ULSU Elections 2012 (Voting Thursday March 22)

he branded me as a david hartery supporter and that my opinions didn't matter cause they went against what he thought.

If you want to be a David Hartery supporter, I'd be glad to have you!

Would just like to declare I shall be supporting Paddy Rockett, Adam Moursy and Cathal Ronan.

Seems to me a few of the new faces have no idea what is actually involved in the job they are campaigning for and that's just from looking at their posters.

Tighearnan wrote: »

There is a RON option for people to vote on. Its in the constitution that it must be given as a choice.

Link to the posts

Is this definitely true? I distinctly remember not having this an option last year. Am I mistaken or was it not implemented?

leaoj wrote: »

It's an ok plan, but smacks of desperation already before a poster has even been issued. they're already so under donfident in their chances of success as an individual that they're already lumping in with randomers they barely know.

were the three of them not mates already?

Wow sounds like cathal could be cambridge's Manchurian candidate.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=77128611&postcount=41

My manifesto:
My name is Cathal Ronan. I am a 4th year BA (Joint Honours) student, studying Criminal Justice and Economics. You should vote for me as DP/Welfare Officer this Thursday because I am approachable, hard working and have a lot of low cost ideas that I think will improve the Welfare office and make it a more open union to all students.

Sexual Health – Make Shag week like a second Charity Week. Go out at night handing out free condoms and leaflets to UL students. Make sexual health awareness a weekly campaign rather then once a semester.

Mental Health – “Welfare on Wheels”. I plan to have a welfare couch on wheels and once a week go out and meet students, invite them for a quick chat making the welfare office more open and more approachable. Also I want to provide more help and advice for graduating students for when they face the real world. I would work with the Alumni office to create a forum where graduates could keep in contact.

Physical Health – Physical health is key. It has a direct correlation on your mental and sexual health. I intend to have a weekly jog/walk to get people out and active. It’s a new way to meet people and helps build a good relationship between students and the Welfare office. I would also work with the ULSU Shop to create a meal plan for students. Students could buy the makings of a healthy dinner for a reasonable price, helping both the student and the SU.

Accommodation – Students need to have more information about the accommodation they are choosing while they are students in UL. I want to develop a rating scheme on houses that is accessible to all students to view. Past tenants can leave their feedback on the house/land lord so that incoming tenants have a better idea of the accommodation they’re choosing.

I want to create a union with more accountability and transparency. This is your union. You have the right to voice your opinions and know exactly what is going on in your union. Transparency is key therefore I will be publishing my activity at the end of each week allowing students to see how I am working for them. This activity will of course be private and the result will be two-fold. 1) Students see exactly what it is I do and 2) Students in similar situations will have information accessible to them online should they find it difficult to make the first step to talk. I will be accessible to students via all social media and face to face meetings.

With the recent trouble in the SU change is needed. As your Welfare Officer I hold no political agenda and I have no ulterior motives for this job. My only concern is your welfare and nothing else.

I have experience working with youths in summer camps in Barcelona and America. My main responsibility was the welfare of the youths while they were in my care. I firmly believe this experience coupled with my academic interest in human rights/civil liberties leaves me as a perfect candidate for this position.

I will welcome any and all ideas to help better the union and do my best to put those ideas into action.
Well done is better then well said.

Choose your Future. Choose Ronan for Welfare


This manifesto was issued by Deirdre Wilson, Campaign manager for Cathal Ronan.

wnolan1992 wrote: »

Don't worry about it

Even as a poster it's very poor. A huge body of text like that won't catch people's attention. And there is no break down of what he's actually going to do.

I beg to differ, anybody who knows what the reference to would imo definitely stop to read it.

More manifesto links added in my original post

I actually think there is too much emphasis put on the contents of the election manifesto. Like it appears people really rate highly the 'promises' the candidates make. Like person A promises free condoms and person b offers a confidential phone service. People will argue which is most economically viable, which will benefit the students the most etc. i think it's a moot point. Firstly because statistics show hardly anyone delivers anything new during their tenure and secondly, it's not actually important most of the time.

basically this is a job people are being interviewed for. and we, the electorate body, are making that decision on who gets the job. What we need to find out who will best do the role of the office as it currently stands, what they might bring to it in terms of bells and whistles isn't important.

For example, Kelly O'Brien has a track record of delivering on one of her promises - a radio station. She organized the funding, got the resources, managed the volunteers, got some advertising, got the thing working. But what exactly was the end product? A radio station where people doing the music course get practice being presenters with a listener-ship of about 10 people per hour. So Kelly says she works 70 hours per week, how much of this time was spent messing around with the radio? What about the rest of the job - the important aspects.

Let's just say KOB is elected and she does actually bring in the niteline confidential help line for students. How much of her time and energy will be put into it? What will it achieve? How many people will use it? how will she able to do the more important aspects of her job -

• liaise with the college over the criteria and distribution of the access and hardship funds
• deal with, but not counsel, students who have welfare problems, respecting confidentiality at all times
• campaign on, and raise awareness of, issues relating to welfare as agreed by the executive committee e.g. debt, safe sex, drug/alcohol abuse, etc; distribute general welfare information
• have responsibility for representing students in disciplinary or academic appeals cases

Like, who cares if she gets cheap condoms or not as long as she does the above adequately and professionally? There are about 14 other things explicitly stated in the job spec too.

I'm not singling Kelly out here just using her case as an example as I have her manifesto in front of me. i think it's important for students to realise these fluffy promises that people put on their manifesto matter for nothing, the real important aspects of the officer is how they adhere to their job spec.

roro1neil0 wrote: »

I think the college does a terrible job at transparency during elections. Kelly O'Brien is effectively in charge of every campus media outlet. In the other big colleges on this island, they have newspaper published by the SU and another published without SU interference.

I think we have an example of KOB using her editorial influence to gain advantage in the election. Tara feeney apparently took numerous photographs during the body shape awareness campaign. however, coincidentally Kelly O'Brien and her running mate David Hartery were selected to be published in the photo section of the elections edition of An focal side by side. Neither have ever been included (to the best of my knowledge before) in this section. i'm not saying this is a game changer, but it's obvious that KOB is using everything at her disposal to get her name and image out ahead of her opponents.

i thought the video was great, great music, great tone. comes across very natural, very trustworthy, doesn't take herself too seriously.

CiaranMT wrote: »

Pretty sure Jester's just an interested student.

well he obviously has a problem with rockett i'd be curious as to hear why

@Roro

Hi man thanks for quizzing above but Jester has the right to ask questions just like you. I Thank you for your defense though. I was interested to read your earlier posts and am glad that a student will take every effort to find out about the candidates that run.

Any questions or comments that all you guys have I'll gladly answer

I am posting my full manifesto here in the morning as i am adding the final four points to the facebook page.

Reason for this is I want the points released staggered so that (A) people read them and add to any point they wish (b)Dont want to piss off people who like the page with long laborious Notes.

Please have a look and don't hesitate to give me a shout.

Paddy Rockett

roro1neil0 wrote: »

sceptre and petee are the only mods here i'm just wondering what his motives are. he's said the same thing 3 times about rockett and desks, it begs the question, does rockett have a problem with desks or is this someone continuously taking a swipe..

Ah this is a link to what I said in the EGM about not enjoying a desk job. In response to that I would say that the Job does not have to be 100% emails and meetings especially in terms of engagement with students and recruitment of reps. I am quoted as being someone who can rally people. I will use this talent to get our faculty reps positions filled (by the end of this term) so we have a working group to crack on into the new term.

What do you think?

@Paddy, watched the video there, very good idea. Now whether it works in practice or not is another thing, but well worth giving it a try.

It was requested at EGM and i researched how we could use it to our benefit and it is one that I will highly promote as we draw an end of this term and established at the start of the new one.

Can you think of anything that may be amiss? I think its very open and more of a "Think Tank" idea than anything else.