Vote RON.

keepkeyyellow

So I was there looking at the flyer of candidates today and I think it's a disgrace that 3 positions are uncontested, especially the presidency so I think we should choose Re-Open Elections for at least the presidency, because he's not gonna truly represent the student body, and if the same situation arises again then noone probably cares........

maccy

Why just the presidency? RON the three of them.

Fad

RON on president yes.

Not on Welfare, I think Scott's doing a fairly good job.

I'd rather a RON vote than John Logue getting into Education......(That said, I am openly supporting James, but I really really REALLY dont want John Logue to get in.....)

The_Minister

Why RON Lynam?

Always thought he was very hardworking and dedicated.

Fad

The_Minister wrote: »

Why RON Lynam?

Always thought he was very hardworking and dedicated.

I dunno tbh, if I see him around I wanna have a quick chat with him. I do think he'd be a decent president, but I dont like the idea that it's unconested.

I'm not exactly pro-fees, but the current free fees thing is unsustainable (But on an unrelated note, any argument that says fees will improve Irish institutions is just bollox for the time being, fees are only being grought in to cut out the government expenditure, not to supplement it.) I dont like the idea that he will represent the entire student body fighting for something that not everyone entirely supports.....

And he completely undermined his speech (For me anyway) by mentioning late night opening for the bar on Thursdays. It's something I'd love to see, but I just cant take him seriously after he brought that up....

Raphael

I always RON uncontested positions on general principal, But I'll be RONing Ents extra hard this years, as the only candidate is a fucking joke.

Extrasupervery

RON the presidency vote, pretty please. And get word out! I bet half the student body haven't even realised it's uncontested.

Pandoras Twist

Grrr to the guy that wants to lower repeat fees. If you fail an exam with no extenuating circumstances then you should pay the fee as it stands. Might be a bit of encouragement to go study.

Agree that Scott does a good job at the moment too.

AEG

After three years of broken promises I'm voting RON on all ballot papers this year. The SU doesn't really have the power to change things on the large scale within UCD. Also the fact that there are FIVE full time officers all paid out of my fees grates totally as I believe none of them really have such a workload as to make them full time, with the exception of maybe the president.

Raphael wrote: »

I always RON uncontested positions on general principal, But I'll be RONing Ents extra hard this years, as the only candidate is a fucking joke.

Completely agree!! Unfortunately the fact he's a "ledge" will mean he'll get it. Doesn't matter if he's useless at the job.

Also have heard people saying that they'll vote Logue because he's hot!! Honestly, some people should not have a vote.

maccy

Really think Scott is doing a good job?
Any of my encounters with him I have found him unecessarily arguementitive and not the most approachable.

The_Minister

Raphael wrote: »

But I'll be RONing Ents extra hard this years, as the only candidate is a fucking joke.

He's been around Ents since I was in second year.
He helped organise loads of events over the years.

He can't be that bad.

Seifer

betafrog wrote: »

I bet three quarters of the student body couldn't actually give a shit

Lol, this.

Pride Fighter

maccy wrote: »

Really think Scott is doing a good job?
Any of my encounters with him I have found him unecessarily arguementitive and not the most approachable.

He also allowed fees be introduced in the health centre. He is probably the worst welfare officer ever.

maccy

Pride Fighter wrote: »

He also allowed fees be introduced in the health centre. He is probably the worst welfare officer ever.

Nah Viv Rath takes that prize, although Scott comes a nice second.

Pandoras Twist

Is allowed really the right word?

Nobodys paying the things either. Theyre having to sort out a new system and basically not let ppl graduate if they havent paid the fees

chemgirl

Scott is useless, he is extremely unapproachable so why would you want to re-elect him.... Personally i like what i hear about logue in all honesty most of them are going to be useless any way just like this years crew

Raphael

The_Minister wrote: »

He's been around Ents since I was in second year.
He helped organise loads of events over the years.

He can't be that bad.

I'm basing my opinion of him on his manifesto, in which he posits the ideas of:

Ents buying a night club (Which would have neglible entry fee and the best promos evar!!oneone)
Organised chillouts by the lake (as opposed to those terrible unorganised ones)
Paying for all this by buying a lottery ticket every week. Which had better've been a joke.

Edit: Oh, and putting the UCD Ball in the "natural ampitheatre" of the running track. Because destroying sports facilities used by the local community and the college is a great idea!

delta_bravo

Lynam seems like a decent guy, although at the age of 23 I think its time he finished his undergrad - but the rest of them seem very poor candidates and simply not up to the job.



Like look at Ahearns manifesto for 2009.
Some of his priorities were:
1. Introduce a loyalty card scheme for meals in the bar and ents gigs.

As far as I know this didnt happen.

2. Kick the habit campaign to help students quit smoking.

I dont remember hearing about this either.

3. Strive to gain funding for the health centre

I suppose this technically did happen as you have to pay now, although I doubt that was his intention.

There were several other campaigns relating to first aid training, drink driving awareness and personal safety that I dont remember hearing about this year.

I am not picking on Scott, Redmond this year was very poor. His only plus was the 24hour study space but looking at his manifesto he delivered on about 10% of his aims. The problem is these people think of great idea that look great on their manifesto but dont think about the implementation or costs.


Another gem from 2009:

Donnacha O Suillebhean: Donnacha WILL fight to keep the reg fee as low as possible, well below next years potential €1,500 mark.

Raphael

Pandoras Twist wrote: »

Grrr to the guy that wants to lower repeat fees. If you fail an exam with no extenuating circumstances then you should pay the fee as it stands. Might be a bit of encouragement to go study.

Agree that Scott does a good job at the moment too.

Personally, I'd be a fan of lowering the fee for a resit, but not a repeat. For no other reason than the fact that it's ridiculous that it costs the same to redo and entire module, with all lectures and Continuous assessment than to just go and do an exam at christmas.

pljudge321

Raphael wrote: »

I'm basing my opinion of him on his manifesto, in which he posits the ideas of:

Ents buying a night club (Which would have neglible entry fee and the best promos evar!!oneone)
Organised chillouts by the lake (as opposed to those terrible unorganised ones)
Paying for all this by buying a lottery ticket every week. Which had better've been a joke.

Edit: Oh, and putting the UCD Ball in the "natural ampitheatre" of the running track. Because destroying sports facilities used by the local community and the college is a great idea!

His whole leaflet is a joke, every idea completely ridiculous and un-workable. I would hate to see the night club thing even come close to fruition. The clubs he mentioned are closing down for a reason, buying one would just create a massive black hole into which even more student money would be sucked. What percentage of the UCD student population even make use of ents? It seems like the majority are just subsidising a minorities nights out drinking.

delta_bravo

pljudge321 wrote: »

His whole leaflet is a joke, every idea completely ridiculous and un-workable. I would hate to see the night club thing even come close to fruition. The clubs he mentioned are closing down for a reason, buying one would just create a massive black hole into which even more student money would be sucked. What percentage of the UCD student population even make use of ents? It seems like the majority are just subsidising a minorities nights out drinking.

Which idiot is proposing we buy a nightclub? While they are at it I think we should invest in Anglo Irish, perhaps create our own bank or maybe enter a team in formula 1.

pljudge321

delta_bravo wrote: »

Which idiot is proposing we buy a nightclub? While they are at it I think we should invest in Anglo Irish, perhaps create our own bank or maybe enter a team in formula 1.

Johnny Cosgrave.

keepkeyyellow

Raphael wrote: »

I always RON uncontested positions on general principal, But I'll be RONing Ents extra hard this years, as the only candidate is a fucking joke.

I bet half the student body even know the elections are on

El Siglo

They're all the same, every stinking last one of them. All they are is little shits, who've never worked a real job in their lives and need something bump up the cv apart from 'working in a consultancy firm'... malark. What happens is, these people stay an extra two years or so in UCD, graduate (eventually) with their bull**** degree because they were too lazy to actually work hard and have had too many nights on the razz with our money and eventually they end up doing the FE-1s, biding their time in daddy's friend's firm, until they join a political party (FF/FG) and run in a local election for Dublin South Central. SU hacks are the lowest of the low, 'Stumpy' the one-legged alco in Dartry would get my vote quicker than the one of the SU knobs.
Maybe I'm bitter but after three years of absolutely hollow promises that could have been made a reality with all of the money that was floating around, it's ridiculous to say the least.

The_Minister

Raphael wrote: »

I'm basing my opinion of him on his manifesto, in which he posits the ideas of:

Ents buying a night club (Which would have neglible entry fee and the best promos evar!!oneone)
Organised chillouts by the lake (as opposed to those terrible unorganised ones)
Paying for all this by buying a lottery ticket every week. Which had better've been a joke.

Edit: Oh, and putting the UCD Ball in the "natural ampitheatre" of the running track. Because destroying sports facilities used by the local community and the college is a great idea!

Oh wow.

That's almost as bad as when the Woman's Officer candidate wanted to run an Anne Summer's party.

dajaffa

El Siglo wrote: »

Maybe I'm bitter but after three years of absolutely hollow promises that could have been made a reality with all of the money that was floating around, it's ridiculous to say the least.

Thing is, and I ain't just saying this because I lost, but in the contested elections in recent years the better candidates tend to loose. Maybe they're less popular, maybe people believe unrealistic promises, I don't know but there's been a few genuinely good candidates who ran for the right reasons and lost in recent years.

It worries me that the Education candidate who's saying he's "non-political" yet an active member of FF, and who is outright lying in most of his lecture addresses stands a very good chance of winning, be cause people too often vote for crap, and then wonder why they get crap.

delta_bravo

I will run for ents next year, bringing such great promises as:

Bungee jumping off the water tower
Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew to play the UCD Ball
UCD Ball to be held in the RDS
Free taxis to and from the hottest nightclubs (not for you guys, for me and my buddies)
Free Beers (ditto)
Hire Republic of Loose for a 1 year residency of the Pav, so they will never darken the door of the UCD Bar again
Weekly rave in the James Joyce Library

delta_bravo

dajaffa wrote: »

It worries me that the Education candidate who's saying he's "non-political" yet an active member of FF, and who is outright lying in most of his lecture addresses stands a very good chance of winning, be cause people too often vote for crap, and then wonder why they get crap.

What worries me also is the ents candidate proposing to purchase a nightclub and also a clamp to clamp the clampers vans. He's just that cool ya know. Who needs realistic ambitions when you can make a completely stupid witty goal.

Raphael

delta_bravo wrote: »

What worries me also is the ents candidate proposing to purchase a nightclub and also a clamp to clamp the clampers vans. He's just that cool ya know. Who needs realistic ambitions when you can make a completely stupid witty goal.

Oh yeah, forgot that one. Ridiculous AND illegal!

El Siglo

dajaffa wrote: »

Thing is, and I ain't just saying this because I lost, but in the contested elections in recent years the better candidates tend to loose. Maybe they're less popular, maybe people believe unrealistic promises, I don't know but there's been a few genuinely good candidates who ran for the right reasons and lost in recent years.

It worries me that the Education candidate who's saying he's "non-political" yet an active member of FF, and who is outright lying in most of his lecture addresses stands a very good chance of winning, be cause people too often vote for crap, and then wonder why they get crap.

You're right, problem is the calibre of students has really gone to the dogs. I mean, look around the Arts block around 12 o'clock or so, everyone 'done-up' as if they're going out on the tear. If somebody can spend that long in front of a mirror I seriously doubt their judgement of SU hack is going to be good. I know there are exceptions to the hacks I've generalised but on the whole these are exceptions and the rule seems to be that the absolute cunt will always get in. Sure look at the state of our Dáil, the UCDSU is a microcosm of ineptitude, cronyism and greed that is rife in this country. Maybe their should be a proper (i.e. not facebook) campaign for RON. Posters and canvassers and all that.

El Siglo

delta_bravo wrote: »

I will run for ents next year, bringing such great promises as:

Bungee jumping off the water tower
Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew to play the UCD Ball
UCD Ball to be held in the RDS
Free taxis to and from the hottest nightclubs (not for you guys, for me and my buddies)
Free Beers (ditto)
Hire Republic of Loose for a 1 year residency of the Pav, so they will never darken the door of the UCD Bar again
Weekly rave in the James Joyce Library

Ya'd get my vote!
What about our baroque chamber music and brandy in the student bar?:D

delta_bravo

El Siglo wrote: »

Ya'd get my vote!
What about our baroque chamber music and brandy in the student bar?:D

Quiet. Thats only for 'friends of the executive'. It cant be shared amongst the plebian student population. Your loyalty will be rewarded in due course

El Siglo

delta_bravo wrote: »

Quiet. Thats only for 'friends of the executive'. It cant be shared amongst the plebian student population. Your loyalty will be rewarded in due course

I thank you good sir, one day the plebeian underwood shall the swift and almighty wrath of the honest, God fearing brethren! Quis Separabit!

Riamfada

As soon as I found out that three of the five positions were uncontested I completely lost interest in this.

UCD Ents buying a nightclub - Why dosnt Welfare buy the beacon medical center and Scottie can kiss your cancer booboo and we can all own shares of UCDSU Ltd.

pljudge321

As a matter of interest how would one go about calling a referendum to split ents off from the rest of the union?

Ginja Ninja

pljudge321 wrote: »

As a matter of interest how would one go about calling a referendum to split ents off from the rest of the union?

I'm not 100% sure on this,but basically you need to get a petition signed by quite a few people[I think you need 10% of the student body] to call for a referendum on the matter to be changed.

I'd check with the SU[they would know and are legally obliged to tell you the procedures for it] it is one of your rights as a member of the union to call a referndum or to propose a motion at the union council,if your presence is sponsored by a class rep.

goose2005

Raphael wrote: »

I'm basing my opinion of him on his manifesto, in which he posits the ideas of:

Ents buying a night club (Which would have neglible entry fee and the best promos evar!!oneone)
Organised chillouts by the lake (as opposed to those terrible unorganised ones)
Paying for all this by buying a lottery ticket every week. Which had better've been a joke.

Edit: Oh, and putting the UCD Ball in the "natural ampitheatre" of the running track. Because destroying sports facilities used by the local community and the college is a great idea!

Not to mention that the running track would have crap acoustics.

pljudge321

Just read part of the SU constituton, you need 3.5% of the student population. Which is somewhere in the region of 800 people, seems pretty feasible.

Breezer

Raphael wrote: »

I'm basing my opinion of him on his manifesto, in which he posits the ideas of:

Ents buying a night club (Which would have neglible entry fee and the best promos evar!!oneone)
Organised chillouts by the lake (as opposed to those terrible unorganised ones)
Paying for all this by buying a lottery ticket every week. Which had better've been a joke.

Edit: Oh, and putting the UCD Ball in the "natural ampitheatre" of the running track. Because destroying sports facilities used by the local community and the college is a great idea!

delta_bravo wrote: »

What worries me also is the ents candidate proposing to purchase a nightclub and also a clamp to clamp the clampers vans. He's just that cool ya know. Who needs realistic ambitions when you can make a completely stupid witty goal.

Words fail me. I'm not in Belfield any more but would I be correct in assuming that this is one of the uncontested positions?

CokaColumbo

Fad wrote: »

I'd rather a RON vote than John Logue getting into Education......(That said, I am openly supporting James, but I really really REALLY dont want John Logue to get in.....)

Do you want to say why you don't want John Logue to be elected?
I've read his manifesto and have heard him make his case and I have to say that he impressed me.

What say you?

pljudge321

CokaColumbo wrote: »

Do you want to say why you don't want John Logue to be elected?
I've read his manifesto and have heard him make his case and I have to say that he impressed me.

What say you?

Maybe because we don't want another FF hack as an SU Officer.

Edit: Also James has far more experience in his role as Science PRO and Head of the Science Day Committee

Belfield inside

Have to agree with the post above.

James has done so much already. From reading the two manifestos there is a clear difference.

It's all well and good that logue is shouting about the problems but he has no clearly defined solutions.

Also some of his points are incorrect:
1. The sample grades- this was brought up at the Law Programme board and was refused. Giving students this sort of template to work off defeats the process of independent learning and it was said at that meeting to devalue our degrees to Level 7.

2. Also Trinity aren't semesterised yet so the repeat/resit fee thing is totally unworkable for UCD.

What I don't like about Logue is him saying he's a fresh face, I was fooled at first I joined his group on facebook etc and sure there's loads of pics of him with SU hacks ??????

I'm voting for James because I believe he can change things :rolleyes:

Sierra Oscar

Belfield inside wrote: »

What I don't like about Logue is him saying he's a fresh face, I was fooled at first I joined his group on facebook etc and sure there's loads of pics of him with SU hacks ??????

Well that is no surprise, for one John Logue is an (active!) member of Ogra Fianna Fail and the Kevin Barry Cumann, as is Donnacha Ó Súilleabháin. Clear link there to be honest. Whats more, Ó Súilleabháin is openly calling on people to support Logue. Also, Gary Redmond is known to be close to Ogra Fianna Fail & the Kevin Barry Cumann in UCD. He might not say it in the open, but he has attended KBC & Ogra events such as their National Youth Conference at the end of last year with the likes of Ó Súilleabháin, with Logue also in attendance I would imagine.

Fad

CokaColumbo wrote: »

Do you want to say why you don't want John Logue to be elected?
I've read his manifesto and have heard him make his case and I have to say that he impressed me.

What say you?

There some council (I have forgotten the name of it) that edu officer sits on, I'm am resolute that this should be an entirely apolitical position. It should not be some inexperienced KBC hack on it.

Also, campaigning for sample essays? Goodbye Top 100 unis.......

pljudge321

Fad wrote: »

There some council (I have forgotten the name of it) that edu officer sits on, I'm am resolute that this should be an entirely apolitical position. It should not be some inexperienced KBC hack on it.

Also, campaigning for sample essays? Goodbye Top 100 unis.......

The degree's have been watered down enough by the effects of modularisation and the elective system as is, we don't need anymore stupid campaigns to make them easier to get.

Synods

So what exactly happens if everybody does vote RON?

Does anybody think it's actually going to make a difference, or is it just going to draw out the election process even further?

Now please correct me if I'm wrong, (I'm not going to pretend I'm in any way familiar with this whole election craic) but from what I've taken from reading this thread, one would vote RON to allow the introduction of new candidates, yes?

But, in fairness, if people really wanted to be part of the SU and make a change/save the whales/free Tibet/etc. don't you think they would have put themselves forward already? Is a RON vote really going to encourage anybody else to participate in the SU?

Ginja Ninja

Synods wrote: »

But, in fairness, if people really wanted to be part of the SU and make a change/save the whales/free Tibet/etc. don't you think they would have put themselves forward already? Is a RON vote really going to encourage anybody else to participate in the SU?

it's the best option you have,if you don't support the candidate then vote RON,yes it ay draw it out a bit,but it sends a message[especially to an uncontested candidate] that they're not good enough for the job in your eyes.

That whole ideal is kicked out by the basis of politics.It's been said here that logue is mates with the FF crowd and some of the current KBC folks.Do you know why? Because that's politics,it's easier to make friends with the head of a political party and get them behind you then to earn votes and get there on your own merits.

I'm not trying to plug him or anything but it's another reason I'm voting for james,he's working bloody hard at this election and logue isn't because he has commerce and B&L behind him which gives him the numbers[how do you think gary redmond got in last year?] james has put up more posters/mahifestos and been alot more vocal about it,because he's working for it.I garauntee that if logue gets in his vast majority will be commerce and B&L.

once again,I'm not trying to campaign on here or anything,I'd hate to act like a fanboy,just stating the facts the best guy should win,that doesn't mean he will

Synods

Ginja Ninja wrote: »

it's the best option you have,if you don't support the candidate then vote RON,yes it ay draw it out a bit,but it sends a message[especially to an uncontested candidate] that they're not good enough for the job in your eyes.

Maybe, but are you honestly naive enough to believe that these uncontested candidates really care whether or not they've won our approval? Let's be realistic here, even if RON gets the majority of votes and nominations are reopened, can you really see an influx of new candidates coming in and/or the original guys dropping out?

As I've said before, if people wanted the job they would have put their names in already. As for the candidates already in (the only one I've been talking to is Lynam, so I can only really comment on him) well let's just say he didn't exactly seem like he was in the game solely for the benefit of UCD students. We all know well he's doing it for the benefit of his CV and future job prospects-I doubt he's going to lose sleep if a few people don't think he's up to the job.

Ginja Ninja

Synods wrote: »

Maybe, but are you honestly naive enough to believe that these uncontested candidates really care whether or not they've won our approval? Let's be realistic here, even if RON gets the majority of votes and nominations are reopened, can you really see an influx of new candidates coming in and/or the original guys dropping out?

As I've said before, if people wanted the job they would have put their names in already. As for the candidates already in (the only one I've been talking to is Lynam, so I can only really comment on him) well let's just say he didn't exactly seem like he was in the game solely for the benefit of UCD students. We all know well he's doing it for the benefit of his CV and future job prospects-I doubt he's going to lose sleep if a few people don't think he's up to the job.

I never said i thought that,but I for one refuse to bow down and present like a dog to that arrogant pr*ck os yeah,I'm goig to RON the rear end out of it and hope donnacha at the least rejoins the campaign

El Siglo

Lynam is hot air, he's biding his time till he gets in higher with Labour and then he'll run in the next local election (maybe general, but I doubt that). Apart from him, the rest of the candidates are absolutely retarded. They're not mature enough or intelligent enough for that matter for the jobs they're running for. I mean really, not a single one of them actually gives two shits about students and anyone who says otherwise is delusional. Why do I say this? Because we're college students (i.e. all things being equal we should be intelligent enough to see through their bullshit in what used to called 'critical thought').
Unfortunately common sense among students is like what Voltaire said "is not so common", and these rats (that's what they are) will get elected and do nothing. We saw what happened when 'real' issues emerged (reintroduction of third level fees, hikes in registration fees, introduction of the health service charge). As for things that could've been done like having a proper rag week and not just a load of paper clotting up your seat in a lecture theatre of the drinks promotions in Tripod or Crawdaddys.
If you want to really annoy the SU, you start a counter-SU. However, this would never work because it goes back to common sense and students. The only time students will give a shit about how they're treated is when they've finished college and they have no job at the end and by this stage it's too late. Believe me boys and girls, when you're finished in UCD all you get is a piece of paper and a cold handshake, you're nothing after this. I digress and apologise.
What will happen in this election, is that these SU candidates will get elected, regardless of how much we discuss it here, they'll get in and that'll be that. And next year we'll be having the same mickey mouse discussion about the next set of candidates. My advice, get out of UCD as quickly and as easily as possible, get your degree and two-fingers to the whole shagging lot of them. From "Redmond the rent boy" to "Brady the b*****d" they're all the same, all they want is to line their pockets, dicky-up their cv's and go on a power trip for as long as possible.

Brimmy

delta_bravo wrote: »

Hire Republic of Loose for a 1 year residency of the Pav, so they will never darken the door of the UCD Bar again

Would vote for this without any irony whatsoever.