SU Officer of the Year

No-one else started this thread, and seeing as the folk in House 6 are finishing up, perhaps it would be interesting viewing (again). Here's last year's thread on this.

So who do you think has excelled in their job?

Andrew 83

Are you bringing this up because you won last year?

Nah, not at all.

I was actually hoping that someone else would start this, but since the term is almost over and no-one has done it I thought I'd just do it myself.

Dave3x

Rob.

The only guy who could answer questions without the "I'll have to consult with (insert relevant noun here) before I can get back to you". Why? Because he would generally know the answer off the top of his head.

Stargal

Myth wrote:

So who do you think has excelled in their job?

Just because they were the best SU Officer this year doesn't necessarily mean that they've excelled at their job - the two factors aren't necessarily mutually exclusive

Boston

Dave Quin. His job was being a total prat right? Down trust small ferret looking men, they'll steal your babies.

Stargal

Stargal wrote:

Just because they were the best SU Officer this year doesn't necessarily mean that they've excelled at their job - the two factors aren't necessarily mutually exclusive

Indeed.

Time Magazine

Simon Hall, without a shadow of a doubt. The quality of publication of the Record was outstanding this year, and was duly acknowledged in its haul at Student Media (Smedia) Awards. That film that he spoke of in his manifesto was life-changing. His publicity of all of the SU elections and referenda was top notch; he had put in so much work and preparation he thoroughly deserved his holiday the week prior to elections. Finally, and perhaps most crucially, I've never seen such a magnificent saving of one's ass when the SU Council very nearly had the audacity to criticise his work effort.

Also his abuse of his nixer making CIE TravelCards and placing his forged card as his profile pic on Bebo brought a tear to my eye.

shay_562

Simon Hall, without a shadow of a doubt. The quality of publication of the Record was outstanding this year, and was duly acknowledged in its haul at Student Media (Smedia) Awards. That film that he spoke of in his manifesto was life-changing. His publicity of all of the SU elections and referenda was top notch; he had put in so much work and preparation he thoroughly deserved his holiday the week prior to elections. Finally, and perhaps most crucially, I've never seen such a magnificent saving of one's ass when the SU Council very nearly had the audacity to criticise his work effort.

Also his abuse of his nixer making CIE TravelCards and placing his forged card as his profile pic on Bebo brought a tear to my eye.

...what he said.

hallsp

Thanks folks. A considered gesture. I gauge the success of my year on the opinions of boards.ie regulars so naturally it means a lot to get your impramateur.

Stargal

hallsp wrote:

Thanks folks. A considered gesture. I gauge the success of my year on the opinions of boards.ie regulars so naturally it means a lot to get your impramateur.

Ah Simon come on, don't get cranky. Come back and explain exactly why Ibid's wrong rather than just writing a mean comment and walking away.

Also you were clearly annoyed when you wrote it, but why do you hold the opinion of b.ie folk so low? What's so different to this issue being discussed here or in the Pav? (aside from the fact that anyone can read the conversation here, obv!). I mean, wouldn't you treat both conversations the same? Is it a personal thing - that you don't like the people who said something about you - or is it the anonymity of boards that you don't like? Just curious.

King.Penguin

I think this is nothing more than a popularity contest (you might say isn't that a bit obvious). The past 3 threads like this over the years have all been in favour of the most productive poster on the board. This year, this trend stays the same. Rob doesn't post much here but he does post more often or more visibly than any of the other officers.

Is this really a rating of how well a particular SO fulfilled their mandate? how hard they worked? how well they performed in their respective roles? Or really a question of who do I like most?

I'd have to agree with the poll and suggest Rob has done his job well.

Time Magazine

Simon, you're a bit wet in your pants, aren't you? You failed to address my points though, so I'll have to revoke your imprimatur.

It seems to me that Rob has done the best job although I am friendly with him so that may cloud my judgement. The two (or three?) days' notice for an entirely new constitution was poor form, even though it had to be rushed. That said, much of the problem lies in publicity, which isn't Rob's mandate. Dave appears to have done a fairly decent job, getting two policy referenda passed (despite me voting no; damn democracy) and inadvertently ending the Coke dispute for a while at least. The Ball line-up was good so Barry gets a nod. I didn't hear much at all from Denise so I simply don't know if she did a good job or not. She's lovely though, which stands to her.

little miss

What was actually achieved by any of the officers really? Seemed like a really weak bunch in my opinion. They certainly didn't make much of an impact on college committees, and let the provost get away with a lot of bad policies without kicking up a fuss. Certainly, no college officer seemed scared of any of them.

Awayindahils

little miss wrote:

Certainly, no college officer seemed scared of any of them.

Can you name any student whom the college are scared of. As in properly scared of. If the college being scared of an SU officer is how you judge the job that they have done, then you are terribly and unforgivably naive.

The Union's best chance of achieving things for students within in the college is through working with college officials. Giving a bit and taking a bit as needs be. Not threatening doom and gloom and bullying.

An attitude like yours allows no room to properly evaluate the work of the sabbats. Rob Kearns did a phenomenal job, and no he mightened be feared by college officials but he is respected and respect gets one an awful lot further than fear in the world of college politics.

Scared what a ridiculous notion. Out of interest out of next years sabbats, and please only answer this if you voted, who do you think college will be scared of?

Time Magazine

Awayindahils wrote:

who do you think college will be scared of?

Bartley will strike the fear of God into all of them.

little miss

Awayindahils wrote:

Can you name any student whom the college are scared of. As in properly scared of. If the college being scared of an SU officer is how you judge the job that they have done, then you are terribly and unforgivably naive.

The Union's best chance of achieving things for students within in the college is through working with college officials. Giving a bit and taking a bit as needs be. Not threatening doom and gloom and bullying.

An attitude like yours allows no room to properly evaluate the work of the sabbats. Rob Kearns did a phenomenal job, and no he mightened be feared by college officials but he is respected and respect gets one an awful lot further than fear in the world of college politics.

Scared what a ridiculous notion. Out of interest out of next years sabbats, and please only answer this if you voted, who do you think college will be scared of?

I agree that su officers should work with college officers, but that doesn't mean just being in awe of them and letting them get away with tramping all over students.

I didn't mean scared, in terms of feeling threatened. But actually, scared that a student might be able to achieve something of worth and motivate other students to rally against a bad decision taken. I doubt any of this year's officers actually made an impact on any college committees. If they did, please correct me but please give solid examples. Being respected just for turning up to committees and agreeing with college officers doesn't mean you are doing a good job, or representing students properly.

Rob certainly didn't achieve as much as Donal did last year, that's for sure.

Andrew 83

While SU officers obviosuly have the scope to do a lot of good work and have often won important concessions and battles (I would like to think I won at least a couple in my time in the SU although I understand some of what I gained has since been lost again), SU officers alone cannot put the breaks on a major project which the college officers have decided is going to happen.

What can stop something like this however is the combined body of students, staff and the media/public opinion at large. In this instance it is the job of the SU officers and the student media etc to work to expose the wrongs the college is attempting to carry out, working with staff who may be like minded where possible. This was my policy as TN editor at least and I feel we had some success in publicising issues at least.

Awayindahils

little miss wrote:

.

Being respected just for turning up to committees and agreeing with college officers doesn't mean you are doing a good job, or representing students properly.

Rob certainly didn't achieve as much as Donal did last year, that's for sure.

No one certaintly dosn't gain respect for just turning up. I know that myself.
To be respect you have to have to fully engage, bring up relevant point and fight a consistent battle for the students. Rob did this, as did Donal.

I never sat on upper level college committee with Donal but I did with Rob. To say that he was just earned respect because he turned up is soo small minded. He argued student issues very articulatley and made sure that at very closed circle, very 'academics-are-the-only-people-that-matter-well-that-and-post-grads' that student issues were kept at the center of the agenda.

I am going to assume that you believe that the acting studies debacle could have been avoided through action by the sabbats. Only if they could raise a qauter of a million euro per year. It was a balance sheet calculation. The school could not afford it. College did not have the money to give. There was no external sponsor to be found. The union can in no way afford it. Our education is underfunded. We all know this. It is not our own sabbats who lobby the government it is USI in the role as a lobby group on behalf of all students' unions.

S&M.
Trinity is no Cambridge or Oxford as much as we would like to believe that it is. Unfortunately we are not. There were strong lobbys from the post-grads and some academics to have S&M brought in. Semesterisation being the more immediate concern. And this is something which college was going to do. However with Rob there for students the model which has been proposed is the closest possible to our current system and lets face it. It isn't going to affect you or me while we are in college. And it is only semesterisation which has been approved so far.

Rob extended upon the job done by Donal with the exam campain. There was tea and coffee at the Library in the Arts Block and in the Hamiliton.

Sports Center.
Please go to tcdsu.org website and go to the exec minutes. Exec meeting 2 of the year and go to AOB. I raised the issue of the sports center based on information i had heard from the gym people about the fee etc. The sports center is Dave's debacle. Not Robs.

On a personal level. I sat a schol exam with a mistake in the paper. I am not a class rep but was still the person expected to deal with it by my class. Within two hours of the event rob had had an email back form the lecturers with a promise of a marking scheme to reflect the mistake.

Class rep campain. I remeber only one inquarate council this year. And that was only inquarate for one vote and the officers reports. And the person who called it almost purred they were enjoying themsleves so much.

Little Miss, what would you like to see the Union do? Have big protests? Tha lack of protests by the Trinity SU is a reflection of the lack of interest by Trinity Students in being in a protest.

ARAM. ARAM came in two years ago, but only became known to student's a year ago. And by two years ago I mean two years of figures used to work out how the ARAM should be spent. The restructering of the college should help to ammend some of the problems within in ARAM structure. It mightened work, but at least its an attempt at a soln.

Restructering. It's actually a good thing. Or i believe its a good thing it gives the faculties a decent amount of atonomy and the size need to sustain it. Rob with Ruth from the GSU ensured that Students will have proper representation at the various committee and levels within college. Something which was not garuntteed before.

The SU consitution was rewritten largely by Rob. Both an excercise in grammatic pedantry and an examination of the effciency of certain part-time officer roles it should serve the union well in years to come. Most importantly the stepping stone of chair of council to su president has been removed. Chair of council running for president or any other sabbatical position was before in a gray area which could lead to abuses.

I think he did quite a bit. I think Donal also did quite a bit. I have heard to same of Daithi. (wasn't in college) I am very proud to have worked with both of them during their times as education officer and for anything that they might not have been able to achieve despite a lot of hard work and effort, I believe that what they did achieve is worthy of respect and should not be thus over shadowed.

Dave3x

Extensive.

little miss

little miss wrote:

Rob certainly didn't achieve as much as Donal did last year, that's for sure.

Agh! I appreciate the opinion, but the one thing I didn't want this thread to turn into was a comparison between previous years!

Awayindahils wrote:

Can you name any student whom the college are scared of.

CHARLES J. LARKIN

(dun dun duuuuun)

Awayindahils

lol.

PHB

Rob, not that he was massively impressive, but seemed to do a decent job and seemed like a nice guy.
That said, considering the incompetence of the others, it's not like he had to do much to be the best.

xeduCat

Awayindahils wrote:

I think he did quite a bit. I think Donal also did quite a bit. I have heard to same of Daithi. (wasn't in college)

All a dirty rumour, at least for the last one

Crash

Daithi actually embezzled Post-its. Fact.

Boston

Right, which one of the lads was the one that wasn't **** ugly again? You know the one, he ran the council thing and from what I recall had bloody hair. Him, he gets my vote. Failing that Simon, he gave(I still paid) me a travel card, which is one thing more then the rest of these useless feicless wasters have ever done.

Harsh, but accurate.

shay_562

simon hall wrote:

Thanks folks. A considered gesture. I gauge the success of my year on the opinions of boards.ie regulars so naturally it means a lot to get your impramateur.

Really? I gauge the success of your year on the quality of the Record, your publicisation (or lack thereof) of voting, referenda and SU events, and your maintenance of the SU website. I'll concede that the website has vastly improved since last year (though weren't there questions asked over the necessity of bringing in an outside company at a high cost to do the job you're essentially being paid to do?), but as for the other two, there are dozens of posts around this forum explaining exactly what went wrong and what was substandard. If you'd care to try and justify or defend your tenure as Dep Pres, then I'd be more than happy to read it (particularly your explanations for why you failed to produce non-biased information leaflets for the various referenda, why the constitutional referendum was publicised at such short notice, whatever happened to that video and why you saw fit to take a holiday the week before SU elections, leaving them lacking in a publicity officer at the time when they need the most publicity), but if all you have to offer is stroppy, childish sarcasm then so be it.

awayindahils wrote:

Little Miss, what would you like to see the Union do? Have big protests? Tha lack of protests by the Trinity SU is a reflection of the lack of interest by Trinity Students in being in a protest.

Most of your posts I'd agree with to at least some extent, but I'd question this. The sports clubs mobilised a huge vote in favour of a referendum because they genuinely believed in it, and were able to convince hundreds of others to back it up. Hundreds of people got involved in things like Med Day and Rag Week. I think it's being defeatist to say that the students of this college aren't willing to give up their time and energy to fight for a cause that they think is justified; the problem is that when S&M is being presented as a done deal and the acting studies course is already as good as axed by the time anyone hears about it, things can seem kinda futile. That said, did the SU attempt to organise protests? Marchs? Petitions? Letter-writing campaigns? Anything at all to try and mobilise college at a basic level to act? I genuinely don't know how effective any of that would be, but it might help to convince college and the SU that those of us who don't actively participate in the Union still care about what happens in the college and still want to see things being done better.

*blinks*

Oh, right...topic. Yeah, I voted for Rob too (not to sound repetitive or anything); he seemed quite active and competent, and that's pretty much what one looks for in an officer.

I think this is nothing more than a popularity contest (you might say isn't that a bit obvious). The past 3 threads like this over the years have all been in favour of the most productive poster on the board. This year, this trend stays the same. Rob doesn't post much here but he does post more often or more visibly than any of the other officers.

I think there's a question there of horses and carts and causes and effects and whatever else. Boards seems to play some class of a role in college life; plenty of people read but don't post, stories from here have ended up in TN (and even real newspapers) and so on. Then there's the Welfare and Education-related threads that pop up with relative frequency. It's also a very handy way of tapping into the collective student feeling on some issues; as Stargal pointed out, a lot of things here are essentially a transcribed Pav chat, only more organised and less slurry. It would seem to make sense that an officer who wants to both reach and listen to the student body would spend a few minutes here from time to time doing just that; that attitude espoused by other SU officers above, that this place isn't worth listening to, is exactly the kind of closed-minded self-important idiocy that leads people to mock and dislike the SU in the first place. So while posting here doesn't make you a good officer, a good officer is more likely to post here. If that makes any sense.

Awayindahils

shay_562 wrote:

Most of your posts I'd agree with to at least some extent, but I'd question this. The sports clubs mobilised a huge vote in favour of a referendum because they genuinely believed in it, and were able to convince hundreds of others to back it up. Hundreds of people got involved in things like Med Day and Rag Week. I think it's being defeatist to say that the students of this college aren't willing to give up their time and energy to fight for a cause that they think is justified; the problem is that when S&M is being presented as a done deal and the acting studies course is already as good as axed by the time anyone hears about it, things can seem kinda futile. That said, did the SU attempt to organise protests? Marchs? Petitions? Letter-writing campaigns? Anything at all to try and mobilise college at a basic level to act? I genuinely don't know how effective any of that would be, but it might help to convince college and the SU that those of us who don't actively participate in the Union still care about what happens in the college and still want to see things being done better.

How many prtests have you gone on since you've been in college. this eyar we had the anti-global warming march. In first year there was the Irish march. Been on either?

Trinity students don't like going on amrches. And the clubs got already interested people, who were going to be hugely benefitted as a result of the gym membership fee being part of the reg fee (half of what it would have cost them to join in the first place) You don't really gain antyhing personally from going on a march. The leaders give some sound bites. You probably get rained on. Sports club members got cheap gym membership and ensured the surrivavl of the clubs.

A march for the Acting Studies course wouldn't have meant that the Acting studies course was kept and even if it were it wouldn't have beenfitted anyone personally bar the Acting studies students. Trinity students are by in large comfortable with their lot in life. this makes them somewhat apathetic to causes which dont have any tangeable benefits for them.

Also the SU did huge work to make sure that the voting was as accessible as possible. A polling station in GSH during Trinity Bal ticket collection was going to increase the turn out for any referundum hugely.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

awayindahils = newbie . There was tonnes of marches during the 2003-2004 SU tenure. circa 2,500 turned out for the anti-fees march, alone. Don't think talking about one anti-global warming march makes this year's crowd sound too good. Presumably, if everyone had just stayed home it would have been more carbon-friendly? Also, what was been asked for on the march? Was a case been made for more externality charges to put a real choice on the use of carbon, or were ye just ranting for the fun of it?

haven't been following this year's crowd, but they seem kinda poor - particularly (maybe, only?) dep pres. referenda, going on holidays before elections, no more need be said! Although the ball was apparently brilliant, so that stands in good stead to the ents officer. Welfare will never win these types of votes because they spend a huge about of time on casework - which are obviously not widely talked about for obvious reasons.

Awayindahils

Roundtower2 wrote:

There was tonnes of marches during the 2003-2004 SU tenure. circa 2,500 turned out for the anti-fees march, alone. Don't think talking about one anti-global warming march makes this year's crowd sound too good. Presumably, if everyone had just stayed home it would have been more carbon-friendly? Also, what was been asked for on the march?

if the UCD students had stayed in UCD it would have been more carbon friednly, but seeing as how the march was on a wednesday and most (trinity) people were in college anyway and the march was from oconnell street i dont think trinity students partaking would have had much of an impact in terms of carbon foot print.

Also free fee tangeable gain. But yes I had heard that there were more marches before I got to college.

There was a quite successful march this (last) year about the teacher training colleges.

http://www.usi.ie/pages/posts/2000-trainee-teachers-in-protest-supported-by-usi447.php

2,000 Trainee Teachers In Protest 'Supported by USI'

Posted by USI General Manager (manager) on Apr 13 2007 at 1:05 PM
2007 >>

7 February 2007

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has condemned the ‘Black Hole’ in financial support for student teachers that prompted today’s mass demonstration (Wednesday 7th February) outside the Department of Education & Science.

USI is supporting student teachers in their campaign, which urges the Government to provide a practical training allowance to trainee teachers during classroom teaching practice.

The Student Led campaign is endorsed by Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin and INTO.

In contrast to trainee Guards and nurses, trainee teachers – whose expenses average €88 per week over 16 weeks of compulsory classroom teaching practice – receive no Government subsidy towards their essential equipment.

USI President Colm Hamrogue said: “Trainee teachers are joined by students studying the Arts, Sciences and Humanities, who urge the Government to bring in a practical training allowance for student teachers. Student teachers cannot continue to pay €88 a week without assistance – and it is unfair that trainee Guards and nurses receive training support but trainee teachers do not.

“The withholding of a practical training allowance creates a Black Hole in the finances of trainee teachers that causes some to drop out, and others to juggle full-time teacher training with paid jobs. This causes terrible financial anxiety and pressure.

“In the run-up to the General Election, USI will be gauging the position of all TDs on introducing a trainee teacher allowance. This is a question of treating student teachers fairly, so we are demanding to know where every TD stands.”

Shaun Conaghan, President St Patrick’s Students’ Union, said: “All students care passionately about the future of education. Today 2,000 trainee teachers gathered to demand quality in education.

“The Government was invited to attend today’s protest and listen to our concerns but on this occasion no Minister was willing to meet with us.

“People will question whether this Government is truly committed to quality in education and the future education of our children.”

ENDS

Ok, 2000 from protest organisers is different from actual numbers, but I did hear that number from various sources at that time.

Moorsy

Awayindahils wrote:

Can you name any student whom the college are scared of. As in properly scared of. If the college being scared of an SU officer is how you judge the job that they have done, then you are terribly and unforgivably naive.

The SU is a whole body who should act in a single motion with an opinion of what they want to see in their college. The College should respect a student movement and listen to what it wants. 15000 students with one voice isn’t a bullying force it’s a rightful voice.

Awayindahils wrote:

The Union's best chance of achieving things for students within in the college is through working with college officials. Giving a bit and taking a bit as needs be. Not threatening doom and gloom and bullying.

Ha: 'Giving a bit and taking a bit '. Acting course gone.....Provost asks for re-introduction of fees and rise. Gym built for students of College.......Students now paying extra on top of registration fee and also being open to the public.


It really worked this year, lets keep the good work up! Let the college ruin student life and course and we'll 'take a bit'. And take a bit as in, maybe have lunch, with the Provost, and talk about the weather!

Moorsy

Awayindahils wrote:

what would you like to see the Union do? Have big protests? Tha lack of protests by the Trinity SU is a reflection of the lack of interest by Trinity Students in being in a protest.

.

Your totally looking at this the wrong way around. Your view is well we have protests and nobody turns out. Can anybody tell me here what protests the Union took part in or organised this year? I know of the Stop Climate Change protest which the Union were meant to take part in but did a very very poor job of advertising with e-mails and posters being put up about 26 hours in advance.

The question shouldn't be if Trinity students take part in protests or not. Rather it should be whether the Union is acting properly to stimulate Student opinion and debate about issues which will affect them. Look at the acting course as far as I know it was brought up at College Board and a letter was given.....some action there! If we take semisertisation nobody has a fecking clue what it means to stimulate debate why doesn’t somebody say it means more exams and a earlier start to college etc just to start talk debate etc.

Awayindahils

Moorsy wrote:

Ha: 'Giving a bit and taking a bit '. Acting course gone.....Provost asks for re-introduction of fees and rise. Gym built for students of College.......Students now paying extra on top of registration fee and also being open to the public.

Ok seriously Acting Studies course = not the unions fault that it's gone. The Union did it's best. Pleae tell me where you think 250k per anumn is going to magically appear from? You are incoming finance officer right? If you can make the sums work I'll be mega impressed.

Sports center total **** up. end of. But there was a gym membership before hand so it is highly unlikely that the new one was going to be completely free, though I am not happy with the way things are no- ie it lumped inot the reg fee. There is only one person you should be looking to for this and it is Dave. His exec advised him on it. But to sya that it is Dave's fault alone is a little unfair. Someone else was sitting on those meetings when the plans were approved it goes back a few years.

Finally the voice of 15000 students.

Last pav of the year, it worked becuase people really wanted it to. People got out with blacksacks and did their bit and the place stayed open.

Also Provvost reintroduction of fee- this is being asked for by all leading university heads. Not just the Provost and the SU and USI are firmly against it. And on a personal level I see the fee issue as being a USI thing, not that ti isnt important on an individual institution level but USI is a body representing many many more times that then any individual SU.

And Moorsy the Provost and others have called for the reintroduction of fees again and again and it hasn't happened yet. the movement against it is strong enough so i think in your arguement it's a null point. A sound bite is just a sound bite sometimes.

Moorsy

Awayindahils wrote:

How many prtests have you gone on since you've been in college. this eyar we had the anti-global warming march. In first year there was the Irish march. Been on either?

Trinity students don't like going on amrches.

Trinity students are by in large comfortable with their lot in life. this makes them somewhat apathetic to causes which dont have any tangeable benefits for them.

.

1) I was at both of those protests and various others throughout the year.

2) I can't believe you called somebody else naive earlier! 'Trinity students don't like going on marches.' Have you ever heard of free fee's?! Those marches were massive. And if your basing your anti-marching feelings on the Global Warming march I already made the point that its wasn't advertised properly.

If the Union wants to march and get big numbers the President( well a good one who can speak on-front of people) needs to address all classes, send out e-mails, flyer etc and gain momentum not just send a half hearted e-mail a couple of hours before a protest!

Awayindahils

Moorsy wrote:

The question shouldn't be if Trinity students take part in protests or not. Rather it should be whether the Union is acting properly to stimulate Student opinion and debate about issues which will affect them. Look at the acting course as far as I know it was brought up at College Board and a letter was given.....some action there! If we take semisertisation nobody has a fecking clue what it means to stimulate debate why doesn’t somebody say it means more exams and a earlier start to college etc just to start talk debate etc.

Moorsy where the hell were you at the open meeting on SM. I was at them, admitedly not at all of them but at the ones at the start of exma slast year- complaining about both the time the meeting was held and asking those questions. Exams earlier starts.

Exams- if modularisation goes ahead Trinity is not going to fully modularise. One will have to take 60 credits worth of courses a year, but there will be only one annual examination period as in the current system. All you had to do was ask. Personally i think it's a shambles to do it half heartedly, but this is the appartenly the least devisive choice. And yes this is only what I've heard.

And i think in total semesterisation means starting one or two weeks earlier and finishing a couple of weeks earlier. Not as big a change as people had thoguht might have been proposed. I like Trinity the way it is, but particularily from a postgraduate education I can see the appeal of semesterisation.

Ron DMC

Awayindahils wrote:

though I am not happy with the way things are no- ie it lumped inot the reg fee.

I'm well happy with that, my parents pay my registration fee, so it doesn't cost me a dime to get free gym membership. Boo yeah!

Moorsy

I was just using it as an example of how maybe to get students interests and to start debate with students not as a point in fact.

Awayindahils

Moorsy wrote:

1) I was at both of those protests and various others throughout the year.

2) I can't believe you called somebody else naive earlier! 'Trinity students don't like going on marches.' Have you ever heard of free fee's?! Those marches were massive. And if your basing your anti-marching feelings on the Global Warming march I already made the point that its wasn't advertised properly.

If the Union wants to march and get big numbers the President( well a good one who can speak on-front of people) needs to address all classes, send out e-mails, flyer etc and gain momentum not just send a half hearted e-mail a couple of hours before a protest!

I didnt want to waste my thousand post of this but sod it.

Moorsy you are very involved both in labour youth and in the union. hence youre natural inclination to be at protests.

Free fees as far as I'm aware would also have had endoresment and proper help from USI. Secondly for something as important as a march against fee I would like to see more than 2,200 people. And i acknowledged to roundtower that I wasn't aware of the protests before i got to college. I conceeded that. if you had read every post.

And you're last point is totally fair and i definetely agree. But loads of people just delete the SU email without ever reading it. Alot needs to be done.

This is something I forgot to put in earlier re the fearing a student thing.

Little Miss said that the Sabbats last eyar were useless because no college official was scared of them as individuals not as being 1500 people. Just to clear that up.

Awayindahils

Ronny Mitchell wrote:

I'm well happy with that, my parents pay my registration fee, so it doesn't cost me a dime to get free gym membership. Boo yeah!

Lollers.

I see the appeal but decided how i was voting when the blind girl asked me what the person in the wheel chair was to do.

Awayindahils

Awayindahils wrote:

I see the appeal but decided how i was voting when the blind girl asked me what the person in the wheel chair was to do.

Eh?

Awayindahils

I was polling, and due to the poor information provided by both sides, a blind girl came along to vote and wanted to know about people who wer ein wheel chairs what would they do. The girl said she didnt use the gym and wouldnt but she didn't want to take it away from other people, but was worried about people who couldn't walk etc.

Ron DMC

Awayindahils wrote:

Lollers.

I see the appeal but decided how i was voting when the blind girl asked me what the person in the wheel chair was to do.

That's a terrible argument. Money from my registration fee goes towards wheelchair ramps, braille maps and plenty of other accessibility things around campus that I have no use for. Why not part of their registration fee towards my gym membership that they have no use for?
Maybe not 70 euros, but hey that's what the gym offered.

Awayindahils

Ronny Mitchell wrote:

That's a terrible argument. Money from my registration fee goes towards wheelchair ramps, braille maps and plenty of other accessibility things around campus that I have no use for. Why not part of their registration fee towards my gym membership that they have no use for?
Maybe not 70 euros, but hey that's what the gym offered.

i decided how I was voting because I couldn't answer the question.

Ronny Mitchell

Ronny Mitchell wrote:

Money from my registration fee goes towards wheelchair ramps, braille maps and plenty of other accessibility things around campus that I have no use for.

Are you sure? Money goes towards the Student Disabililty Service but they don't pay for additional services. Most of the money black holes for the Reg Fee are involved in Registration & Examinations. I can't remember if the ESF would cover the payment of upgrading locations to accessible, or whether it comes from the College's purse strings or from other areas, but I'm fairly sure that it doesn't come via the Registration Fee.

As an aside, the Capitation Committee agreed towards the end of 2005 that the clubs, societies etc. are responsible for providing services themselves for students with disabilities.

Ron DMC

ok, you're the man with the knowledge.

But there are plenty of things in the registration fee that people pay money towards and never use, be it that they don't need to, or don't choose to. This is just another one for the list.

If gym fees had been lumped into registration fees from the year dot, we'd all appreciate the gym as another college service and there'd be uproar if they asked us to pay membership outside of that.

Ronny Mitchell

Ronny Mitchell wrote:

ok, you're the man with the knowledge.

Not necessarily, I'm going on what I think I remember, which is always dangerous

Nietzschean

Awayindahils wrote:

Lollers.

I see the appeal but decided how i was voting when the blind girl asked me what the person in the wheel chair was to do.

is the pool not disabled accessable? i seem to recall a lift being put in there recently

Awayindahils

I thinkit is. There's the lift anyway and the lowering mechanism for the pool itself. She meant in terms of ability to use the facility compared to a fully able bodied person. I think anyway.

It just sticks out in my head.

Nietzschean

...but the facilites to take into account the disable tend to cost a fortune to install/maintain per cappa they tend to come out ahead on spending in these things no?

King.Penguin

i'm very tempted to make a very crude and silly remark about the ridiculous nature of people trying to make a gym fully and completely accessible to people with a broad range of disabilities but i won't.