Vol XXII - Students' Union Election Edition

Page 1

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The University Observer SU ELECTION SPECIAL Volume XXiI

march 1st 2016

universityobserver.ie

Featuring interviews with: Foals Mystery Jets Firehouse Film Contest

The State of the union Photo: James Healy A breakdown of the candidates in the sabbatical election

What do the college officers candidates have to say?

Vox Pops Page 2

Analysis Page 3

Pages 4 - 9

Pages 10

Only one race contested in Students’ Union elections

Talleyrand Page 10

patrick kelleher Only one race is being contested in this year’s Students’ Union elections. There are three candidates running for Campaigns and Communications, with one for President, Welfare, Education and Graduate. Lack of engagement has been a problem with Students’ Union elections for years, with a traditionally low turn-out turning up to vote on the day. A lack of awareness was found by the University Observer in speaking to students on campus (see page 2) – many of whom were unaware

that an election was happening at all. Marcus O’Halloran, Students’ Union President, says that the lack of candidates does not show a lack of engagement. “I wouldn’t necessarily say it shows lack of engagement. Up until about two weeks ago, we had, I think 14 potential candidates in each race, and... slowly candidates decided to drop out. I think engagement is good, and I do get a sense on the ground that a lot more people are talking about the Union than previously.”

In last year’s Students’ Union elections, every race was contested, with four candidates running for President and two for every other position. Hazel Beattie, Graduate Officer and Vice President, says that last year’s race was not the standard. “Last year was unusual. I think this year, well on social media, they’re a lot more engaged, and if you see our events, they’re far more well attended. I think there’s a lot more engagement this year than any other year, and we’ve

gotten feedback from students saying that.” On the same day as the Students’ Union elections, students will also vote on a referendum on rejoining the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), following a referendum that saw UCDSU leave in 2013. When speaking to students across campus, there was a lack of awareness of the referendum, with many not knowing what USI was. The USI referendum is happening as a result of a student petition which bypassed the SU

and went straight to the Returning Officer. When students gather a certain number of signatures, they can bypass the Union, as was the case with this referendum. Since the announcement of the USI referendum, ‘No to USI’ and ‘Yes to USI’ campaigns have both begun. However, if the responses from students across campus are anything to go by, for many students, the question won’t be ‘should we rejoin USI?’ but rather ‘who is USI?’


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