, who is head of student services. O’Keefe refused to respond to requests for comment from the university observer. Chair of the bar management committee, suzanne
Bailey, explained: “although the committee now has the authority under the constitution to establish this special fund, it has not done so as the committee has not met since the AGM.” she further noted that there is currently no criteria set out as to how the fund will be distributed, it will be decided at a meeting of the committee before the end of the semester. The meeting is expected to be held in at some point in the next two weeks. Viscardi noted that “it’ll probably be at the discretion of the three different pillar entities what they spend that money on within the space of the clubhouse.” The current constitution of the bar has been in place since the clubhouse reopened in 2013. The management committee includes representatives from uCD sport, the societies Council, and the students’ union.
MADE FOR STYLE MAKE UP TRENDS FOR THE SPRING & SUMMER SEASON otwo P24
MODERN PROPAGANDA THE DANGERS OF XENOPHOBIC MEDIA oweN steiNberGer otwo P10 March 28th 2017 1